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A special loudspeaker - Revival Audio Atalante 5

In house is a set of Revival Audio Atalante 5 speakers.   I've had these here for a couple months now.  I think they are broken in--based how much listening I do!

Super elegant and solid construction. BIG!  Could be way too big for your living room...if you're the person that is concerned about that.  If you couple them to the factory stands, they are tall, wide, and deep.  Be sure you appreciate this.

They are made in France, and run about $5K with stands. They come with a wood-matching floor riser too if you want to just set them on the floor. Before I assembled the stands, I had them sitting on the floor, which my wife loved as they didn't look big and had a nice BBC monitor vibe. The sound is clearly better on the stands. 

If you have the space, the A5s shouldn't disappoint. They respond differently when you feed them or push them with different things.  This, however, means that they will show off some stuff about gear or setup you may wish to avoid.

As you might guess, I found them transparent or super revealing (not sure which is a better descriptor) with other gear.  Typically, though, they seem to mate well with lots of stuff.  I was surprised to hear how easily they could be driven with Class A amplification. (I tired Luxman L-590axii, Marantz PM KI Ruby integrated, and 805 tube amp-50w Class A). 

These came recommended by @Bigkidz, as he heard them on the East Coast and was impressed. 

I have two REL subs that I've taken completely out of the equation. I just don't need  any more low end with these.  

At this price, I feel they are arguably underpriced.  I haven't felt this way about a purchase for some time.  If you have the space and are looking for a full range speaker with nice extension across the spectrum, great sonic scale, sweet midrange, and the ability to handle nuance but also rock...you may want to put this one on your shortlist.  

 

128x128jbhiller
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,892 posts
 

Enjoy, they look like a great speaker.   Fidelis in Nashua NH carries the line now for anyone in New England interested in them.  

smscanla
1 posts
 

Can you share insights about room placement? I’ve been interested in them, but I’m curious how much room they need from walls. Also, you mentioned revealing, is there any sibilance?

bassbuyer
120 posts
 

On a side note Fidelis is a great store with helpful staff.  I bought an Innuos streamer and it was a positive experience.  Very knowledgeable.  No high pressure selling tactics.  Highly recommend. 

61falcon's avatar
61falcon
120 posts
 

Nice looking speaker at a good price. Looks like they are rated around 4 ohm so a little harder to drive.

Also interesting that the manufacturer recommends the use of port plugs if you can't move them away from a wall which could be a bit of a tradeoff from the design intention in such a case.

jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,430 posts
 

Yes, I have them about 18” from the front wall. This is closer back than when I put more power in them. Some amps really push bass from these guys. So when I tried Class A offerings I was able to move them closer to the wall.  I use no port bung plugs.

Not a hair of sibilance. The care, however, comes in matching sources. These speakers don’t shred poor recordings. They can highlight sources and amps. So much so I can easily hear the difference in DACs (LuMIN, LTA Aero, Marantz Ruby). I wouldn’t call the speakers fussy. They do show off differences pretty darn well though.

FYI. I prefer non fatiguing presentations. I don’t like parlor tricks that impress me at early listening then grow bright, tense, harsh etc.

with my LTA or my analog setup, they can sound utterly delicious. Golden age of jazz records (think Rudy VG) show horns off in a way that has body like crazy.

I think the speakers can grow with your system changes.

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