Revel 226be VS. Paradigm Founder 100

[Servo15]

I have been auditioning speakers for about a year now. I have narrowed it down to the Revel 226be and the Founder 100s.
I like the neutrality of the Revel, but they seem flat in their presentation. Like the soundstage and imaging doesn't have dimension to it. The Founders have more depth to the soundstage, but I worry that the Founders might be too bright in my room and I do think that the 226's have a cleaner mid-range.
I have Paradigm Studio 60 V.4s and the 690 CC. I love them and have had them for 15 years. I do feel however, that they can be a little bright and sibilant sometimes and the mids aren't as clean as some of the speakers I've been auditioning.
I bought the Revel M106 bookshelves to try in my room and overall, I like their sound, but they seem lifeless. I took them into my local Revel dealer who only has the Revel bookshelf 126be, not the towers I'm looking for. We A/B'd them and they do to everything better than the 106s, but they still seem 1 dimensional, and I'm missing some details that I hear with other speakers.
I also took the M106's to the Paradigm dealer, (none of the dealers will let me take home speakers so I can demo in my own room), and the Paradigm 40Bs created a sense of air and space around instruments and the soundstage, but again, I worry that the treble might be too much. Will the Revel towers have more dimension? All the reviews and the frequency response graphs show that the Revels are the more accurate speaker, but I like how the Founders feel more alive.

Thoughts please?

 

[Cos]

Botht the 226Be and Founders have been reviewed on this site, for frame of reference.

Revel 226Be
Paradigm Founders

I would suggest trying to find a dealer that carries both, but that may be hard to find. If you are in IL I can suggest a dealer.

• I would say treble/treble extension would definitely favor the Revels. No one does beryllium tweets as well as Revel.
• Bass, I have demo'd the Founder 100, you really don't even need external subs, it shook the demo room I was in. You also have Anthem ARC room correction

I have owned the Studio 60v3, and I am pretty sure that Paradigm did not make any significant upgrades to the drives until v5, so I fully can understand you issues with v4s. I also have owned the Studio 100v5, which was a marked improvement over the previous versions.

As you will read in the review, the Founders 100 do have a spike after 10k. My Persona's have a huge spike at according to measurements, and I do toe them in slightly. I do not find them bright at all, but it could be my hearing who knows.

It's preference to what sounds better to you, not what is on the graphs, I don't think either speaker is a bad choice. My only comment is if you are going to spend 5-10k for speakers, you should really demo along with getting people's feedback.

If you decide to go the route of Paradigm, I have a really solid dealer I work with who has worked with a few people on this site.

 

[Mikado463]

great soundstage = great speaker positioning, first and foremost IMO. Everything else being equal of course .....

 

[Servo15]

Actually, the Studio V.4 was a significant change over the v.3, which I also had. The 4 is the best version of the series.
I am not concerned about bass. I have subs for that.

I do not have a dealer that carries both in my area. I live in Portland, OR. The dealers near me carry B&W, Focal, B&W, Focal, and B&W. They also carry B&W and some Focal.
I drove 3 hours up to Seattle and spent a day visiting dealers where I only saw B&W and Sonus Faber, which I removed from my short list after extensive auditioning. I have resourced the Revel website and there is one dealer in Seattle, who I called and was told he doesn't have Revel right now. The rest of the so-called dealers are installers who can get Revel, but don't have show rooms or product.

I am aware of the reviews here. I have read them 5 times at least. It seems Revel is the winner between the 2. And their very long youtube review on the Founders, seems to be inconclusive.
I also watched NRD's youtube reviews on the 226be. He has 3 very extensive reviews on that speaker and has found out the same thing. They measure impeccably, but they miss detail and don't put the image in your room like other speakers do.


Revel Speakers | What do they sound like?! - YouTube

Spatial Sapphires, X5s, Concept 500, Klipsch Heresy and Revel's! Binaural Shootout! - YouTube

 

[Servo15]

great soundstage = great speaker positioning, first and foremost IMO. Everything else being equal of course .....

Correct. But in 4 different rooms with different electronics, and the same conclusion, tells me it's the speaker.

 

[Cos]

Actually, the Studio V.4 was a significant change over the v.3, which I also had. The 4 is the best version of the series.
I am not concerned about bass. I have subs for that.

I do not have a dealer that carries both in my area. I live in Portland, OR. The dealers near me carry B&W, Focal, B&W, Focal, and B&W. They also carry B&W and some Focal.
I drove 3 hours up to Seattle and spent a day visiting dealers where I only saw B&W and Sonus Faber, which I removed from my short list after extensive auditioning. I have resourced the Revel website and there is one dealer in Seattle, who I called and was told he doesn't have Revel right now. The rest of the so-called dealers are installers who can get Revel, but don't have show rooms or product.

I am aware of the reviews here. I have read them 5 times at least. It seems Revel is the winner between the 2. And their very long youtube review seems to be inconclusive.
I also watched NRD's you tube reviews on the 226be. He has 3 very extensive reviews on that speaker and has found out the same thing. They measure impeccably, but they miss detail and don't put the image in your room like other speakers do.


Revel Speakers | What do they sound like?! - YouTube

Spatial Sapphires, X5s, Concept 500, Klipsch Heresy and Revel's! Binaural Shootout! - YouTube

I guess the point is, that given all the research you have done, what is someone's opinion going to do to sway you one way or the other? All you are going to get is subjective opinions.

An option I used when I bought my speakers is that I belong to several local Audio user groups, discord grps etc and was able to hear multiple speakers I normally would not have access to. It sounds like you have to be there to actually demo the equipment for yourself.

Make a trip to Chicago IL AXPONA - Audio Expo North America

• They should have both speakers there, I know the dealer who has the Paradigms will be there.
• Having gone for the past 3 years, 99% positive the Revels will be there to, with a ton more options

If I was going to make that much of a investment, what is another $500 in travel.

 

[Mikado463]

Correct. But in 4 different rooms with different electronics, and the same conclusion, tells me it's the speaker.

perhaps but I own Revel as well (Studio 2's) , there's nothing lifeless about them at all and in my set up / room the soundstage is excellent both L>R and front>back !

 

[gene]

I have been auditioning speakers for about a year now. I have narrowed it down to the Revel 226be and the Founder 100s.
I like the neutrality of the Revel, but they seem flat in their presentation. Like the soundstage and imaging doesn't have dimension to it. The Founders have more depth to the soundstage, but I worry that the Founders might be too bright in my room and I do think that the 226's have a cleaner mid-range.
I have Paradigm Studio 60 V.4s and the 690 CC. I love them and have had them for 15 years. I do feel however, that they can be a little bright and sibilant sometimes and the mids aren't as clean as some of the speakers I've been auditioning.
I bought the Revel M106 bookshelves to try in my room and overall, I like their sound, but they seem lifeless. I took them into my local Revel dealer who only has the Revel bookshelf 126be, not the towers I'm looking for. We A/B'd them and they do to everything better than the 106s, but they still seem 1 dimensional, and I'm missing some details that I hear with other speakers.
I also took the M106's to the Paradigm dealer, (none of the dealers will let me take home speakers so I can demo in my own room), and the Paradigm 40Bs created a sense of air and space around instruments and the soundstage, but again, I worry that the treble might be too much. Will the Revel towers have more dimension? All the reviews and the frequency response graphs show that the Revels are the more accurate speaker, but I like how the Founders feel more alive.

Thoughts please?

I own the Revel F328Be in one of my systems which adds an additional 8" driver, larger cabinet and modified waveguide on the tweeter. The speaker is very neutral and plays loud and clean but the bass is quite lacking and disappointing. My room I have them in is part of the problem but I also heard these speakers at a recent Trade Show and the bass was lacking there too. They are tuned for high sensitivity and output. You really need subs to make them full range. The Founder 100s will likely have a bass advantage but may not be as neutral. The Founder 120h are absolute monsters. I was floored by their bass output and overall I found them to be a very enjoyable speaker to listen to. Hope that helps.

 

[RandyR]

I have been auditioning speakers for about a year now. I have narrowed it down to the Revel 226be and the Founder 100s.
I like the neutrality of the Revel, but they seem flat in their presentation. Like the soundstage and imaging doesn't have dimension to it. The Founders have more depth to the soundstage, but I worry that the Founders might be too bright in my room and I do think that the 226's have a cleaner mid-range.
I have Paradigm Studio 60 V.4s and the 690 CC. I love them and have had them for 15 years. I do feel however, that they can be a little bright and sibilant sometimes and the mids aren't as clean as some of the speakers I've been auditioning.
I bought the Revel M106 bookshelves to try in my room and overall, I like their sound, but they seem lifeless. I took them into my local Revel dealer who only has the Revel bookshelf 126be, not the towers I'm looking for. We A/B'd them and they do to everything better than the 106s, but they still seem 1 dimensional, and I'm missing some details that I hear with other speakers.
I also took the M106's to the Paradigm dealer, (none of the dealers will let me take home speakers so I can demo in my own room), and the Paradigm 40Bs created a sense of air and space around instruments and the soundstage, but again, I worry that the treble might be too much. Will the Revel towers have more dimension? All the reviews and the frequency response graphs show that the Revels are the more accurate speaker, but I like how the Founders feel more alive.

Thoughts please?

I have the 120h and come from the Monitor 11 v.5. If I ever listened to the Monitors the way I listen to the 120h my ears would be very punished for days. They are not bright. They are clean and satisfying. Never fatiguing. Hope this helps.

 

[Cos]

I made a mistake when referencing the 100s I was discussing the 120h with the integrated subs and ARC, that was the ones I demo'd.

 

[gene]

I made a mistake when referencing the 100s I was discussing the 120h with the integrated subs and ARC, that was the ones I demo'd.

No contest, 120h over Revel F series all day long.

 

[shadyJ]

No contest, 120h over Revel F series all day long.

If you are factoring in bass extension, yes, I would go with the 120H, however, disregarding the bass extension, I would go with the Revels all day long. They have a more focused design philosophy and performance targets than the Paradigms. The Paradigms Founders are more like a checklist of features that some marketing guys told the engineers to stuff in the speakers. The Revels were more like an attempt to adhere to a set of performance targets for a certain budget, no matter what technology was used. And, bass extension aside, that makes it a better speaker overall, in my opinion. Both speakers were designed by very competent people, but I feel like the engineers had less interference in the design of the Revels. And if you will eventually be adding in a center speaker, there is no contest, the PerformaBe center is sooo much better than the Founders center speaker.

 

[gene]

If you are factoring in bass extension, yes, I would go with the 120H, however, disregarding the bass extension, I would go with the Revels all day long. They have a more focused design philosophy and performance targets than the Paradigms. The Paradigms Founders are more like a checklist of features that some marketing guys told the engineers to stuff in the speakers. The Revels were more like an attempt to adhere to a set of performance targets for a certain budget, no matter what technology was used. And, bass extension aside, that makes it a better speaker overall, in my opinion. Both speakers were designed by very competent people, but I feel like the engineers had less interference in the design of the Revels. And if you will eventually be adding in a center speaker, there is no contest, the PerformaBe center is sooo much better than the Founders center speaker.

Sadly the Founder center is lacking so that's a true factor if you're building a home theater with matching LCRs. But, IMO the Revel F series are a very sterile sounding speaker. It's the only speaker I find myself rarely listening to in my home at the moment. I wish it wasn't the case but the Founder 120h blew me away in comparison. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

 

[Servo15]

Thank you guys for your help and opinions!!!

Bass is not a concern, So I would be getting the Founder 100s. I know in your review that you weren't thrilled about the 70 center, but does that apply towards the 90 as well, which would be my choice with the Founders

I do like the balance of the Revel, but the Founders seem to place the instruments IN the room, and I can't fix that with RC. That is my only caveat with the Revels.

 

[Servo15]

Sadly the Founder center is lacking so that's a true factor if you're building a home theater with matching LCRs. But, IMO the Revel F series are a very sterile sounding speaker. It's the only speaker I find myself rarely listening to in my home at the moment. I wish it wasn't the case but the Founder 120h blew me away in comparison. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

I would be using them for HT and require a center.
By F series, does that include the "Be" line as well?

 

[shadyJ]

Thank you guys for your help and opinions!!!

Bass is not a concern, So I would be getting the Founder 100s. I know in your review that you weren't thrilled about the 70 center, but does that apply towards the 90 as well, which would be my choice with the Founders

I do like the balance of the Revel, but the Founders seem to place the instruments IN the room, and I can't fix that with RC. That is my only caveat with the Revels.

The problems with Founder 70 LCR would carry over to the 90. The design of the 90 does not alleviate it at all.

 

[kini]

I have been auditioning speakers for about a year now. I have narrowed it down to the Revel 226be and the Founder 100s.
I like the neutrality of the Revel, but they seem flat in their presentation. Like the soundstage and imaging doesn't have dimension to it. The Founders have more depth to the soundstage, but I worry that the Founders might be too bright in my room and I do think that the 226's have a cleaner mid-range.
I have Paradigm Studio 60 V.4s and the 690 CC. I love them and have had them for 15 years. I do feel however, that they can be a little bright and sibilant sometimes and the mids aren't as clean as some of the speakers I've been auditioning.
I bought the Revel M106 bookshelves to try in my room and overall, I like their sound, but they seem lifeless. I took them into my local Revel dealer who only has the Revel bookshelf 126be, not the towers I'm looking for. We A/B'd them and they do to everything better than the 106s, but they still seem 1 dimensional, and I'm missing some details that I hear with other speakers.
I also took the M106's to the Paradigm dealer, (none of the dealers will let me take home speakers so I can demo in my own room), and the Paradigm 40Bs created a sense of air and space around instruments and the soundstage, but again, I worry that the treble might be too much. Will the Revel towers have more dimension? All the reviews and the frequency response graphs show that the Revels are the more accurate speaker, but I like how the Founders feel more alive.

Thoughts please?

You could demo the Revels in your own space via crutchfield. Would cost you $150 (IIRC) to return the pair if you don't like them.

 

[Servo15]

As I mentioned in my post. I did buy M106s from Crutchfield and have been using them. I didn't want to deal with the towers.

 

[mattmusicman50]

I thought I would chime in, as I am the most picky and unsure person I know. I have the Founder 80f, as my room is pretty small and I did not need the 100 or the 120 for sure. I was lucky to be able to audition both speakers in the same place, although not my home. Before getting the 80f's I had the Revel Concerta2 F36. I loved the Revel sound and at that time, had not heard a Paradigm speaker. When i auditioned both the Concerta2(so not even on the same level as the 226be, but still great with the trickle down technology) and the Paradigm Founder 80f, I found the Founder to create a larger soundstage and an all-encompassing sound. I did not and do not feel the treble is too high and I actually feel it is a well-balanced speaker that let's the music be the music. I listen to literally all kinds of music and thus far, the Paradigm had pleased me. With all that said, if I still had the Revel F36, I believe I would be saying the same thing. The sell of them was circumstantial, so really just decided to try something different and I have no regrets.

 

[Servo15]

I thought I would chime in, as I am the most picky and unsure person I know. I have the Founder 80f, as my room is pretty small and I did not need the 100 or the 120 for sure. I was lucky to be able to audition both speakers in the same place, although not my home. Before getting the 80f's I had the Revel Concerta2 F36. I loved the Revel sound and at that time, had not heard a Paradigm speaker. When i auditioned both the Concerta2(so not even on the same level as the 226be, but still great with the trickle down technology) and the Paradigm Founder 80f, I found the Founder to create a larger soundstage and an all-encompassing sound. I did not and do not feel the treble is too high and I actually feel it is a well-balanced speaker that let's the music be the music. I listen to literally all kinds of music and thus far, the Paradigm had pleased me. With all that said, if I still had the Revel F36, I believe I would be saying the same thing. The sell of them was circumstantial, so really just decided to try something different and I have no regrets.

I appreciate your response. I do like the Founders better than the Revels I've heard, but it sounds like the Founder center channel speakers have issues.
I wonder if I should consider Perlisten? Unfortunately, they are not available for audition anywhere.