What speaker brands would you consider better than Revel?

[Helicopter]

I like the FocL
I like the Focal sound (Solo 6) despite it being unpopular here and measuring badly(I think)
So yes I Agree.

I don't know that they measure badly, just not like Neumans. Their passive speakers measure competitively.

 

[617]

That's why I refuse to buy any monitor from a relatively new company.
On other hand 20-30 years old Genelecs in excellent condition are common so I don't think it's a problem with actives in general.

Yeah I'm sure other monitors are durable with good support, but Genelec has been making speakers for a long time and from what I have read stock parts on all their old models. I'd choose them over most other brands for that reason. The big Neumans are very cool though.

There's a ton of stuff not measured on ASR though. I mean I'm sure Augsperger monitors would be interesting to see, as would musikelectronic geithain. If I were doing DIY right now I'd be experimenting with dynamic dipoles like the Linkwitz final design.

 

[detlev24]

Ignoring the huge output difference, how does the Kii Three compare to the M2 in your room?

This is not a fair question as 1) it always depends on SPL, see Average Ear Sensitivity Chart, and 2) there is no way a single 5" MF driver in the Kii THREE could, e.g., provide clarity and minimal ringing (of bass instruments) comparable to JBL M2's 15" woofer; which plays up to 800 Hz.

If I am not mistaken, Kii's crossover is at 250 Hz from LF to MF driver(s) but I am not sure how much this helps with the previously mentioned; as directivity increases above ~100 Hz and hence, front-firing drivers would certainly be beneficial. Add the BXT module and we can talk about comparisons.

Just for fun:
Delivering Better and Faster Results with M5P [part 2]
"The Kii THREE is the most transparent active loudspeaker I have ever heard..."

 

[Valentin R]

I have heard both side by side
Both are very good
One is more open sounding one is more focused

Great speakers

 

[richard12511]

I have heard both side by side
Both are very good
One is more open sounding one is more focused

Great speakers

Guessing the Revel is the more open sound?

 

[Valentin R]

Guessing the Revel is the more open sound?

Yes I did perceived that diferente

Just as well with Revel and JBL M2

 

[restorer-john]

I have heard both side by side
Both are very good

Based on that picture, those stands are ~800mm high. That's pretty high up. The tweeter would be well above ear height when in a typical chair.

 

[Valentin R]

Based on that picture, those stands are ~800mm high. That's pretty high up. The tweeter would be well above ear height when in a typical chair.

The acoustical axis point of the 8c is between the mid driver and the tweeter
It’s in the manual

 

[restorer-john]

The acoustical axis point of the 8c is between the mid driver and the tweeter
It’s in the manual

Possibly quite true, but why then are the 8Cs pictured on 600mm stands on their wesbsite?

And the one they sell for domestic use which also appears to be very close to 600mm:

 

[Ilkless]

YG Acoustics. Vivid.

At a (relatively) less stratospheric price range, I have noticed that the price for large floorstanding Magicos have been creeping downwards over the years (see Magico A5) + Magico has been getting better at design (they are designing with a Klippel NFS now), yet the price for Revel has been creeping upwards. They are nearly converging now. F328Be is a 16k speaker. A5 is a 21k speaker. And the latter ticks more of the irrational pride-of-ownership boxes for me to a degree that would justify the 5k premium. There's the brand cachet, the crazy braced CNC aluminium enclosures with anodised coatings, more exotic drivers that don't share much of their core design with numerous other speakers (unlike Revel with SB Acoustics) and US production vs Indonesia (including enclosures - much of the savings over previous large Magicos is because they outsourced the CNC work to a specialist firm instead of doing it themselves).

And in an accessible price range, definitely KEF. Revel has been trying to optimise the parameters of the classic multi-way speaker configuration in a very incremental way, while KEF almost single-handedly made an entirely different class of drivers (coaxials) viable for domestic use, eliminating virtually all their tradeoffs in that context.

Genelec's large coaxials are another answer shared by many with good reason.

 

[MarcT]

YG Acoustics. Vivid.

At a (relatively) less stratospheric price range, I have noticed that the price for large floorstanding Magicos have been creeping downwards over the years (see Magico A5) + Magico has been getting better at design (they are designing with a Klippel NFS now), yet the price for Revel has been creeping upwards. They are nearly converging now. F328Be is a 16k speaker. A5 is a 21k speaker. And the latter ticks more of the irrational pride-of-ownership boxes for me to a degree that would justify the 5k premium. There's the brand cachet, the crazy braced CNC aluminium enclosures with anodised coatings, more exotic drivers that don't share much of their core design with numerous other speakers (unlike Revel with SB Acoustics) and US production vs Indonesia (including enclosures - much of the savings over previous large Magicos is because they outsourced the CNC work to a specialist firm instead of doing it themselves).

And in an accessible price range, definitely KEF. Revel has been trying to optimise the parameters of the classic multi-way speaker configuration in a very incremental way, while KEF almost single-handedly made an entirely different class of drivers (coaxials) viable for domestic use, eliminating virtually all their tradeoffs in that context.

Genelec's large coaxials are another answer shared by many with good reason.

I've gotten myself quite interested in a set of A3s, for many of the reasons you mention. I fear that the tweeter height on A5s might be too high for my 10 foot listening distance.

I've also heard Vivid at audio shows and they sound pretty impressive.

 

[Valentin R]

Possibly quite true, but why then are the 8Cs pictured on 600mm stands on their wesbsite?

View attachment 98874

And the one they sell for domestic use which also appears to be very close to 600mm:
View attachment 98875

Those stands are for home listening (sofa ) 92cm
In a Mastering situation (high chair) your ear is @ Aprox 115cm high

 

[restorer-john]

In a Mastering situation (high chair) your ear is @ Aprox 115cm high

Seems rather low to me, but whatever works for you I guess.

 

[Absolute]

Ignoring the huge output difference, how does the Kii Three compare to the M2 in your room?

Tonally quite similar, but M2 sounds bigger in the sense that the bass is more authoritative. Difficult to remember now since it's quite awhile since I heard Kii, but I seem to remember that the first thing that struck me with the M2 was that it seemed more tonally even over a larger area on the sofa.

I still love Kii, so it's not like I suddenly realised they weren't good after all. I miss the upper bass clarity due to cardioide dispersion because of speaker placement close to side and back wall, the genius auto-on/off function, the neat modern look and the ease of changing placement due to low weight and small size.
Oh, and the fact that they have no hiss.

I don't miss the fact that they turned a little harsh when played loud, the lack of bottom end heft during movies or the constant fear of one of the non-vented 6 amplifiers of each speaker going to heaven prematurely again.

 

[direstraitsfan98]

I've listened to a decent number of speakers and imo none of them were even close to what I heard from Revel. I'm getting the upgrade bug and I was curious what speaker brands had speakers that you guys considered better than the equivalent at Revel?

Where abouts do you live? And what is your budget? Try to find an audio salon with a decent room to demo some speakers. I would recommend auditioning Vivid, ATC, Wilson, Magico, Rockport, Vinberg, Tidal, and Eggelston. Good luck.

 

[Absolute]

Although, 'JBL M2' is designed for listening distances starting at only 46 inches [= roughly 1.17 meters], according to owner's manual on page 7.

Oh shoot, caught lying again!

Yes, I guess it's possible if you keep your head at the same height. At 1m you will distinctly hear two separate sources if you move out of the crossover-sweetpoint between the drivers. Depending on seat height you would need to adjust timing between drivers to avoid a dip around the crossover. Not a problem with coaxials

 

[thewas]

I like the FocL
I like the Focal sound (Solo 6) despite it being unpopular here and measuring badly(I think)
So yes I Agree.

Don't forget that its RED(ish) and looks sexy, I also wouldn't say no to a pair of there

and their measurements are decent too (distortion behaviour actually great and also smooth room response) and Prof. Goertz also seems to enjoyed their sound:

Messwerte + (measurements)
Klangqualität +++ (sound quality)

https://www.soundandrecording.de/equipment/focal-trio11-be-−-midfield-monitor-im-test/

 

[detlev24]

Oh shoot, caught lying again! [...]

You didn't lie! 17 cm can make a difference.

 

[q3cpma]

Don't forget that its RED(ish) and looks sexy, I also wouldn't say no to a pair of there

View attachment 98946

and their measurements are decent too (distortion behaviour actually great and also smooth room response) and Prof. Goertz also seems to enjoyed their sound:

Messwerte + (measurements)
Klangqualität +++ (sound quality)

https://www.soundandrecording.de/equipment/focal-trio11-be-−-midfield-monitor-im-test/

It's not too bad, but:
* Distorsion doesn't really track the typical musical content, so it'll probably be limited by its midrange compared to the Krauts' and Finns'.
* Cabinet seem to exhibit a lot of small resonances pointing to a suboptimal design.
* On-axis is quite bumpy, with a 5 dB window.
* Off-axis is, let's say, typical of designs without a waveguide and crossover not optimized to compensate for it.

My impression of Focal is simple: unlike Genelec, Neumann or even Dynaudio, they put drivers and amplifiers in a box, but they don't go further in the integration.

 

[thewas]

Yes, as I wrote just decent, although their drivers are good, a bit old school approach without the usage of waveguides.
I wouldn't put them worse than most Dynaudio designs though which seem to be based on very similar principles, good drivers but not perfect rest.