Revel Speaker Thread
 

I know there are some Revel speaker owners on AA. So this thread should be a good starting point for some conversations.

Ken

I'll get the ball rolling. I had the opportunity to audition some Vandersteen 7s recently with an Aesthetix Romulus CD player, Calypso preamp and Atlas monoblocks. These speakers have a huge wow factor with a massive soundstage, holographic imaging and visceral bass through its powered subwoofers. Vocals and instruments seemed to float in space in front of me. It was quite literally a jaw dropping experience.

After the audition, I was concerned that when I returned home and listened to my system, I would be disappointed with it. However, I am happy to report that this was not the case at all. What I love about the Revel Salon 2s is they are so darn transparent that they just step out of the way and let you enjoy the music. I find that there is almost a zero fatigue factor with these speakers. Their transparancy never gets old or goes out of style.

Am I saying that the Salon 2s are better than the Vandersteen 7s? No, that is not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is when you can go listen to some speakers that are more than double the cost and blow you away, and then come home and still greatly enjoy your own speakers, then my friend you have a winner.

Ken

My Revel F52s have been relegated to front end multichannel duties in favor of my 30 yr old Infinities but once I get my 2 channel room finished, I intend to spend the time to do some comparisons of both. Should be fun to see how the 30 yr old $2700 (in '83 dollars) compare to $6,000 2010 speakers...

The F52s are nice sounding speakers. My friend has a 14 year old pair of Revel F30s. He absolutely loves these speakers and says he'll never part with them.

Ken

Hi Ken, I thought i'd chime in as I previously owned Infinity Renaissance 90's which share some DNA with Revel and own an Aesthetix Romulus cdp. I also own more 'modest' speakers (Magico S5's), though I only know the Vandy 7's by reputation. The Vandy 7's are great speakers, but for that money I could have bought both my current S5's & Vitus amp and still be very happy.

I know the Vandy 7's are great speakers. And I could have bought a pair had I settled for more modest amplification. I think it's more important however to keep your system balanced and optimize what you have to get the best synergy. For example, Magico & Vitus have known synergy, and the SIA-025 is the sweet spot in the Vitus range imho & is more romantic than an SS-101 for example. With the terrific value Aesthetix cdp, I am very happy with the sound which at only about 90hrs is already sounding wonderful.

In saying that, I am planning a front end upgrade of the same order of magnitude as Vandy 7's. My view is, the S5's are good enough and i'm better off investing more money in my front end and preamp, optimize those components with the best isolation and consider upgrading critical power cables later on. I think this approach smokes a lesser front end and amp paired with super speakers like the Vandy 7's. But even with my current Aesthetix tube player, the sound is great and i'm not left wanting, well perhaps only for my gear to run in!

Btw, i'm not sure if you're aware, Revel used Infinity Omega speakers to voice their Revel Gems years ago :yes: Here is a small photo -

http://svconline.com/mag/511SVC_Feat...dio-openin.jpg

Hi David,

You have a terrific system and it sounds like it's only going to get better with the addition of the preamp. I've not yet had the opportunity to audition the Magico S5 but I've read that it's a world class loudspeaker with incredible bass among other things. My friend recently purchased the Aesthetix Pandora and he has fallen in love with the sound. It is incredibly smooth, warm and natural sounding and in my opinion, one of the best tube DACs on the market, regardless of price. What preamp are you looking to add to your system?? And are you looking to upgrade your digital source too because the Romulus / Pandora is going to be tough to beat. With its sound and build quality, they could easily be charging over $10K for it. I don't know much about Vitus amps but from what I've read, their warmth provides nice synergy with Magico's neutrality.

Best,
Ken

Thanks for your kind words Ken. I agree the S5's have amazing bass, though overall I find them a well balanced, smooth, coherent & slightly warm sounding speaker. They have a bit more relaxed presentation than the Q3's and a lower center of gravity in the midrange which I prefer.

I agree the Romulus/Pandora combo would be very musical and natural/organic sounding. I am really enjoying my time with the Romulus, though i'm looking a bit further up the food chain. I plan to upgrade to a CH Precision D1 sacd transport with dual mono analog output cards and Clock, then later add a CH C1 dac/preamp. At that point, I will bypass the Vitus's preamp and use it purely as a power amp which should further improve the sound.

Happy days ahead! :music:

David,

Wow, it sounds like you have big plans to raise the level of your system even higher, and it's at a very high level right now. The S5s are giant killers and they offer amazing value. I'm hoping to audition the S5 and Q3 at a nearby dealer, mostly because I've read so many positive things about them on this forum. I'm totally content with my Salon 2s but it's just fun to hear what's out there like I did with the Vandy 7s. I now realize that your Vitus is an integrated amp, so you're currently doing just fine without a separate preamp.

I just took delivery on an Estoteric K-01 today and I'll be setting it up tomorrow. I'll be using its variable linestage to run straight to my Pass XA-100.5 monoblocks. This should be fine for now but at some point I'll look into adding a Pass XP-30 preamp.

Best of luck with your system building!
Ken

Ken,

Thanks for starting this thread. I've had the F32s and the Salon 2s. Both very nice speakers at their price point.

As all of us know, the Salon 2s are a heck of speaker for the price. They are very balanced, have tremendous soundstage, are dynamic and look good! Still recommended by both TAS and Stereophile after over 5+ years of being on their list of recommended components.

I've had mine for 2.5 years. I've enjoyed them for many hours during this time.

Their new Performa series are getting great reviews and are very affordable.

Lastly, I wonder when the new Salon 3s are coming.

Hi Ken,

Thanks for your kind words. I agree with your comments about the S5. It's great to hear of your enjoyment of your system. Yes i've heard good things about the Salon 2's, and the XA-100.5's are the sweet spot in the XA.5 line. You might like to read this new review btw, Scot Hull reviews the XA-100.5 mono's against a number of other amps including the Vitus RS-100 - Magnepan and Tekton meet Pass Labs, Odyssey, Job, Merrill, Red Wine Audio, First Watt and Vitus Audio | Confessions of a Part-Time Audiophile

Cheers,