Revel 328Be owners...what do you think?


Been looking at this speaker and I'd love to hear from people who had it in their homes.  Does it live up to the hype?  How did it exceed your expectations and how did it let you down?

I will be pairing it with a sub so low end extension isn't a big concern for me.

Thanks for your thoughts!

samgupta101

Showing 3 responses by helomech

I was not impressed by the 328Be despite being a longtime Revel fan. IMO it is overpriced relative to Revel’s more entry-level products. I would rather own a pre-owned pair of Salon2s, or even get Performa F208s and spend the savings elsewhere. 

That said, I recommend auditioning the Børresen X series which is within the same price range. To my ears they are simply on another level—treble, midrange, bass texture, imaging—they outshine the Revel Bes in all those metrics, not to mention outright musicality. The only area the larger X towers fall slightly short of the 328Bes is in lowest octave extension.

 


 

 

 


I have the opportunity to pick up a second hand pair of the 328s at a pretty good price, and am currently running the 228s paired with a big rel. 

What is a “pretty good price?” Personally, based on the performance I would not be tempted by 328s unless I could snag them for under $5K/pair.

I say that because Børresen X3s can be had for <$10K pair with a typical dealer discount. They have far less audible cabinets and higher SPL capability despite the “4.5 inch” woofers (which are really 6” woofers by any other’s standard.” They  X3s would be a clear and worthy upgrade over your 228s, while the 328s will only surpass your current speakers in a couple areas. 
 

I’d also consider a pair of pre-owned YG towers, especially since you already have bass reinforcement with the subs. 

 

The one thing that concerns me about the Borresen is that I typically do not like ribbon tweeters. I just find the integration between a ribbon and the traditional cones extremely difficult to master. My mind automatically goes to gaps or dynamic differences between both of those drivers technologies.

The Borresen planar-ribbon tweeter is probably the most refined I’ve encountered, more so than any beryllium dome, expensive soft dome (Seas Excel, Esotar etc) or RAAL ribbon. It’s quite remarkable to me that Borresen uses them in their “entry-level” models because I find they are superior to most brands’ flagships. Like you, I am typically not a big fan of ribbons or AMTs, though the Borresen unit is technically neither of those. It’s more of a quasi-ribbon tweeter similar to the principle of that in some Magnepans, but considerably better than those of Magnepan.

I suspect the reason the Borresens have such great coherency between the ribbon/planar tweeter and the the cones is their use of a wave guide. FWIW, the Borresens are “end game” in my system. They are the first speakers among dozens that can make every genre and recording sound great, whether the recording is audiophile quality or compressed grunge rock. I have yet to encounter a track in which something rears its ugly head and makes me wince. They also have a remarkable ability to get me lost in the music rather than focusing on quality metrics—that’s the best endorsement I can give.

Regardless, I understand your apprehension with an unfamiliar brand and the desire to stay on the safe path. Speakers are a pain to flip if they don’t work out in your system, and the Revels are mostly a known quantity. I do like Revels but as already suggested, I would bet you’d be more enthralled with some Salon 2s, and those can be found for comparable prices to the 328s.