#1
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and the winner is.. Revel
In our living room system, I focused on stand mounters, and did not worry about frequencies below 40 Hz for this system. Off-axis listening important for this system.
The contenders (not in any order), all home demo-ed, with dealer side-by-side listening as well: 1. Focal Sopra #1. A real stunner to look at (if you like art-deco) and not too bad to listen to either. For the performance, a bit large, otherwise it would be in our home. 2. Magico A1. Fantastic sound, dispersion and control. But massive (in weight with Sound Anchor Stands) and not very room friendly. Considered the S1, MK II - dealer listen only. Heavy and with M-cast finish, a bit pricey. 3. DynAudio Contour 20i. Heritage not available for demo, could not find Confidence. Did not do as well as others off-axis. 4. B&W 805 D3. Liked this a lot, a noticeable high-end sizzle - was expecting this based on reviews. Not bad, just there. Off-axis 'ok'. 5. Harbeth 30.2 XD. Nice enough, but not for us. Dealer listen only. 6. Revel M126Be. The winner. Not quite as deep as the Focal - but close, sound very similar otherwise. Off-axis champ. Room friendly. But getting better stands. I wanted to spend more, but the Revels won out. Side by side with Focal and B&W 805. Dynaudio and Magico side-by side (not a fair fight IMO). Other contenders included Paradigm (too hot for me) and Aerial 5T - I had owned the 6T's - sorry to have moved on from them actually. But the Revels with much newer drivers bettered the 5T's especially in dynamics (ability to play loud, etc.)
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Main - Roon on Synology/Sonos Port/SoTM Neo endpoints; Chord Qutest, Bryston BP-17 cubed with phono option; EAT C-sharp with Ortofon Bronze MM, Bryston cubed Amplifier; Revel F126Be on custom Atocha stands; interconnects by WireWorld, furniture by Atocha Design 'Phones Audeze LCD-3, Bryston BHA-1; Office: Sonos/Roon; OPPO HA-1, Naim NAP100 and PSB Mini-C. Media Room:, Samsung QLED QN90 series, Sonos, OPPO 205, ATI N-core driving KEF LS-50's with REL subs; furniture by Glassisimo; Kids - U-turn for vinyl, Sonos Play5; Summer Shack - Sonos, vintage Pioneer, Dynaudio Special 40's. Last edited by clpetersen; 04-20-2021 at 08:01 PM. |
#2
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I just picked up a pair of Revel M126Be as well and am impressed with their performance. They go surprisingly deep and full a room well for their size. They make me wonder how good some of their larger floorstanders would be.
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- Dan Headphone rig: Gustard X16, Topping A90, Hifiman HE6se, Audeze LCD2 2-Channel setup: Okto Research DAC8 Stereo, Bryston 4B³, Philharmonic Audio BMR Towers, Dual PSA S152 subs |
#3
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M126Be is a great speaker. I auditioned them extensively before I bought my current speakers, and the M126Be is a wonderful speaker. I ultimately selected the F228Be's, as I wanted a bit deeper bass without using subs. But all of the Revel Performa Be's sound very very good :-)
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#4
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Just curious what you mean by high end sizzle on the 805d3’s? I don’t own them so no bias here, I’m just wondering.
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McIntosh MC462, C22 IV, and MR7084; Simaudio Moon 300D V2 DAC; Technics SL1200G, Mac Mini Server; Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home; and Wireworld Cables. |
#5
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It appears to be deliberate from B&W - they have a noticeable upper end emphasis - check out various reviews and measurements. I was listening for it in side-by side tests - picked it up on some cymbal attacks. Not bad at all, just 'there'.
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Main - Roon on Synology/Sonos Port/SoTM Neo endpoints; Chord Qutest, Bryston BP-17 cubed with phono option; EAT C-sharp with Ortofon Bronze MM, Bryston cubed Amplifier; Revel F126Be on custom Atocha stands; interconnects by WireWorld, furniture by Atocha Design 'Phones Audeze LCD-3, Bryston BHA-1; Office: Sonos/Roon; OPPO HA-1, Naim NAP100 and PSB Mini-C. Media Room:, Samsung QLED QN90 series, Sonos, OPPO 205, ATI N-core driving KEF LS-50's with REL subs; furniture by Glassisimo; Kids - U-turn for vinyl, Sonos Play5; Summer Shack - Sonos, vintage Pioneer, Dynaudio Special 40's. |
#6
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Next time I’m in seeing the local dealer I’ll have a listen and see if I notice it. The Klipsch Heresy and Klipsch Forte to me have a very pronounced upper end that made me pass on them.
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McIntosh MC462, C22 IV, and MR7084; Simaudio Moon 300D V2 DAC; Technics SL1200G, Mac Mini Server; Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home; and Wireworld Cables. |
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