Revel Performa M126Be Bookshelf Speaker Review

[sakete]

Nice to see a pair of Revel's reviewed. I'm a big fan of the brand (have F206 myself ). Great review! And nice to see that the anechoic measurements hold up pretty well when measured elsewhere with different tools.

 

[baronvonellis]

I'd like to see the measurements from Salk Supercharged Surrounds which are similar sized bookshelf's. At half the cost of those Revels and see how they compare.

 

[D Murphy]

I'd like to see the measurements from Salk Supercharged Surrounds which are similar sized bookshelf's. At half the cost of those Revels and see how they compare.

So would I. But neither Jim nor I is set up to do a complete set of Spinorama's. I always take off-axis measurements to make sure the dispersion pattern is reasonably controlled across the listening area, but don't always save those. About all I can say is that I'm pretty sure the SuperChargedSurrounds measure flatter on axis and go deeper than the Revels, albeit at the cost of lower sensitivity. I'm also confident that there aren't any significant off-axis issues horizontally, although I don't know how they would compare in that regard to the Revels. ..

 

[ichigo]

Revel recommends toe-in towards the primary listening position.

Revel_RevelperformaBE_Owner's_Manual_EN.pdf

They recommend toe-in on the Ultima2 line also. In my current room the Salon2s (which use a similar waveguide) measured best above 2KHz with some toe-in, but I'm not looking down the waveguides' throats, so to speak. Of course, the crossovers are different between the two speakers, and it looks like the Be tweeter is substantially different. (The Ultima2 tweeter was introduced in 2007, so perhaps they've made improvements since, or cost cutting.)

The Ultima2 tweeter appears to be formed by vapor deposition according to the promotional material, like the TAD or Yamaha be tweeters. The PerformaBe uses SB Acoustics drivers. Whether its the expensive satori or the cheaper be driver is unknown, however its almost certainly using Matereon TruExtant beryllium foil, which is what you see in most speakers today. The thinnest Be foil available is still 2-3 times thicker than BVD, so it would have more moving mass. Stamped foil is definitely cheaper but I don't know if its worse performing.

 

[Beave]

...The PerformaBe uses SB Acoustics drivers...

Do they?

The regular Performa3 series use SB Acoustics drivers.

And I've seen people on various forums say that the Be series also uses SB Acoustics drivers.

But I'm not so sure. Look at the woofer frame - they don't look like any SB Acoustics drivers that I know. Same goes for the tweeter backside. And the markings and model numbers don't match any SB Acoustics drivers. And finally, they appear to be made in China, whereas SB makes their drivers in Indonesia.

I think they are custom Harman drivers.

 

[PENG]

Talking about measurements, anyone know for sure what smoothing, or none do Stereophile, Soundstage, S&V used for FR? My guess for S&V is 1/12 or even 1/6, Soundstage probably no smoothing, not sure about Stereophile, but I could wrong.

 

[Beave]

NRC/Soundstage measurements:
No smoothing.
See link: http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/measurements/test_loudspeakers.htm



Stereophile measurements:
No smoothing in frequency domain, but resolution limited because they (the frequency response plots) come from FFTs of time-windowed impulse response. Resolution is highest in the highs and decreases with decreasing frequency until you get to the point where he splices in close-mic'd bass response.

There is some spatial smoothing for the on-axis frequency response plot he provides - it's an average of a few measurements in the listening window.
See link here: A long read on how Stereophile does speaker measurements



S&V measurements:
Crapload of smoothing (that's the technical term for it).
See link here https://www.soundandvision.com/content/speaker-measurements-101
I'm not sure how much smoothing they do, but their plots look *very* smoothed out.

 

[RichB]

Great review.

I had an opportunity to buy a pair for $2K and passed. Money was tight and there was a foundation repair looming.
The foundation is fixed but I am filled with regret.

- Rich

 

[ichigo]

$2k? There was one on ebay for $1600 a couple months ago. Meh. Better deals will crop up.

Although most of them seem to be the piano black variety. The Walnut finish goes for much higher on the used market.

 

[RichB]

Are

$2k? There was one on ebay for $1600 a couple months ago. Meh. Better deals will crop up.

Although most of them seem to be the piano black variety. The Walnut finish goes for much higher on the used market.

The only M126Be I find in completed listing is $2299 in sold listings.

- Rich

 

[Beave]

I've followed all the Revel M126Be listings on eBay, and I didn't see any that sold for $1600.

 

[Epsonfan]

$4k for bookselfs what universe are we living in

 

[Irvrobinson]

$4k for bookselfs what universe are we living in

A universe with some people who have a lot of money because they earned it, and spend it on what they choose to. I don't understand gemstones and jewelry at all, and I think there is a lot of money wasted on engagement rings. But that's just me. Millions disagree. And $4K isn't the worst of it for bookshelf speakers. How about these?

https://www.audioholics.com/bookshelf-speaker-reviews/voce-fina-review

 

[Epsonfan]

https://www.audioholics.com/bookshelf-speaker-reviews/voce-fina-review

It can be justified because of the stands alone , the stands are everything when comes to audio & sound Q.
Trust me I read StereoPhile magazine from cover to cover .

 

[shadyJ]

$4k for bookselfs what universe are we living in

You could easily spend more on lesser performing bookshelf speakers. Yes, you can also get good bookshelf speakers for less, but if you want a bookshelf speaker that ticks all the checkboxes that these do, it isn't going to be cheap.

 

[RichB]

I decided to upgrade my M20's to M126Be's. The M20's have amazing bass and these look bit more lean, however, the are wall mounted so we shall see how it works.
I have a Grotto I sub that I should be able to blend-in to take up the slack.

- Rich

 

[RichB]

The M126Be's are in house.

I will be placing them on my white Omnimount wall mounts.
Life would be a lot easier if Revel would provide product dimensions, screw size (including depth), and a template.
I will use white Azek to adapt the mount to the speakers.

Are mechanical specifications too much to ask?

- Rich

 

[ryanosaur]

The M126Be's are in house.

I will be placing them on my white Omnimount wall mounts.
Life would be a lot easier if Revel would provide product dimensions, screw size (including depth), and a template.
I will use white Azek to adapt the mount to the speakers.

Are mechanical specifications too much to ask?

View attachment 33739

- Rich

Ha! I think speakers should come with inserts ready for a universal bracket... something like a VESA mount. For all the random wall mount needs, it would be an easy adaptation in the manufacturing process to install t-nuts sandwiched in a 1/2”+1/4” thick rear panel!

 

[KEW]

I have a Grotto I sub that I should be able to blend-in to take up the slack.

- Rich

Is that the Martin Logan Grotto subwoofer?
Or is there another Grotto?

It is indeed disappointing that the details useful for wall mounting are not included in the owner's manual!
FWIW, My Energy OMD-5 actually was supplied with mounting brackets that were very simple (inexpensive) and effective because their use was integrated in the cabinet design. I wish more companies thought that way!

 

[RichB]

Is that the Martin Logan Grotto subwoofer?
Or is there another Grotto?

It is indeed disappointing that the details useful for wall mounting are not included in the owner's manual!
FWIW, My Energy OMD-5 actually was supplied with mounting brackets that were very simple (inexpensive) and effective because their use was integrated in the cabinet design. I wish more companies thought that way!

It is the Marin Logan Grotto i which was a really nice compact servo sub:

Grotto i

The world's most affordable servo-controlled subwoofer, Grotto i proves that a precise, compact subwoofer can have the heart of a beast.

www.martinlogan.com

- Rich