Does a "high end" name equal high end performance? Revel M106

[@GRResearch]

Oops! I thought these were $1100 for the pair! Turns out, that’s the price for each speaker! Apologies for the mistake and keep that in mind when considering the investment.

[@Nihil1st1347]

I understand that a loudspeaker has to be sent in to You to get measured and by chance improved. But what if I lived on another continent and shipping costs would be around half the purchase price of the speakers themselves?

[@googoo-gjoob]

@@Nihil1st1347 , so, what is your question?

[@GlueFactoryBJJ]

I'm curious as to why you only measure down to 200Hz? Almost all of the speakers you review go down to at least 80Hz, and many will go down below that. Anyway, I, personally, would like to see how these speakers respond down to whatever their limits are (at least 20Hz). Thanks for the reviews!

[@Nihil1st1347]

@@googoo-gjoob ? So in case U bought a new speaker for half the price, and shipping one direction is half that price and creating the upgrade kit would be like 60% of the price paid and exchanging all those parts yourself by lacking any practice, would be worth the efford?

[@ronbradshaw7404]

@@GlueFactoryBJJ ...Cuz this is where it gets really ugly, especially with modern LIL speaker systems. Danny can't do much to improve bass on tiny speakers either, if you have Chihuahua "woofers"...

[@vitorgoncalves6289]

I've had these speakers for almost two years, paired with an Hegel H95 integrated. Bought them used but like new. They sound fantastic. Almost perfect timber, great soundstage, well balanced between the bass, midrange and treble. Beautiful, natural sound. I'd say these speakers are more appealing for jazz, chamber and acoustic music than heavy rock or electronic music. Could it be better with better parts? maybe. Just don't think these are bad speakers because that would be foolish.

[@dannyrichie9743]

They are a shadow of what they can be.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@joonas4427 The truth is the complete opposite of what you just said and it has been proven hundreds of times.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@joonas4427 I can prove all that I say.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@joonas4427 Yes to prove and done many times. It was proven and recorded here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mXXPYpueiZl4irc You can even hear the difference yourself in the audio clips.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@joonas4427 Nope, no brain tricks. The differences are easy to hear. The proof is there. Come find out for yourself. Our address is at the bottom of every page of our website.

[@Kmn55650]

I bought the m106's 10 years ago. Still love them. Running a Bryston pre and power amp through them. And an M&K sub. Sounds great to me. But, I would add, a sub is necessary - at least for my desired listening habits. Your mileage may vary. They have a large sound stage, and basically disappear if you close your eyes while listening. Very accurate. Great speakers for the price! Not $1100...Mine were $1000/each.

[@MrMallensr]

I have these and love them too. Danny fails to mention that he makes the worst measured speakers by ASR. the LGK for $1100 and terrible. According to him he's the only person who knows how to build speakers. Have you noticed that his speakers he measures go only from 200hz. to 800hz. Why is this. He has to find faults to sell his kits and speakers. Snake oil salesman.

[@rotorfix]

In my system (well treated room with speakers well away from walls), Revel Performas have greater clarity and resolution than the Spatial OBs I owned for a time, and those only had a single Mundorf cap in the crossover. I also owned some Epos speakers in which I replaced their Bennic poly caps with Sonicaps: no audible difference. Lastly, I’ve done a fair amount of comparison with various qualities of resistor in a crossover upstream of some $250 Seas tweeters (one resistor and one cap in the path) and couldn’t detect much if any difference there either. I’m relatively young and have pretty good hearing according to my last test. I also have over a decade in the “hobby” in which I’ve owned a lot of gear and setup many systems. I’m not saying definitively that quality doesn’t matter, but the jury is still out based on those experiences. I for one would rather leave my Revels alone so they retain as much resale value as possible. They do outperform some $9K/pair towers I owned that also had better crossover parts. I do however, appreciate your service to the community. Please keep producing more videos like this because I think they’ll help pressure manufacturers to up their game. On a less related note, I calculated that the cost of drivers alone (SB Acoustics) in a pair of Revel F206s approaches $600. I think that’s a very good driver-cost/speaker-cost ratio, considering one can typically buy a pair at 20% below MSRP. That’s about a 1:5 ratio, not bad for a pair of mass-produced speakers from a big name. The same metric applied to those $2400 Taylor speakers you featured is less than a 1:12 ratio if I’m not mistaken.

[@JamesWilliams-gf8gm]

Exactly right. The big part that Danny misses is the design of those drives. The drivers are what defines most of the potential sound quality. The big difference between the Performa and Performa be are the motor more power full motor which makes them clear. The cone materials just push resonances higher and let them play louder before breaking up. The entire Be line will play 100+ db with lower distortion than most the market. Less distortion than some horns too (looking at you Klipsch).

[@rotorfix]

@XP200DR * My DIY experience has been that driver cost does generally correlate with performance as long as the application is appropriate. There are a few outliers like the SB Acoustics tweeter utilized in Performas (perform remarkably close to Beryllium subjectively speaking), but mostly you get what you pay for, even in some cases when the cost difference seems negligible, i.e. a $50 tweeter VS a $40 tweeter. Regarding crossover parts quality, my ears have nearly concluded they make about as much difference as interconnect cables. Like many aspects of this industry, it’s impossible to definitively rule out that perceived differences could merely be placebo.

[@tullskull]

rprorfix, some interesting conclusions. I'm wondering though if after you installed Sonicaps you didn't find the sound to be pretty nasty for a while? Many have said it was unpleasant to wait through the Sonicaps breaking in. That would be very interesting if you heard no difference. I think it is tough to draw conclusions as to whether you would prefer the upgrade to the Revels without listening to them but you can at least see the before and after measurements. Also please be mindful that he is performing this service for a customer who may not have the same goals as you. He might just love the speaker, has no interest in selling but just wants to change a performance aspect that draws negative attention to itself in his situation. Many people HATE buying and selling anything

[@davidjudd951]

​@@tullskull Great points you make. People mistakenly use the phrase "investment" when discussing purchasing electronic equipment. Less than 10 percent of of it, will ever appreciate in value. And if you have the 40-50 years to wait around until it's considered vintage, then yes, it's a very poor performing aspect of an investment portfolio. I was recently offered considerably more money for my Cannondale bicycle, than what I paid for it 37 years ago. It's still nearly pristine. I was just riding one day when someone approached me and offered to buy. I said no thanks. I certainly never bought it as "An Investment".

[@tullskull]

@@davidjudd951 👍 Thank you David. I am not a rider but I know Cannondale has been able to sustain respect in the industry for a long time. That must have given you a nice little surprise to know your purchase has stood the test of time.

[@danielwerner9543]

I had these in my living room for a month. That rise at 5hz stood out and drove me nuts. I cannot believe that Armin disregarded that on ASR. I did not like these speakers and thought that the Ascend Sierra LX outperformed it in many ways.

[@Clint_the_Audio-Photo_Guy]

I sell Revel Speakers. These are $2200 a pair now, $1100 is the price for one. The $4000 model gets a Be tweeter, better crossover parts, and a fancy paint job. The regular Performa series is definitely the better value, but people do love that Be tweeter.

[@JamesWilliams-gf8gm]

Don’t forget the better motors, that is what really makes the Be line sound better.

[@dilbyjones]

@@JamesWilliams-gf8gm I'm wondering if this is what makes Totem so great.

[@tallpaull9367]

That’s pretty misleading then Danny. Hyping up the value of your upgrade kit a little.

[@JamesWilliams-gf8gm]

@@tallpaull9367 yeah the magnet on the be line mid and bass driver is twice as thick. Who knows what else is different too. I know they sound pretty different. Crossover parts matter but kind of like wire and interconnects.

[@tallpaull9367]

@@JamesWilliams-gf8gm They matter much more than wire and interconnects for sure. I have experience rebuilding crossovers with good parts. The differences are significant. I have tested by changing parts out one by one to see, and each one adds more performance. I was amazed at what the bypass caps did too, recommend

[@Harald-MacGerhard]

What the REVEL 🥶 Those parts in a $2200 speaker pair 😱

[@smoothkaos2]

Man! I'm so impressed by your videos and appreciate the good work you do. You also know what you're talking about so now I can just send people to you instead of me lol

[@christianjforbes]

Danny’s videos have shown the guts of all sorts of speakers. So, I picked up a pair of Polk floor standers and tore them down to just the wood … then matched the volumes with diy kits of much better quality. For about $500 all in, I’m not only happy with the results, but I have bragging rights of having done the work myself. I even made myself a tunable port based on the Karlson tube design. Thanks DR

[@joecummings9662]

I have Polk tower also what parts did you use?

[@ford1546]

Many times it is designed on crossovers that make the sound not so good and not just the quality of parts. Yes better quality parts give better sound but first you have to make a good and correct crossover! If the crossover filter is not made correctly, it does not help much to insert good parts. maybe a little but you will not get rid of all the problems

[@Woot-Zee]

Every speaker should end up in a video! (This would make your channel amazing IMO) :)

[@toddhupp]

Gary.per your approach Buchardt upgraded the crossover with quality parts : a huge improvement in their 400 speaker w same/similar drivers

[@dannyrichie9743]

Yes they did.

[@thomasperina2990]

Good evening all: Another great video sir. I've been a stereophile for many years & have spent so much money I could have purchased another S series MB. Every time I see a speaker costing $ 10k to $ 20k each I always remember your videos with a crossover that probably cost the manufacturer 25.00 + cheap Chinese crap ta boot. It really comes down to who of these manufacturers can you really trust. I realize that we can trust you cause the data doesn't lie. Buy a new stereo amp & it's $ 5k to $ 20k & you still don't really know what you own. Thank you so much, TMP from N.J.

[@The340king]

Hope to see you in a couple weeks. Bringing some stuff to measure. Great video.

[@techsamurai11]

Can you point us to a link of a before and after of one of these upgrades? You may wish to include it in every video.

[@AbsoluteFidelity]

Wonder what would the upgraded parts and new FR do to the Listening Window and especially the PIR, since both measured almost flat and ideal despite the bumpy on axis fr?

[@JamesWilliams-gf8gm]

Yes he does not do enough measurements. You really need a kipple or actual In room measurements. The off axis dispersion is just as important.

[@snoozzell]

@@JamesWilliams-gf8gm i think he did look off axis. It had a decent horizontal response and a very bad cancellation at the crossover point if you move off axis vertically.

[@matthewfrazee3352]

Danny had a feud with the guy that runs ASR in the past. The ASR guy is a fan of Revel so I would take everything Danny says about this speaker very lightly. The mods might be good but could possible hurt your resale value if you decide to move on. Spend the money on room treatments, they will be there after you move on to your next speaker. I spent 3k on dyi room treatment and that has done more for my sound than any equipment upgrade I have ever done.

[@kongwee1978]

@@matthewfrazee3352 ASR is like declaring war on all side, not just Danny.

[@matthewfrazee3352]

@@kongwee1978 I don’t really care one way or another. Just giving a possible motivation for Danny. Like I said spend money on room treatment instead of modding your speakers. Speakers and amps come and go but your room will stay around much longer.

[@Joshualbm]

How do you tell the difference between ringing and amplitude differences on the spectral decay?

[@mrelac6817]

question do you only do measurements or do you listen to them . Do you listen to them first then do measurements or you just go by measurement alone

[@dannyrichie9743]

Typical we are sent just one speaker. So we measure it to see if there are problems that need to be addressed and go from there.

[@cobar5342]

When I see you take apart and analyse a known brand speaker, I feel the companies concerned, really do not deserve the respect they seem to have achieved. So, good on you for exposing the issues you find

[@PAINFOOL13]

I have never ever been a "Brand" Guy. Shoes, Clothes,Cars n or Speakers 🔊. Thanks Danny .👍🏻

[@AT-wl9yq]

When you get something that sounds like crap, I bet you say, "I'll never buy that brand again."

[@PAINFOOL13]

@@AT-wl9yq agreed but I have never purchased a thing because it has a logo .

[@privateaccount9535]

Is there any chance for an upgrade kit for Revel Concerta2 m16?

[@dannyrichie9743]

Send one in and I'll take a look at it.

[@martybousum1010]

Thanks for keeping the door open at the audio 'dojo'! Thanks, Sensei!

[@TheSemtexCow]

Thanks for more of your experience shared. I’m collecting cabinet materials to build pair of your X series speakers. Don’t want to take of much of your limited time so simple question, do you think you’ll get the restock of tweeters for the X series before this June? It’s my 50th birthday in June and my wife is looking to buy me one of your kits. Thanks for what you do, know that knowledge by experience is valued and appreciated by some people.

[@dannyrichie9743]

We are expecting more tweeters before the end of the month.

[@TheSemtexCow]

@@dannyrichie9743 If I ordered in the next week or two, and expected tweeters actual arrival, do you have an guesstimate of lead time for shipping?

[@bhob666]

I have a different model of Revel speakers (less expensive Concerta 2 M16) and to me they are not bad at all. I hate overly bright and tinny speakers, and they are not bright or tinny for thier size... atleast to me.

[@Ragnarok20854]

My revel F208 are actually very bright, so they have different sound then. When I buy them second option was amphion 7ls what are bright too.

[@bhob666]

@@Ragnarok20854 I also depends on what you paired them with, your room, ect.

[@Ragnarok20854]

@@bhob666 of course, but they are still neutral speaker and can be bright example with roksan what it's not so bright sound amplifier. I like bright speaker so it doesn't be bad thing to me. And there is that treble switch, what u can use.

[@bhob666]

@@Ragnarok20854 Well, I can only give my feedback according to my own experience, I purchased these speakers to replace ones which were overly bright in the room I was in. The Revels I have, in the room I have them aren't bright at all. Sorry if this differs from your experience.

[@losriosprofundos2113]

It looks from the graphs on your website that your kit for these speakers makes them quite a bit brighter. The kit also improves the linearity, but it's a Harmon product. They've invested a lot in getting that curve just right. It's not a studio monitor. Still, I'd be interested in hearing the difference.

[@dannyrichie9743]

It isn't just about the frequency response.

[@losriosprofundos2113]

@@dannyrichie9743 Yet, that’s what you predominantly focus on.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@losriosprofundos2113 There is actually a lot more focus on parts quality, signal transfer purity, and sound quality.

[@singletrackdan]

Can you do a video to update buyers on the tweeter and crossover parts backorders for your X series?

[@JukeboxAlley]

This is a good video because I've actually had these with matching stands, I compared them directly to the ls50 meta, I liked the revels better all around, maybe the ls50 could hang in the imaging dept. Then did a direct head to head against the maxed xls-encores in cherry, and the encores cleaned house, and I parted with the metas and the revels and kept the encores, it wasn't even close, ls50 had port chuff after about 70-80 db, top end was a little too much sometimes but still a greatspeaker for it's size and images great, the revels we're pretty smooth and liked them alot but fairly polite and didn't like to get too wound up, the encore is a much livelier dynamic speaker and top end is smoother and open, bass is fast and midbass is very good, no port chuff even at higher spl, so the encore for the win for me, and thats no bs. Only thing I've found I like as well is the omega hemptone 8s at the time, that's a tough choice between those two.

[@dannyrichie9743]

That's good feedback. Thanks for posting.

[@ChaiBearProductions]

Thanks for your feedback. Which had a better soundstage?

[@JukeboxAlley]

@@ChaiBearProductions omega, larger cabinets, larger driver and larger port though, so really it's not exactly a bookshelf, nearly twice the size of the others. Out of the others mentioned the encores, just my opinion..

[@gaza4543]

yeah they used to tighten up when played hard though i never heard port chuff with mine. Kef ls50's really aren't designed to play loud more of a near field speaker.

[@davidjudd951]

The complaint from the owner, was they hear separate instruments. I thought that was the job of a speaker.

[@Canadian_Eh_I]

Hi Danny, any plans on coming out with a hyper-cardioid passive speaker design? I want something with high riectivity

[@logandemcak160]

So are there any brands or series in brands that you’re actually getting what you’re paying for without doing DIY? I have KEF ls50 wireless 2 but I’m just not satisfied.

[@peter3728]

everybody wants more for their money so if this is a question of value you cant compare DIY to commercially produced speakers. If you want to do the work, build and finish the cabinet etc then you can save the money.

[@gordiefrench5342]

Hi Danny I love when you do this It shows you are a very knowledgeable audio master Also that it is mostly possible to improve existing designed speakers

[@stephenyoud6125]

another great job and learning opporttunity for us out here in KZbin land

[@gino3286]

Very valuable review as ever and thank you so much for it I wonder if the evaluation of parts quality is made on the basis of listening tests or lab measurements like square wave response to say one Kind regards Gino

[@willmac1748]

Curious what your favorite high end drivers are? Scan etc

[@glennjones6574]

now if Danny is sending a kit only then how did he measure the speaker after the upgrades??

[@dannyrichie9743]

We measure everything as we design the upgrade.

[@toddincabo]

@GR-Research Love the vids. For shits and giggles, is there any way you would do a test on a Bose speaker with the single "star" speaker inside such as the Bose 141 Bookshelf. They used that "star" speaker in a ton of products and I would like to know just how well the Bose engineers did on this design. My neighbor has a set of 141's outdoors under her palapa and I have a set of true outdoor 151's and am curious what the engineers were aiming for. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@boneseyyl1060]

I think he is too busy to waste his time on something like that. It is going to measure like a 10 dollar driver which it is. My guess is that the frequency response will look like an old gravel road after a heavy rain. Plenty of holes. In any case, you need to send him the speaker. He doesn't go looking for them. Once he got finished laughing, he might think it would make a good footstool or something.

[@toddincabo]

@@boneseyyl1060 I agree

[@harleyguy071]

Love when you call out companies for using Cheese Whiz parts on a speaker that is pretty pricey for what it is!

[@adaboy4z]

Could you show the complete crossover that you used after the build? Be nice to see it together.

[@sonatturkoglu33]

Hi mate. i have a question, why your measurement has no bass line? we cant see 200 to 30 hz. İ wonder it each video. Thanks for share.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Accurately measuring down low requires being further away.

[@herjantow.l.6063]

Great job!! 👍👍🙏🙏

[@donaldlee6760]

Kevin Voecks and I believe Andrew Jones claimed in an audio conference that using an active design (one amp per driver, active or digital crossover) is a superior design choice, but customers won't buy them so speaker manufacturers don't produce them to sell to retail customers. Anthony Grimani designs high end home theater and audio listening rooms and he partnered with a speaker designer to build a fully active speaker with very high order slopes for the drivers. I'm curious if active designs are really a superior design choice if only audiophiles were not resistant to this change? In Anthony Grimani's case, he claims that there is already a great deal of active equalization and dsp when mixing songs.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Going all active comes with a different set of problems and limitations. In the end the very best systems are simple and use passive filters.

[@donaldlee6760]

@@dannyrichie9743 - that's a powerful observation. I've heard many people also claim that the best speakers are 2-way using simple 1st-order 6-dB passive filters just as you point out. Basically the exact opposite of the Harman philosophy of using complex high-order passive filters with multiple drivers.

[@Harald-MacGerhard]

@@dannyrichie9743 I also heard that same from Joachim Gerhard, founder of Audio physic and he spent a lifetime building really good speakers. He wrote: "the best speakers are passive for a reason" I got a 100lbs $20.000 Adyton amp, if I should go active 3.5 way, the cost and complexity would be, well 😱

[@Victrola777]

How in the world would sharp reflections inside a speaker box affect a sealed back tweeter?

[@rcdude86]

Know one really knows the price a speaker should be, i would think factors of designing time, paying the speaker designer probably so much has to go into it, we all know what cost of components like crossovers but we don’t know what costs are for drivers, so forth. So really a well measuring speaker could cost $$700 a pair and others could cost just what a manufator says is the price and we have to trust that. For me researching is key, with stuff like this i budget my money way better on what i buy. If any manufacture was as honest and showed stuff like this we would all buy only from certain ones.

[@bryanwilliams9810]

Danny, what's your opinion on the use of a rack mounted crossover ? It's my understanding that there are a few units on the market that work in this type of application.

[@BB..........]

I'd like to read what the owner of the speakers thinks when he gets them back. People on forums like to complain about the cost of these mods, but since the speakers are already paid for, dumping $400 in them, and getting a much-improved speaker compared to what it would cost to buy something else, makes it pretty reasonable.

[@dawolyan13]

Absolutely correct! Which logically leads to: but the DIY from jump!🤷🏻‍♂️

[@willmac1748]

Are these the SB driver based model? Before Samsung went cheap

[@avpro51]

Yes…and no. These were as they were log before Samsung bought Harman.

[@DWHarper62]

Compared to most speakers I've seen on this channel, the Ravel looks pretty damn good... and it looks like there was plenty of brightness left in the new crossover above 8K which will definitely cause fatigue... And I don't see any bump at 1-2 k as "bright"... 3k-10k boost is bright and 1k-2k are midrange frequencies that really aren't fatiguing like the higher frequencies...

[@kohnfutner9637]

I dunno. the infinity speakers I put in my car have a 1.6k-2.5k bump and they are not bright but screechy. very hard on my ears. I have used the 13 band EQ in my receiver and neutralizer app on my phone that plays a test noise so you can set by ear. that helped the ear pain. but uh those are right in the sweet spot of hearing where our ears are most sensitive so i would certainly look for speakers to be very flat if not a little low in the midrange. these actually measured well so I think it's the fact aftermarket speakers don't always work well in certain factory car spaces.

[@alexcristi878]

SOME DINAVOYCE F7 MAGIC CAN BE IMPROVED?

[@GPintoFerrao]

Hi Danny. I appreciate your work and your improvements. But I suspicious that at very end you get any loudspeaker else, but not a Revel M 106. Sorry

[@lbudt29]

I think going factory direct could be the better way to go. The retailers should not be allowed to add to the pricing beyond 10 %. I've seen a retailer mark his stuff up 300 %. Ridiculous.

[@bergennorway]

I think direct sale from GR Research, CSS or Buchardt is the future! There are few stores now with a lot of equipment and speakers these days, so buying «unheard» will be the new normal. But with 30 days return, it should be no problem. I bought my speakers without having listened to them, and I kept them.

[@truthbtold8634]

Hi, I love your channel: you are right about these dealers, some don't really care about the quality of the products as much as how they market them. I'm a DJ, and every time I purchase a piece of equipment I find myself upgrading the drivers, the amplifier and wires to match the sound quality with the amount of volume the unit can produce which is very tricky because as most of us know once you change a part of a unit you change the unit. You have helped me out tremendously with the info and accuracy of it. Thank you, I have subscribed also. DJ Marvell

[@bingdong8571]

I wonder if you have ever found a quality crossover in a mass manufactured speaker. Why does it seem like every cpany, even the "best of the best" skimps in this area?

[@peter3728]

the previous revel bookshelf you reviewed has a beryllium tweeter this model does not

[@ronpi1293]

I know you sell the kits, but do you also install the parts upgrades?

[@greenbeginner9221]

This came up in a previous video and the answer was, no. It's not offered.

[@matthewfrazee3352]

Danny’s “kits” would be multiple times higher if he provided a finished product with the quality of revel. He is a dishonest con man.

[@duboracle]

Try "Caddock MV resistors" top notch, hi-end, you will be supriced.

[@geoffreydebrito2653]

So disappointing how poorly so many manufacturer's products turn out to be upon close examination. Especially at how little the cost for manufactures to correct the problems.

[@mutatedgenome]

Good stuff Danny.

[@avpro51]

The difference between M106 and M226 Be is not a factor of 2X. The M106 is at least 80% as good as the Be model…and the finish offers metallic paint which is viewed by some as premium. They also claim better quality parts in the dividing network, but your previous review pretty much quashed that.

[@Joel1915]

What do you think of the sound of the stock 106s?

[@avpro51]

I like them. Unlike other commenters, I find them to be well integrated and imbalanced only by the relatively stronger top extension than their bottom. Paired with a REL T/7x they make a very good 2.1 system for a room 3000cu.ft. room. Obviously they can be made better by putting in the GR upgrades.

[@toddhupp]

wow .your no res is amazing. maybe it would help out my ML 35s? very harsh in the vocal range.Per your comments on them, they do sound much better off axis .maybe 30 degrees.

[@davidfromamerica1871]

Not if your career is involved with refurbishing speakers with components you designed and selling components to others. Those types of careers are widespread throughout the Middle East, South East Asian Country’s and India. They do amazing refurbishment work on all types of products. People in the automotive business making refurbished products better than the original OEM design. Fixing any manufacturers screwup in the original design of their products is a blessing to many that bought those products.

[@jked7463]

One of the more significant improvements. But you said you could improve the time arrival issue with the crossover. From my experience you can fix phase but not time arrival. If that was the case, those specialty shops wouldn't be making $$$ selling high order slope crossovers fro klipsch heritage speakers. But a nice improvement all the same.

[@mobby1212]

Tears for Texas.

[@dawolyan13]

One of the highest rated by owner speakers in Crutchfields history, a 1,000 bucks a piece, one of the most revered names in the business…and THIS is what the product actually is? What’s going on? Are people that blinded by reputation, or are graphs and charts grossly overrated? 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️ I choose Danny, but this is kinda nuts!!

[@Shintsu2]

Considering you are but a person reading other comments and haven't heard them, maybe the speakers actually sound good? I compared Revel M106 to KEF R3 Metas and found them very similar in sound, the KEFs had a bit too sharp of treble by comparison. The Revels just sounded nice playing everything. I literally never listened to a Revel speaker before these, and if anything I would hold KEF in higher esteem as I've heard them before and usually liked British speakers. Try for yourself...

[@losriosprofundos2113]

I stayed with the Revel m106 after trying five other speakers including Kef, Dynaudio and Elac. They’re very balanced.

[@gregsunderland6394]

I didn't really know much about the Revel brand until my wife and I were looking for new speakers. We ended up getting a pair of F206s at a dealer for a little more than what the speakers in this video retail for. We'd been looking for weeks, but we ended up listening to the f206s for about 3 or 4 hours before pulling the trigger. They definitely had the best midrange out of the ones we listened to. As for graphs, if you look at graphs of the f206s or f208s, they're quite flat, and have good horizontal and vertical responses. That should make them behave better in various rooms. IIRC, the spectral response is also good, which likely explains the midrange that we liked so much. Impedance curves can show you problems with the cabinet and drivers. So graphs can help you narrow down a search for speakers by eliminating the ones with obvious problems, but you still want to actually listen to them before buying if possible.

[@hansiangng2808]

Is that the right way to pronounce Revel? I have been calling them as 'reh-vurl' oops.

[@pops106]

I have some Ruark speakers and I pronounce it "Ru-Ark" until someone said isn't it pronounced like "Rork"... I have no idea what is right.

[@impuls60]

Those driver responses looked rough!!

[@chipmunk6386]

Very alarming that speaker manufacturers designing such bad crossover design. Thanks to GR research.! 😍

[@hugobloemers4425]

Great review Danny, and it does not harm to hammer home that the profit margin stacking (and profit margin expectations) is the real culprit of expensive products being build cheap.

[@peteleoni9665]

If only I had been capable of telling partial truth and still had that "sincerity thing" going on in my eyes, I would not have had to pay child support, because the divorce would have been avoided. Also no "cheesy" car. I am a fan of Dan (-: gee.

[@drc97086]

After watching these videos, I don’t know why anyone would spend their money on expensive speakers that have crap for XO parts. That’s why I built my own speakers, and crossover. I put $500 of Jantzen Super Zs, and my speakers sound wonderful.

[@ChicagoRob2]

I put Superior Zs in my B&W Matrix 805s. They transformed the sound.

[@connorduke4619]

Agreed, there is a new line of reasoning espoused by OCD Mike and a few others to invest firstly in the Dac, then the amp and finally the speakers.

[@202One]

DIY.. ✌

[@spooner1]

With the Jantzens they should sound good. Nice work.

[@iantyler4045]

I changed from Solen SCR to Jantzen superior Z caps in my homemade 2.5 ways. I wasn't expecting much difference but wow. What a transformation.

[@MarkFarrington-hb2ne]

Why do people think that an midfielder box with slightly improved components can suddenly be worth 4, 5, 6 times the price. These things aren't made out of precious metals??

[@MarkFarrington-hb2ne]

MDF box, was what it should say

[@stevieg2755]

Those sre 1100.00 per each speaker,so not very inexpensive,The website did say it has one inch thick mdf

[@pizzaearthpancakesandother2549]

Even though I'm a flatearth researcher, I can't be tricked into "good looking" speakers with glowing reviews in Stereophile. That's why I only have only owned Bose Speakers

[@bradknight2618]

Nice ! That guys going to be thrilled! Geez. Now if your were Revel you could charge 1200.00 bucks! (Lol!)

[@fredfungalspore]

This model Revel speaker should be renamed...The Brie?.... very cheesy.. Keep up the great work...😆🙏

[@Joel1915]

These speakers have excellent sound quality

[@Joel1915]

You fail to mention that these speakers sound great to begin with

[@anaxa4883]

Why would anyone trust freq response results from Danny's unknown non-anechoic measurements vs ASR's obviously more detailed results with the clipple nearfield scanner?

[@dannyrichie9743]

They have measured one of our speakers. Their measurements were no different than ours.

[@anaxa4883]

@@dannyrichie9743 I doubt it. The measurements provided in this video are very different than ASR measurements for the same speakers. Nice try.

[@jfritzy4358]

@@anaxa4883 Owner of the Revel's heard a problem. Danny's measurements confirmed a problem. Individual driver measurements showed ridiculous response of the Mid/Bass driver. Maybe defective? Could be junk crossover component quality and wide tolerance source of the problem also. Revel is a large manufacturer that should by in quantities large enough to get better quality crossover components at a good price. No excuse for the cheese, other than they know most buyers assume the Revel name assures quality. ASR measurements irrelevant to the customer that sent the speaker to Danny because he heard a problem.

[@anaxa4883]

@@jfritzy4358 As long as the capacitor/resistor isn't super old and out of spec or defective, different component types do not have any measurable difference on the sound of the speaker. People proved this on ASR forums with repeated detailed tests. Look it up. I'm sure you wont.

[@pops106]

@@anaxa4883 But at the same time there are many many people who can hear a difference that we cant measure. I was messing around with an old speaker last night, I have managed to get the frequency response to be very similar to my much better speakers. Crappy speaker had lots of distortion throughout the whole range, spikes in frequency in a few places. It is now pretty smooth and only has a bit of distortion near 10k. Do they sound as good as my better speakers ? no of course not, do they sound better then they did out of the box ? yes certainly. Fixing crossover problems, resonance in the box etc fixes problems but once those problems are gone the drivers are still only going to sound as good as they can, but that is really what you are doing is making the most of what you have got.

[@savagemako17]

So my question with all of this is this...If manufacturers can measure all of this on their speakers like you can. Why don't they fix it? These speakers have an outstanding reputation for the money spent. Many other measurement reviews have shown these speakers to be very good. Why would anybody spend $2k plus and then send these highly regarded speakers to you, so you could make fun of them? Audio reviews in general, on any product, seems to be astoundingly inconsistent. Whatever you are saying here about these speakers, someone else doing a review on the same speaker will say something else.

[@dannyrichie9743]

First of all, I am not a reviewer. Speakers that are sent to us are sent in because their owners are not happy with them and they want to improve them. What I show you is exactly how they measure, what's inside, and how that will affect the performance. You get the truth and no sugar coating. Anyone that holds these in high regards needs to reexamine their standards.

[@jamesmay3747]

I’d watch a lot more of these videos if you cut the yakking down to about half.

[@alfonsodelafreg259]

Who really cares about what you would do? I certainly do not.

[@rayfordham9230]

Having hi-fi as a hobby for over 50 years I can say that the answer to your question is most emphatically Nooooooooo. No disrespect to Revel I've never heard them but I have heard many many so called hi-end offerings over the years and I stand by my original comment.

[@robinkleinsteuber5217]

Hmm, think I'd rather still have some good Danish cheese parts, partnered with a good French Bordeaux while listening. 😉🧀🍷

[@jasonme3557]

Sad and good at the same time. Just to clear, these are 1100 each. I had these and stepped up to the F206 that is the floor model of this same system. Not happy at 4grand, I though after the break in it would sound better. Very disappointing. This is running on a 5k amp too. I may have to send these to you Danny, but a heavy floor speaker, not sure if the shipping would be worth it. Great stuff Danny....

[@rf0022]

Many people do consider the your F206 to be nice sounding and well behaved. You may wish to see if you can improve your room acoustics. If that is the problem a different xover would not fix it.

[@jasonme3557]

@@rf0022 Yep working on that. They are a bit bright and very bass lacking. The Odd thing, My amp a Rega Aethos dose not sound good on it. But a lower end musical fidelity will. Only a month old.

[@gregsunderland6394]

@@jasonme3557 Interesting, I have a pair of F206s and wouldn't call them bright at all. Maybe it's the difference in our rooms. I definitely noticed a difference in amps with them too. Initially I used a Denon AVR while I decided on a power amp. I ended up buying an Odyssey Khartago SE, and the sound quality improvement was surprising. Even the imaging greatly improved. I expected better dynamics at louder levels, but even at low levels, they were like completely different speakers with a better amp. I'm not sure if that means the speakers are picky about amplifiers or if AVRs are just that much worse.

[@TheLassenman]

Build cheap, charge high. Seems legit or is it? Seems to me people will buy no matter what..

[@1997inspire]

When I saw that line of Revels showcased when they came out I was immediately struck by the shape of the baffle board. No wonder you found that it dramatically disrupted the performance of the tweeter .The $400 plus upgrade is a bargain since they are attractive speakers to begin with and are now better sounding.

[@hlurpseed]

Pro Forma, Latin for “for form.”

[@timothylittlefield3129]

Love watching your videos Danny. It often makes me wonder if this is the next step in audio for a lot of folks? Our systems get to a certain level with upgrades external amplifiers, cables etc. but wouldn’t this really be the first step in upgrading one’s system ? Seems kind of pointless to keep swapping out cables etc when the crossover and resonances in our speakers are faulty from the start? Great content as always !

[@greggibson33]

Does a "high end" name equal high end performance? .... let me take a wild guess...... no?

[@brainache555]

cheesiest crossover i have ever seen

[@mddawson1]

Made it cheesy Made it cheesy Don't let the sound of iron-core inductors drive you crazy

[@hifiandrew]

We love you but man these companies must hate you haha

[@Joel1915]

I wonder if people would hear the difference in a double blind test?

[@dannyrichie9743]

Even a blind person can tell if it is night or day. The same can be said for this upgrade.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@joonas4427 You are mistaken. We've done it. We sent a speaker around with two networks that measured the same but sounded very different. Everyone could hear the difference even in a recording of the differences.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@joonas4427 Then either you can't hear or your playback system sucks. Everyone else can hear it in the clips, and it's ten times easier to hear the difference live.

[@Bluecrabsandsushi]

Or just get a bmr philharmonitor instead.

[@brannonmcevers1854]

Nice! More meat, less snake oil!

[@gaza4543]

Im pretty sure that bass driver is a completely different driver than what was used on the pair i used to own. Hard to tell in your vid, mine had ribs in them. the same driver is used by Wilson and Butchart audios in their s400's. supposed be a good woofer. oh well. I completely agree though they are quite aggressive in the room exciting the room no end and took a lot to balance them out not just distance but to get even image.

[@jimmyayotte5529]

I can't wait use that line with my boss when I tell him he's full of sht and doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm not being arrogant, I'm just being honest 🤷 🙂

[@yoddeb]

Mr know it all.

[@greenbeginner9221]

Yeah. He knows his trade well, don't he?

[@markphilpot8734]

Some people still haven’t caught on about how important parts quality is. It isn’t hard once they listen to you about it and it becomes clear. Can’t mention this enough because I have worked on gear that was kept back because of poor quality parts and it is a cost per item problem in manufacturing like Danny says. I’ve worked in this audio industry before and still do specialty work in soldering. You cannot get the quality of sound without the highest quality of parts. Details is another issue. That no rez addition on the inside baffle to tame that tweeter problem, little things we can do to increase our listening pleasure do matter. Getting rid of woofer resonances where you have stamped steel spiders is helped using dampening material used in car audio to cut resonances in body parts. You just have to cut the pieces so they fit the legs and only attach the material on the outside surface, never on the inside. Stay safe my mates!😊👍🏻😁🛠

[@ywsx6489]

Those who cannot hear the differences between good and bad parts are the lucky people. I spend more on the crossover than the drivers some times 🥲

[@markphilpot8734]

@@ywsx6489, that’s not hard sir. Crossover parts, the really good parts, are not inexpensive. The best parts yield the best results. Danny has a video on this. Quality counts always!

[@markphilpot8734]

@@joonas4427 , you can have the same value in the component and be different in sound quality. I’ve seen this frequently in high end gear. You can believe what you want. It’s your choice. Arguing over it won’t make it change. There are many manufacturers that specialize in different grades of the same component. You still have much to learn. We all can learn more. That’s just part of the journey.

[@markphilpot8734]

@@joonas4427, perhaps a blind test would convince you or access to some really good equipment. If you can’t hear any difference, it doesn’t matter to you. It takes more than fancy packaging or slick marketing to change your hearing. There are other factors which can mask this perception. Room acoustics and such can cause this to not be perceived or the lack of resolution in equipment. There could be other factors. Try Audio Science Review and ask Amir.

[@markphilpot8734]

@@joonas4427, if a system cannot resolve the difference, it isn’t worth the change. Some cannot. That is a fact. You are better off changing the gear you have as this may be why you cannot hear the change. Opinions vary and not all systems are equally up to the task. Compromises exist in many components and so many factors may effect resolution. It can be a blessing or a curse. It is our ears that must be convinced in any case. Be happy with what you have.

[@202One]

Sad looking crossover.. 😂🧀

[@misterbrent]

Hopefully those dummies over at Harman will see this video and finally realize what they are doing wrong. Maybe call Danny for advice?

[@r.guardia9107]

Just wondering, but are you an electrical engineer? Your videos are very informative and you have so much knowledge. Keep up the good work 👍

[@Powerpickle68]

Geez, for $1100 each they should have been your way from the start

[@craigenputtock]

A lot of these individual driver responses confuse me. They are SO bad! Even inexpensive drivers from online retailers have a lot smoother responses. What gives?