Any Agon members own a set or extensively heard a pair of the new Revel F228be's ? Do they sound amazing and a lot better than Performa F206s and F208s?
Most reports from those who have heard them are extremely positive. There have been a lot of comments on them after they were displayed at AXPONA in April. I thought they sounded excellent, paired with the Mark Levinson 585 integrated amp. They'll be demonstrating them at RMAF next month in Denver. But, given Revel's obsession with accuracy in frequency response, I'm not sure I would look for them to "sound amazing" in any flashy or gimmicky way.
Mtrot, My front end is Ayre preamp and Levinson 532h amp and what I like about Revel is the accuracy to frequency response being true to the recording.
I have multiple friends with them and all have upgraded from other revels, including the f208. Long story short, they smoke the 208s. Bigger soundstage, better low level detail, and where even the 208 would start sounding hard on transients and louder levels the 228s just sail through. You can hear the higher power handling and lower distortion and breakup on higher spls. They also are easier to drive and have more extension and weight on the bass. The 90db sensitivity and 8ohm impedance make them more tube friendly (Rogue Audio m180 darks are a great pairing btw) if you are into that sort of thing :) They are truly exceptional speakers. My only complaint is I wish they were in better cabinets for twice the price of the 208s. Hope this helps.
Chrissain, I heard them today for over an hour at my local dealer and WOW are they amazing. I have the Silver which is Astin Martin silver with metal flake in the paint ordered and coming in about 7-10 days. Absolutely beautiful speakers and sound amazing, I can't wait to have them hooked up. Apparently they are so hot right now some colors on back order for over 30 days.
Congrats! I ordered mine in black and it's been several months and still have not seen them :( my friends have ordered theirs in silver and in white and they showed up within a couple weeks.
The eagle has landed! Finally got my speakers, it was worth the wait. Everyone who has come over to hear them has been very impressed with their sound. The driver intergration is some of the best I have heard regardless of cost, Revel should be proud of the crossovers! You can hear images floating in space detached from the speakers themselves from almost anywhere in the room. They also have a clarity and low level resolution which can be mesmerizing.
I have the 208’s, the 206’s and have has the f228be’s for the last 6 months. I already thought the 208’s where very clear and sounded excellent but 228’s bring clarity to another level. I’ve been using the Bryston 173 and 4b3 to drive them and the clarity Is just outstanding. Now when I listen to the 208s the sound muddy in comparison. The thing that first grabbed me when I listened to them was the presence of the piano. I’d never heard it that good!!!
I'm very interested in the Revel F228Be's, but haven't had a chance to
listen to them yet (four hours' driving to get to/from nearest dealer).
But I have quite constrained placement options in my room, so if I were
to purchase them, I don't think I could *optimize* positioning of these
speakers. So, I have a question for F228Be owners: what do you think
is the *minimum* distance from the back wall in order to do *at least
moderate* justice to these speakers? Minimum distance from side walls?
My understanding is that these do not have the compensation switches
that the F208 has(?)
Hope my questions make sense. Thanks for any information!
otinkyad, I've had my F228BE's about 3 months now and had F206 before. They sound amazing, much better deeper bass, much better highs. Just plain better all the way around. I have mine in a 12 x 13 room about 16 inches out from wall and 20 from sides. I have good acoustic treatments in corners, first reflections and OmegaWood absorbsion/diffusers on listening wall behind sofa. These may help but I rarely get room nodes that are noticeable. I would like to take out front wall and move back 2 feet to give about 24-30 inches and away from me another foot or so, but all in all sounds very good.
the speakers are front ported so i would think some absorption on the sidewall first reflection point would work. The contour 60, persona 3f, and Kanta2 are competitors at the same price all quality products that will appeal to different listeners I'm sure Kef has something at this price and are dumping the r line at 1/2 price by B&M dealers so probably worth listening to the R900 also.
@lnitm Many thanks for the positioning information —extremely helpful, and good to know that 16” to front wall is workable. I finally managed to audition them today and was able to experiment a little with positioning, and also felt they sounded very good at 16” from back wall.
@steve59. Thanks very much for the thoughts on room correction as well as alternatives. I’ll have to look at which of those are possible auditions (nothing is closer than 3-4 hours for me).
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