Revel F228BE

 I was very interested in the F 228 but honestly coudnt stand the look of them, especially with the grills of. 

I've heard both extensively, and to my ear there is no comparison at all and honestly they don't even sound that similar. I don't care for the F228Be at all, find them lacking in bass extension and too dry and analytical in tonal balance. The Salon2 is a much more well balanced and musical speaker, in an entirely different league as far as performance. To each their own I guess, but don't assume that they sound alike due to some commonalities in their design. You have to hear both speakers in the same system to really compare them.

Salon 2 spinorama

Revel F228Be spinorama

The F228Be has a flatter sound power, and will sound a bit more forward. The Salon 2 will sound more in the background due to the dip at 2K. Salon2s have more bass.

Anyone compared to 228 Be to the Salon 2? I read at least 1 set of impressions that found them very similar.

Techno_dude....update I changed my Benchmark DAC, Ayre preamp and Mark Levinson 532h amp power cables to all ClarusAqua and interconnect from my Bluesound music player to Clarus Crimson and WOW what a huge difference in clean, more openness, better transparency and soundstage. Hard to imagine if no one has ever tried various cables from cheap to good to very good how they cant tell an enormous difference. 
Thanks for the input and suggestions. 

Thanks. Im looking at Clarus cables. I have Shunyata Venom3 power cords on amp and preamp. I will look at your suggestion of the power cord for the DAC

Then uprgrade the interconnects, try some Shunyata or Nordost or Clarus.
And change the preamp.

Don t forget the power cables, Shunyata is imho much superior to Cardas. Put one of their noise reduction cables on your dac and you will have your jaw drop. 

I have Cardas Clear Light interconnects. My go to guy now for speakers and electronics ( Dealer ) is suggesting Clarus Crimson and it seems the have great design and reviews. 
I've looked at the Vega & Vega2, I don't like the only have Apple apps to control plus for the money there's no MQA file playback. I know they have great reviews. I've also read that inserting a great preamp into a system gives better performance everytime, even with a Vega Dac in place. 

KX5 all the way.

But you would be happier with Vega G2. Benchark dac2 can be bettered, so why not make two upgrades in one step...

What are your interconnects?

Mark Levinson 326s vs Ayre KX5-20 preamp?

Personnally I would go with a dac wich has a very good volume control built in it. Something like the Auralic Vega G2. That way you simplify the system, less interconnects means you loose less signal along the way.

Or a preamp that has a very good dac built in it. Mcintosh C47 and C52 comes to mind. Both have Wadia DI322 variant dacs built in that are imho superior to the Benchmark DAC2. Mine ( C47) has put to shame a 8k $ dedicated dac that sits in his box since then.

Sell the Ayre, there is a reason why Ayre makes two more preamps like the KX5-20 and the KXR 20...those have better transparency and sound overall.

Techno_dude meant Thanks for the compliment and feedback! Autospell can be a pain lol

Techno_dude, Well I'm listening to Tidal off my computer laptop into the Benchmark DAC and must say it sounds pretty refined and resolute but maybe for a lot more money I'm sure there's better. It sounds really really good and the Ayre MP version is a Class A recommended Stereophile component. 
What's your suggestion for under $5,000? 
That's the compliment and feedback. 
And by the way Tidal Masters sound very good. 

Lol! No.

@4425 
If you look at mail order brands, I think Salk and Ascend products are better at the same price range compared to Revel, at least acoustically. Visually might be a different issue (since mail order brands tend to be rectangular boxes).

Lnitm, good system !

If your permit, weak link is the Ayre pre. Had the exact same pre a couple years ago, it sucks up résolution big time. Did not realise it before I tried something more transparent.

when you see the quality of the materials and workmanship of revel you should understand that because of economies of scale and us labor costs they could not be made in usa at their very aggressive prices. i’m not sure that anything can compete at their price points. just my opinion though.
ive personally owned Salon 2’s and F206’s and everything about them exudes quality of build and sonics. as mentioned above we all buy imported items so why should audio be different?
well it is different because so many products bear no relationship to costs(cables would head the list). i think revel does. 
opinion only

Regular SB, not Satori, and custom made for Revel. Nothing that you, nor anyone else will be able to clone. And why would you want to anyway?

Revel also used to make their own drivers, but now they use SB Acoustics Satori drivers. Which to me makes it interesting because now it's possible to DIY a Revel clone.

I had a record party last night and I have to tell you, the 228 be is just an awesome speaker.  Everyone who came over were just blown away by them. If the recording is good they have a clarity that sounds more like reall life than almost any speaker I have heard, regardless of price. Instruments  and voices just hang in the air, and the depth!  For a rather large speaker they do an amazing disappearing act.  The dispersion is increadable, you can sit all the way over to one side of the room and the soundstage does not collapse like most speakers. The power handling is over the top compared to the f208,  I usually don't listen that loud but last night we were partying so I was cranking it, for the first time ever I could turn the volume all the way up on uncompressed recordings and the 228be were just unflappable, crazy!  I am very impressed by the 228be, People  who say metal or ceramic drivers are fatiguing? NOT! people who say ported bass is boomy and you can hear the port? NOT! I read a comment on Revel house sound as "boring" and it made me laugh  out loud, these speakers are anything but boring, they are musical and fun to listen to, what more do you want? The Revel design team should be proud of themselves. Bravo Revel!!! 

I had a record party last night and I have to tell you, the 228 be is just an awesome speaker.  Everyone who came over were just blown away by them. If the recording is good they have a clarity that sounds more like reall life than almost any speaker I have heard, regardless of price. Instruments  and voices just hang in the air, and the depth!  For a rather large speaker they do an amazing disappearing act.  The dispersion is increadable, you can sit all the way over to one side of the room and the soundstage does not collapse like most speakers. The power handling is over the top compared to the f208,  I usually don't listen that loud but last night we were partying so I was cranking it, for the first time ever I could turn the volume all the way up on uncompressed recordings and the 228be were just unflappable, crazy!  I am very impressed by the 228be, People  who say metal or ceramic drivers are fatiguing? NOT! people who say ported bass is boomy and you can hear the port? NOT! I read a comment on Revel house sound as "boring" and it made me laugh  out loud, these speakers are anything but boring, they are musical and fun to listen to, what more do you want? The Revel design team should be proud of themselves. Bravo Revel!!! 

By the way, they sound fantastic!  Huge upgrade over my previous B&W N803.

I just looked at the back of my F208s.  The label says "Made in Indonesia".

Can someone confirm where these are built?

there is no choice when it comes to phones or computers, but there is a choice for the well off when it comes to HiFi. Revel used to made in California, now it's not. And yes I know lots of people that would buy Magico or Wilson, but not Revel, just because of where they are made. I personally own the 228be so that should tell you where I stand on the issue.

@chrissain These people you know must be the same people that refuse to own/use any cell phones, computers, or any cars other than maybe Tesla. Props.

Yes, the cheaper Revel lines are made in China, but I actually don't know where the 228 is made. Initm is correct that the 208s were made in Indonesia. I will tell you that auditioning them is still a good idea, they are stunning sounding, they actually sound better than most speakers I have heard regardless of cost. The natural timbre and driver intergration just sounds more like real music, real life.  

Skyscraper to be more exact the Performa3s are made in Indonesia and Salons in Revels factory in Mexico just south of the border. Maybe where F228BE are made in Indonesia also?  Ut not China so no extra tariffs. 
I brought up same concern with my dealer who built speaker systems for years and he replied why does it make any difference when quality is superb and reviews and Revel has impeccable reputation. 
I love USA made too hence Levinson, Ayre and all my cables made here but these sound outstanding.  
Good luck but i would still listen. 

Ugh, I just posted I was going to here these demoed this week. Thanks for the info they're Chinese made. I've had nothing but bad luck with Chinese products due to quality control issues. So I'll not take a chance on their audio components. I'm not a made in America fanatic. I love my Toyota vehicles and will be looking at French and British speakers too. What a shame since they've been well recommended from what I've read. Might have some huge tariffs on them now too. Who knows.

Mike

If Revel actually cared that much about marketing they should make a made in the USA model and pick the price out of thin air. Go after the Wilson market and beat them at their own game, I know many, many audiophiles and well of clients who would never buy Revel no matter how good it sounds because they are not made in the USA. They suround themselves with locally well crafted goods, and would never buy a speaker made in China. 

I would argue with these points he is wrong, you can measure the lower distortion in the newer drivers vrs old. My 208 tweeter extended to 22k, my 228s extend to 44k, that is a big difference, Revel also claims twice the power handling, this is based in fact through measured response, not marketing. 

On AVS, he's said repeatedly the measured spins of FR and DI is what's most important. He said beryllium is just a selling point to charge more money. Of course he's also said phase isn't important and and waterfall plot ringing isn't audible, and some people in the industry disagree.

Where did you read that he said this? 

So if the new driver material doesn't sound any better why are charging twice as much for a f208? That makes literally no sense. Why do the 228s sound very different from the 208? I have now owned both and they sound very different.  Tool is saying this for what motive? 

Everyone who has come over to listen to them have been very impressed, including some very jaded people who never seem to really like anything lol. My Rogue Audio m180s are going back to Rogue for upgrades, can't wait to get them back. 

I am breaking mine in now, they are really amazing speakers. Two other friends of mine have also purchased 228be and love them, I think they are a breakthrough at the price point. 

Jefferson Davis, I knew a Jefferson Davis from Granite City, IL. Not you is it?? 

One thing is about the Beryllium tweeters Revel uses and has used for awhile in their award winning Ultima line. Other manufacturers are using in their top tier lines also. Whos to say, they sound amazing and all ive ever read its alot more than the driver material used that makes a geeat speaker. 

I also like the new Revel series as well, although for some funny reason Floyd Toole (who works at Revel) thinks using the new materials (ceramic, beryllium) is mostly a marketing gimmick and doesn't seem to think it actually sounds any better. Who is to say...