Shout out to Revival Audio Atalante 3 speakers
Normally I’d write a long review of something as I never seem to keep it short. Right now I’m looking at over two pages of handwritten notes and can’t bring myself to put it all to pen, so to speak. Throw in images and links and it becomes a thing unto itself. And it’s sad to say I won’t for what deserves pages of accolades.
I will say this though: if you want a great all around speaker that’s eminently musical at the expense of nothing of import, then the Revival Audio Atalante 3 speaker should be at the top of you short list.
If you crave tone, body and soul, then listen to this speaker.
If you enjoy air, ambience, shimmer and decay, again, listen to this speaker.
If etch, shrillness and a hot top end bother you, no need to look elsewhere.
If the bottom octave is not of paramount importance but a strong mid and upper bass done realistically floats your boat, this will easily suffice.
If coherence and presence is a big deal for you, no need to ask for any more cards as you have a winning hand.
If a beautifully finished cabinet is important, one that harkens back to better days, then this will fit into any decor.
If pedigree matters, then rest assured that this is designed and assembled completely in France. Also, the designer has over 30 years designing speakers for Focal-JM Lab, Dynaudio and others. The drivers are unique to the brand and not off the shelf for other brands to use.
Finally, if price is a factor, these retail for only $2500 and if made by another company, would command multiples of it’s asking price, which I was told, is probably going to go up soon. One member who I’ve been communicating with told me they got 5 pallets of speakers in and they were all mostly accounted for and 5 pairs sold while he was at the dealer auditioning them (2 were of the larger 5 series).
Demand is so high that they came out with a less costly design (two models) to take up some of the slack and to spread the love to those of lessor pockets, which is admirable.
I can’t tell you how much I love these speakers but this should give you an idea: I no longer listen critically to anything anymore. I no longer crave this or that. I can listen at lower volumes and hear all I want or need to. These speakers emotionally connect with me and did so within the first few minutes of listening. There’s no more wind in my audio sails but if I had the money and the space, I’d give the Atalante 5 a serious listen and most likely get them.
Now I find most of the discussions here amusing, at best. Too many unicorns chased and nothing to show for it. Too many lost in search of that perfect tree when you have the whole forest to enjoy at any time and at any angle you wish, if you chose to. Time to choose.
All the best,
Nonoise
Great to hear from you. I experienced the same thing with my JBL 4319 speakers. Had them on their low riser stands for four years and tried them up on some stools and that was a game changer. Like you said: more coherent, more info, and more focused. The only trade off was the loss of that mid century modern look for a more imposing look with them up on the stands. I got used to it rather quickly. 👍 All the best, |
I was the lucky one to demo then purchase the 5's from the great @goldprintaudio I listened to them first on the floor with the installed riser lip. They sounded very, very good and were still not broken in. I then installed them on their stands (the stands are a PITA to put together) and I like them much better on the stands. More coherent, open, focused. To me having the tweeters at ear level on the stands makes a significant improvement. I'm still tweaking placement and setup in my room but I really like these and consider them a bargain. |
I was of the same mind but was told by the dealer to wait a week or two and then decide. Impatient as I am, I used the Ayre break in CD with its tone sweeps, white, pink and brown noise and man oh man, did they open up, going from really nice to amazingly great. YMMV, but I doubt it. 😄 All the best, |
