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Revel f206 versus kef r7

steve59

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I don’t tell people how to spend their mone, it’s a hobby and I do like sharing my experiences. The revel and kef speakers I had in my room Each had qualities of their own and as I listened to each for months I would find the Little things each speaker did better than the othe. We all have different values but I’m building my ret system so I want more gravy, dig.

My post I thought was clear. When you sell your house you put beige carpet down, when you buy your new house you put whatever color you want in it.

this forum can at times read like the diet for healthy living. If you wear a helmet when you ride your bicycle get kef or revel or you know whatever the masses tell you to do. If youre passionate about your music audition everything you possibly can then you’ll understand what the differences are and which ones matter to your involvement in the music.

HT is a different, less personal experience and going with the masses is probably fine.
 

Darvis

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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.
Did you make your choice about an amp BTW?
 

cspadijer

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Thanks Bear123. I will look at moving up from 12" to 15" subs for my room size.
I was referencing the attached sheet for subs. You have any similar data on Rythmik FV15HP?

Concerning the three front speakers (LCR) the distance to the ear of the listener from the front is: 11ft for the sweet spot (front row). 15-16 feet is the back row of seating. They will be up higher on a platform I am building. So is there a calculator for distance to viewer?
 

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Alexanderc

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Did you make your choice about an amp BTW?
Nope. Waiting to see the NAD M33 review (and measurements) from Stereophile that’s rumored to be forthcoming.

Regarding the Revel vs Kef questions here, I admit I’m leaning toward the Kef r7. I’m worried the Revel f206 won’t have enough bass and the f208 will be too big (and too expensive probably as well).
 

Bear123

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Thanks Bear123. I will look at moving up from 12" to 15" subs for my room size.
I was referencing the attached sheet for subs. You have any similar data on Rythmik FV15HP?

Concerning the three front speakers (LCR) the distance to the ear of the listener from the front is: 11ft for the sweet spot (front row). 15-16 feet is the back row of seating. They will be up higher on a platform I am building. So is there a calculator for distance to viewer?
Yes, detailed measurements of the FV15HP on data-bass. It will match or outperform anything on your list that isn't more expensive.
FV15HP Data-Bass

FV15HP 1 port.png
 

Dj7675

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Funny seeing this thread. I am setting up a home theater and I have narrowed down my search to the KEF R7 and Revel F206 as well to use for the Front Left, Front Center, and Front Right (LCR). I plan on putting them behind an acoustically transparent projector screen and build them into the wall so esthetics don't matter.
Two concerns I have:
1.) From what I have read about Dolby ATMOS setup, the tweeter of your fronts and surrounds should be at the height of the listeners ear. Most speakers have the tweater at the top, but the KEF R7s have the tweeter in the middle and therefore are not at ear height. In my Dolby Atmos setup all the other surrounds have their tweeter at ear height. Any concern with the high/mid range driver being lower?
2.) I am also concerned they are a little undersized for my theater room. It is 22.5'(L) x 15.5' (W) x 8' (H) in the main area, but has an adjoining section with another 15.5'(L) x 6.5'(W) x 8'(H). I plan on dual 12" subs. Is there any calculator that exists that helps size the LF driver in a speaker to room size? E.g. 6.5" driver is for xxx cubic foot room. 8" driver for xxx. 10" driver etc...
In regards to #2..
-Your room dimensions are similar to my theater. I went all Revel with 3 M106 for the front/4 S16 for surrounds/6 m55xc for 6 atmos. For subs I 2 L12 (sealed 12inch subs) inopposing corners. I am in a basement with roughly the same dimensions as you and in a sealed room. Generally listen at -10 for movies and -10 to -20 for TV/streaming.
-Under these conditions 2 L12s is enough for me and my room. However, if your room is open/larger it likely won’t be as @Bear123 has already mentioned. Eventually I will add 1-2 more L12s to even out bass even more and get additional headroom, but for now it is fine.
A couple of things I think it is important to answer:
-What level do you like to listen at?
-What level do you want to be capable of?
-Be sure to plan out where you are going to put them. Some of the ported subs have a very large footprint
-If you have room for 4, 4 ported 12inch might work if you don’t have room for 15 inch
-If you want reference level below 20hz it takes quite a lot of sub/power! I was shooting for being able to play @ -10 down to 20hz, and what I have does that. As with all things it depends what you want!
 

steve59

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I bought a single defiance 15''. I wanted something that would double as an end table. I can say the ARC software does a nice job making an entry level product blend in.
 

samysound

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I am almost ready to buy, but likely not one of the speakers evocated here.
Revel f206 have not enough bass extension and I don't want to use a sub.
I had the opportunity to have a listen to the Kef r7 and was not as much impressed as with the dynaudio evoke 50 ( listened in same environment). Then I had a look at their measurements on the link you sent and was disappointed. So I asked the brand, and they said that audio.com.pl measurements seem to measure the room more than the speakers... Obviously influenced by all this, I went to another dealer and tried them once more. I did not enjoy as much as first time... So I am not going to buy one of these 3.
I am going to buy amphion argon 7 LS which I discovered by coincidence and was impressed subjectively. The brand sent me the measurement attached which seem good enough to me. So I will give it a try. Feel free to comment.
Hoping this help.
N
Hi
did you end up going with the amphions?

I too am considering KEF (R11) vs Revel (M126Be with small stereo subs). In both cases, I would use two channel Dirac with high/low pass for the M126+subs or R11 run full range (no subs). Thought about the amphions as well but they are quite a bit more expensive at least here in the USA
 
OP
Novak

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Hi
did you end up going with the amphions?

I too am considering KEF (R11) vs Revel (M126Be with small stereo subs). In both cases, I would use two channel Dirac with high/low pass for the M126+subs or R11 run full range (no subs). Thought about the amphions as well but they are quite a bit more expensive at least here in the USA

Yes I ended up with the Amphion.
Here in Europe, Revels are the most expansive (almost no negociation possible).
 

samysound

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Any conclusions here? I’m also really curious about the KEF R11 vs Revel F208 comparison. The KEFs are IMO such aesthetically pleasing speakers, and measure exceptionally well too it seems. My impression is that the Revel frequency response might be slightly preferred, but if the KEF were equalized, I wonder how close they would come in overall preference.
Hi, did you end up doing any comparisons between the KEF R11 and Revel F208? Curious to here thoughts/insight
 

echopraxia

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Hi, did you end up doing any comparisons between the KEF R11 and Revel F208? Curious to here thoughts/insight
I ended up going a completely different direction and getting Revel Salon2 instead :)

At some point I still would like to try the KEF R7 or R11, but it’s hard for me to justify in my head given that I didn’t really fall in love with the R3. I see some discussion about production inconsistency of the waveguide alignment being possibly to blame in the R3 thread, but I’m not sure if I should take that as a reason for or against the idea of trying KEF again.

Honestly, if I did buy an R11 it would probably be primarily because I really like the way they look :). But I’d have to be prepared to sell them if I don’t like them. So I’d probably buy one used if I can find any, although used towers are generally more tricky to deal with when shipping is required.
 

samysound

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I ended up going a completely different direction and getting Revel Salon2 instead :)

At some point I still would like to try the KEF R7 or R11, but it’s hard for me to justify in my head given that I didn’t really fall in love with the R3. I see some discussion about production inconsistency of the waveguide alignment being possibly to blame in the R3 thread, but I’m not sure if I should take that as a reason for or against the idea of trying KEF again.

Honestly, if I did buy an R11 it would probably be primarily because I really like the way they look :). But I’d have to be prepared to sell them if I don’t like them. So I’d probably buy one used if I can find any, although used towers are generally more tricky to deal with when shipping is required.
thanks for sharing your thoughts and congrats on the Salon2!
 

sjeesjie

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Lots of nice comparisons here. It’s about two speakers in a price range I’m looking into myself also. I’m also considering the Monitor Audio Gold 200’s. Did you take those into consideration too? There’s little on this forum about Monitor Audio, I wonder why that is, they sound pretty good to me and they look awesome.
 

Alexanderc

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Lots of nice comparisons here. It’s about two speakers in a price range I’m looking into myself also. I’m also considering the Monitor Audio Gold 200’s. Did you take those into consideration too? There’s little on this forum about Monitor Audio, I wonder why that is, they sound pretty good to me and they look awesome.
The Monitor Gold 300 seems to measure reasonably well. You’re right, nobody has much to say about them here.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/monitor-audio-gold-300-loudspeaker-measurements
Edit: In the US the MA 200 is a bit more expensive than the Kef r7, but it looks like they are discontinued and available at a discount right now.
 
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carlob

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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.

Excuse me for this late reply, but from Amir's measurement the F208s have the -3dB point I think somewhere between 50 and 60Hz (Revel specs: -3dB@31Hz). the R7 specifications state the -3dB point at 48Hz (both anecoic). Seems to me not a huge difference, considering that once you put them in your room they will have some bass gain, possibly not the same. In any case they are both bass limited, ie not full range.

Disclosure: I own the Revel F208s but also a couple of subwoofers.
 

richard12511

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Excuse me for this late reply, but from Amir's measurement the F208s have the -3dB point I think somewhere between 50 and 60Hz (Revel specs: -3dB@31Hz). the R7 specifications state the -3dB point at 48Hz (both anecoic). Seems to me not a huge difference, considering that once you put them in your room they will have some bass gain, possibly not the same. In any case they are both bass limited, ie not full range.

Disclosure: I own the Revel F208s but also a couple of subwoofers.

Seems like Revel is lying about extension?
 

carlob

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carlob

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Btw looking at the spins posted by Kevin Voecks the -3db point for the F208 seems to be closer to 40Hz (sensitivity around 88dB)
 

richard12511

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