Revel f206 versus kef r7

[Novak]

Get f208 or r11

Maybe in next life or after next promotion

 

[Novak]

Found on another thread:
Kef r serie whitepaper

 

[A800]

Very good engineering.

 

[Bear123]

Gee wiz. I thought the Revels would work better because he wants to put them close to the front wall and front ported speakers work better in that application. Some like coaxial drivers, some do not. The KEF's probably are better looking, but that's a matter of taste too. I have LS50's by the way.

Rear ported speaker being close to a wall is not detrimental at all. Any extra output gained from the boundary will simply be eq'd down, resulting in increased efficiency, lower distortion, more headroom, better sound quality. Win win win win. Properly crossed to subs at 80 Hz, there won't be much contribution form the port anyways.

 

[Ron Texas]

Rear ported speaker being close to a wall is not detrimental at all. Any extra output gained from the boundary will simply be eq'd down, resulting in increased efficiency, lower distortion, more headroom, better sound quality. Win win win win. Properly crossed to subs at 80 Hz, there won't be much contribution form the port anyways.

Thanks for rubbing it in. Got any proof? I can't tell you how many times I have seen it said rear ports need more space to breathe. Any other result defies logic. I should have anticipated owners of rear ported speakers would come out of the woodwork to jump on me. You could have expressed your opinion without quoting me to rub my face in it.

 

[thewas]

Here is a German language article where they showed that frontal or rear port position doesn't make any difference as long as the distance to any boundaries is not significantly less than 10 cm
https://www.visaton.de/de/service/technische-grundlagen/wandnahe-aufstellung-von-lautsprechern

 

[Mnyb]

There is point with front ported on bookshelf speakers used on actual bookshelves when you have actual Books packet around them who places speakers in bookshelves anyway ? ( who read books these days , I do actually but I’m born before the pc and iPad era )

 

[Bear123]

Thanks for rubbing it in. Got any proof? I can't tell you how many times I have seen it said rear ports need more space to breathe. Any other result defies logic. I should have anticipated owners of rear ported speakers would come out of the woodwork to jump on me. You could have expressed your opinion without quoting me to rub my face in it.

Edit: Ron, sincere apologies if my response came across that way. It wasn't my intention to make it seem like I was jumping on you about the subject, but rather replying constructively. I know it is hard to infer tone from messages on the Internet so figured I would clear things up.

Here is a rear ported speaker a couple inches from the rear wall. Normally, I cross to subs at 80 Hz, but if I didn't, here is what it looks like full range after eq:

I don't see an issue with bass. I have seen it said a lot also. The only thing I can think is from outdated audiophile 2 channel from folks who think eq is bad? One thing I have learned is that often repeated does not always equate with true.

 

[Certainkindoffool]

That's interesting. Here, the Revels sell for $5000 (CAD), the KEFs for $5400. But the latter are available from a number of local shops. This does not seem to be true for the Revels.

Actual price from a good dealer is closer to the $3600-4200CAD range.

I know of a B1 demo pair of f206's with full warranty being sold for $2395CAD in the GTA at the moment.

 

[muad]

Actual price from a good dealer is closer to the $3600-4200CAD range.

I know of a B1 demo pair of f206's with full warranty being sold for $2395CAD in the GTA at the moment.

Damn that's a great price, used has been going for $3000 cad on the west coast. At the moments you can't even get Revel in Vancouver. I asked one of the major dealer and they stopped carrying revel because the exchange rate kills the value.

 

[Certainkindoffool]

I'm sure shipping could be arranged if you were interested. It's the same place I bought my f208's for $3900CAD. They are good guys. Though, they do seem to be bringing in fewer Revel speakers these days.

 

[Novak]

My choice is not made between r7 or f206... Or else?

I went to my nearest dealer to test the r7. It was nice to listen to (very nice) but was also nice to compare to other speakers. he made me try the dynaudio evoke 50 which subjectively impressed me in his phonically treated room. So I have shortlisted them as well.

For any one interested, I found these measurements : Click here . Not as flat as Revels, but quite a better extention in the low frequencies area. I am hesitating.

Any thought is welcome

 

[Senior NEET Engineer]

@q3cpma the graphic is well and good for Genelec's because they are designed that way. Those speakers also have boundary eq built in. KEF recommends a minimum of 9" from the front wall. For Revel I could not find a minimum, but they recommend plugging the ports if the speaker is less than 61 CM from a wall other large object. Of course, if you high pass your mains a lot less energy is coming out of the ports.

They give that recommendation because most of their customers are audio morons. Unless your speaker is so close to the wall that airflow out of the port is obstructed, it doesn't matter rear ported vs front ported vs sealed. If port airflow is obstructed you'll get less bass not more. Think of what happens when they are completely obstructed.

 

[Matias]

Never heard any but I think I would choose the KEF. Try listening at a dealer or one that lends you a pair to listen at home maybe.

 

[Senior NEET Engineer]

My choice is not made between r7 or f206... Or else?

I went to my nearest dealer to test the r7. It was nice to listen to (very nice) but was also nice to compare to other speakers. he made me try the dynaudio evoke 50 which subjectively impressed me in his phonically treated room. So I have shortlisted them as well.

For any one interested, I found these measurements : Click here . Not as flat as Revels, but quite a better extention in the low frequencies area. I am hesitating.

Any thought is welcome

There's nothing else that can be answered without your impressions in your room. Personally I like electrostatic speaker dispersion the most in untreated rooms.

 

[Bear123]

My choice is not made between r7 or f206... Or else?

I went to my nearest dealer to test the r7. It was nice to listen to (very nice) but was also nice to compare to other speakers. he made me try the dynaudio evoke 50 which subjectively impressed me in his phonically treated room. So I have shortlisted them as well.

For any one interested, I found these measurements : Click here . Not as flat as Revels, but quite a better extention in the low frequencies area. I am hesitating.

Any thought is welcome

I wouldn't let extension affect your choice. Since you are looking at a few very good speakers, its safe to assume that high fidelity is your goal. As such, its also safe to assume you will be pairing with a good pair of well placed, eq'd subs, so extension much below 40-60 Hz won't matter. KEF and Revel do have different dispersion characteristics....it might be worth it to purchase both sets and keep your favorite.

 

[Alexanderc]

I’ve been following this thread with great interest. I am leaning heavily toward the Kef r7 because of the low frequency advantage over the Revel. I don’t have the flexibility in my room for a subwoofer. Dynaudio has not been on my radar at all, so I might have to look at measurements for those too. I don’t have local dealers for any of these speakers.

 

[Bear123]

I’ve been following this thread with great interest. I am leaning heavily toward the Kef r7 because of the low frequency advantage over the Revel. I don’t have the flexibility in my room for a subwoofer. Dynaudio has not been on my radar at all, so I might have to look at measurements for those too. I don’t have local dealers for any of these speakers.

If that's the case, refer back to post #50 for the in room response of my Revel F36. The F206 has lower rated extension.

 

[Alexanderc]

If that's the case, refer back to post #50 for the in room response of my Revel F36. The F206 has lower rated extension.

I was looking at the measurements of the F208 on this site. If the 208 only goes that low, one would expect the 206 to be even higher. The Soundstage measurements seem to back this up as well.

 

[Novak]

I’ve been following this thread with great interest. I am leaning heavily toward the Kef r7 because of the low frequency advantage over the Revel. I don’t have the flexibility in my room for a subwoofer. Dynaudio has not been on my radar at all, so I might have to look at measurements for those too. I don’t have local dealers for any of these speakers.

Same here, no sub is planned in my livin so far.
Regarding dynaudio evoke 50, I would be glad to have your opinion on measurements (c.f. #54) . I am not sure how they compare with soundstage measurements of r7. I am not an expert but it seems the methodology is different at "Newport test labs"