Are Revel Salons too much?

I don't know a lot about the Salons, but if they are like most speakers they aren't going to like being just off the wall. If you can't set your speakers up the way they need be you are certainly paying a lot for something that you will not realise what it is capable of. If I were in a position of having to place speakers close to the wall then I would look at speakers that perform well close to the wall. Speaker placement is one of the most important factors if a system is to sound great.

I was in the same position of having to find a system that could live in the family room and still sound great. My search ended with the Innersound Eros, and Innersound electronics. The speakers work well close to the wall and being that they have an active crossover with bass and midrange control, you can really dial them in. The electronics run cool and work well with the speakers.

Chm3986, you may want to consider the Tact Room Correction System, 2.2x which makes placement of speakers near the rear wall possible while correcting for room anomolies. While I don't currently have this system, I did in the past, and it made speaker placement very flexible with few downsides. One limitation is that listening position tends to get smaller but other than that it works wonders.

What Ejlif said...also, the Rives audio PARC is the single best analog parametric EQ I've heard. And I've heard most. Infact, I heard(or didn't hear) their PARC ($2200?) on many high end systems at the Shows this last year or two, and it's as transparant as is basically possible! Put that between amp/preamp and you're good to go when calibrated.
Yeah, it MAJORLY HELPS to get the speakers/seats in teh right place. But this EQ would be the best chioce nonetheless. The best sonic improvment you'll likely improve to...seriously(no, no affiliation...just admiration).
Still,how does it sound now overall, boomy? If so, you need to either move speakers, change speakers, change listening possition(s), or EQ! That's it basically. You can do things like "soft plug" the ports, but you gotta try to see.
And no, getting F50's won't fix your challenges, if any. perhaps going smaller more bass limited speakers with your B15's would do the trick in balancing things out better?
Also, proper bass management is a must for HT dubties.
How do you like your sound overall?...are you happy?
Good luck

I don't think it's a "too much" situation, because your room is certainly big enough. Either speakers are designed to go back against a rear wall comfortably, or they're not. Some great speakers, like the Eidolons, are intended to be as much as 6 feet from the back wall. My experience is certainly that B & W's work better away from the rear wall, and the Revels I've heard were placed pretty far from any walls (and sounded marvelous that way). If you're looking for a superb pair of speakers which ARE designed to go within 1.5-2 feet of the back wall, I suggest the Eggleston Andra II's. But they are also intended to be placed as far apart as possible in a normal room to take advantage of their sound front, and are really wasted if you don't separate them enough. You might give them a listen.

I have the Salons in a smaller room than yours. For awhile I had them sitting about 2 feet from the rear wall (measured from the back of the speaker) and 3 feet from the side wall, with a large screen TV in between and about 1 foot back. The speakers were not boomy in that position (you can also help this by the adjustments in the back of the speaker). Indeed the response was quite flat - I measured it using Stereophile's test cd and an SPL meter. The dealer had indicated that he keeps his pair even closer to the wall. The problem I had was with reflections off the TV screen, which really congested the sound and lessened the depth of soundstage. If your wall unit has a glass front, you may have the same problem, but perhaps not as bad, since I beleive part of the problems came from the viration of the screen and the speakers in the TV. Hope that is helpful.

This is all very helpful. Thx to all.

I can probably get 3 to 4 feet behind the speakers. The wall unit is oak, open faced where not filed with a projection TV or equipment--no glass.

What I am really hearing from you all is that, at least between F50's and Salons, I might as well stay with the Salons and work with them. I also appreciate the thoughts re: other speakers and I will ck those out.

I don't really have a base line yet, because the Salons are currently sealed in the box from Revel and I did not want to depreciate them further by installing them if the concensus from you all was to get rid of them. Also, my processor is an MC12B v.3. So I was hoping that the room EQ, when available, may help with any problems as well.

My current set up from which I am upgrading is Anthem AVM 20/MCA 50 and Mirage HDT speakers--which sound pretty good for what they are--and they are IN the wall unit. I know: mortal sin. Source is primarily a Marantz DV 8300 and Zenith HD 520.

Thx again.

seal the L shap off with a door and definalty do room treatment... where you can the revels need it.

the speakers with the mc-12 is great try to upgrade to a linn unidisk 1.1 and for the amps get an other 436 for the voice sell the 432 and get 2 431 for the side and rear.

should be a killer system....

I don't think, based on the room dimensions you listened that the speakers are too much. I have heard them sound unbelievable in a smaller room. I think you only need 24-26 feet for the bass to bloom properly which you excede.

Based on how good I heard the Salon's sound I would do what I can to hang on to those speakers anyway. The thing to worry about in a nondedicated listening room is getting the Salon's in the right place to get the best possible sound from them. It would really suck having a speaker capable of such fantastic midrange, but then not being able to hear it because they are stuck too close to the wall.

Good luck!

i would be concerned about your "upstream" electronics
the revels are mercilessly revealing and you really have to have the best equipment to drive them
the lexicon is great but i would certainly upgrade the amps
ml stuff is great. sim audio is a great match as well.
good luck

The Salons are one of the best sounding speakers that I've ever auditioned. Only wish I can afford it (+ another upgrade for a more powerful amp to drive them!). Congraulations on the purchase and you will love it!