Revel Salon 2 vrs Kef 207/2

While I find the previous post thoughful and well reasoned, my thoughts are slightly different. Once you start looking at speakers at this level your room and equipment take on greater and greater significance. Dealer demos are next to worthless as a tool to determine long term satisfaction. Only after you've heard the speakers in your room with your stuff LONG TERM can one be sure. Even small changes in placement can have a big impact on the ultimate result, the best placement can take some time to find.

Both the KEF and the Revel are world class speakers. I don't think anyone can say with absolute percision one is materially superior. Personal preferance on sound priorities along with associated equipment and the environment are variables that make comparing speakers at this level difficult at best. What I find interesting is the description of the strong points of the KEF match almost exactly what I'd use to describe by Studio 2's.

The conclusion that the KEF is generally more system/room compatible than the Revel is hard for me to follow. Other than the fact that the Revel does need more power. In fact, they both are more flexible than most large floor standing speakers because they have tone controls and large sweet spots.

It may be easy to get 90% of what the KEF can do following a basic room placement rule-of-thumb, but to get 100% out of any speaker almost always takes many trial and error efforts.

The way any speaker interacts with a room is unpredictable. Pkoh70 may have found the Revels more placement sensitive than the KEF, but that doesn't necessarily mean such will always or even usually be the case. The reviews of the Salon 2 I've seen don't indicate they are particularly picky in this regard. Certainly not in Wilson territory. In any event, in my view all this is immaterial. What is important is whether or not a speaker works in your room, not how much work it might take to find the optimal spot.

I'm lucky enough to to have a rectanglar room with a vaulted ceiling. I moved by Studio 2's around for a few weeks until I placed them using the 1/5 rule. That is, with the center of the speaker front 1/5 of the room width from the side and 1/5 of the room length from the back wall. After my jaw got off the ground I installed the spikes and have never enjoyed music as much. Placement had a huge impact on firming up the low end. No more boom, just a tight and controlled bass foundation.

The Cardas website has some very instructive comments on speaker placement. While I'm tempeted to try the 1/3 rule, logistics make it impossible for me to move the speakers that far from the back wall.