Opinions on Revel Performa F32?

I heard a new pair of these a few months ago and was unimpressed - the sound was harsh and listener fatigue set in very quickly. Had to turn the volume down at one point. However bass reproduction was very good, deeper and tighter than the F30s - I remember actually looking behind the rig for the subwoofer.

Also heard the M22s (immediately after the M20s) and I preferred the M20s in pretty much every area. The M20s are not exactly "smooth" speakers themselves and can sound bright if not paired up with the right electronics - so that should give you an idea.

Take what I say with a pinch of salt since the speakers were brand new - just out of the box.

I agree with R3fico. I find all Revels speakers to be on the harsh and fatiguing side. For roughly the same price I found a demo pair of Hales T-5's and they absolutely blew the Revels away.

Even the local dealer who sells the entire Revel line-up was impressed with my Hales combined with a Mirage 12" sub.

Hmm... R3fico, where did you hear the F32s and what equipment were they using with it? I'm only asking because the ones I demoed were very impressive. I wouldn't be surprised, if a pair of these made their way into my system one of these days.

My father owns a pair of F50s, M22s, C50 and B15 and it's an awesome system. If you like the Revel sound, I think the F32 or F50 hits the sweet spot. That's of course if you don't have the $$$ to move up to their Ultima line.

I haven't heard the Hales T-5s, but I really doubt that they "blow the Revels away". Go listen to them again.

Dmitrydr, for that price range, you should demo these speakers in no particular order:

B&W 703
Von Schweikert VR-2
Von Schweikert VR-4jr
Spendor SP-1/2
Martin Logan Aeon i
Vandersteen 3A Signature
Thiel Audio CS 1.6
Thiel Audio CS 2.4
Magnepan MG 1.6
Magnepan MG 3.6
Totem Acoustic Forest
Totem Acoustic Mani-2

Just a few suggestions, hope you find the speakers you like.

i would never review or add my comments on speakers that are brand new/just out of the box..... we all know that revels MUST be perfectly placed... i heared them in a show room and felt they needed more space - bottom line i dont think you can place speakers next to them - they need room to breath.. at least that has been my experience - so you must have a good room for them to sound their best... so it is not the speaker for everybody... and i like that!!! being from the b&w camp... dm series then nautilus

ditto with the first two comments. I couldn't listen for very long without the harshness driving me away. Metal domes are not the ticket. Find some used Dunlavy Athenas for a few $K and you'll be happy for a long time.

My guess is the harshness is coming from upstream. The F32 is a fantastically revealing speaker. It has a similar signature to my other speaker the $10k Aerial 7Ts. Both speakers are fleet footed with nuance and have ruler flat responses. Like the Aerials, my F32s are detailed, sweet and dynamic when driven by either VTL or Krell. The two speakers sound remarkably similar.

16 year old thread.

Yes but still relevant. On a more contemporary note: Just for the halibut I recently picked up an el cheapo pair of slim towers on CL for my little HT setup in the den. I did it for it’s looks and I had no expectations. It’s a brand I never heard before - Fluance - model XL7F. Apparently sold for $499 a pair when new! Canadian designed but like everything else these days built in the PRC. I was shocked and blown away at how good they sounded driven by a lowly NAD C356BEE. I must say they gave my 10 to 20 times more expensive Revels and Aerials a major run for their money. They also sounded more musically natural than just about every speaker in my prized collection of classic vintages (AR3A, original Advent, Dynaco A25, Mission 770, Ohm Walsh, KLH 6). These Fluances easily compete with speakers 3 to 5 times their price IMO. Unfortunately these things have been discontinued after an 8 yr run and I’m not sure if the new ones (XL8F) are as good, but if I ever see another set advertised I will surely snatch them up.

Ok I'll play, I had the f52 for a while and replaced them with a pair of salon1's and I was disappointed that there was no appreciable difference with the $16k flagship speakers and tbh I liked the intimate soundstage of the performa2 better than the bigger open set 'live' type stage of the ultima's. I later upgraded the components and the salons mids opened up so much I thought if I'd had the same components with the f52 I might not had ever considered upgrading.