I listened to the BE-718 ($2500) and BE-20 ($16000) on Saturday Oct 6, 2007 at a Bay Area dealer (Campbell, CA)
I wanted to hear what all the fuss was about.
There are only two speakers I have heard in the past that I immdiately thought, "wow I want to buy it". One was the Avalon Diamond and the other was the Revel Salon (I bought it). Now there is a third and that would be the BE-718.
For a smaller sized room this would be the speaker I get. This speaker sounds beautiful. The top end is something special. So clear and clean. The bass was also surprisingly good for such a tiny speaker. I have heard the Revel M20 (also a monitor speaker) before at a home system and liked it but did not love it like the BE-718.
I am seriously considering scalling back my system (sell Salons) and make a smaller system with the BE-718. I live in the Bay Area, CA and most houses are rather small. I am currently renting a great cottage with a massive room for my Salons. After the BE-718 demo, I spent the whole night listening to my Salons to see if I could part with them. Around 4:00 AM I realized, no way, not right now. When I buy a place and if the place cannot handle my Salons then the BE-718 are moving in.
I am not going to comment on BE-20 since the gear hooked up to it did not have enough power to drive the speakers for my music (rock, reaggae). They need a very large room.
I wanted to hear what all the fuss was about.
There are only two speakers I have heard in the past that I immdiately thought, "wow I want to buy it". One was the Avalon Diamond and the other was the Revel Salon (I bought it). Now there is a third and that would be the BE-718.
For a smaller sized room this would be the speaker I get. This speaker sounds beautiful. The top end is something special. So clear and clean. The bass was also surprisingly good for such a tiny speaker. I have heard the Revel M20 (also a monitor speaker) before at a home system and liked it but did not love it like the BE-718.
I am seriously considering scalling back my system (sell Salons) and make a smaller system with the BE-718. I live in the Bay Area, CA and most houses are rather small. I am currently renting a great cottage with a massive room for my Salons. After the BE-718 demo, I spent the whole night listening to my Salons to see if I could part with them. Around 4:00 AM I realized, no way, not right now. When I buy a place and if the place cannot handle my Salons then the BE-718 are moving in.
I am not going to comment on BE-20 since the gear hooked up to it did not have enough power to drive the speakers for my music (rock, reaggae). They need a very large room.