Performa F208 and Salon2 Compared

[stev809]

Honestly I thought B&W donated speakers to recording studios as a publicity stunt to boast,most pros use them? Maybe my tin ears but the 8xx series never sounded natural at all.

[Rex Anderson]

Seriously doubt they gave speakers to anyone. They did solicit input from recording engineers and ended up with their "house sound". At best, they might have sold speakers at dealer cost to professionals. I'll see if I can find the article I read about why B&W speakers sound the way they do. They could make speakers like Revel (any manufacturer with the proper resources could) but chose not to. Floyd Toole recently said they may be changing their way of thinking.

Many British rock and classical studios have used them for decades, started with the 801F ca 1976? I bought a pair because they were THE monitor for classical recording and that was my job. It's one reason a lot of recordings don't sound great. When you monitor on a speaker that's bright, you make recordings lacking high end.

http://seanolive.blogspot.com/2009/1...confusion.html

[DesW]

Salon 2's for me--a Revel speaker I actually think hits the mark--it is VERY good I feel is

marginally better than the Performa F208 YVMV

I prefer it over Magico/B+W /etc as well

D

[Karl Maga]

Originally Posted by Rex Anderson

Revel speakers have very flat frequency response on and off axis. It's one of their design goals. B&W are "voiced" to accentuate the high end at the request of recording engineers to help them hear detail. That's the explanation I read somewhere a while back.

That certainly could be why I would experience listening fatigue after two hours with my 800D2’s. And I don’t mean occasionally, I mean every time.

I just assumed it was me, that is until tearing through regular 3-4 hour attentive listening sessions with my Salon2’s. I just had one two nights ago with no fatigue. It ended only when my wife requested quiet, not because I was fatigued.

[stev809]

I had a pair of Vienna acoustics Beethovens circa 2004 that stereophile measurements showed used the 'gundry dip' voicing in their speaker and it was a pleasant compromise in one regard there was less upper midrange low treble energy that actually unmasked some notes most flat speakers would obscure, for example Beck's Lost Cause from Sea changes has a background flute? mostly the sound of wind blowing it's most noticeable at the beginning and very end of the song and my revels reproduce it but don't give it the life of its own those speakers did. The drawback of the recessed midrange was always wanting to turn them up and I eventually let them go, but they lasted 10 years! I can see why speaker brands can have cult like following and I try not to suggest 1 brand being better than another just because they don't float my boat.

[Rex Anderson]

Moved to a new house about 4 months ago. Had to move some gear around to accommodate new plans that are on hold waiting for our other house to sell which is taking much longer than we hoped. My Revel F208's and Bryston 3B SST2 have been sitting unused since we moved and the master bedroom system sounds good, but not as good as the F208's. Finally couldn't stand it any longer, pulled out an old NAD stereo preamp and the necessary cables today to get things going again.

Sounds so good it almost brought me to tears.

Future plan is get a C208 center channel, a pair of F206's for rear surrounds and a Sony 85X900F TV. New living room has perfect dimensions for it (17' x 23' x 10'). Know anyone who wants to buy a nice house in Naples, FL?

[Pampero]

I preferred the Revels over the 800s when I auditioned them in a dealer's showroom. As usual, direct comparison was somewhat hindered by the differing placements of the two subjects but there was no mistaking the extra brightness (sparkle if you're a B&W fan) of the B&Ws. It was exciting, big and wide, but an artifact that seemed to be present on everything we played.

I'd assume the B&W's higher sensitivity is of benefit in studio work but I think the Revels have a more balanced sound with smoother mids and highs. John Atkinson's measurements suggest to me that it should be just the opposite (the B&Ws should sound darker?) but I didn't hear it that way.

[stev809]

My goal was to hear the Vienna Acoustics Klimt speaker tho it lists about 30% more than the Salon2 but designer Peter Gannister has a way of voicing his speakers in a way thay favors the music and if the big Klimt could play like the Beethovens without the limitations those speakers had they might be the worlds best kept secret.

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by steve59

.............................. Gannister has a way of voicing his speakers in a way thay favors the music ....................

I don't get this. What do you mean by voicing to favor music as opposed to, say, neutral voicing?

[Rex Anderson]

https://www.stereophile.com/content/...r-measurements

That's not how I like to see a speaker "voiced".

This is:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/...r-measurements