I dont know what @dweller means either... but I will always prefer Revel's over B&W's based on the smoothness and wide dispersion of the mid to treble range.
You however really should listen for yourself. :)
Listen to Monitor Audio in same price range. Sometimes on ridiculous sales from online like Music Direct or Audio Advisor.
I have listened to both. Three times each already. Still torn. The f208 did sound slightly better to my ears. Better bass, and better soundstage (Best I had ever heard). The 702s were a bit more refined.
I had listened to Monitor Golds. They were too “polite “ for my tastes
i loved the Paradigm Persona, But way above my price range.
B&W sound "refined" because they are colored to sound hi-fi to untrained ears. Revels are far more neutral and simply a better speaker as they will sound natural.
The motors on the 702 look really cheap - this is a low cost design.
Good choice. Revel is in a completely different league. The measurements on stereophile are extremely impressive. The response off axis is stunning. This has the best dispersion of almost any big company speaker I have seen. Harmon Kardon are doing a fantastic job. B&W lost their way years ago.
You should consider a neutral DAC source like Benchmark or Weiss.
Just comparing the mid range driver motors of the two speakers. Revel 5.25" is quite impressive. B&W 6 inch mid looks so small and cheap it belongs in a Bose speaker.
I would stick to the Revel over Focal. The Aria 936 can't match the Revel lower bass response, doesn't have as well damped cabinet, and presents a bit a load on a partnering amp. The Revel IMHO, is step up from this Focal model.
You won't need an additional sub with the F208's with the output going nicely down to the 20's in rather well. It's front ported, so it makes some aspects about rear boundary wall distance a bit less of a fuss. You also have a boundary compensation adjustment on the back that will slightly shelve the bass if needed. You would prefer to pull them out from the back wall like any speaker, but a boomy sounding bass is not going to as much of a concern as a rear ported design.
Due to the wide dispersion, try and steer clear of side walls as it will really hinder the imaging and sound stage. As with many speakers, the upper treble does fall off to the sides and toe in can be used to dial in the upper treble.
Just to clarify, I'm assuming you mean the edge of the speaker being about ten inches from the side wall, which is generally too close to a side wall to prevent first reflections from the wall from image smearing.
What happens in this case is that the first sound you hear is the direct radiation from the speaker as it has the shortest distance to you in travel. Then sounds that are reflected from nearby walls, such as side walls and the walls behind you seated position. Our brain can differentiate from the direct radiation and reflected if the time between when they reach your listening point is far enough apart. This takes lengthening the overall distance the reflected sounds must travel until it reaches your listening spot. In general, you need at least about 5ft of extra travel distance to make this work. As you mentioned, the distance where you sit is 8' ft. In affect, we would like to see the first reflections to hit 13' ft in total travel distance to your listening spot over its two axis. What we would like to see is at least 3' feet of distance from the acoustic centers to the sidewalls. The same can be said for the rear wall behind your listening spot. You would want that wall about 3' feet behind your ears at your listening spot.
This often doesn't work in many living arrangements so the best alternative is to place acoustic diffusing or absorption at certain points in the room to improve the room acoustics. There are plenty of options our there and some can even be used as decor.
As for your distances between the speakers and from your listening spot, those are generally fine. I'm just wondering if room is rather small for something of this size or are we just close to one wall on a single side.
I have put acoustic panels on side walls, but these are not direct by the side of the speakers, as they were put for first reflection points via the mirror trick.
The room is a good size, but L shape. On that portion of the L where I have my system, the distance between walls is 11’, which means that I don’t have too much wiggle room from the side walls, otherwise the distance between speakers would be too small (I.e. only about 4’, if I followed the 3’ from side wall rule)
I wish I could post a sketch here, but don’t see how.
The mirror method will get the primary reflection, which is the more important of reflections to contend with. The area of the wall adjacent to the speaker will have reflections that will likely hit other points of the room well before it hits the listening spot, much due to the very wide reflection angle. In any case, you've targeted the first reflection that you needed to.
If you place the speaker closer than five feed to your listening spot, the ability for driver integration. I would keep a length of 6ft or more from the speaker to the listening spot, which is something you've already done. These aren't near field and don't pretend to be.
In general, the speakers can range from 6ft-10ft, center to center. Going wide may create an overly diffuse sound that don't provide a good center fill. Narrower would hinder the sound stage overall and the ability to place across. There isn't a minimum from a side wall, but ideally one would want 3ft from the center to side wall to delay the first reflection arrival to listener. This allows the our hearing to discern the direct radiation from the reflection and maintain them as two events. Adding absorption or diffusion will reduce the reflection amplitude, which you mentioned you have some form of such.
Revel speakers have a way of producing a even handed, neutral, and relaxed sound that is engaging while still providing good dynamics, bath macro and micro. They don't have the immediacy that some speakers provide, but I find their balance much more enjoyable over a wider range of genres than most I've listened to. You simply stop listening to speakers and enjoy the music.
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