After an exhaustive search, I ended up with the Revel Salon 2's. I've owned the Salon 2's for about 3 months now. They are not only a great looking speaker, but they deliver a very neutral sound and an absolutely massive wide and deep soundstage. I am currently powering them with McIntosh 2301's and let me be honest, they sound gorgeous, but they are overwhelming even the 2301's. A knock against the Salon 2's is their incredible thirst for power. They are very inefficient. A pair of McIntosh 1.2's are possibly in my future.

I found the Salon 2's to be very room sensitive. After weeks of talking to the good folks at Revel, constantly asking "where's my bass?" trying to sort through the lack of bass, it turned out the problem was my room. Some room acoustics and the incredible McIntosh MEN220 room correction and I now have the speakers I knew I always had!

My question is this, why do these speakers not get a whole lot of respect? I see people on forums constantly asking for suggestions and the usual culprits are always mentioned, Sonus Faber, B&W, DynAudio, Wilson, etc....but rarely the Salon 2's. Why? Are they just not as well known? Do they look too much like a traditional speaker? Is it their inefficiencies to drive? Are they just not for many folks tastes? I'm just curious. All the other speakers mentioned are wonderful in their own right....so I'm curious why not the Salon 2's? Are they a hard speaker to "love" in an audition?

I also wanted to get a thread going for the Revel Salon 2 owners out there (come on, there must be a few!) :)

I would love to know what other Salon 2 owners are using as amps. What about your success with placement? What do you have your settings (on the back of the speaker) set to? Have you considered anything else since owning the Salon 2's?

I don't know, I've always read great things about them other than the standard stuff where they may not appeal to all listeners etc. etc. How 'bout some pics of the setup? Sounds nice!
:ttiwwp:

mbovaird,

There are a few Salon 2 owners here in AA.

These are wonderful speakers with excellent dynamics and terrific top to bottom performance. I can listen to them for hours without any fatigue.

I drive them with an ARC solid state amp - DS450. This amp does an adequate job with them. But they do consume all the DS sends their way. Tubes are probably not the best match for them. I know even some SS amps don't do well with them - Ayre monos can overheat severely if played loud. I do plan to do an eventual upgrade of the amp - not sure what yet.

If you want to stay with McIntosh, the 601s may be an option or, to your point, possibly 1201s.

Thanks,
Mike

Michael.......I also heard the Revel Salon 2's with Mark Levinson No. 33H mono amplifiers (300 watts) about three years ago. The were set up in a small dealer show room (12' x 15' x 8'), with a number of acoustic panels on the walls and two bass traps in the corners behind the speakers. The CD player was the Mark Levinson No. 390S that drove the amplifiers direct. The system sounded excellent. The Revel Salon 2's created a realistic sound stage, and the three 8" titanium cone woofers produced a rich, solid bass response in the room. I remember listening to Diana Krall, "Temptation" from The Girl In The Other Room CD. Her voice and piano were in the room, and the acoustic bass and jazz guitar were perfect in the mix.

The Salon 2's I auditioned to were the piano black finish, although my preference is the mahogany finish. From the photos I had seen I had expected the speakers to be larger, but they were only 11" wide, and just under 55" tall. When the lights were turned down in the room, the Revel's easily disappeared. I was impressed with this pair of speaker, as well as the Levinson CD player and amplifiers.

Here you go....
 

No laughing at my make shift stand for the mc207.....I'm waiting on my amp stand. :) Acoustic Treatments are also on their way. Thanks to Dan for all his help! Center speaker soon to be replaced by the Voice2.....and down the road.....cables.....all in good time. :)

http://www.audioaficionado.org/membe...3-img-6005.jpg

http://www.audioaficionado.org/membe...9-img-6010.jpg

http://www.audioaficionado.org/membe...1-img-6011.jpg

http://www.audioaficionado.org/membe...0-img-6012.jpg

P.S. except for the TV, the mounted screen and the two Seaton Submersives, ALL of what you see (and a few you don't see) has been acquired within the last 90 days:

Revel Salon 2's
(2) McIntosh 2301's - w/Gold Lion Tubes
McIntosh 1000 c/t/p
McIntosh MX151
McIntosh MEN220
McIntosh MCD1100
Oppo 95
AVID Volvere TT/SME 309/Dynavector XX2MKII MC
(2) APC S20 Power Conditioners
(2) APC S15 Power Conditioners
Sony HW30AES 3D/1080p Projector
Stewart Grayhawk Screen (motorized)
(2) Seaton Submersives Piano Black/Glossy finish
Mac Mini
Logitech Squeezebox
Mirage OMD-C2
(4) Mirage OMD-R
(2) Mirage OmniCan OC-65
TV is some 55inch Samsung 8000 thingamajig.
Fully balanced (XLR) throughout

My 401K wasn't making me money anyway.... :D

Great Setup!!!!!:)

Looks great Mike! Nice work.

Thanks for the help on the TT Scott.
P.S. the biggest record store in the U.S. (in St. Petersburg, FL) is called Bananas (they have two locations in St. Petes). I went there today and walked out with an arm full of shiny new LP's. :)

Mike,

My pleasure. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. When I get over to the west coast, I'll check out Bananas and give you a shout to see if we can "listen".

Scott

Absolutely. Any time.

Mike,

A very nice room and system!

I'm still intrigued about your concerns with power. I have considered trying out the ARC Ref250s. My dealer has cautioned me that the 250 may not have enough power for the Salon 2s. Your comments on the 2301s supports my dealer's concerns.

Mike

Your dealer is probably right. It of course depends on your room size and just how loud you play them. Would the the 1.2's be too much? Maybe. The 501's or 601's would be just right? Of course, the folks at Harman recommend the ML 53's (rated at 500w per ch).

very nice!!

You bought the Salon 2's because you liked them. Please don't worry about what others here think, because their thoughts are based on lack of knowledge rather than actual experience with the speakers. Probably very few people here have ever seen or heard the Revel speakers, because had they done so, they would, at least, give them the respect they deserve.

Anyone who has ever heard the Salon 2's knows that they are among the very best and are a world-class bargain at their price point.

Keep the faith. You have great speakers.

Also please note that I am pretty much in the same boat. I own speakers that I know to be among the world's finest, and until audioguy3107 - who owns a pair of essentially the same speakers, came on board here on AA, I seemed to be the only person who had ever heard of the things.

Mine are Avalon Eidolons - bought new in 1999 and used continuously since that time - audioguy3107 owns a slightly "improved" version - but essentially the same speaker - and I don't give a tinker's damn about lack of interest in this forum because I know that they do things that more highly touted speakers are incapable of doing - plus - one of the most highly respected speakers here - The Wilson speakers, give me a debilitating headache and I can't listen to them for more than five minutes. Also note in my signature that I also have a pair of Audio Physic Caldera 3's - and I'm sure that no one here has ever even seen a pair of those.

So, my advice, ignore the fact that you don't get a whole lot of response when you speak of your speakers. Others here are often like lemmings - they follow the leader, and if the leader gets Wilsons, they start looking at Wilson, if Sonus Faber, they look at Sonus Faber and so on down the line. (By the way, I owned my pair of Sonus Fabers long before the leaders here started talking about them.)

Stop worrying and enjoy your wonderful speakers.

Julian.......Are you done with the soap box? :D

As long as anyone will listen . . . :yuck:

And Dan, you are one of the leaders everyone follows anyway!


http://www.urban75.org/london/images...-corner-20.jpg

Julian.......Anyone following me does so at their own risk. I'm not in the band, just a grip. :D

Julian
I thought all that running for office stuff was in your past. :lmao:

Jim

Julian, because of that signature of you we all have to look every day on those ugly things!! :D
Seriously, my dealer always has the Caldera's ready for audition. I like their sound a lot. :yes:

Coming back to Revel: heard them a couple of times and liked them too :thumbsup:

Julian.......Ah, yes. The pool house speakers.


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...g?t=1291313785

You're 100% right on with all of this....but I have to say it is kinda cool knowing that the industry/audiophiles generally agree that they're one of the best box speaker ever made and still are!! :thumbsup:

What was that you said about my ugly speakers?

And, Bart, I do love yours too! :yes::yes::yes:

http://www.hometheater.com/images/10...jpg?1282071962

Owning Salon 2's has been one the best things that I have experienced in this wonderful hobby. I listened to many speakers before I bought them,a lot of them were very good, but when I heard the Salon's for the first time I knew I was going to buy them.

The only downside, to me, is that you will never know how good these speakers can be if you don't feed them enough power. I initially had MC 501's driving them,and thought they sounded spectacular,until I had an opportunity to try amps that were much more powerful. I think that if you love the sound of your McIntosh gear, and why wouldn't you, that the 1.2kw amps are a must audition and certainly not overkill.

Your system and room are absolutely beautiful.I'll bet you can't wait to get home at night!!!

Amp suggestions?
 

Thank you. I actually work from home ... so I can sneak up stairs for a few minutes throughout the day...and I do!

Fortunately, I have a 200 watt McIntosh SS amp at home, and I swapped it out this morning. As I sat there listening, I thought, "hey, it's holding its own thank you very much". Bass seemed MUCH tighter. Then I swapped back in the 2301's. Oh boy...was I wrong. The 2301's are just MORE of everything (at the same volume). Voices jumped out of the speakers, soundstage was wider, deeper, bass was "more", but not as tight as my SS Mc amp.

I'm not sure it was a fair fight (200w Mc SS amp vs 300w Mc Tube Monoblocks)...but it was all I had.

My dealer is willing to swap my 2301's for McIntosh 1.2's (plus the difference of $3500) - but I'm not sure I can bring myself to part with the 2301's. According to my calculations, I should only need 256 w/channel to achieve 110.4 db. But I guess there are peeks in there of almost double 256? No, I'm not listening at 110.4 db (closer to 96) - but the meters are hovering at or over 300w.

The complex crossovers in the Salon 2's likely takes biamping out of the question I suppose. I would love to put a pair of 601's on the bottom and use the 2301's on the mid/high - but not sure I can? I have the MEN220 and can use its active crossover. I have a call into Revel to discuss (their support is outstanding). They worked with me for almost 2 months (inching things along) to get my speakers properly placed. That's patience.

So the main issue I'm having with the 2301's is that I think the Salon 2's are driving them WAY too hard.

Wow!! What a great rig!

I gave Salon 2's a couple of auditions, before I went with Wilson, but that was before I joined this forum, so I was not "playing follow the leader." ;) I think Salon 2 is a great speaker, but like all speakers they are subject to (1) personal taste, (2) system synergy, and (3) room interaction. Set up correctly, they sound great. :)

I absolutely agree,they are straining your amps. When I was talking about the need for more power, I wasn't talking about loudness, I was talking about
"control"!! These speakers are very demanding on an amplifier and they need the amps to grab them by the nuts and tell them whose boss.
I understand your reluctance to part with the 2301's, they are, by all accounts, a fantastic pair of amps, but if you love the speakers I think you should at least demo the 1.2kw's in your system!.

Salon 2's can definitely be bi-amped, there is a dealer in Dallas that has his Salons bi-amped with 4 Mark Levinson No.53's!!
The regional rep from Revel told me it was amazing !!

I spoke with the folks at Revel today. They advised power in the 500+ range, but cautioned against anything more than 750 watts (and then proceeded to give me a technical talk on overheating drivers....all very interesting). When I asked about bi-amping (active or passive), they weren't in favor of it. When I asked about 1200 watts vs 600 watts, they thought the 600 watt amps would be a better fit. Now I'm really confused!

When I spoke with my Mc dealer, he indicated the "sonic signature" of the 601's was different, and in his opinion, better than the 1.2's for the Salon 2's. Not sure if anyone here has an opinion on this...? What I don't want to do is end up with the 601's and wish I had more power. My back can't take much more carrying big a$$ amps up and down the stairs! :)

A friend of mine who knows a heck of a lot more than me about this stuff, told me "the Salon2 is difficult to drive. It really comes alive with a big amplifier behind it. The difficulty to drive is not just because of the lowish sensitivity; they have impedance dips and phase-angle swings that make it tough on an amplifier."

Maybe 4 601's biamped is the ultimate answer! :)

Your friend is right, I hope whatever you decide is based on a demo at your house,in your room,with your system.
Then let your ears tell you what sounds best.
Your owners manual explains how to bi-amp your speakers.
Maybe 4 601's would do the trick, but if it was me I'd want to hear the 1.2's also.

You should ask Dan about the differences in "sonic signature" of the 601's.
He wrote a very nice review of the 601's and has a ton of knowledge about McIntosh gear.
He also owns both the 2301's and the 601's.

mbovaird......I will happily/gladly/gleefully swap my MC601's for your pair of MC2301's even trade:D:smoking:...............they are in mint shapy and fully broken in :music:

I did. Dan has been beyond helpful. Thanks Dan!

uhhh....no thanks! :) If you had 4 601's, we could talk! :banana:

May be too late to reply this.
But i do love my Salon2. Regret selling them.
I just needed money to buy new amp, but end up buying cheap amp
Than planned. But Revel has gone.

As you already knew , it s current hunger. Even larger speaker cables will improve bass.
I successfully drove them with Moon W7M, vitus ss101, pass xa160.5, Arc ref250.
But not so well with ML 436, pass x350.5, mc402.

Spike and spike disc can also change tonality, pls try.
I am sure salon2 has better treble than that of my new magico q3.
I got the most beautiful voice from them driven by ref250.
But most punchy out of Moon and Pass.

Toga

Toga,

I would me very interested to hear about your experiences driving them with the xa160.5's.

I sold mine too and do miss them. But my Strads have filled the void nicely. There were some things that the Salon 2's did better than the Strads and visa-versa. No speaker is perfect I guess.

Mike

Nice To See you guys here, glad to join this forum.
 

It's my first time that I make a post on this forum,really exciting right now.
Nice to see you guys here,and I'm happe to join this great forum :)

Sounteern,

Welcome to the forum.

Sounteern... Welcome! :wave: