Revel PerformaBe F226Be Floorstanding Speaker Review

[Acerun]

I'm looking at quarter inch thickness so no going lower than that I don't think.

 

[Acerun]

I'm thinking that Sorbothane discs may make it difficult to reposition the towers, no? Those Gaia III isolation feet are more expensive, at $346 for 8, but they would give the speakers a clean look and make moving them a lot easier.

 

[USER]

I'm thinking that Sorbothane discs may make it difficult to reposition the towers, no? Those Gaia III isolation feet are more expensive, at $346 for 8, but they would give the speakers a clean look and make moving them a lot easier.

Easier than felt??? It seems to me that you are trying to fight old audiophile impulses and are seeking approval to get something expensive. Just do what you want.

But be careful with those Gaia feet as they are tall and will raise the tweeter. Depending on the listening distance this could have ill effects the sound. Review the measurements carefully and try to stay within the recommended listening height based upon the vertical dispersion graphs. Learning what the measurements say will have an actual impact on your sound quality because you can set up your speakers appropriately. Spend the time and effort there.

 

[Acerun]

Yeah, they will raise the tweeter 1.5" I believe. According to Erin's review/measurements, tweeter height isn't much of a concern with the F226Be's.

 

[USER]

That brings up a good question about the vertical response as normalizing the results makes a difference. Amir uses normalization with his measurements and Erin provides those results too. They say around plus or minus 10 degrees for optimal results. I do think that this is a conservative view, but it is one I follow nonetheless for set-up in order to create peace of mind. (E.g. You can tilt the speakers/tweeter by adjusting the feet.) YMMV.

 

[testp]

Actually this arises a good point, that if tweeter level is too low for ear level, tilting the speaker back is good because vertical off-axis waves are interacting with the room floor better so to speak (this ofcourse assumes tweeter is closer to floor than ceiling)

 

[USER]

Actually this arises a good point, that if tweeter level is too low for ear level, tilting the speaker back is good because vertical off-axis waves are interacting with the room floor better so to speak (this ofcourse assumes tweeter is closer to floor than ceiling)

It all depends on the speaker (and if it susceptible to floor bounce issues), but, yes, theoretically, it could help in such a scenario. Small adjustments matter, but they have to be the right adjustments and you can't rely on generalized folk wisdom for them.

My favorite thing about the measurements are not necessarily the estimated in room response but all the smaller stuff that tends to go unnoticed that really, really help you set-up your speakers correctly. Here's a great example.

 

[muad]

That brings up a good question about the vertical response as normalizing the results makes a difference. Amir uses normalization with his measurements and Erin provides those results too. They say around plus or minus 10 degrees for optimal results. I do think that this is a conservative view, but it is one I follow nonetheless for set-up in order to create peace of mind. (E.g. You can tilt the speakers/tweeter by adjusting the feet.) YMMV.

View attachment 370455

Where did you get that polar plot from?

 

[USER]

Where did you get that polar plot from?

The first post of this thread.

 

[Acerun]

Easier than felt??? It seems to me that you are trying to fight old audiophile impulses and are seeking approval to get something expensive. Just do what you want.

But be careful with those Gaia feet as they are tall and will raise the tweeter. Depending on the listening distance this could have ill effects the sound. Review the measurements carefully and try to stay within the recommended listening height based upon the vertical dispersion graphs. Learning what the measurements say will have an actual impact on your sound quality because you can set up your speakers appropriately. Spend the time and effort there.

Do you think that felt has similar decoupling/dampening/distortion-reducing properties as something like the Gaia? I have some of those felt pads that you put under chair legs. I also have a hardwood floor that's floating above a garage.

 

[USER]

Do you think that felt has similar decoupling/dampening/distortion-reducing properties as something like the Gaia? I have some of those felt pads that you put under chair legs. I also have a hardwood floor that's floating above a garage.

The speakers are heavy. The feet you choose will make absolutely no difference. Please stop buying into audiophile nonsense. If your floors are shaking to the point that it moves your speakers around then you have severe structural problems with your house that you need to address first. Good luck.

 

[Acerun]

The speakers are heavy. The feet you choose will make absolutely no difference. Please stop buying into audiophile nonsense. If your floors are shaking to the point that it moves your speakers around then you have severe structural problems with your house that you need to address first. Good luck.

I see

 

[USER]

I see

I am not being judgmental here. I've been there. I used to buy all the snake oil stuff and obsess over things that were only in my head because of the incredible power of marketing and suggestion. Early 2000s online audio culture was insane. I had Audioquest cables, all the aforementioned resonance feet, and even this very thing that I sent to Amir to review simply to laugh at it all:

AudioQuest JitterBug USB Filter Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the AudioQuest JitterBug USB data and power noise filter. It is on kind loan from a member. The Jitterbug costs US $60 from Amazon including prime shipping. I purchased a JitterBug back in 2015 when it had recently come out and my measurements...

www.audiosciencereview.com

But, man, these are some of the greatest speakers ever made --with extraordinary engineering (including the cabinet construction)-- and it's so crazy to me to spend over 10% of the thread on feet!

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Just so you know, they come with non-spiked feet as well if you invert the screw. But I would recommend to avoid that side as well. The speakers are just too heavy and they will ruin your floors if they are wood.

 

[Acerun]

I'm just excited to get my speakers, and trying to cover all of the angles. You know, crib, blankets, pacifiers, etc. I'll start with the felt.

 

[USER]

I'm just excited to get my speakers, and trying to cover all of the angles. You know, crib, blankets, pacifiers, etc. I'll start with the felt.

The danger that comes from overthinking these useless details is that you set yourself up for failure. I mean you are investing so much into the feet of all things and are starting to believe that they do things they don't. (I.e. commodity fetishism.) The speakers may never meet your increasingly unrealistic expectations and you may remain in the unending cycle of upgrade-itus without realizing what you have. If you want to obsess, the smart thing to do is go over the measurements again and again and really learn what they say and how the speakers perform and what you can reasonably expect from them or the very best speakers in the world in general.

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The only thing I would recommend if you want to get the best audio in your room that you can is investing in DSP and fixing up any room modes (and also properly set up any subs should you choose to use them with it). I have my miniDSP SHD (and Dirac) take care of all that stuff to maximize my Revels.

 

[Acerun]

I am not being judgmental here. I've been there. I used to buy all the snake oil stuff and obsess over things that were only in my head because of the incredible power of marketing and suggestion. Early 2000s online audio culture was insane. I had Audioquest cables, all the aforementioned resonance feet, and even this very thing that I sent to Amir to review simply to laugh at it all:

AudioQuest JitterBug USB Filter Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the AudioQuest JitterBug USB data and power noise filter. It is on kind loan from a member. The Jitterbug costs US $60 from Amazon including prime shipping. I purchased a JitterBug back in 2015 when it had recently come out and my measurements...

www.audiosciencereview.com

But, man, these are some of the greatest speakers ever made --with extraordinary engineering (including the cabinet construction)-- and it's so crazy to me to spend over 10% of the thread on feet!

---

Just so you know, they come with non-spiked feet as well if you invert the screw. But I would recommend to avoid that side as well. The speakers are just too heavy and they will ruin your floors if they are wood.

View attachment 370615

I have M126Be's on stands now, and I do use the rounded end and no problem on the floors...but the F226Be's are heavier.

 

[Acerun]

The danger that comes from overthinking these useless details is that you set yourself up for failure. I mean you are investing so much into the feet of all things and are starting to believe that they do things they don't. (I.e. commodity fetishism.) The speakers may never meet your increasingly unrealistic expectations and you may remain in the unending cycle of upgrade-itus without realizing what you have. If you want to obsess, the smart thing to do is go over the measurements again and again and really learn what they say and how the speakers perform and what you can reasonably expect from them or the very best speakers in the world in general.

----

The only thing I would recommend if you want to get the best audio in your room that you can is investing in DSP and fixing up any room modes (and also properly set up any subs should you choose to use them with it). I have my miniDSP SHD (and Dirac) take care of all that stuff to maximize my Revels.

I'm using Audessey Multi-EQX and two subs plus REW to check measurements.

 

[Acerun]

Now that I have my f226be (standing on cheap felt discs thank you very much), I'm wondering if people have experimented where to cross to the subs. I've experimented with 60, 80, and 100. How much does individual room Dynamics come into play? Everyone says the gold standard is 80 but that doesn't sound the best to me so far. Any other experiences to share? I know Erin said to cross them over at 45 or 50 which seems super low and I don't think even possible in multi-eqx. I would have to go to 40 but even then the subwoofer is going to go to 80 I believe. I don't think you can dial the subwoofer down under 80 in multiqx but open to being corrected.

 

[amper42]

Now that I have my f226be (standing on cheap felt discs thank you very much), I'm wondering if people have experimented where to cross to the subs. I've experimented with 60, 80, and 100. How much does individual room Dynamics come into play? Everyone says the gold standard is 80 but that doesn't sound the best to me so far. Any other experiences to share? I know Erin said to cross them over at 45 or 50 which seems super low and I don't think even possible in multi-eqx. I would have to go to 40 but even then the subwoofer is going to go to 80 I believe. I don't think you can dial the subwoofer down under 80 in multiqx but open to being corrected.

It's really a personal decision. I use an 80Hz crossover with all my speakers in Audyssey on the Denon 4700. That sounds best to me. You can try 60Hz and see if that works better for you. You can also use REW to measure each of the setup points you try. Another nice tool is to setup Preset 1 with 80Hz and Preset 2 with 60Hz and switch between. This makes it easy to hear the difference instantaneously.

 

[USER]

Now that I have my f226be (standing on cheap felt discs thank you very much), I'm wondering if people have experimented where to cross to the subs. I've experimented with 60, 80, and 100. How much does individual room Dynamics come into play? Everyone says the gold standard is 80 but that doesn't sound the best to me so far. Any other experiences to share? I know Erin said to cross them over at 45 or 50 which seems super low and I don't think even possible in multi-eqx. I would have to go to 40 but even then the subwoofer is going to go to 80 I believe. I don't think you can dial the subwoofer down under 80 in multiqx but open to being corrected.

Make sure you have the set the phase correctly on the subs. It not just about the crossover frequency. If 80 sounds off with Revels I believe this is likely the culprit. The best way to check for proper sub integration is through measurements with a mic such as the minidsp umik. If phase is off you may have something like a dip by the crossover point instead of a smooth transition.

Edit: there's more to this obviously, volume, activated room modes/location, etc. But certainly double check phase.