Revel F228Be PerformaBe Speakers Review

Are the Revel F228Be PerformaBe speakers much better than the step down F208 Performa3 series? How much better? Are they worth the extra $5,000? Watch to find out. Here is a video of Revel F208: • Revel F208 Performa3 S...
Note: The song by Mireille Mathieu is not "Pardonne-moi ce Caprice d'Enfant" which I considered originally, it is actually "Ciao Bombino, Sorry". Copyright owners (c)1976-2021 TEOSTO, TONO_CS, KODA_CS.
Equipment:
Speakers: Revel PerformaBe F228be in white.
Power amp (tube): Audio Research REFERENCE 75 (75W)
Subwoofer: REL 212/SE (1,000W)
Subwoofer: REL S/3 (400W)
Preamp/Processor: Pass Labs X0.2
DAC: Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ & SoTM txUSB-ultra reclocker/conditioner & Keces P8 power supply
Power: PS Audio P4 Poweplant
Cables: Acoustic Zen, WireWorld, AudioQuest
grigorian.tech
------------------------ Russian translation, as requested ----------------------
я ожидал, что твитеры Berillyum нового поколения станут настоящим открытием. Они не были (если я не ошибаюсь и то, что я собираюсь сказать дальше, по крайней мере, частично вызвано новым твитером, который должен усиливать другие частоты, если он хоть сколько-нибудь хорош, не привлекая к себе излишнего внимания). Теперь самое главное. Среднечастотный диапазон. Я не знаю, новые ли это композитные среднечастотные динамики, улучшенный кроссовер, волновод, твитер или что-то еще, но среднечастотник на этих F228 - это то, за что стоит умереть. Как это звучит? Что ж, вы слышите подробности. Остатки дублирующих голосов, эхо на заднем плане, причмокивание губ, скрип кресла пианино и т. Д. Лучшее разрешение среднего диапазона приводит к лучшей визуализации. Вы слышите расстояние между голосами не только слева направо и даже не задом наперед, но и по вертикали, если это позволяет запись (в основном это хоралы). Помните, я упоминал, что наушники Hifiman Anandas являются эталонным звуком для любых динамиков? Что ж, эти динамики воспроизводили больше деталей, чем электростатические наушники, что я никогда не думал, что это возможно. В целом, разница, которую они сделали в самом важном диапазоне, среднечастотном, была неожиданной, поразительной, я не ожидал этого даже от таких титанов, как Magico или Raidho, которые стоят как минимум сотню тысяч. Итак, стоят ли они 10 тысяч долларов? Да. Я ожидал улучшения на 10%, но вместо этого я получил улучшение на 40% там, где оно имеет наибольшее значение - средний диапазон, который труднее всего улучшить и так же дорого достичь. Это просто потрясающие спикеры. Их будет сложно улучшить, пока они не выпустят Ultima3. Скорее всего, это произойдет, когда они доят эту линию Performa3 на все сто, что, вероятно, произойдет в 2025-26 годах.

[@richarddenobriga48]

i own the f226 be and let me tell you they will be my last speakers after 35 years of search, the r&d on these loudspeakers is incredible i mean the engineers were very serious in designing and tuning these loudspeakers and you can hear it so natural and so well balanced the highs are so detailed but delivered with no agression, mids are to die for and bass may not go that deep but it s delivered in a fast tight punchy way that is so satisfying if you have a Revel dealer in you're area just give them a listen. cheers!

[@williamtaylor5193]

I recently purchased a pair of these and can attest that they are outstanding loudspeakers. Great clarity, soundstage, and composure. As Vlad mentions, they are great right out of the box as well--- positioning is non-critical.

[@Novilicious]

Going with the f208s. My budget is $4K! Thanks for this video; it helped a lot.

[@kenmcglown6642]

I'm a long-time Revel Ultima Salon 2 owner which are my end-game speakers. I recently had the opportunity to extensively auditioned the Revel F228Be and the F338Be speakers at my local dealers in SF, and, of course, I was extremely impressed and absolutely blown away by both models. I still maintain that the Ultima line is superior to, and are on another level beyond the Performa line of Revel speakers. However, kudos to Revel and the Performa speakers which are truly outstanding and worth every penny.

[@ronaldmurphy8573]

I have these driven by a Vitus R101 Mk II integrated amplifier. Fabulous midrange.

[@_SURTR_]

Great setup, Vlad! what microphones do you use for recording

[@VladVonGrigorian]

Hi, Тёзка! I use an old iPhone S with its internal microphone. I can afford a good external microphone, but the truth is recording of gear is bull shit. They do not record what our ears hear and youtube doesn't play even that mess correctly. So, there is no point of using external microphones, doesn't matter how good they are.

[@sidvicious3129]

Hi Vlad, are the subs on or functioning during this recording. I'm listening through headphones and I'm considering a pair. That sounds pretty good.

[@VladVonGrigorian]

@sid vicious cant tell you how relieved I am to see you alive and kicking. I never believed those 1979 rumors that you died. Anyway, AFAIR the subs wrere both on. If you give me 3-4 track names I will record a video of each with and without subs. I wished someone would have done that for me when I was buying them blind. Mine are for sale BTW. thanks

[@sidvicious3129]

@@VladVonGrigorian vlad what are you getting next?..

[@VladVonGrigorian]

@@sidvicious3129 dont know yet. everything better is so crazy expensive, like double or tipple these Revels' price tag!

[@Osiris1000]

Wondering if you could share where you got such a great deal from on the 228? I liked the review thank you

[@VladVonGrigorian]

@Osiris1000 I got them from www.usatubeaudio.com/ , 1-800-676-1085 - Sales Ext #2, ask for Paul. I am not sure he will give you the same price, but it never hurts to ask. Let me know how it goes.

[@Osiris1000]

@@VladVonGrigorian appreciated. Will do

[@jsharp9735]

What is that square wall made out of ?

[@VladVonGrigorian]

Some cheap foam squares I bought off of Ebay 4-5 years ago. Arrived vacuum-packed, they start sucking the air once unpacked and keep increasing in size for 4-5 hours. They were around $150 for the entire wall, including shipping from Russia. Now it is impossible, no trade with that country anymore. If you ask me if there is any benefit I'd be honest, if that room treatment did anything at all for the sound , I did not hear that. They are they just for the looks.

[@jsharp9735]

@@VladVonGrigorian Right on, I just think it looks better than those cheap coned shaped ones. Yes, indeed a shame a few psychopaths in USA gov want to war with RUS. The irony is its making RUS stronger.

[@Ragnarok20854]

Great speakers and other set. How much better these are versus F208? I have F208 but i need better amplifier to get all of those. That Be series i'am not hear yet.

[@VladVonGrigorian]

The F228Be are much better in the midrange. It is all in the video if you would like to watch it.

[@Ragnarok20854]

@@VladVonGrigorian i watching that, but i done others things same time so i didnt hear all what u said. And english its not my mother language so i dont understand all what u said. Anyway others review of those tell that same about that midrange. This spring i have to go somewhere to listen that Be series, is that really so good what everybody tell.

[@chrisher3508]

Nice system Vlad. I sent you a PM over at Avs. I currently own a pair of f208 and I was curious on your opinion on the Focal Sopra 2 vs your f228be. I know you just recently sold your 1027be, but did you try looking into moving up in the Focal line?

[@VladVonGrigorian]

Chris, the speakers before these F228 were 1037be, not 1027be. A little more bass on those because of the third woofer and fuller dynamics. Totally good speakers, proper good those Focals were. But still like I said in this video I got tired of them. With your Revel F208s, when I had them, there wasnt a day I neglected to listen to music, even for 10-15 minutes. With the Focals it happened more and more rare, and that is a tell. They lacked the F208s resolution and their total balance and neutrality. The first is how many details you hear and how natural everything sounds, the second is not just if any driver tend to step out but step out at a high volume. At high volume the Focals were bright to a degree that I had to turn the volume down, not up when you like the speakers. So, I sold them. Your question was how Focal Sopra 2s compare to these F228s? I imagine they would have been better than the 1037be, but still retained the Focal character. They , the Sopras, would look much better - the F208 and F228 are bland a bit - but they are not as neutral and balanced at any volume and not as detailed, and that is a major thing. A lot of people love Focals and they would never touch any Revels, even the Ultima2s, with a 10 foot pole. But to each is own. The Revels are better in my opinion, especially for the money. I would have had to pay around $10K for used Focal Sopra2, almost double of what I paid for these brand new (less than $6,500!) and they the Sopras still couldnt hold a candle to these F228bes. I was shopping for both used Sopra2s, like yourself, and these F228be or F328be. I cant tell you how happy I am I went back to Revels, and I tell you another thing - I am never going back to Focals. Well, unless they are a big ticket Focals like the Utopias, but those are like $38,000! That is never happening.

[@VladVonGrigorian]

Chris, thanks for following! You mentioned that you thought the F208s lack dynamics. First off, I dont think they do. They dont have the explosive dynamics of lets say Polk LSiM707s I used to own, but they still are very good. Moreover, the Focals also have great dynamics, they are not going to help you either, even the Sopra2 , if it is the dynamics you are looking for. Lets first determine if we mean the same when we say "dynamics". Here is a definition of macro dynamics: "Dynamics refers to the variation in level-volume-in the audio signal, and when a musical part-like a recording of drums, or a vocal track-ranges from loud to soft over the course of, say, a song, the upper and lower limits of that variation-the difference between the loudest and softest levels-is the Dynamic Range. " adequate for both. I dont think your problem with the speakers at all

[@chrisher3508]

@@VladVonGrigorian thanks for your well thought out response and for taking the time to do so. You may have just sold me on sticking with Revel and upgrading to the f228be. Regarding "dynamic " what I meant to say was that the f208 was not forward enough for HT usage. It is a little laid-back, and I need that extra hint of brightness to make home theater a little more enjoyable. From everything that I've read, the Berryllium will give me that minus the fatigueness? Thanks again Vlad.

[@VladVonGrigorian]

@@chrisher3508 Like I said, both the Revels and the Focals are great for HT. The Be tweeter (they both have it, BTW) will do nothing for your problem. The Be tweeter, all it does is makes high frequencies more natural. Yes, the Focals are a bit forward, but I dont think that is what you are actually after. The main complains with HT are either mumbled/unclear dialog or a lack of impact in main speakers (think guns firing in a movie) or lack of low bass (think explosions or earthquakes in a movie). Jumping from Revels to Focals or from F208Be from F208 will NOT solve any of those problems.

[@chrisher3508]

Hi Vlad, there seems to be a nation wide short supply of new Revel speakers at the moment and so I had a change of plans. I ended up with a near new set of Revel studio2, and my search for speakers is just about done. I couldn't be happier staying in the Revel family of speakers and I thank you for your time replying to my comments.

[@kristinailic4167]

So Vlad what do you say ARC or PASS, let alone the price, l know that Speakers are not the same but still...

[@VladVonGrigorian]

I've been asking myself the same question actually, Kristina. It is very hard to fit the answer into a KZbin reply. The answer would have been easy if you didnt insist on putting the price aside. But here is my take. The PASS brought to surface upper bass notes that ARC didnt even touch. But not the lower bass (which I can offset by the use of the REL subs). The imaging and soundstage are wider and more precise with the PASS probably due to the 3 enclosure design. Just a bit. The dynamics are equally good in both. There is something about the high treble that I dont like in the PASS, though. There is not enough airiness , not enough of the silver mist around the crashes of cymbals. No amount of equalization fixes that. Or may be it is just me clinging to the old sound (I noticed the same with the ARC earlier, but to a lesser degree). Making a long story short, it would have been hard to choose between the ARC and the PASS if their prices were the same. Well, actually THEY ARE THE SAME, MSRP, not used, around $10K each. But the fact that I could have bought two and half PASSes for the price of one ARC in the used market (plus keep in mind the LS28 was the cheapest ARC preamp , while this reference XO.2 was the second down from their top dog reference preamp at the time, plus it is a three enclosure design preamp which ARC sells for $30K+!) made the choice easy. Now , this PASS and a REF ARC, that would have been an interesting comparison. Actually, an entire REF PASS (pre+power) against REF ARC (pre+power) would have been even better. But who got money for that, right?

[@kristinailic4167]

@@VladVonGrigorian thanks for your answer but something tells me that you would be even more satisfied with ls28 for it's match with your Reference 75 amp.l heard Pass pre and ls-26 all on Pass x350 and to me Arc is better.

[@VladVonGrigorian]

@@kristinailic4167 You may be right. I should have spent more time with the LS28. It was just one day.

[@chriswindham9868]

Nice

[@VladVonGrigorian]

Thanks, Chris. That three enclosure reference Pass Labs X0.2 preamp deserves its own review.

[@chriswindham9868]

@@VladVonGrigorian just noticed the change when you mentioned. Would love to see a review.

[@VladVonGrigorian]

@@chriswindham9868 Perhaps a short one. That Pass Labs reference (BTW, now I have both pre and power amps as REF!) answered a bigger question. Can an upstream midshelf component mess up the sound quality downstream to high quality gear ? In other words, you have a $10K preamp and a $12 power amp, top shelf. There are better, of course, but still. Suppose you add a processor before the preamp as a room correction and EQ remedy to offset the preamp's high frequencies dryness (for my taste). Will that midshelf processor mess up the sound because the signal went through its circuitry? Or will the processor make no impact and the wonderful Pass Labs 3 enclosure, balanced, dual mono high purity design still be able to get the same level of details as without the processor? I connected both the DAC and the phono preamp directly to the Pass Labs preamp and through the Marantz processor on top of the rack. There are 4 inputs: 1) DAC direct 2) DAC with room calibration and EQ (can be defeated, can be run in pure direct as a straight wire through the Marantz, sounds just like 1)) 3) Turntable direct 4) Turntable with room calibration and EQ As it turns out the addition of a midshelf component upstream (but it has to be a pre component, not a power one) dont mess up the sound. The preamp downstream will steal be able to get all the dynamics, the details and other good stuff as without it. But then again, the Marantz was $4,000 when issued, so may be it is not a midshelf component by itself. But it was not able to do what the Pass Labs preamp does. But I still use the Marantz to add +1.5 of bass and ++2 of treble on the left channel +1 of bass and +1 trebele on the right. The PAss Labs preamp is amazing, but not as lively in the extreme frequencies for my taste. The purists will disagree, of course, but to each is on.

[@peterprimes497]

What's your preference in order for these 3 speakers all costing the same price basically. These or the Focal kanta no 2 or Wharfdale Elysion 4. i enjoyed the video. They look fabulous. The song was cool AF even though i didn't understand the language. Speakers sound amazing as far as i can hear them through my Computer. Thanks Great first name btw :)

[@VladVonGrigorian]

@peter primes Thank you for the kind comment! As I understand it, you are asking which I would prefer: these F228be, The Kanta 2s or the WFD? I can only speak on the differences between the Focals Ive owned and the Revels (a few actually). I couldnt wait to get rid of the Focals because of their slightly brighter midrange, the upper part. Also I didnt like the box colorations. The Revels were simply delightful. They were hiding, basically, behind the music, while with the Focals it was the other way around. Some prefer that . For rock for example the Focals are better. Also the Focals reproduced the piano almost as realistically as Magnepans. Anyway. The Revels are good at everything. They are not perfect, but I would have preferred them. As fas as the WFD are concerned I am sorry I cannot say one way or the other. Never heard them. But I always trust the opinion of this nice reviewer from Canada, I 100% agree with him on everything else so this review of his I probably would have agreed with as well. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHbXdaZ8fqqqncU

[@richarddegannes2928]

Vlad, How do you compare these Revel F228Be speakers to Monitor Audio PL 200 II speakers? Thanks.

[@VladVonGrigorian]

I don't know, I have never heard any of the Monitor Audio

[@richarddegannes2928]

@@VladVonGrigorian Thanks.

[@richarddegannes2928]

Hello, How do you compare Revel's F208 speakers to their F228Be? Which is better value cost to performance? Which Integrated amplifier would you recommend to drive these F228Be speakers?

[@VladVonGrigorian]

@Richard De Gannes Regarding the comparison to the F208, it is all in this video so is the cost to performance value, watch it if you like. On an integrated amp - I really cannot recommend any. There are so many choices! The speakers can be adequately driven by as little as 20W@8ohm, so power is not a concern. But it will have to be a fairly good integrated costing at least $4-$6K, otherwise all of the resolution and dynamics will be wasted .

[@richarddegannes2928]

@@VladVonGrigorian Thanks for reaching out. Much appreciated. Are the HF ear piercing or fatiguing and do these speakers have enough bass or should a subwoofer be added. Thanks.

[@richarddegannes2928]

@@VladVonGrigorian Will a Hegel H390 be a good fit with the F228Be speakers?

[@VladVonGrigorian]

@@richarddegannes2928 ABsolutely, Hegel makes amazing gear, lots of current. That model is very, very good.