1. Home
  2. speakers
  3. 1344536747

Revel F12's ---- A very happy upgrade for me.

I have been enjoying my Vandersteen 1C's since 1997. They are truly classic speakers, and I have really loved every minute of my time with them. But.... as we all know about our hobby, we get the itch to upgrade, and this is exactly what I have done. After listening to many speakers over the past year, I finally decided to buy the Revel F12's.

Let me tell you...these Revel F12's are truly outstanding loudspeakers. Initial noticeable improvements over my Vandersteens include superior dynamic range, deeper bottom end (at least an octave lower) with tightness and speed, smooth and velvety midrange with a realistic presentation of both male and fermale vocals, clear and shimmering top end with no harshness, and a wider and deeper sounstage. The image placement is really impressive, and there is a cohesive feeling of top to bottom balance that is natural and musical throughout the full range of what my ears and room allow me to hear.

I really owe a lot to my Vandersteens, as they have enabled me to appreciate what great musical reproduction is all about. But now, with my new Revel F12's, I feel like I have truly taken a giant step forward in my own"audiophile music loving world." And so far, the synergy between the Revels and the rest of my system (to remain unchanged for quite a while) is sublime. My Rogue Cronus amp and Rega P3-24/Rotel front end seem to love the Revels.

I've gained an infinite amount of insight and knowledge from these Audiogon forums over the years, and I want to thank everybody out there for sharing their wisdom and experience. I hope that my thoughts and forum postings have added just a little bit to our Audiogon world. Happy Listening my friends !
adam18

Showing 9 responses by adam18

adam18 OP
670 posts
 
I've auditioned the KEF Q900, Focal 726V, and PSB Imagine T.
To me, the Revel F12's sound far better than the other three.
adam18 OP
670 posts
 
Hi Foster... As I described in the second paragraph of my thread, all these same qualities impressed me more with the Revels than with the KEF, Focal, or PSB speakers. Over the past year I also listened to speakers by Totem, Devore, Magnepan, Martin-Logan, Spendor, and Paradigm, and the Revels sound the best to me. The key words in my "sound far better" comment are "to me." All the speakers I auditioned are high quality pieces, but I am liking the Revels best of all. Strictly a personal preference.
adam18 OP
670 posts
 
Here's something pretty cool........
As I was listening to music last night, I was reading Stereophile and enjoying Kal's review of the ADAM speakers. He referred to a particular passage of Bela Fleck's "Cosmic Hippo," describing two ranges of deep bass. So, I put on that same CD, and heard exactly what he was talking about through my new Revel F-12's. It's a good feeling to know.......

Does anybody else do that ? There are many times when I read something in Sterophile, Absolute Sound, or on-line describing how a piece of equipment sounds with a particular song......... I then play that same song trough my system to see how my set-up compares to what's being reviewed. It's nice to know that my "excellent bang for the buck" system matches up quite well with some of the "big boy" contenders out there.
adam18 OP
670 posts
 
After a full week with my new Revel F-12's........ I am extremely energized by my purchase. Wonderful synergy with my system, and I'm enjoying every CD and LP that I'm playing. Music that sounded truly fabulous through my Vandersteens is now even better. Is this a common psychological response to getting new speakers, or does the music indeed get better treatment through the Revels ??? Who knows ??? But I am really having fun with my system again and looking forward to listening to all my favorite music !
adam18 OP
670 posts
 
Very cool thinking, Foster. You may be absolutely right.
adam18 OP
670 posts
 
Phasecorrect.......you are correct ! The defining characteristics of both the Vandy 1C's and Revel F-12's are clearly apparent within the context of my system. I tried to describe these characteristic differences above in my opening thread, and I am truly impressed that both speakers sound really, really good, but very different. The Revels are definitely giving my system and room a more dynamic, extended, and cohesively balanced sound, which I am enjoying across the vast range of my CD and LP collection. It's all good.....
adam18 OP
670 posts
 
I agree with you Dave.....These new Revels are really impressing me. I've been playing a very wide variety of music, and everything that I'm throwing at these speakers is sounding very, very good. Small ensemble jazz, classic rock and roll, blues, classical (symphonic and chamber), progressive rock, folk, male and female vocals........... it's all sounding great ! I feel like a little kid with a brand new toy. Yes indeed, I have totally enjoyed my Vandersteens for fifteen years, but now........ my system is sounding better than ever ! Late summer in upstate NY, beautiful weather, and I'm trying to balance my time between golf, bike riding, and listening to music. Life is good !
adam18 OP
670 posts
 
Hi Foster...... Yes indeed. I am enjoying listening to CD's as much as I am enjoying listening to LP's. You're asking a very good question. With the Vandersteens, I was listening to vinyl a lot more than digital. With the new Revels, my Rotel CD deck seems to sound "more musical" than it did with the Vandy's.
adam18 OP
670 posts
 
Two months later ..... Wow ! These Revel F-12's are sounding better with each CD or LP I'm throwing at them. I seem to be hearing things throughout my music collection that I never heard before. To all you uys who designed and built these speakers..... BRAVO !
More to discover