what would you do?

Ref 3A de capo I. 92db. detailed

 too much bass that even with boundary settings can't be adjusted the way my buddy can adjust the output of his sub and bookshelfs for his Listening Room. My room just gets boom and then with the boundary settings it seems that the mid-range is overly present it's not equally rich and full and sound. And it may sound weird to some of you but a certain part of the speaker seem so clinical and revealing that I feel as though some musicality has been lost. Problem is I just don't know how I can better the sound of a revel f208 at a price of 2250. They are pristine condition by the way.

In my small room I put GIK Acoustics sound panels (total cost $750) and it tamed the bass and other things to now sound excellent. My speakers at the moment are small monitors. However, I believe a small floor stander will also sound good now in the room. Take a look at my virtual system for the placement of the panels.

Now if panels are not feasible for your aesthetics then something like the following preamp will solve your sound problems.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9ea13-anthem-str-preamplifier-dac-solid-state

I am looking to buy the above piece if the floor stander I get into my treated room is still too big for the room. I am 100% confident that either 1 or a combination of both solutions will work for me.

@labguy,
What is your room size? And same questions like elizabeth asked. The 208 are front ported. So bass can be tamed using corner treatments. And why did you go with the 208s if your room was smaller? Why did you not pose the question on this form before making that decision (maybe because your had a bigger room before?). But $2k is not a price I would accept. These are nice speakers. Provide details on your room - like size, placement constraints, what you like/don't like, etc.

YyzSantaBarbara,
 so funny you suggested Sound Treatment panels as well as the Str integrated by anthem. Those were both a thought of mine, that I didn't mention here because I wasn't sure I wanted to throw more money at the problem, and possibly not like the solution that I achieved. I may need to bite the bullet and just keep going bigger and better.

Might I suggest DSPeaker Dual Core 2.0?  It can be had for $849 delivered and it tamed my room.  Works with any speaker/room combination or so I've been told.  Mine is in the chain between the digital front end and the splitter for bi-amping.  My room is 20' wide X 25' deep with cathedral ceilings.  My speakers are Emerald Physics open baffle with nothing behind them (no rear wall).  The sound and sound stage depth and width are excellent!

@labguy If you can swing the panels (the low cost ones I have are not very attractive) they make a world of difference. Prior to the acoustic treatments, I used to try and play the Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream in my room and it was physically painful. After the treatments I could play that disk rather loud without issues. The sound was also cleaned up in all the best possible ways.

I was actually suggesting the Anthem STR preamp and not the integrated. However, I now see you are using an integrated. 

Suggestions: 1. Stuff some socks into the ports to reduce bass. 2. As these speakers are bi-wire, remove the wires for the bass speakers and just use the mid-tweet. 3. Bi-amp with a nice integrated (like new Parasound) on the woofers. Doing this lets you trim/boost bass at your discretion (it's good to be the King). 4. Trade them in for some B&W 805 two-way stand mounts with a small subwoofer (B&W DB3D). Just don't accept a huge loss on your investment.

Maybe you can exchange them for the f206? The bass from the f208 is in my opinion their weak point. As with most stand-amounts that tries to play full-range with small woofers. The Spendor D7 gets a lot of praise on the Audiogon.

Thanks for the suggestions. I paid about 2,800 for the speakers 6 months ago.  I'm getting offered 2250, so it's not a huge loss but even if I sold everything off that I owned and started from scratch I'm not sure that I could got a better system for only three or four grand.

I had a similar experience with Revel F36s - different speaker model but they're actually quite similar. My local Revel dealer admitted that they upgraded the Performa line to the Be models because the new Concerta series is too close in performance to the F208/206.

 Anyhow, I found the bass was overpowering, even in my largish room (15.5 x 26'). I also noticed the somewhat clinical midrange character - some music was stripped of its soul. Revel support told me it's safe to plug the ports - they recommended 3" deep foam. Unfortunately the bass was still difficult to enjoy. 

As for room treatments, there's not much you can do in a small room to tame the bass. The Revel 208s have an elevated frequency response in the upper bass, near 100Hz. Bass traps would have to be  very large to alleviate that region and they'd be totally impractical. Wall treatments that absorb mid and high freqs can actually worsen the clinical character.  

I recommend finding a pre-owned or demo pair of Spendor A4s - can probably be had for ~$2500. All the detail and imaging anyone should need while preserving the music's verve.

Helomech,  thank you for the input. It's reassuring to know that somebody else has experienced the same things as me when those are speakers got such rave reviews. Made me wonder if I never learned what to listen for

Helomech, thank you for the input. It's reassuring to know that somebody else has experienced the same things as me when those are speakers got such rave reviews. Made me wonder if I never learned what to listen for

With the exception of the elevated bass (probably intended to impress during auditions), they're good speakers when judged by the NRC/Floyd Toole school of speaker design. Those who enjoy that type of sound tend to also like Paradigm, B&W and Focal. I've noticed patterns with owners of these brands - they tend to change speakers like socks. That or they continue to upgrade until they reach the pinnacle of such design: Wilsons/Magicos/802D and company. 

It seems to me that those who listen to music more than sounds tend to get off the merri-go-round with the likes of Spendor, Harbeth, Graham, Devore, Audio Note, Vandersteen, and generally, speakers of less conventional design. I suspect you might find yourself in this latter camp in the future. It's where the music lives IMO.

The room comes first. You learned the hard way. Me too.
Re the Spendor line,
I love them and I think there will be some changes in the near future.
The A line and D line nearly cross each other. They add new models
in the A but not the D. Something's cooking there.
If your room sucks, add the absorbing panels-(DIY at $30 each)
then buy a room correction unit if you can swing it. At Axpona they had some real issues with the rooms builtins hence most sounded poor. Exceptions were those using the Anthem unit. No I don't have any stock or connection.

Another option for around 3 grand would be to buy a stand mount and subs.

This is what I would do if I were smarter (and not buy a future floor stander)

1) Acoustic treatments (under $1K)
2) KEF LS50 passive (what I currently use, used $800+)
3) Sub woofer(s) for about $1000 each. I have no clue which ones are good for music but I know you can get good ones for this price.

This will give you really good sound. I am not doing this because I do not want to deal with subs but this a very smart way to go. 

Of all the speakers I have owned,  the $20K Revel Salon1, Thiel SCS4 monitors, and others, the KEF LS50 is my favorite on the top end (except bass). The bass is not that great but in a small room it is reinforced by the walls.

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/munich-2019-sources-and-cables/

An Anthem STR preamplifier ($3999) featuring its latest ARC Genesis room-correction software helped bring out the best from a pair of Paradigm Persona 7F speakers driven by two Anthem STR power amplifiers, and connected with Shunyata cables and its Denali power conditioner. Music was provided using an Aurender N10 music server. With the ARC Genesis room-correction software employed, bass was much more even throughout the room with very good imaging. It made the system sound like it was a much more expensive one.

Get a pair of great monitors and a sub. Focal makes an excellent monitor or just buy a nice used pair. You could just get a great sound form the monitors and dial in some of the lower bass which will also clean up the mid-range for your room.  Plus the monitors will most likely be easier to drive.

Happy Listening.

The room is going to determine bass below 200hz so the professionals tell us and inching the speakers around is free. Using sound absorbent at first reflection points should help smooth the mids. I don't think you can find a better speaker at the price you're being offered and it's likely any replacement speaker you use will have the same results without treatment.  

@grinnell  +1 on the de Capos. I had them in a very small basement listening and they never overwhelmed while also filling the space completely.

Look into Sjofn The Clue.  They're made to work not only in but with small rooms.  They are absolutely amazing.  You can get a stacked pair that will rock your world for $2k.  These are the speakers to have for a small room.  Disregard the Stereophile review of these speakers.  He totally miffed it.  He didn't set them up right nor did he reach out to the manufacturer to make it right.  He totally screwed it up.  I've heard these speakers at two different shows, and they are absolutely amazing when set up right.  FWIW...

I've had a variety of speakers in a small room (11' X 14")Including Revel F208 and Revel F 206.The 208s were too much for anything with significant bass content.Though they were wonderful with everything else.The F 206 were perfect in that room.Currently using Revel F126Be with a small sub.I like the coherence of the 2 way speaker vs the tower.If they had a 206 with beryllium tweeters that would be my top choice.

It's a shame that Revel couldn't include a switch that lets you cut off one of the woofers to accommodate small rooms.

labguy,

Have you tried plugging the ports with something like a dish towel? It will definitely reduce the bass.

All the best.

JD

Have you ever thought of using a DBX DriveRack PA2? It is made for large venues like shows; however, it can take a small room and with a mike can adjust all the frequencies to tame the room's acoustic abnormalities. The DBX has the capability to do active speakers as well as inactive speakers. Look them up and see what you think. I like all the menus for fine-tuning the sound . . . and you can even hook up the DBX to the modem/router and use an iPad, or a laptop . . . even a smartphone to see live frequency responses and even adjust the curves -- live, and so much more than I can really go into here. Go on YouTube and see some videos about this product. Perhaps you won't have to sell your speaker after all.

+1 on the DeCappo excellent in small to medium rooms. Can be had used for the a little less money too, particularly the non-beryllium tweeter version which has the nicer wood finishes. If your passionate about the last octave of deep bass, put a ‘swarm’ sub system in and you be set. For me, I’m good without the sub. Musical, toe tapping fun!