Revel Salon 2 vrs Kef 207/2

It's a no-brainer that a $27K speaker is generally going to outperform a $14K speaker, especially when made by reputable brands. I have no doubt the Sasha is much superior speaker to the 207/2. Then again, while I think KEFs are good, they are not in the same league as Wilson. To me, they are a second-rate imitation B&W, which is not a criticism, might be perhaps even a compliment.

The Sashas, however, are a step back from the previous WATT/Puppy. Really a shame I think. No doubt they are still a fine speaker, but the W/P 8 was better. But then again, Wilsons don't really excel until you get to the MAXX 3s. Now THAT'S a speaker! Almost as good as the X-2s, the energy of the drum set during "Take Five" is so realistic and "live" it's uncanny. Put on a well-recorded classical guitar SACD and you feel like you're INSIDE the sound hole. My advice to you is if you're seriously considering the Sasha, I'd say wait a few years until you've saved enough for the MAXX 3. You'll thank me later.

"One of the biggest myths in audio is that a higher priced unit outperforms a lower priced one."

That's twisting what I said. I was referring specifically to the large discrepancy in pricing (in this case around 2x) AND in the $14K to $27K price-range, and when both speakers are made by reputable brands. More specifically, I was pointing out it's not a fair comparison to even put these two speakers together, and especially in light of the poster's take of it being such a revelation that the Sasha would match or outperform the KEF 207/2.

"If you are buying equipment because it costs more,you are doing a great disservice to yourself."

No really? What great insight, you should be a life coach. Those pearls of wisdom need to be shared! Wow, really, the only person that even remotely suggested "buying equipment because it costs more" is YOU. Ridiculous.

Vav, I demoed the 207/2s again yesterday and they are a VERY good speaker for $14K. I auditioned them back-to-back with the 205/2s, and it's not even worth the comparison. I was surprised how bright and harsh the 205/2 sounded, and the bass was really lacking. Both the 205/2 and the 203/2 have been very disappointing to me, with similar distortion in the highs once you crank up the juice. The mids were also thin on both speakers.

The 207/2, on the other hand, was balanced throughout, and was not harsh on the highs, though slightly metallic. Bass extension was also impressive. The speaker reminded me a lot of the B&W 800 series, actually. I would say the 207/2 approaches the 802D, though for my taste I like the B&W better, and falls somewhat short of coming close to the 800D, though in design it probably resembles the 800D more than the 802D. But being the same price basically as the 802D, they are both great and it could be just a matter of taste. I would love to get those two speakers in the same room, however, to really have a proper shoot-out.

After having heard the 205/2, I would say the 207/2 is a quantum leap from that speaker, and it's surprising to me that there could be such a huge jump in quality in the same line between respective models. I think KEF should have created a 206 model to fill in the gap as there is SUCH a difference between the 205/2 and the 207/2.

I'm going into the Wilson dealer tomorrow and will listen to the Sashas again. Will be interesting to see if I still like them that much more than the 207/2s now that I will have heard them with only a couple of days in-between. It's never a fair comparison being in different rooms, driven by different gear, and the days apart spacing, but the timing will be closer than when I initially compared them last time.

I think in terms of value, though, the 207/2 is definitely a better buy than the Sasha, with it being roughly half the price, and there is no way the Sasha is twice as good as the 207/2. Then again, at this level, diminishing returns is a given.

And yes, to the others, 207/2 can be had for $14K. It's only $20K if you get the high gloss options instead of the standard finishes. To me, that makes the 207/2 a $14K speaker. The dealer did try to tell me the gloss improved the sound (because of "lessened vibrations" and "reduced harmonic distortion" due to the "hard finish"), but I have a hard time believing that. The model I heard was in high-gloss, but he didn't have a standard finish model for me to compare to (probably wisely), so to me, that's an unsubstantiated claim.

Overall, the 207/2 performed well in my audition, and for $14K, I think it's a good buy and you could definitely do a lot worse.