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
sreno
I listened extensively to both....and found the Revel's much more engaging. I absolutely loved the sound coming out of the studio's...but I stepped it up for the whole enchilada and bought the Salon's. Incredible speaker. Not a day goes by that I don't salivate over the sound coming out of them. Imaging, tonal balance and bass are unparalleled in that price range IMO. good luck
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.
I own the Revel Studios and previoulsy owned B&W802 Matrix 3s. I chose the Revels after listening to many speakers in many stores over many systems over extended periods of time. Please note that I did not purchase B&W Nautilus 802s even though there were a number of dealers who were willing to give me a sweetheart deal for my 802 M3s as a trade-in. Why didn't I buy the Nautilus 802s? Because they simply did not sound like double the cost of the M3s. If you want a real bargain, just look for a used pair of 802 M3s. If you want a speaker that sounds like it cost $10k or maybe $20k, buy the Revels. By the way, I have seen a lot of 802 Nautilus speakers appear for sale at this website over the last 18 months but not too many Revel Studios. People keep high end components that are great and sell everything else.
I have the Studios and love them. I think they sound much more "live"l than the B&Ws. BTW: The Gems are wonderful as well. They just need a subwoofer.