Revel Studio Discussion- Everything Studio Here

I have never had the Salons in my listening room although I have been impressed with them at other sites.

Part of my decision not to try the Salons is the visual factor since my stereo listening area is also my living room. This space is 15x26 with open continuity to a large foyer and a dining room.

As for upgrades, I assume this is inevitable but I do not hear it as a pressing issue.

The Moon W-5 is a nice match even though I prefer the SF Line3 in my particular setup.

While I await my own chance to audition the Studios, many reviews (editorial vs. personal internet-based) seem to frequently address the bright tweeter, need for turning down tweeter setting, and the over revealing nature of the speaker. I don't know if you saw the review in HiFi News, but the reviewer spends most of the article harping on how the speaker suddenly picked apart the differences between vinyl, radio, and CD. Then, with CD playback, he was concerned that until he listened to many discs with the Studios, he never realized how unlistenable these were.

I just read a personal review of someone who traded in their Studios for VR 4 jr. Among the reasons (WAF, needed a change), but the speaker being too revealing and bright were his main concerns.

Can anyone comment on these possible faults of the Studio. Having spent a few hours listening to the JMlab Alto Be, I was impressed how nonfatiguing it was. Sure it was revealing, but not to a fault. And the tweeter is sweeeeeet. I really don't know whether the Studio will match these qualities from what I read. Probably has more impressive bass. I need to also review Sophia, and Dyn C2 in that regard. Also, Verity Parsifal Encore and Focus Audio FS-888.

I have a pair of Salons. I find that the rear tweeters need to be turned off otherwise the higher frequencies are too irritating. I believe that the tweeters on the Studios can also be turned off. These speaker do need a large listening room. I realize that my room is not ideal, but nonetheless, the Salons are superb.

I agree that the Salons are very revealing, but not to the point that CDs sound bad. Having said that though, bad recordings are evident.

I haven't compared the Studio to the Salon, but I have auditioned the Studio at my dealer's showroom. I was very impressed with the performance. Is the Salon better? Is an upgrade to the Salon a good move? I don't think you can go wrong with the Studio.

I have a question: which speaker cables are people using? I'm using Cardas Golden Reference but I'm wondering if there is a better match. Any comments? Your experiences and input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Well, I've heard the same rap from some regarding the Revel F-30, which sounds more like the Studio than you might imagine.

In my experience with Revel F-30's, I found set-up and room treatments to be even more critical than I had anticipated. Having treated my room properly and spent a LOT of time with set-up, I believe that the rap on the F-30's "brightness" may be due to folks failing to spend the many hours required for set-up.

I suspect the same holds true for the Studios.

Of course, just my opinion.

Having owned f-30's until just recently and now owning revel studios, it has been my impression that the highs are definitely more revealing on the studios. the midrage is to die for and that the bass did not have the "wow factor" i was hoping for.

I have to be honest, i really liked my f-30's (they are a GREAT value!!!!!!) and I do like my studios. I do not know if i LOVE the studios yet. Granted, I have not yet spent the time required for proper set-up. That will be an evolving process. I do believe that the studios are really honest speakers- they exactly reproduce what you feed them and this is true for the original audio signal (cd) as well as equipment upstream of the speaker. To be honest, when i first got the f-30's i was underwhelmed as well but after a lot of set-up time i came to love them more than any other speaker i had owned. I do think placement is key as just a little movement in these speakers has made a huge difference in soundstage, etc...
room treatment is also key and i have yet to go down that road.

in terms of how they sound compared to the salons. a friend of mine has salons and they are a no holds barred unbelievable speaker. i think that paired with subs, the studios hold their own against the salons but they lack the dynamic "slam" that the salons have. keep in mind that for both of these, you do need a big room.
both of these speakers can be somewhat tiring on long listens-at least this has been my impression. i think that once you start down the revel line- many people are mistaking "brightness" with merciless reproduction of the presented material and this can be fatiguing. Personally, i find the b&w nautilus line to sound a lot more "bright" and tinny than the revels do.

i have just started experimenting with turning down the front tweeter and have noticed a huge difference as of yet.
the rear tweeter is key for the sense of "air" that these speakers can reproduce and a such i would be hesitant to turn them down.

I would love to hear others thoughts on amplification (tube versus solid state), placement and components (including cables).

in terms of cables, i am using alpha core mi 2 veracity biwires- they are ok but i have heard nordost and analysis plus are excellent matches for this line.