The Sound
Contents
When we review speakers, we initially just set them up and plug things in. During playback of the first test tracks, we move around and determine the toe-in. This is also very nice to do in mono, by the way, because you can then properly determine the voice size and focus.
What is striking, however, is that the Revel plays well very quickly. Even if the speakers are not yet optimally positioned. A thought that arises is that perhaps technically correct speakers are easier to position than speakers with something odd going on. This is an assumption that we – as yet – cannot substantiate technically, so spare us if this is too short-sighted.
But back to the Revel Performa F226Be. What is a very favorable feature is that perfect placement is not necessarily necessary for a reasonable result. Because of course, the better you place them, the better they sound. Think of better tonal balance or a more pleasant and larger stereo image.
Nice balance
Once we get them right, we quickly notice that this is a very pleasant speaker to live with. It plays incredibly smooth, relaxed and balanced. Balance is the key word here we think. Nothing has been exaggerated. That may not come across as spectacular… but it is very soothing. It has many advantages: you hear music as it should be heard, you can listen for longer and the speaker handles many genres much better…as we find out later.
Now it is no secret that your editor is in favor of neutral hifi. To each his own, of course, but your editor’s philosophy is simple: let the recordings speak for themselves. Let the artists themselves provide the coloring… it’s up to them to make something warm or cool. that’s not up to a manufacturer. The disadvantage of a system that colors is that everything gets the same sauce. And let’s face it: barbecue sauce all over everything is not desirable either.
About neutrality
Compare it with an optical image for a moment. It is up to the editor and perhaps director to establish a style. An easy example is The Matrix. It was made all green ‘in post’ at the color correction stage. That green haze really makes the movie. Suppose your TV ‘colors’ so much that green almost disappears. (A notorious TV, by the way, is the first generation Sharp Quattron, which displays virtually no green, rendering soccer fields almost gray). In that case you miss an important part of the experience, because you do not get that green haze.
There are more examples in this area. Think of a specific camera choice by the director, together with the recording team. Arri cameras tend to be somewhat green and have a smooth/creamy look. Canon is a bit warmer. RED cameras are very high in contrast. So if you don’t calibrate your TV, there’s a good chance you’re not getting these features right because the panel is displaying too much red, green or blue, which shifts the color balance. Or your white balance is not set correctly (chances are it’s set too ‘white’ so it tends to blue).
Back to audio
A translation to HiFi is quickly made of course; the response curve is ideally as straight as possible. And that also applies to your acoustics. This is more difficult with sound than with image, because we are dealing with more factors. However, we can strive for an even response. And this Revel succeeds surprisingly well. As a result, we can easily hear what the intention of the recording engineers and musician was. And that’s what your editor likes.
We let our familiar test-tracks pass by and notice after a while that we are just listening. Sitting back on the couch, a cup of coffee… enjoy. ROON treats us to some extra music and interesting suggestions. Think of Sophie Hunger with the beautiful song ‘Le Vent nous portera’ (also included in the sample test). We get totally sucked into the song…. Delightful.
As we go from Sophie Hunger to Faithless to Rammstein and back to Steven Wilson, the Revel doesn’t budge…. this pair effortlessly plays everything we ask for. And that’s how it should be with a good speaker; it plays what you ask for. Unfortunately, that is and remains quite rare.
Beryllium / Beryllium
How do we see the Revel F226Be next to our Focal Sopra? Beryllium VS Beryllium. Remarkably, we hear quite a few similarities. But also some differences of course. Especially in tuning. The Focal puts down a little more air by a subtle ‘bump’ of about 1dB in the high range (around 8 Khz). The Revel is just flat tuned there making it seem like it has a little less sparkle. And in a way it does. But the fact is: the Focal turns it up a bit. Nice, by the way.
The Revel has a slightly tighter and more detailed low end. It does not necessarily go deeper, but it shows a little more punch and more detail. In the midrange we do not hear many differences, both are quite neutral and know vocals very clean and easy to present.
For speakers costing e8,900. I was expecting a far more inspiring review…! I am not complaining about the review itself its just they are neutral sounding and somewhat easier to place in the room all good until one comes to the price…?
We are Just very to the point. It’s a damn good speaker. 🙂
For speakers costing e8,900. I was expecting a far more inspiring review…! I am not complaining about the review itself its just they are neutral sounding and somewhat easier to place in the room all good until one comes to the price…?
We are Just very to the point. It’s a damn good speaker. 🙂