Revel Ultima Salon 2

Thanks Steve,

When you got rid of the Salon2s what did you replace them with/have now? Do you still have the H360 integrated?

Thanks!

-Dave

p.s. one thing about the Hegel H30 amp (and DAC and Aurender transport) is that it can change sound dramatically based on power conditioning, cables, stillpoints etc. Every time I upgrade a power cord somewhere in the system or improve vibration control (like with the Aurender N100H) the whole system sound changes. And not always just degrees... sometimes in a fundamental way. It makes me wonder what the equipment, and H30 in particular "really sounds like". I honestly had thought the H30 was just not a good imaging amp and was ready to find something else... then a few power cord swaps and BOOM... solid, palpable center image and 3D soundstage. The day I ran dedicated 20amp lines (one for the amp, the other for rest of the gear) was a game-changer as well. I’d love to know what the product designers use when they voice for power conditioning/cables etc.

Selling the salon2 was as much a financial decision as anything. The room I heard them being driven by ml 400wpc monos was the best. I replaced them with the usher be-20dmd a speaker about twice as efficient as the revels and thought I was done building my system until a pair of DSP8000’s came up for a price I couldn’t pass on. I always wanted the big M’s and I like the way they load my room better than all the other speakers. I do still have the h360 but have it listed as a package deal with the ushers on another site. Once the ushers sell I’ll sell the Hegel and upgrade the 8k’s. Or  being a sick audiophile I’ll sell both speakers and buy some  Raidho’s. Love this hobby 

IMO Raidho’s are overpriced. You are basically paying for the cabinet work and something that’s built in Denmark. I don’t think they sound any better than Salk Soundscape or some other high end systems with a RAAL 70-20 tweeter that are a fraction of the price of the Raidhos.

Of course, that's if you pay the "list" price. I see many dealers selling brand new Raidho's at like 35% of MSRP...which tells me everything I need to know.

I've been thinking of the salon 2s as an upgrade from the sig s8 v2 (just as biggarthomas did) but my room size is smallish (12 x 16 x 8 ft). I actually enjoy bass so despite having 4x 7 inch bass drivers on my sig s8 I have also added 2 18 inch PSA V1800 subs. I do wonder if salon 2 will give me better sound in my smaller room.

When I auditioned both the Signature 8s and Salon 2s back in 2011, the Salon 2s were far better (I actually preferred the significantly cheaper Legacy Classics to the Sig 8s, which I thought were way too hot up top).  I ended up getting the Salon 2s then and haven’t even considered anything different.  

If you put them in front of the 12 foot wall and keep them two feet off the sidewalls with a slight toe-in, they should still image quite well if you sit 8 feet away, and at that distance you’ll have enough room behind you to not get suffocated by bass along the back wall.  They have plenty of bass, so you might be able to jettison the subs.

biggarthomas’s advice to spike them is spot on, and I found that using Star Sound’s Apprentice XL’s platforms took them to a whole different level.