Harman’s own research says 35% of a speaker’s weighted preference comes from bass extension. Both the Salon 2 and F228Be have more bass extension than the A3, so that alone should account for a significant amount of the preference. In fact since the Salon 2s have extension down to 30hz, you could argue that might be why it’s preferred over the F228Be, even though the F228Be actually measures flatter than the Salon 2 in the mids and the highs.
If you look at the artists chosen, the one with the least warmth/bass is Diana Krall, which also had the smallest perceived difference in preference between the Revels and Magico A3. The other thing is, we know from Earl Geddes psychoacoustic studies that humans prefer speakers with a wider soundstage/dispersion for live music, and prefer narrower staging from studio music, which probably also explains why the difference in preference was widest between the most acoustic/live music vs something that's closer to a studio mix.
If you look at the artists chosen, the one with the least warmth/bass is Diana Krall, which also had the smallest perceived difference in preference between the Revels and Magico A3. The other thing is, we know from Earl Geddes psychoacoustic studies that humans prefer speakers with a wider soundstage/dispersion for live music, and prefer narrower staging from studio music, which probably also explains why the difference in preference was widest between the most acoustic/live music vs something that's closer to a studio mix.