Revel F35 Speaker Review

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To be able to judge the lateral reflections, here the comparison of "listening window" to the horizontal angular frequency response at 60 degrees.
Loudspeaker KEF R3 and Revel M16, F35

The whole thing is normalized to the LW:

With a pure view on the measured values, the M16 is still impressively good. As long as the sidewalls do not absorb the sound extremely unevenly, practically no tonal change due to lateral reflections is to be expected.

Due to the slightly smaller width and lower crossover frequency of the F35, the edge diffraction seems to have a slightly stronger effect (provided the wave guide used is comparable).

 

[ROOSKIE]

Maybe the R3 review (and panther?) should be updated after that?

Here are the PIR of the F35 and R3 aligned to a similar level: (they are more similar than R3 vs. M16)
View attachment 54298

The F35 is a bit more less neutral and pronounced in the mids and highs and has a quite disappointing bass response for floorstander vs. a compact speaker.

Looks like it would be easy to blend with a subwoofer and it was designed for high dynamics at the expense of depth. Fine by me. I prefer this in some ways. Sub 50 hrz is best reproduced with low distortion at high volumes by big a$$ drivers.

 

[Bear123]

Looks like it would be easy to blend with a subwoofer and it was designed for high dynamics at the expense of depth. Fine by me. I prefer this in some ways. Sub 50 hrz is best reproduced with low distortion at high volumes by big a$$ drivers.

I agree. This is a better design than sacrificing sensitivity for unnecessary extension.

 

[HammerSandwich]

And it's a 2.5-way speaker, so big woofer excursion could hurt midrange clarity. Maybe this Voecks character knows his business.

 

[Ron Texas]

The problem solved by EQ in the bass shows how little it takes to throw things off, and how simple it is to fix.

 

[hangcheng]

need a very simple answer: what kind of amp i need to run this speaker... just want to copy your setup....

 

[richard12511]

Well, no. The Salon 2s go deeper. If you didn't hear the Salon 2 however, you would think there is plenty of bass there.

What's the difference in spl capability? The Salon is less efficient, but I'm assuming it can handle much more power.

 

[amirm]

need a very simple answer: what kind of amp i need to run this speaker... just want to copy your setup....

You don't want to copy my setup. My amplifiers cost $50,000. What is your budget?

 

[richard12511]

Looks like it would be easy to blend with a subwoofer and it was designed for high dynamics at the expense of depth. Fine by me. I prefer this in some ways. Sub 50 hrz is best reproduced with low distortion at high volumes by big a$$ drivers.

I agree. My current room requires a 100-120hz crossover for a smooth response, so extra extension does me little good. More spl is always welcome, though.

 

[Cahudson42]

Maybe we need a new sorting category for the Speaker Review and Measurement Index table: 'After EQ'

 

[hangcheng]

You don't want to copy my setup. My amplifiers cost $50,000. What is your budget?

how do you know i am not that rich????

emmmm ok.... lets say around 2000 usd? i am hoping there are some brand like topping or smsl....just 700usd but beat your 50k setup...

 

[Blumlein 88]

The problem solved by EQ in the bass shows how little it takes to throw things off, and how simple it is to fix.

This mirrors my experience adjusting target curves for other people. I get the basic target curve done with Dirac or Tact gear. Listen, let the owner listen. Try a few favorite tracks and ask them what they like to be better or different. I'd make broad minor changes usually just balancing this part of the spectrum with the rest. You could alter apparent depth and such. Often I found very minor tilts at opposite ends worked. Say someone believes the bass is a touch short or soft. I might tilt the upper couple octaves down a small amount. Maybe they think it is a touch bright, I'd tilt up the lower 200 hz, and people were happy.

All this makes me think the preference formula is broadly correct, but badly in need of additional work. Or I wonder what additional adjustments Revel/Harman makes for a given speaker beyond the formula. Amir's results seem to indicate a good likelihood small adjustments for given rooms might be a big deal in the low end below Schroeder.

 

[Blumlein 88]

how do you know i am not that rich????

emmmm ok.... lets say around 2000 usd? i am hoping there are some brand like topping or smsl....just 700usd but beat your 50k setup...

Hypex, Purifi, Benchmark might all more or less equal it at used pricing.

 

[Cahudson42]

This mirrors my experience adjusting target curves for other people

Hmmm. .. Sounds quite insightful...Love to read your tutorial on how you go about all this..Do you have one?

 

[YSC]

Great review again! Speaking of bass did you have chance to measure a pair of devialet phantom reactors? Those little speakers claim flat 18hz-21 kHz

 

[JDragon]

Good to see the KEF R3 respond well to room correction. I had a similar experience with my Reference 1s in a difficult bass-emphasizing room - set them up and they sounded ok, then used ARC and the results were magical.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Hmmm. ..Love to read your tutorial on how you go about all this..Do you have one?

I don't. I suppose I could write one up.

 

[amirm]

how do you know i am not that rich????

I didn't. I just assumed you are not as crazy. A Hypex NC400 amplifier would be a great.

 

[amirm]

Great review again! Speaking of bass did you have chance to measure a pair of devialet phantom reactors? Those little speakers claim flat 18hz-21 kHz

I have not. I have heard them at shows though.

 

[BYRTT]

As long as speaker samples are different, no conclusion can be drawn about measurement protocol.

Regardless, the audible impact is minimal since most of us don't hear well that high.

Sample and location differences overlaid, thanks review ...