Revel F208s vs Cremona M vs B&W 803/804 D

In what way or ways are the Revels not musical for you?

I liked the Cremonas and Olympicas as we'll. Beautiful sounding and looking speakers indeed. The Olympicas are apparently a LOT better, but way out of my budget.

Re: the F208s, when doing an ABA comparison using two separate set ups, both the Linn and B&Ws had a broader and more dynamic mid range and upper range. Guitars, female vocals, etc sounded alive in these speakers compared to the F208s. The F208s seemed to color the music - one guitar demo played like the guitar was playing backseat to the bass and drums. And the vocals sounded machine-like and not real.

The F208s excelled in bass response and quickness. I think they would beat most speakers for high impact home theater sound effects.

But again, for my purpose, for listening to music, instruments, and soundstage, the F208s didn't get me there.

Although they are excellent speakers, for a $5k sticker price, I'd rather by the $3k Linn majiks or a used pair of B&Ws.

Just my personal opinion.

Good response, thanks.

Aman ... kudos on your hard work. You have much more patience than me.

I would appreciate reading your reactions if you get around to checking out the Paradigm S8s. One reviewer with whom I have traded e mails some time ago thought the S8s and Revel Studio 2s share a similar sound. He referred to it as a Canadian sound of sorts, reasoning that Revel and Paradigm have access to the Canadian NRC research data and test facilities. For that reason, he surmised that the two speakers might be voiced similarly -- at least to him.

Must say though, I'm a tad surprised reading your reactions about the Revels. Other members have posted superlative comments over the years. But I 100% respect your opinion. Beyond a certain point, picking gear is a very subjective enterprise.

Looking forward to reading your future posts.

Regards,

Bruce