Revel M126BE or F226BE ? Living room size

[Dimos33000]

Hello everybody !

I'm moving in my new flat and i'm hesitating which one should be the best for this listening room from the pics,

Speakers would be placed in front of the sofa and i would mainly listen them from my sofa,

On the top of the living room is a sliding glass door, at the bottom the kitchen, sofa could be move away from wall tv and speakers i could eventually place the table which is behind the sofa differently or take a smaller one.

These revel speakers are the only options i consider, as i compared many speakers and already heard revel m126be and really like them.

The question is would you rather take the revel m126be or revel f226be for this living room ? What would be pros and cons ?

I'm asking because i can afford each of these speakers.

I could also add one or two sub (may be svs micro 3000r evo)

Speakers would be paired with mini dsp flex and audiophonics mpa-s250ncx amp.

Thanks a lot for all your advices !

 

[staticV3]

Hi @Dimos33000! Welcome to ASR.

The question is would you rather take the revel m126be or revel f226be for this living room ? What would be pros and cons ?

M126Be Pros:

-smaller visual footprint
-flexible reference axis height to match your MLP

F226Be Pros:

-4dB higher sensitivity. So for the same loudness you'll need just 40% as much Amplifier output power as for the M126. E.g. 100W instead of 250W.
-deeper bass extension for more flexible Subwoofer Xover frequency
-lower distortion and more SPL headroom

 

[Cote Dazur]

If I was you, for that place, if there is a shelve with adequate height ( for the tweeter to be at ear level when sitting in the sofa ) wide enough for allowing for equilateral triangle from the listening spot, I would go with the M126 be, if you need to put them on stands, I would go for the F226 be.

 

[NTK]

Welcome to ASR!

John Schuermann (a Harman/Revel dealer in Colorado USA) has a detailed post on their listening comparisons of the new Revel Performa 4 series and the Performa Be series (including the F226Be). I think you may be interested.

New Revel Performa4 / Arcam Radia speaker line-up -- with Anechoic EQ

I said I'm sure the 226be is better, just wanted to know by how much. I can't stand the white drivers in the Be. I could out the grills on, but I like to see the driver's. The Be's are just fugly to me. I was hoping the 345 was not that far behind, so I can have something that sounds and looks...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Dimos33000]

Thanks for your welcome and all your answers !

So in terms of quality f226be should be better than revel m126be even in 2.2 system ?

Thought in a 2.2 system (considering a mini dsp with hpf and lpf) bookshelf speakers would be better than floorstanding, in imaging, with also les interferences with less boomers and a more rigid cabinet.

No, if i take the m126be they would go on stand and not bookshelf, so footprint should be the same than revel f226be then...

In fact would the f226be great fit this leaving room size ? Or is my leaving room too smal and revel f226be would sound too boomy ?

Thanks

 

[staticV3]

Or is my leaving room too smal and revel f226be would sound too boomy ?

The miniDSP will take care of any boominess, at least in your main listening position.

 

[pdfield34]

As mentioned, miniDSP will take care of boominess. I'll take it a step further and suggest using the sub money and moving up to the F228Be.
Your in room response will most likely be at full range. Sit back and enjoy!!! (full disclosure: I'm of the opinion that sub integration is difficult and elusive)

 

[Keith Flanker]

In a true 2.2 with a high-pass on the mains, the F226Be’s deeper bass is mostly redundant — the sub handles the bottom octaves, so the real differences narrow to sensitivity/headroom and how the cabinet interacts with the room. The F226Be gives you roughly 4dB more output before strain, which matters for dynamic peaks in a larger living space; the M126Be on stands is easier to place and couples less to the room, but the footprint ends up similar either way. Boominess in a room like yours is almost always placement/room-modes, not the floorstander itself — with the Flex doing a proper high-pass and some EQ, neither will boom. I’d pick by SPL/headroom needs, not by the bookshelf-vs-floorstander idea.

 

[tineared]

Thanks for your welcome and all your answers !

So in terms of quality f226be should be better than revel m126be even in 2.2 system ?

Thought in a 2.2 system (considering a mini dsp with hpf and lpf) bookshelf speakers would be better than floorstanding, in imaging, with also les interferences with less boomers and a more rigid cabinet.

No, if i take the m126be they would go on stand and not bookshelf, so footprint should be the same than revel f226be then...

In fact would the f226be great fit this leaving room size ? Or is my leaving room too smal and revel f226be would sound too boomy ?

Thanks

Since money is not an issue, the 226 is superior in every meaningful way

 

[Chrispy]

I'd rather have the F226BE and I'd still get good subs (better than those SVS micros) but that's perhaps just my taste/demands, not sure of what yours are. Standmounts take up basically same footprint as a floorstander but with some disadvantages due smaller cabinet and a sub won't necessarily make up for it. OTOH if you're in a flat, not something I'm accustomed to accomodating, and depends on transmission thru walls/floors/ceilings....

 

[Dimos33000]

Ok thanks for all your answers think i would rather take the f226be then.

In the eventuality of the most demanding configuration for the amp, so without subwoofer (no mpf hpf then) only the towers, what do you think about these two amp choices and which one would you take ?

I was thinking about the MPAS250NCX with hypex ncore x, would you rather take the AUDIOPHONICS LPA-S450ET with purifi ? Could i lack power with the mpa s250ncx ?

From what i see there wouldn't be any audio difference between this two amp in 31m², so spending 800 euros more for the purifi amp would have no sense ?

MPA S250NCX is 480€
LPA-S450ET is 1 290€

I could afford each but if there is no audible difference...

Thanks !

 

[Looneybomber]

I have a similar sized space according to area, but my ceiling is only 7.5 feet high or so. I moved from Revel F206 (w/sub) to F228be (w/o sub). In order to get the larger speakers to fit, the subwoofer had to go…and it was fine.

Visually, I like the smaller F206 more. I keep saying I’m going to sell the F228s and bring the F206s back into the living room, but it’s hard to give them up. I think if I had >9ft ceilings, the size of the F228 wouldn’t be as jarring.

As for the amps, I like high performing things even if I don’t take advantage of that performance. However, that’s a big difference in price and I like the smaller size of the S250NCX. I’d lean towards the cheaper option.

 

[Bobby Bass]

I have a relatively small room that opens up to a much larger room behind my listening chair. I have the M126Be and I wanted more low end extension and a wider and taller soundstage so I ordered and just received a pair of F226Be. They met my needs right out of the box and they fill the space better. Very small for tower speakers with no need to hassle with stands. My wife loves the looks and the fact that they don’t look too big for the room. If you like the 126 I think you’ll love the 226. I do. FYI I have both in walnut and they are beautiful without being reflective when watching TV.