Revel Salons vs. Wilson Sophias

I didn't like the old Salon sound. I do love the Watt Puppy 8 sound. I am using Sophia 2 speakers for my surrounds and they do sound excellent. IMO, better than Salons, but like I said, I didn't like the Salons the two times I had demoed them.

I definitely would spring for the Watt/Puppy 8s if you can spend the extra money, but if not, the Sophia 2s are better to my ears than the Revels. I would definitely demo and see for yourself. In particular, pay attention to how transparent, detailed and lifelike the midrange sounds in comparison to the Revel speakers. in my mind, to my ears, there is no comparison between them really....

I'm using my setup for HT as well, the nice thing about the Wilsons is they don't interact with the room as much as some speakers (such as my last speakers the B&W 802Ds), so you tend to get a more precise and pristine stereo image in comparison to a lot of other speakers. I don't know how that would compare to the Revels seeing as I never compared them as extensively in the imaging department, but I can say this....

When I demoed the Revels twice, they left no startling impression of being "real" and "lifelike" sounding to me. To me they seemed like speakers. My very first experience with the Watt Puppy 7 and consequently the 8s and the Sophia 2s did have that impression on me in terms of creating eerily phantom like apparitions in the soundstage. They seemed like they were recreating the real event more often than any other speakers I had looked at in the same price ranges.

Anyway, that is what motivated my purchasing power. Definitely let your own ears decide for themselves. That is always the best and final answer.

- Jeff

I ran the Revel Salons in my two-channel reference system for over three years. I sold them in March in anticipation of the arrival of my Evolution Acoustics MM-Twos, and I have run the WATT/Puppy 7s in my system for the past five months while awaiting the arrival of the new speakers. I know you are looking for a comparison to the Wilson Sophias, but I don't have any personal experience with the Sophias. For what it's worth, what follows is my perspective on the Salons as compared with the WATT/Puppy 7s.

My take on the two speakers is quite different than that offered above. I much prefer the sound of the Salons. The Salons excel at transparency and the accurate reproduction of timbre. By comparison, the WATT/Puppy 7s exhibited a treble coloration that made me all too aware that I was listening to electronically reproduced music. Paired with the right upstream electronics, the Salons sound relaxed and natural while the WATT Puppy 7s sound like hi-fi.

Nonetheless, the WATT/Puppies do outperform the Salons in certain areas. The WATT/Puppies are one of the best soundstaging speakers I have ever heard, so they live up to their reputation in this department. In addition, they are more efficient and dynamic than the Salons, so there is more of an excitement factor with the WATT/Puppies. The WATT/Puppies also have quicker, tighter bass than the Salons, whereas the Salons exhibit bass that is slower and less crisply articulated.

I found that the Salons recreated a better sense of air and hall space than the WATT Puppies. I'm not sure whether this was a function of treble extension or something else. I also found that the bass on the Salons was more extended than the WATT Puppies. The WATT Puppies exhibit a mid-bass hump that somewhat compensates for their lack of extension in the bottom octave. While I could hear the mid-bass hump, I did not find it off-putting, but I did hear a greater sense of weight due to the truly full range bass extension of the Salons.

In the end, I concluded that I could not personally live with the WATT/Puppy 7s given my personal listening preferences. I listen to a lot of orchestral music, and I place a high priority on the accurate reproduction of timbre. The WATT/Puppies were at their worst in the reproduction of massed violins, which always sounded electronic and reproduced to me. On the other hand, I often enjoyed the WATT/Puppies with rock music and with a lot of jazz recordings. Rock music and jazz featuring brass instruments and percussion really play to the strengths of the WATT/Puppies. So I could see someone with different listening preferences reaching a different conclusion.

One final thing I would note is that the Salons are VERY revealing of your upstream components. I went through a number of phases over the years where I would attribute a shortcoming in the sound my system to a problem with the Salons only to discover later that the cause of the problem was elsewhere. One of the drawbacks to the Salons is their low sensitivity and the need to throw some real juice at them. This limits amplification choices, and, unfortunately, many of the high powered solid state amplifiers that have the juice to drive them leave a lot to be desired in their overall musicality. However, if you make the right choices and do not compromise the selection of upstream components, the Salons can gove you truly world-class sound that is very close to the sound of live acoustic instruments.

Just my two cents. and YMMV. While not directly on point to your question, I hope this perspective is helpful.

FYI, the tweeter is completely different between the Watt Puppy 7 and the Watt Puppy 8 (as well as the Sophia 2). The crossover was also completely altered (making a Watt Puppy 7 comparison to an 8 or Sophia 2 sort of moot). Also some other changes were made as well. Overall the combination of these changes is a fairly large alteration in the sound character between these speakers. I would recommend listening to them and judging them separately from the Watt Puppy 7 rather than being hasty and assuming they will sound a lot a like. It is possible a lot of the qualities you described and didn't like have been eliminated with a changed tweeter and crossover design. (Though if the original poster is referring to the regular Sophia speakers and not the 2s I don't have experience with those to be of much help, much like I have none with the Revel Salon2 speakers as well).

I don't seem to have those kinds of problems with orchestral music on the 8s and 2s, nor with violins and "fiddles." This was important to me because I love Bela Fleck Bluegrass albums (Mark O'Connor) and I listen to Julia Fischer and Joshua Bell fairly often as well. Perhaps I never got to extensively experience the sizzle on the 7s that people have referred to a lot in the past, which they attributed to the old tweeters used in the W/P 7s. Of course, YMMV. So it is imperative that you demo everything personally before making the decision. Obviously based on what is being said, bringing some orchestral music, including violins and violin sections would be a wise decision.

Here is a side by side comparison of the 7 and the 8:
http://www.wilsonaudio.com/product/watt_puppy_8/innovations/3.php