Which Revel Speakers to Choose

[Chromatischism]

I know what you mean, though. It always bothered me when my parents let the signal go black but forgot to turn off the CRT TV. I could hear it from the dinner table. Now I'm surrounded by capacitor whines from my APC UPS units that my computer, fiber modem, and router are connected to.

I'm guessing you probably EQ the Revels, too?

I am extra sensitive from 2-5 kHz, so that wide dip in the Arias is appealing to me. I have some Focals here from the Chorus range that use that same tweeter and they sound just like the measurements above (can listen for hours) so if the Arias are just a more refined version of the Focal "sound", it should be good for me. I'd be curious to see how I fare with them and whether I notice that high-end resonance.

 

[echopraxia]

I'm guessing you probably EQ the Revels, too?

I set the switch on the back to -2db, and then I'm quite happy with them after that.

I am extra sensitive from 2-5 kHz, so that wide dip in the Arias is appealing to me.

Yeah same here, which is a reason I find some songs particularly harsh no matter which speaker I play them on (where I suspect they tried to make the vocals more "forward" by boosting this range), unless the speakers are slightly recessed in this range. This may also be why (along with the wide dispersion) I like the Aria's so much other than the subtle fatigue over time (which I will for now assume is due to upper treble.)

I suppose I really should try to EQ the Aria's on my setup next to the Salon2's where I have the equipment to do, just out of curiosity to see how good I can get them to sound.

 

[MarcT]

This is perhaps one reason why I've always loved the Ascend Sierra's RAAL tweeters so much. Look at the following treble spins of five speakers:

View attachment 83661 View attachment 83663 View attachment 83664

The speakers whose treble was mildly fatiguing:

View attachment 83666 View attachment 83665

In order, we have Revel Salon2, Ascend Horizon RAAL, Revel F208, Revel F206, Focal Aria 906.

The F206 I have owned (not the F208) and the treble is not bad, but it has always been a bit sharp to my taste. The Salon2 are flat enough that they don't bother me, but I still set the treble switches on the back to -2db (then they're just about perfect for me). Not counting my Genelec/Neumann's whose treble is even flatter (but not as wide dispersion), the Ascend RAAL and Revel Salon2's are the best treble I've heard. From the measurements I suspect I would like the F208 a lot too.

But yeah if your hearing cuts off around 10-14khz like most, I think the Focal Aria 206 for $2k could be the speaker deal of the year.

Sounds like the ticket for me, since I can't hear anything above 9-10 kHz!

 

[echopraxia]

Sounds like the ticket for me, since I can't hear anything above 9-10 kHz!

I dilly dallied and missed a set on ebay for $2,000 yesterday.

BTW there are still a few brand new ones left on Amazon.com for $2300/pair (+tax). However if you do order from Amazon.com, avoid the pairs shipped by Adorama Camera! Despite being clearly listed as TWO speakers for $2200, but they will only send you ONE. This is what happened to me initially, actually. But they'll arrange UPS to pick it up as a return and fully refund you though, so it's not like you'll be left scammed. However I still do not understand why to this day they have not corrected their price (they are still selling them as 2x for $2.2k, but I know from experience that they will not honor that).

But it is definitely possible to get them for $2.3k/pair + tax. The pair I have now was delivered with no issues here from the seller WorldWideStereo.

 

[Chromatischism]

I want them for workout rockout speakers in a hard, live room.

 

[echopraxia]

I want them for workout rockout speakers in a hard, live room.

I'm happy to test them in whatever way (as long as it's not too difficult) that might help. I have a room with hard floors and a rug I could remove for testing, for example, and REW + miniDSP calibration mic.

P.S. @Glasvegas sorry to wander off-topic, please let us know if it's too far and we can take discussion of the Focal's to PM's or another thread

 

[Chromatischism]

But back to the theme of the thread, my original thought was just some Revel M16's. Then I realized that isn't going to be enough bass, so the F36 it is. But, enter the Focal Aria 926's for almost the same price and they look a lot nicer sitting in the room, too.

 

[Glasvegas]

I'm happy to test them in whatever way (as long as it's not too difficult) that might help. I have a room with hard floors and a rug I could remove for testing, for example, and REW + miniDSP calibration mic.

P.S. @Glasvegas sorry to wander off-topic, please let us know if it's too far and we can take discussion of the Focal's to PM's or another thread

On the contrary, I'm enjoying the discussion. In fact, it may be worth mentioning that I'm very sensitive to sibilence. So treble issues could be important. That's why I chose the Emit M10s. I auditioned many small bookshelf speakers (in store) and they just hit the spot in that respect. I found the worst offenders to be B&W. Really harsh to my ears.

Although I'm looking for an overall improvement in sound, I don't want to introduce sibilance.

Back on topic, I notice no one has mentioned the Revel F35s, which were recommended on ASR.