I recently auditioned the N801, N802, Revel Studio and Revel Salon. The Salon's were in a separate room, and really beyond the price range of the others, but the other three I was able to listen to in the same room on the same equipment. I felt that the Revel Studio was the best in the group, but just by a bit over the N802. I thought that the N801 was a bit boomy at times, and I liked the look of the 802 better. In my opinion, the bass response of the Revel was a bit tighter and more accurate. I liked the Revel Studio best overall, but because I am planning to upgrade my theater room to try to make it music and movie friendly, I decided to go with the 802 over the Studio because it was less expensive but yet very close to the performance of the Studio. Also, I like the HTM1 center better than the Revel, and that's $2000 compared to $4500 for the Revel center. I figured that the money saved on the speaker purchase would be better spent in upgrading the electronics and cables.
Revel Studio,B&W 802's,Ect....
I have assembled A pair of Bat Vk 60's(monoblocks)ARC LS 10 pre,Marantz cd11 mk2,Kimber cable,Apature silver interconcts,and am in need of some speaker suggestions.I just listened to the Revel studio's driven by an ARC VT 100mk2,blue circle pre,levinson trans,dcs proc. The presentation was awsome! Now, I am wanting to hear the vk60's driving 802's even though some say tubes just dont drive B&W's well.From what I can remember 2-3yrs. ago I heard a vt50 driving 802's to good sound.Anyway I was very taken by the Revel's and am in search for some more suggestions.Due to price I will probably buy used..... Thanks Sren0