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Anyone upgraded Salon/Studio to Salon/Studio 2?

Hi
Since some time has passed after the introduction of a new Revel Ultima Salon 2,i am trying to gather some opinions on it.I own the original Salon and would never upgrade just for the looks of it but am curious as to how the old model stocks up against the new one.As far as i know even Peter Voecks admitted in print that the new Salon is not an improvement on the old model,it is just a different speaker alltogether.Also,it seems that a Stereophile reviewer intentionally avoided comparisons between the old and new models (even though the old one was his reference speaker before)and politely decided to compare it to B&W.He also was put down by fit/finish of the new model.A European dealer told me that the enclosure was designed by a Chinese company who shopped it for some time until Revel decided to purchase it.Any honest opinions from the actual owners of a new model (and a previous ownership of the original Ultimas)would be appreciated.
overhang
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,424 posts
 
Sorry to disappoint you but there are only a small number of readers who have the older Studios and they can be assured that Kevin's philosophy and ear have not changed but that he has made a superior-performing speaker and an advance on the earlier one. How much? Well, such readers can and should audition them to decide. Their assessment will be keener than mine since their experience with the older Studios is much fresher than mine.

OTOH, there are more readers who may be in this market and the comparison with the B&W is of two current and viable competitors.

Kal
kurt_tank
1,188 posts
 
Hey Kal,

What did you upgrade to from the Revel Studios?
(I still have my pair, and I too am looking to upgrade in the near future.)

Thanks!
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,424 posts
 
I am currently using B&W 802Ds.

Kal
overhang OP
199 posts
 
Oh,Ok Kal,it just hit me that i'm communicating with the reviewer here (i'm operating at 33rpm today)
Yeah,i was dissapointed a bit but that's Ok because i was not looking for a final push to make the upgrade but many others probably were.
My dealer at Lyric HiFi told me numerous times that original Salons/Studios were selling like hot cakes and considering that these speakers were on the market for 7 years (and keeping in mind their build quality)i think only in the tri-state area alone there are hundreds of owners so i kinda disagree with your assesment that " there are only a small number of readers who have the older Studios "
Anyway,thanks for the review,i had to buy the mag off the rack despite being a subscriber,just couldn't wait for it to arrive.
a1126lin
66 posts
 
hi Kal
do you feel the 802D is superior to the original studio,( mariginal improvement or hugh difference)?
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