It is definitely a large center. I thought the ML 50XTi was large, this thing is huge in comparison
-
Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!
Revel F208 Tower Speaker Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
Seeing all this C208 love has me in a seriously conflicted state. In a moment of weakness last weekend I pulled the trigger on one of the silver C426 offers from Crutchfield, and it's on it's way to me now. My thinking was based on (a great deal and a $130 credit) the extra clarity I get playing my Studio 2s in stereo mode versus upmixed Auro3d mode. I also have Gem2 side surrounds. So my thinking (and the great deal) was to get berrylium tweeters in all 5 positions, hence the 426 to replace the c208. But now I'm thinking it may be an artifact of the upmixing and not the fault of the C208. The 426 gets here next week. Then I guess I'll know. If I can even tell the difference, that is...
Did you consider getting a voice2? I’m sure the C426Be is gonna be awesome as everyone who bought it says it’s the best center they ever had.
I’m only asking because I have a voice2 w my salons and while it’s a great match, the voice2 and studio2 are literally a perfect match as they both share the same drivers.
re: Voice 2, I did, actually. Maybe that would have been more sensible, but you don't run across them that often. (and I had that $130 credit at Crutchfield burning a hole in my pocket). Price would have been about the same. But then I've heard the 426 is even better than the Voice 2, being more modern, whether that's true or not. And I'm still left with the conundrum of what effect the upmixing modes have on clarity (I'm suspecting more than center channel differences). Oh well, will find out next week. And I'm sure I can find a good home for the C208, it's a killer
Thoughts (opinions) on:
Revel: Voice2 vs. C426Be
IMO Revel has never made less than an excellent 3-way center channel speaker. Any 2-way center channel from any manufacturer, including Revel, is a serious compromise. The 2nd Edition of Floyd Toole's book agrees with this judgement.
I had a Voice2 that I used with Salon2's. I was perfectly satisfied with the Voice2. The C426Be came out so I decided to switch just because I could. I gave the Voice2 to one of my sons. My other son has an older Revel 3-way center channel. The C426Be is fully satisfactory as well. The only impression I get is the the C426Be somehow makes the center of the presentation wider. That may be because it appears obviously physically larger. That said, the C426Be integrates perfectly with the Salon2's. My guess is that the C426Be could fill a room of about any size.
Revel: Salon2 vs. F328Be
I have both of these speakers. The Salon2's are in a separate media room, the F328Be are currently in a room where I use computers.
The Salon2's are black the F328Be's are silver. The silver is actually gray to my eyes and is a really nice color. It would go well with the black. I believe the silver is discontinued, but don't hesitate to get silver. The gray color disappears in the room but is very interesting and nice looking close up. The gray isn't the glossy "casket gray" that is now seen on some cars/SUV's.
Very subjective comparison. The Salon2's completely disappear even you walk up close to them. This may be due to the high tech shaped cabinet, the 4-way driver configuration and the very wide treble dispersion. The tweeter on the Salon2 doesn't have a phase cap above tweeter, or whatever that is called, that is found on most tweeters. My guess is that the lack of the phase cap reduced the dispersion/response over 10k Hz but increases the output up to that point. The Salon2's also go lower in frequency per measurement. The port is on the bottom of the Salon2 which makes placement easier. These differences are likely expected since the Salon2 is (was) a flagship speaker and the F328Be is the top of the lesser Performa line.
The f328Be is a really nice speaker and I could live with it as a main speaker in any room. To me, the F328Be doesn't disappear in the same way as the Salon2 close up, but who listens close up. The current placement of the F328Be's is suboptimum, but I believe I'd go with the Salon2 if I could only have one speaker. I'll keep both so I won't have to decide.
F208
I use several pairs of F208's as surround speakers. I gave a pair to each of my sons for their systems. By the way, this is answer of how to get the younger generation interested in this hobby: give them the equipment and keep it up to date.
The F208 is a great speaker. I could easily live with it as L and R speakers. For some reason Revel put extra engineering effort into the design of the F208 IMO. While I rarely repeat what a marketing person tells me, when the F208 came out a Revel marketing person told me that Sydney Harman insisted that the F208 be a special speaker. This turned out to be true.
Misc.
No one asked, but I drive a 14-year old Toyota. Driving older cars, and careful shopping, allows purchase of a lot of audio gear. Life is full of choices.
Revel: Voice2 vs. C426Be
IMO Revel has never made less than an excellent 3-way center channel speaker. Any 2-way center channel from any manufacturer, including Revel, is a serious compromise. The 2nd Edition of Floyd Toole's book agrees with this judgement.
I had a Voice2 that I used with Salon2's. I was perfectly satisfied with the Voice2. The C426Be came out so I decided to switch just because I could. I gave the Voice2 to one of my sons. My other son has an older Revel 3-way center channel. The C426Be is fully satisfactory as well. The only impression I get is the the C426Be somehow makes the center of the presentation wider. That may be because it appears obviously physically larger. That said, the C426Be integrates perfectly with the Salon2's. My guess is that the C426Be could fill a room of about any size.
Revel: Salon2 vs. F328Be
I have both of these speakers. The Salon2's are in a separate media room, the F328Be are currently in a room where I use computers.
The Salon2's are black the F328Be's are silver. The silver is actually gray to my eyes and is a really nice color. It would go well with the black. I believe the silver is discontinued, but don't hesitate to get silver. The gray color disappears in the room but is very interesting and nice looking close up. The gray isn't the glossy "casket gray" that is now seen on some cars/SUV's.
Very subjective comparison. The Salon2's completely disappear even you walk up close to them. This may be due to the high tech shaped cabinet, the 4-way driver configuration and the very wide treble dispersion. The tweeter on the Salon2 doesn't have a phase cap above tweeter, or whatever that is called, that is found on most tweeters. My guess is that the lack of the phase cap reduced the dispersion/response over 10k Hz but increases the output up to that point. The Salon2's also go lower in frequency per measurement. The port is on the bottom of the Salon2 which makes placement easier. These differences are likely expected since the Salon2 is (was) a flagship speaker and the F328Be is the top of the lesser Performa line.
The f328Be is a really nice speaker and I could live with it as a main speaker in any room. To me, the F328Be doesn't disappear in the same way as the Salon2 close up, but who listens close up. The current placement of the F328Be's is suboptimum, but I believe I'd go with the Salon2 if I could only have one speaker. I'll keep both so I won't have to decide.
F208
I use several pairs of F208's as surround speakers. I gave a pair to each of my sons for their systems. By the way, this is answer of how to get the younger generation interested in this hobby: give them the equipment and keep it up to date.
The F208 is a great speaker. I could easily live with it as L and R speakers. For some reason Revel put extra engineering effort into the design of the F208 IMO. While I rarely repeat what a marketing person tells me, when the F208 came out a Revel marketing person told me that Sydney Harman insisted that the F208 be a special speaker. This turned out to be true.
Misc.
No one asked, but I drive a 14-year old Toyota. Driving older cars, and careful shopping, allows purchase of a lot of audio gear. Life is full of choices.
Last edited:
ThanksC426Be, not C436Be.
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2024
- Messages
- 132
- Likes
- 72
So i measured mine today and they sound incredibble. The low is almost better than my 15" daytons.
What crossover frequency do other owners use icm with subs? Sofar i figured much lower than my previous setup (was 91hz) with bookshelfs. I made some minidsp setups for 32, 46, 59 and 78hz. 32 is too low. 46 sounds better. 59 is best of both using excellent f208 low and still using subs.What do you prefer? Edit: trawled through all 62 pages. Between 60-80 seems the norm.
Also, the range low is a bit louder rhan above 1k. The mid and hi therefore, sound a bit too muted.
What crossover frequency do other owners use icm with subs? Sofar i figured much lower than my previous setup (was 91hz) with bookshelfs. I made some minidsp setups for 32, 46, 59 and 78hz. 32 is too low. 46 sounds better. 59 is best of both using excellent f208 low and still using subs.What do you prefer? Edit: trawled through all 62 pages. Between 60-80 seems the norm.
Also, the range low is a bit louder rhan above 1k. The mid and hi therefore, sound a bit too muted.
Last edited:
Did the rear boundary or tweeter controls help with that at all?
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2024
- Messages
- 132
- Likes
- 72
Going to experiment now. But the measurements look the same as @amirm so its a matter of getting used to i guess.
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2024
- Messages
- 132
- Likes
- 72
A day and a few hours further. The problem with minidsp is that you have so many settings to test out. I DSPd the F208s (very little needed, what suprise!) but changed my room a bit, its half treated so subs needed new PEQ settings. Then the endless music playing, what level, where do you put in teh subs, how much gain, etc etc.
I played my usual stuff to test; trance, some house, some club RB and disco for the bass. Funk and Reggea because a bass guitar is different than kick drum. Then jazz, big piece bands for the broader picture. Then 2 or 3 piece jazz. (I dont understand why people start with this, as its the least demanding of a system.)
After extensive testing I kind of settled on the 52hz mark as the base setting. At higher SPL I heard distortion, even when dialing out much more bass settings I came to realise my Quad 606 MkI simply doesnt have enough oomph for a. these levels of spl, and b. these Revel F208's.
The question now is: is an upgrade of the 606mk1 to mkii spec (toroid psu, 22.000 caos instead of 15.000) enough? Or should I look at bi amping the F208s and get a 2nd 606? That said, the budget would then get near 2nd hand Brystons. What do you guys reckon? Bi amp 2x 2x140watt @8ohm enough or should I just look for a bigger musscle than the Quad 606s? I really, really love the Quad sound.
Lower-ish spl, 70-80db, these F208s, the passive subs, the quad 606, it is very VERY nice. What sound. End game speakers for sure. Im very glad I didnt go for the F206 but waited for the rare F208 to surface in the European market. Im sure the F206 is also great but in the end I got the F208s in mint condition for less than €2000,-. The only remark I have is the finish or the front port, looks a bit cheapish plastic. BUt for the quality, the finish of the rest of the speaker, it looks very well made.
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2024
- Messages
- 132
- Likes
- 72
Coming from titanium dome tweeters the big thing was to get used to it. I listen to a lot of different music with a lot of different production values. Now Ive set everything to normal except a high shelf from 1500 onwards (+2db). This is of course, very individual preferences.
The bigger problem was at louder volumes i still get strange, not clean production. After consulting with Quad technicians we are suspecting a gain issue. The pre amp is going back for a check up. Other than that, all good. 52hz is the best crossover setting. It makes me cry so beautiful some tracks are. Myw ife is gone for the week so ill be listening for days. I wont leave my room.
Listening now to Schubert: Impromtus D.899 & D.935 played by Krystian Zimerman. Its pure heaven.
Last edited:
Thanks for the update. I'm glad that you got it locked in. I'm thinking of either finding a pair of f208's or buying a silver set of f226be's while they are on sale for 2k each. I've gone back and forth on which to choose countless times..
Is it worth going up to the 228’s for another 1000 each or are 226’s the sweet spot when used with subs?
Similar threads
- Poll
