I don't think my home office will ever be audiophile nirvana, but the main problem was definitely down to a room mode issue rather than anything specific to these speakers. Just setting -12db at 125hz in Foobar2K's graphic equalizer DSP has tamed the bass that I found so unpleasant on certain tracks. Obviously I'll fiddle and tweak a lot more than that, but I think these are definitely speakers I can live with.
I'd heard about room modes before, but this is the first time I've actually heard the effect they can have. For some reason I had the impression that it was something subtle that you'd only hear when carefully listening, rather than a big change to the volume at certain frequencies.
I think I've been lucky to avoid this before. Maybe having more clutter and less space actually helped to prevent that specific problem? Or maybe the speakers I was using were just so anaemic at those frequencies that I didn't notice.
Another (probably stupid) question, but would it be a really bad idea to run the M16s upside down, with the tweeter at the bottom?
The results didn't seem significantly different so I abandoned the idea, at least for now. The area around 5-6 kHz even seemed a bit worse with the speakers flipped.
Thanks for the suggestion!I took the rather less scientific approach of flipping them over and listening for a bit before coming to a similar conclusion.
What I have done is tilt them forward a little. My entirely subjective impression is that it was a small improvement. That might just be in my head, but perhaps it's worth trying?
I have to agree. Listening to the m16 right now. Just great speakers. Really enjoy them.I just listened to these and they are the best speakers Ive heard under 1k , maybe 2k . Very impressed. I like them better than the Kef Ls50's which doesn't have the bass the Revel's have.
It's amazing what you can get for under 1K .I have to agree. Listening to the m16 right now. Just great speakers. Really enjoy them.
Revel vs Wharfedale compare . Interesting.
Just being objective here, if we are truly "objectivists", the 2 relevant questions areWow, I don't know where to begin. He is "fixing" the Revel speaker by raising the tweeter level.
Just being objective here, if we are truly "objectivists", the 2 relevant questions are
- Did Revel apply the correct response curve when voicing this speaker for neutrality? They had it pointing down from 800Hz to 15kHz.
- More importantly, does it sound better making the curve more flat?
Edit: OMG, he closed with the belief that materials sound different. Sorry, with all due respect, now he lost me.
It's also curious why this sounded really good to Amir (after EQ though) even though it measures worse than the Buchardt S400, which he did not like. I wonder what Danny would think of that one.Amir reviewed a speaker kit from this guy, and it measures well considering the low price. The calculated in-room response is nearly identical to Revel speakers, which makes his Revel mod even stranger.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...esearch-x-ls-encore-kit-speaker-review.14957/
I just listened to these and they are the best speakers Ive heard under 1k , maybe 2k . Very impressed. I like them better than the Kef Ls50's which doesn't have the bass the Revel's have.
Yeah you are right. I prefer the M16's to some 3-4.5 k speakers I have and its not close.I prefer the M16 over the KEF R3 ($2,000/pair), SF Sonetto 1 ($1,800/pair), Vandersteen VLR Wood ($1,600/pair) - and when I say I prefer these over those other speakers, it's not really by a small margin. I could have bought any of these speakers up to $2,000 (my budget), and I'm confidently sticking with with the Revel M16. Absolutely zero buyers remorse.
About a month ago, I paired the M16 with the REL HT1003 Sub, and that just takes overall sound quality to a whole new "wow factor" level. When paired with a good fast sub, and the HT1003 Sub is not sloppy, flabby, or slow by any stretch, it's hard to think there's a better speaker under $4,000-$6,000 that'll out perform this combo by a significantly worthy margin.