Three years with the Revel Performa m126be monitors

The first time we let our new reference speaker play in our space, we immediately knew it was right. That it was very right. We remember the sensation we felt then as if it were yesterday. At its core, the Revel Performa m126be is neutral and open. Speed, resolution and sufficient bass are its most striking features. In addition, you hear no sharpness, they do not sound cold and they work excellently in our listening room. Whew!

Because, of course, a reference system falls and stands with the speaker chosen. The previous one, the ATC SCM19 V2, a fantastic speaker, did not fare well in our space. But the Revels were at ease from day one in my rather large and lively sounding room. The white version with matching stand also fit very nicely into our sleek, predominantly white interior. And when the white Bassocontinuo furniture was added, the picture was absolutely right.

The beryllium tweeter is a gem and free of grain and sharpness. Wonderful to listen to for hours on end and extremely suitable for discovering nuances in new equipment and cables. In addition, they always grew with me as the system improved. Whether it was a new amplifier, dac or streamer, the playback rose smoothly with it each time. Again, a hallmark of a top notch speaker.

The mid-driver is fast, transparent and open, producing bass full of punch that never gets muddy or out of control. This unassuming monitor also goes loud without any distortion. And after three years in my system, I am still very happy with it. I have enjoyed them a lot and they have never disappointed me. They have always helped me with my reviews and only once were they not an optimal partner for a visiting piece of equipment. So they are very easy to live with and to combine with components of all kinds.

They are also easy to place. But the more accurately you place them, the better they sound. They are compact and ideal to put in the cabinet for a while when another speaker comes to visit. Or to briefly move them around to compare them with another speaker. The only thing we sometimes miss is a fraction of sub-bass on some recordings in our large room. Usually it is fine but in a smaller, more enclosed room it will be even more balanced.

But now comes the twist in this story. For the first time in three years, a speaker has come along that your author believes performs even better in our space. Or put another way. One that goes just a little deeper without activating the room and otherwise performs at the same level as my beloved Revels. And for the first time in three years, we are considering switching to another speaker. Which one? We’ll keep that a secret for now.

Reference system July 2024

Hardware:

• Revel Performa M126BE
• Moon 600i V2
• Sonnet Kratos
• Sonnet Morpheus
• Sonnet Hermes
• Musical Fidelity M1
• Mutec MC3
• D-Link DGS-108 (with Sbooster power supply)
• Isotek EVO3
• Bassocontinuo Cymbalon 2.1

Cabling:

• Driade Flow Reference 405 speaker cables
• Driade Flow Link Reference 808 RCA interlinks
• Grimm TPR XLR interlinks
• Ricable Magnus interlinks and power cords

Software:

• Roon Core on a Nuc (Tidal and Qobuz)