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Revel Salon 2 - $15 k 'last dance' sale
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Everybody in China has a JBL speaker that they take to the park or when travelling. I doubt Samsung will let that revenue go. It’s very popular here in Asia.
We aren’t referring to the “lifestyle” products, no doubt that’s exactly what Samsung would keep around and where I am sure they make decent revenue. Rather what appears to be waining are the high-end audiophile product lines
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aThe JBL 30X series is very popular here. They are sold at the Guitar Center store, a huge chain popular with musicians. They also sell Crown amplifiers. JBL has released a lot of new products over the last 5 years. I don't see that brand going away. Actually, I don't see Revel going away, but the direction is unknown.
They currently have over 10 models that were designed with the aid of their NFS, including bookshelves, towers, and dedicated centers.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
It has no brand recognition anywhere in the world with 'normal' consumers. And Harman never tried to do anything with the brand other than whore it out to some car companies with limited success. More is the pity, but Harman is not much good at anything premium, never have been. ML was trashed too.
Revel will disappear pretty soon IMO. JBL is the valuable brand, with the history, the cachet and the value. Samsung may be stupid, but not that stupid to persist with a line that does nothing like Revel.
Get your spare parts while you can, is my advice.
I am (sadly) in full agreement. Samsung ain’t running a charity, they will go where the revenue leads
steve59
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considering a 2006 release date the Salon 2 had a pretty impressive run. I honestly thought the late push on AVS and this site would be enough to sway Samsung towards keeping the brand, but bean counters are taking over the world and that's sad.
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You are correct about Revel lacking the brand recognition which JBL has. I just doubt they will bin the name altogether. Maybe they will sell it. Several of these niche companies have changed hands. It's a sure thing it will not be what it was.
dkinric
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Ignore the trolls. There were a lot of members following that with interest, not many of us get insight into actual purchasing decisions on up to $30k speakers. Perhaps a follow up thread WHEN you decide, explaining your finalists and reasoning. And pictures!Now THAT is a loaded question…
That is part of the issue, I have enjoyed multiple aspects of multiple speakers, but not all in one speaker. The closest to my end game thus far are the Soundfields, but still keeping my options open. I am awaiting some big stuff from D&D (literally and figuratively) and will also be attending few more shows this year, starting with the Florida Audio Expo in February, then go from there. I am considering to revive my old end game thread starting with my observations from the Florida show, but we shall see (not sure I want to open myself up again to the trolls). If enough folks are interested, maybe.
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This thread has got me thinking that the already small market for expensive passive speakers is shrinking. My hunch is the threshold for expensive is relatively low being around $1k smaller stand mounts and $2k for floor standing and large stand mounts. The fancy stereo systems we crave have been replaced by lifestyle powered speakers and sound bars.
I think you're overreacting a tad, but I do think Revel may be winding down. I don't have much optimism for B&W either. We've discussed after-sale support before, and I would personally avoid the brand. If I had a pair of contemporary Revels I loved, I would try to track down some OEM tweeters just in case.
Revel has made very very good speakers but they never created a distinguishing product. Kind of like Lexus. B&W really captured the imagination of a lot of consumers with their industrial design, Revel has always been very plain in comparison.
Additionally, if you think about all the amazing speakers JBL/Harman/Revel have produced, how many Revels come to mind? JBL has all those amazing consoles, the Everest, the L100 century, innumerable professional speakers still coveted.
Pearljam5000
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I blame the white drivers for all of this
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Are we jumping to conclusions? OK, the Ultima2 series has looked like it was dead for a while although it was effectively replaced by PerformaBe. The doom of Performa3 is a new development. No fate for the company has been announced. It could go forward combining the architectural series with electronics from Crown with PerformaBe remaining as a flagship product. I don't know this, but does anyone around here really know that Revel is about to fold?
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They just announced new products at CEDIA (in-wall version of the performa Be) and a bunch of other stuff. I'm sure that the brand isn't going anywhere, though they may not be offering as many tower speakers and instead being focused on the CI channel. Very few people in general want large tower speakers in their home, sadly.
The biggest problem with JBL in the premium home space (according to me) is their website. The Synthesis site is bad and out of date and you have to dig to get a look at what the hifi offering actually consists of. I think they're working on a new site for their CI offering.
One of the problem with Harman's luxury brand is that the OEM automotive branding for something like mark levinson probably makes 20X the profit of mark levinson as a high end electronics brand. They need to keep the high end products in the market for the cache (to put it in a luxury car) but may not be funding it enough to "win" in the hfi space.
The biggest problem with JBL in the premium home space (according to me) is their website. The Synthesis site is bad and out of date and you have to dig to get a look at what the hifi offering actually consists of. I think they're working on a new site for their CI offering.
One of the problem with Harman's luxury brand is that the OEM automotive branding for something like mark levinson probably makes 20X the profit of mark levinson as a high end electronics brand. They need to keep the high end products in the market for the cache (to put it in a luxury car) but may not be funding it enough to "win" in the hfi space.
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I've got four Ultima 2 family speakers. Wonder if it would make sense to buy one of the tweeters now as insurance?
That's not what I'd recommend. If one of your current Revel speakers has a problem, it will probably be easier and more cost effect just to buy a fully functional replacement, and disassemble the damaged one to sell the parts separately. You may even come out ahead.
Is this proven with measurements? Kef R or Reference series has narrower soundstage than performa3 or performaBe?
Has it been announced they aren't somewhere? Rex mentioned on AVS that there will be a Performa4 to replace the 3 but it is maybe a year away. And Revel just released the Be Inwall speakers. Seems like people are reading an awful lot into them discontinuing the Performa3 series...
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