Revel F328Be Speaker Review

[dutchboy]

I am glad to see some activity here again, thanks for posting your reviews and opinions guys. It is really helpful to read how other guys are working the 328's into their systems. What frequency are you guys crossing over at from mains to sub? I have tried 80, 60, and am now running at 100hz. My subs are located right next to my mains so localization is not much of a issue, but I can't get the thought that I am "wasting" 6 8" woofers with very low distortion and good output capabilities by only using them for 100-240hz. Is anybody else using higher crossovers?

Regards,
Chad

 

[CJPopovich]

I would take a sweep of the 328's by themselves, full range, from the listening position and see what your setup supports on the bottom end, and what the room looks like.

The F328BE's are really good at upper and mid bass. I would let them try to do it if your positioning and room allows. Currently I have just one sub built and connected, a 1/2 scale version of the big girls I'll be using, and I have that crossed at 40hz, 24dB/oct.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi all, my first post to this forum (and sorry in advance)!

I have been thinking about getting these for music listening and home theater 7.2.4 system (maybe 50/50), if I can order them from the UK. The center could be C426Be, surrounds e.g. S16 or M106, and Atmos C763L.

At the moment I have older pair of Genelec 8351A and Arendal 2S sub (because my future wife did not want to have original Genelec). For a second option I thought of Genelecs (LCR 8351A, then smaller Ones as surrounds, and Atmos smaller 2-way monitors), or the 1528 / 1723 series from Arendal.

I was still wondering whether Revels would be too big for my room (approximately 4,5 x 4,5 x 3 meters, D x W x H). What do you think?

Thank you!

vilpukkaulpukka

Welcome! Revel fan here, One of their models is in my immediate future. This said,

Why do you want to move from the Genelec 8351A? Are your subwoofers Arendal 1723S? Seriously? You have a top flight system. You need to work to make it better, not change speakers. I
Please reconsider and take your time to properly setup your system. Often that lack of satisfaction is due to improper set-up.
I am not sure you'll gain anything moving from the Genelec but ... it's up tp you

I believe that you need to measure:
Get REW (free download, we strongly suggest/recommend s generous donation)
Acquire a miniDSP Umik-1. (around$125)

You research, you learn, you measure and come back here to ask questions...


Peace.

 

[amper42]

I am glad to see some activity here again, thanks for posting your reviews and opinions guys. It is really helpful to read how other guys are working the 328's into their systems. What frequency are you guys crossing over at from mains to sub? I have tried 80, 60, and am now running at 100hz. My subs are located right next to my mains so localization is not much of a issue, but I can't get the thought that I am "wasting" 6 8" woofers with very low distortion and good output capabilities by only using them for 100-240hz. Is anybody else using higher crossovers?

Regards,
Chad

I use the RME ADI-2 DAC FS "Loudness" controls with my F328Be to get the bass right where I want it. ABSOLUTELY, no reason for subs for me. I have two subs in the room that I use with the Denon 4700H Home Theatre but never use them with the F328Be for ADI-2 DAC stereo listening which is 95% of my use.

 

[Whoareyou]

I am glad to see some activity here again, thanks for posting your reviews and opinions guys. It is really helpful to read how other guys are working the 328's into their systems. What frequency are you guys crossing over at from mains to sub? I have tried 80, 60, and am now running at 100hz. My subs are located right next to my mains so localization is not much of a issue, but I can't get the thought that I am "wasting" 6 8" woofers with very low distortion and good output capabilities by only using them for 100-240hz. Is anybody else using higher crossovers?

Regards,
Chad

I run my 328's without SW and sometimes I forget I don't have them crossed over. I have a couple of classical pieces with very low frequency pipe organ, but still not worth the SW just for a few selections. Then again my room is different from other listening rooms.

Also, sometimes a track's bass is just missing in action (bad mastering or maybe that's how the band wanted it?). For those albums, if I want to turn up bass I have a DSP filter to help out, at which point the 328 obliges (or sometimes a remastered version of the album fixes it ). Funny thing is, many times I'd rather do without the filter's added bass as I feel it obscures other parts of the music I'd like to hear.

 

[curt d]

I have low end issues in my place and had to add 2 subs and crossed at 90hz. Going to 4 subs later.
A buddy also has 328s. His his room large (7000ish sq/ft) and is incredible for bass. Used an AVR and no sub. We compared 328s, Monitor Audio 5g silver 10s, and old revel f12s. The 328s lacked low end and midbass punch that the others could provide. It was quite disappointing considering the price. He just picked up an amp, so we'll see how it goes.

 

[amper42]

I have low end issues in my place and had to add 2 subs and crossed at 90hz. Going to 4 subs later.
A buddy also has 328s. His his room large (7000ish sq/ft) and is incredible for bass. Used an AVR and no sub. We compared 328s, Monitor Audio 5g silver 10s, and old revel f12s. The 328s lacked low end and midbass punch that the others could provide. It was quite disappointing considering the price. He just picked up an amp, so we'll see how it goes.

My Revel F328Be sound amazing on the low end. Bass punch is tight and dynamic. I position the dual rear ports 12" from the wall and they sit 9' apart in a 28' x 24' room. I use the RME ADI-2 DAC FS "Loudness" feature to dial in the bass just where I want it. It can shake the room. I have several other Tower Speakers but none offer the clarity and power of my F328Be with the RME/Purifi combination. When I hear someone claim lack of mid bass punch with the F328Be - it blows my mind. Something must be different in the speaker placement or electronics. It's pretty clear our experience is totally opposite.

Is it possible your friend did not optimize the AVR for each pair of speakers? In the case of Denon that would mean running a new Audyssey configuration for each speaker change. That's a newbie mistake that can easily offer poor to lackluster playback results. When I moved my F328Be off the AVR and simplified the playback with just the RME ADI-2 DAC FS and Purifi amp it sounded remarkably cleaner to me. The digitization and manipulation of the signal in an AVR is fine for Movies. But, for ultra clean music playback I much prefer the RME/Purifi combination.

 

[CJPopovich]

Punch is pretty good with the triple 8's, some of the best I've heard in the midbass area, but I also feel like sensitivity was prioritized over extended frequency response. A lot of this is room dominated as we know. You have a good amount of cone area to work with, little judicious use of EQ is warranted. I do feel that in my not-bass-friendly room they really benefit from a subwoofer or 4.

I am also curious about plugging one vent for those that don't want to use a sub and don't listen too loud -it would drop tuning from about 32hz to about 23hz with one vent open -not necessarily a good trade but with a little signal shaping perhaps for some people it makes sense, particularly in smaller rooms with a lot of boundary reinforcement.

 

[amper42]

In my 28' x 24' room, with zero EQ while connected to the RME ADI-2 DAC FS and Purifi amp, REW recorded the measurement below with the microphone placed 11 feet from F328Be at the listening position. Your room may measure differently. In this case, I'm showing strong bass performance all the way down to 22Hz with both rear F328Be ports open. The bass end is fantastic for my needs. Optimal placement of the rear F328Be ports makes a difference. Bass thump is tight and clear.

 

[curt d]

My Revel F328Be sound amazing on the low end. Bass punch is tight and dynamic. I position the dual rear ports 12" from the wall and they sit 9' apart in a 28' x 24' room. I use the RME ADI-2 DAC FS "Loudness" feature to dial in the bass just where I want it. It can shake the room. I have several other Tower Speakers but none offer the clarity and power of my F328Be with the RME/Purifi combination. When I hear someone claim lack of mid bass punch with the F328Be - it blows my mind. Something must be different in the speaker placement or electronics. It's pretty clear our experience is totally opposite.

Is it possible your friend did not optimize the AVR for each pair of speakers? In the case of Denon that would mean running a new Audyssey configuration for each speaker change. That's a newbie mistake that can easily offer poor to lackluster playback results. When I moved my F328Be off the AVR and simplified the playback with just the RME ADI-2 DAC FS and Purifi amp it sounded remarkably cleaner to me. The digitization and manipulation of the signal in an AVR is fine for Movies. But, for ultra clean music playback I much prefer the RME/Purifi combination.

It blew our minds as well lol. Speakers were in the same position. He never uses any room correction for 2 channel listening.
I'll find out today how the amp works out for him. It's 300@8 ohm and 600@4 ohm.

 

[curt d]

In my 28' x 24' room, with zero EQ while connected to the RME ADI-2 DAC FS and Purifi amp, REW recorded the measurement below with the microphone placed 11 feet from F328Be at the listening position. Your room may measure differently. In this case, I'm showing strong bass performance all the way down to 22Hz with both rear F328Be ports open. The bass end is fantastic for my needs. Optimal placement of the rear F328Be ports makes a difference. Bass thump is tight and clear.


View attachment 406107

What's smoothing set at? Would like to see that on a tighter 5db scale. I'm going to run REW at his place this weekend.

 

[amper42]

What's smoothing set at? Would like to see that on a tighter 5db scale. I'm going to run REW at his place this weekend.

See 1/24 on the image listed as smoothing. If you use 1/12 or 1/6 it's a smoother FR.