Revel Salon 2’s (used) or new Magico A-3 (new) ??

I’d be surprised if the new Performa3 BE series didn’t measure better than the Ultima2 series. The ceramic mids are a major step up from those older Ultima2 titanium mids which were ported over from the old JBL PT series.

The Salon2/Studio2 Stereophile measurements all had some noticeable midrange hash from the spectral decay measurements that you don’t usually see in new flagship speakers today. 

At Axpona the A3 were in a different league then the Revel F228be, but if you are used to the hash of the Ravel, you might find the clarity of the A3 boring.    

Thanks for the reply’s so far! Why don’t we throw the B&W 803 D3’s into the mix. I have not really heard a pair except for background music playing. But did think
on one audition of the 804 D3’s, they were very nice. 

Sciencecop, how can you make such a ridiculous claim that the Magico A3 are in a different league then the Revels?

Different hotel rooms, different gear, and I am sure there are a ton of other differences between the two demo setups.

The only way to know would be to demo both speakers under the same circumstances.

And currently there are quite a number of really mindblowing speakers both new and used at that price point, We sell the Paradigm Personas and the 3F when driven by great equipment are pretty amazing. The Legacy Signature and Foucs are awesome speakers at $7k and $10k and the Legacy's sound really big with really deep tight bass and a warm midrange. 

The Golden Ear Ref are interesting speakers, in the two demos we heard them in they were nice but didn't blow us away, the Golden Ears tend to sound a bit dark and bass heavy, we would still carry them as they are perfect for some listners, I do agree that that some of these other speakers you may find to dramatically outperform the Golden Ears in terms of imaging and overall resoltion and clarity.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

Hi Dave & Troy,

Thanks! Yes, I like the T-Refs quite a bit, but when I heard a pair of Salon 2’s, my wife & I were pretty stunned with their excellent dynamics and did prefer the top end (more alive) to the T-Refs.
The GE’s are very good, and excellent for HT, but thinking of getting a speaker
that will do HT justice, but have higher resolution & slam for music if you will, than the overall mostly laid back presentation of the T-Refs. 

I did own a pair of the Legacy Focus SE (version before the currrent version) and may look into those as well depending on their current price. I did like them as well.