Revel PerformaBe F226Be Floorstanding Speaker Review

[MZKM]

But I kind of doubt it.

Huh, doesn't sound that difficult for a company who already has software to generate graphs to implement. It's basically combining a radar plot with a heat map.

 

[Chromatischism]

A bit too much presence, a high distortion peak at the top of the midrange passband and a tweeter that's shelved up by some 2dB though it very gradually steps down into line above 7kHz.
I was expecting better to be honest.

I wonder if that weird ripply response off-axis between 1 and 4kHz is the cone showing its ugly face or a diffraction/wave-guide issue.

It would have been interesting to see free-field measurements of the 5.25-inch midrange.

That's on-axis. I would listen to these at about -15 degrees and they would be perfect.

 

[q3cpma]

Very much looking forward to an in-depth review of that.

And before anyone asks, it's preference rating would likely not be too high as it is a passive dipole design, so the sides would have almost no bass and thus lead to a wonky Spin, to my guess at least.

Cardioid isn't really the same as dipole, no?

 

[tuga]

That's on-axis. I would listen to these at about -15 degrees and they would be perfect.

In a very wide room, or one with treated early reflection zones perhaps...

 

[MZKM]

Cardioid isn't really the same as dipole, no?

Well, it cancels the bass (or is it the midrange) at the sides, that acts like a dipole in those regions. But yes, it's not a true dipole as it's separate drivers and only bass ones.

EDIT: My bad, the bass notes aren't "cancelled" but they are controlled in such a way that it has narrow directivity.
Napilopez has a Spin for >200Hz, the directivity mismatch around 1800Hz is noticeable:

 

[hardisj]

Huh, doesn't sound that difficult for a company who already has software to generate graphs to implement. It's basically combining a radar plot with a heat map.

Oh, I agree. If my nooB-coding self can figure it out, they easily can. I just doubt they will. They didn't seem too interested when I mentioned it to them. But who knows.

 

[hardisj]

The natural comparable here is the Kef Reference 1. Would be nice to see a comparable suite of measurements as thorough as this one.

I've tried. I've sent an email to Kef. Even contacted Jack directly. Crickets.

 

[MZKM]

Oh, I agree. If my nooB-coding self can figure it out, they easily can. I just doubt they will. They didn't seem too interested when I mentioned it to them. But who knows.

Yeah, I really like it though.

One thing I thought about for my heat maps that I could do is split the plots between the front and rear angles and mirror the rear angle plot and place that to the left of the front angle plot, so maybe that will be easier to understand; but it is not something I have every seen so maybe it actually will confuse readers.

EDIT: Just tried it, unless you have an ultra-wide monitor it just doesn't look good:

 

[hardisj]

Very much looking forward to an in-depth review of that.

I had an hour-long skype convo with their CEO back in July and he was ready to send me a set. They apparently have a couple out for review that haven't gotten back to them yet. One of their guys contacted me on FB last month but the situation with COVID is still causing delays. But, it's in the pipeline. I just hope I can get a pair before winter sets in because once that happens, my ability to conduct outdoor testing (which is a priority) diminishes drastically.

 

[617]

Great job, Erin. I assumed these would measure well and I am not surprised they do. The DI for a 3 way speaker of this size is about as good as possible. Resonances are extremely well controlled, and that horizontal spectograph is simply gorgeous.

Your comments on dynamics are extremely interesting and speak to the quality of this speaker - the ability to sound lively at low volumes without artificicially boosted bass and treble is the hallmark of a really hifi speaker like this one.

 

[hardisj]

the ability to sound lively at low volumes without artificicially boosted bass and treble is the hallmark of a really hifi speaker like this one.

Indeed. That's what caught my attention first.

 

[napilopez]

I expect that BBC dip to make the shelved treble even more obvious at the listening spot.

The F208 measured by Amir was a lot flatter.

True, sometimes a dip makes the frequencies above it seem accentuated. Nonetheless, I reiterate that there is not one target slope for all speakers, as suggested by olive in his paper where the target slope comes from. It's just an average among the good speakers tested.

That second sentence is untrue though. The F208 is clearly not flatter based on Amir and Erin's measurements; you might've been confused by scaling. I scanned Erin's data and imported amir's data (which was very low resolution for that speaker some reason, in terms of points per octave):

Based on this, I'd assume the F226Be to be the better speaker. Different measurement sources, so the comparison may be unwarranted given they both perform very well. Nonetheless, the F226Be appears flatter in this comparison.

 

[hardisj]

True, sometimes a dip makes the frequencies above it seem accentuated. Nonetheless, I reiterate that there is not one target slope for all speakers, as suggested by olive in his paper where the target slope comes from. It's just an average among the good speakers tested.

That second sentence is untrue though. The F208 is clearly not flatter based on Amir's measurements; you might've been confused by scaling. I scanned Erin's data and imported amir's data (which was quite low resolution for that speaker some reason, in terms of points per octave):

View attachment 87838

Different measurement sources, so the comparison may be unwarranted given they both perform very well. Nonetheless, the F228Be appears flatter in this comparison.

Just one thing.. I tested the F226Be whereas you have it shown as F228Be both in your graphic and your post.

 

[napilopez]

Just one thing.. I tested the F226Be whereas you have it shown as F228Be.

Haha yeah, just noticed noticed, will edit.

 

[pierre]

@pierre has it calculated from the Harman Spin, which is very similar except the bass extends a bit more; he got a 6.8 if I recall.

Erin's data files are a pain in the a** to work with, as each measurement angle is a separate file. If people request it and Erin provides it, I usually go through it for speakers that don't have score already, but since the Harman Spin exists and Pierre has already done the score on that, I don't feel the need.

i posted the scores in post #2.

 

[tuga]

True, sometimes a dip makes the frequencies above it seem accentuated. Nonetheless, I reiterate that there is not one target slope for all speakers, as suggested by olive in his paper where the target slope comes from. It's just an average among the good speakers tested.

That second sentence is untrue though. The F208 is clearly not flatter based on Amir and Erin's measurements; you might've been confused by scaling. I scanned Erin's data and imported amir's data (which was very low resolution for that speaker some reason, in terms of points per octave):

View attachment 87839

Based on this, I'd assume the F226Be to be the better speaker. Different measurement sources, so the comparison may be unwarranted given they both perform very well. Nonetheless, the F226Be appears flatter in this comparison.

I don't agree with your assessment that the F226Be has flatter response, smoother yes but not overall flatter. And then there's the strange "ringing" of the 226/8's midrange cone.

souce: https://www.stereophile.com/

 

[MZKM]

i posted the scores in post #2.

Hmm, I see the LFX will be better, but is that mainly it? The PIR may have a shallower slope, so is the SM_PIR decently worse?

 

[Hemi-Demon]

I really appreciate all the work you put into these reviews. Great job and thanks for sharing.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

But you also have to be an informed shopper and know that there is often some leeway. That in itself helps you actually get a discount. That said, that $7k retail price does represent for many a price one step beyond what they could imagine saving up towards and precludes them from considering such speakers, which is a shame. That is part of the "luxury" fantasy they are marketing.

Yeah, $7k is expensive, but look at the fit and finish, as well as the performance, the efficiency (it will sing with a good 100 wpc amp), the form factor, and the fact it's a US vendor with a strong dealer network. In short, if something goes wrong with it, you'll be covered. All that stuff, beyond the superb performance, makes this a first rate get.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Indeed. That's what caught my attention first.

That's always been the selling point of electrostatics--their ability to be able to resolve the lower volume details on the recording. Kind of analogous to the resolution an OLED video display has for low light, shadow level details.