I have now listened to the
Revel Salon2’s and Revel F328Be’s side by side in the same room, thanks to the flagship Harman Store in NYC. I listened and compared somewhat blind, in that I had a remote which could switch them but didn’t know which I was listening to. However I say “somewhat” blind because it was not long before I could easily distinguish which I was listening to audibly. My wife also helped out and was able to provide an even less biased perspective in that sense, since she couldn't identify which was which but the opinions and preference did end up matching my own most of the time.
Conclusion: I found that the
F328Be’s are
overall noticeably better than the Salon2’s (while there are some pros and cons to each).
Of course, the details are more complex and there are some things the Salon2’s do better, or at least different. But a few things stand out to my ears:
- The F328Be seemed even cleaner and more “dynamic” at very loud levels than my Salon2’s and Genelec 8351B’s. In fact, the degree to which they effortlessly go loud across their entire frequency range is really impressive.
- The F328Be treble is smoother and more neutral sounding to me than the Salon2’s, very similar in quality to the Genelec 8351B. I think I’ve commented before that while the Salon2 treble is extremely good, it sounds a bit more peaky to me than my Genelec 8351B’s which until now is the most perfect treble I’ve heard. I’d say the F328Be is similar to the Genelec 8351B treble quality.
- They sound more focused than the Salon2’s with a bit less “surround” sound reflections, but still with a very pleasant amount. So it’s not quite as focused as e.g. my Genelec 8351B’s, but not as wide as the Salon2’s, and so I actually find the F328’s tuning in this respect to be extremely good and perhaps my favorite I have ever heard — even more versatile than either the Genelecs or Salon2’s to the wide range of music I listen to.
- The Salon2’s have more bass extension as expected, but though noticeable, it doesn’t sound like a massive difference. What the F328Be lacks in extension, I think it makes up for in quality -- seamlessly integrated, clean, undistorted, impressive dynamics are how I can best describe the F328Be bass. In terms of extension depth and power, the F328Be’s have more than enough bass such that it would be perfect full range for most music, and perfect when combined with a subwoofer to complement them for movies or extremely bass heavy music.
So I will most likely buy a pair of F328Be's at some point
P.S. Anyone want to buy a used pair of Salon2's in great condition? Just kidding but maybe not kidding
P.P.S. Oh and just as Amir's subjective impressions have suggested, there is no way I can imagine these speakers actually start rolling off bass at 100hz as the Klippel measurements seem to imply. Unless it's some trick of psychology, their bass sounds extremely deep and powerful. Not quite as impressively deep as the Salon2's, but "close enough" that I'd probably still be happy running them without a subwoofer. But unlike the Salon2's, I think they're tuned really nicely in that you won't feel like you're wasting the potential of the F328Be's if you do use a subwoofer.