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  1. #1
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    Review from Peabody on Revel F52's

    Peabody forwarded this to me and asked me to post it for him...
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    " Mr. Peabody's Take On F52's"

    Where to start........ over a decade ago I became aware of Revel and heard a pair of $10k set driven by Mark Levinson gear. Whether they have vastly improved since then, or those 1st generation were not broke in or set up correctly, I was under whelmed by what I heard to say the least. Unfortunately, I was turned off to the brand. Fast forward to now and thanks to a persistent Revel dealer I have found the F52's that have brought my opinion around 180 degrees, in other words I have changed my mind.

    Keep in mind as I express my thoughts that associated equipment means everything to achieving good synergy, so using different brands of electronics you may experience different results. Revels F52's are the most expensive speakers I've owned but they are also the most amazing I've owned, the synergy with my Conrad Johnson gear is outstanding. The F52's play low with excellent low end detail. However, it's not a subwoofer like low end. I hope I can explain this properly, what is in the recording is what you hear no extra bass distortion or rumble, it can be deep and tight but mostly in it's own position in the sound stage and not all over the room. When listening to Pink Floyd, DSOTM I kept hearing something which I thought were the kids on the steps or upstairs but when I paused the recording I didn't hear it, what I heard was some low end detail in this album I hadn't heard before. I have found the bass response to be recording dependent and can vary a lot from song to song on the same album. I found a good example of this on Justin Timberlake's album.

    The F52's give the sound stage depth like it could go back forever, instruments and performers are positioned front to back. I had this before on other speakers but not to the effect the F52's are capable of. Things like brass sounds like it fires over the singers shoulder or a triangle strike that sounds like it's way back in the sound stage. Another character of the F52 I don't think I've experienced in any other speaker, and I have heard some very expensive speakers, is how music is presented, it's more musical in that notes vary in amplitude. On other speakers I've heard you can tell notes from one another but when you play a live instrument the notes aren't actually that uniform and the F52's are capable of revealing the nonuniformity of the notes. For instance, when you blow a horn some notes may be stronger than others or when you pluck a string the notes might be different but the force you use varies. This adds to the musicality or emotion of a recording. The overall response of the F52 is very balanced, not one part being emphasized over another, it's also open and detailed. The midrange seems to just have a rightness about it with vocals that have natural timbre. Other characteristics that caught my ear was the speed of the F52's, this is something you may have to hear to understand but when the music stops abruptly for effect or crashes, the F52's can start and stop on a dime. When listening to the F52's you get a sense of a very very dark background. I thought this could just be my system but some one who heard Revel at RMAS also commented the same, not sure what was driving that set.

    I find the high end to be extended while remaining smooth and allowing cymbals to decay naturally. Revel provides a treble adjustment on the back which allows a 1dB increase or decrease in a .5dB step. I keep mine in "normal". There is also a bass response adjustment which compensates if you have to position the speakers close to walls or cabinet. There are 3 settings to choose from, normal, boundary and I forgot the last one. The F52's have two sets of binding posts for those who might bi-wire or bi-amp. The F52's sounded pretty good right out of the box which is unusual for a higher end speaker, I could tell they were breaking in but it's like you can't put your finger on any particular area, they just do what they started out doing but only much better.

    I also have the F52 center channel which is a 3-way with two 8" woofers, the same midrange and tweeter as the floorstanding F52. The center is a sealed enclosure where the towers are rear ported. I bought the matching stand for the center which is rugged steel that attaches to the bottom of the center speaker, it fires it slightly upward. Needless to say the center does an excellent job with highly intelligible vocals and center screen detail. The center also has sound adjustment on the rear for stand mount, in cabinet or on top of a shelf or TV.

    So if you find yourself wanting to audition speakers I'd recommend putting Revel on your list. I didn't want to get into comparing the F52 to this speaker or that one, I wanted to talk about what they do on their own and as we all know speakers differ wildly in character so sometimes comparisons can give you the wrong idea.
    Music...let it into your soul and be moved....with Canton...Pure Music


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    W10 i5 Quad core processor 8GB RAM/Jriver 20/ Fidelizer Optimizer/ iFI Micro DSD DAC-iUSB 3.0/Vincent SA - T1/Vincent SP-331 MK /MMF-7.1/2M BLACK/MS Phenomena ll+/Canton Vento 830.2

  2. #2
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    Sounds like Mr. P found a winner. Glad he is enjoying them. Looks like you guys have been trying out a lot of gear lately and it seems like you're having fun.

    Take Care frenchmon.

  3. #3
    Forum Regular harley .guy07's Avatar
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    Well like I said before I am glad to hear that he is enjoying his new speakers and finally found something with some synergy with his CJ stuff. I think in his case the metal dome tweeter might bring out some of the warmth of the CJ stuff and they might like the amount of power he is running better than the Dynaudio's did. I seen a picture of a pair of them and they seem to be very large speakers in comparisons to others he has had in his room. I will have to get up there some time and hear them maybe even bring my preamp for some swap out fun just to see how things sound different.

    Marantz SR5008(HT)
    Nu Force P8 Preamp (2 channel)
    Pass Labs X150.5(2 channel)
    Adcom 545 mk2 power amp(rear channel amp)
    Spatial Audio M3 Turbo S Mains Speakers
    Dayton 8" HO custom sealed subwoofer(2 channel)
    Yamaha NS-c444 center channel
    Emotiva ERD-1 surround speakers
    JBL e250p subwoofer highly modified
    Samsung 46" LED TV
    OPPO BDP-83 blue ray/multi format player
    ps-audio NuWave dac (2 channel)
    Dell I660 music server running fidelizer windows 8 audio optimizer
    PS Audio Quintet power center



  4. #4
    Ajani
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    Great Review!

    Now all we need are some pictures!

  5. #5
    Forum Regular filecat13's Avatar
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    Nice speakers! Glad they make you happy and take you to audio
    I like sulung tang.

  6. #6
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ajani View Post
    Great Review!

    Now all we need are some pictures!
    Ajani...these are terrible pics I took with my phone...these are the best I can do for now

    This is the Zu and the Dyns and the Zu center channel.




    Uploaded with ImageShack.us





    Uploaded with ImageShack.us
    This is my VIncent in Pebodys gear rack....dont know what that blue light is.



    Uploaded with ImageShack.us

    Here's the Revels...also this is the JBL Arrey center channel. Peobody got the Revel center channel instead.





    Uploaded with ImageShack.us

    You can get some kinds idea of how big the Zu are over the Dyns. My Vincent is in the gear rack driving the Conrad Johnson mono blocks on the bottom shelf. I must say, the Mono blocks and the Vincent preamp where a good match.



    Uploaded with ImageShack.us

    And here's Peabody doing some critical listening.
    Music...let it into your soul and be moved....with Canton...Pure Music


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    W10 i5 Quad core processor 8GB RAM/Jriver 20/ Fidelizer Optimizer/ iFI Micro DSD DAC-iUSB 3.0/Vincent SA - T1/Vincent SP-331 MK /MMF-7.1/2M BLACK/MS Phenomena ll+/Canton Vento 830.2

  7. #7
    Ajani
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    The Zu's look scary... Just based on looks, I think the Revels are a major improvement for the room...

    Thanks for the pics!

  8. #8
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    Hahahahaha! The Revel F52's are miracle workers.....The sound of Peabodys system is high end now. Well I guess I can say he has braggin rights now...something I would not say he had with the Dyns or the Zu's.
    Music...let it into your soul and be moved....with Canton...Pure Music


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    W10 i5 Quad core processor 8GB RAM/Jriver 20/ Fidelizer Optimizer/ iFI Micro DSD DAC-iUSB 3.0/Vincent SA - T1/Vincent SP-331 MK /MMF-7.1/2M BLACK/MS Phenomena ll+/Canton Vento 830.2

  9. #9
    Forum Regular Jack in Wilmington's Avatar
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    That's a good looking set of speakers. I liked the looks of the Dyns better, but it is the sound that is the ultimate deciding factor.
    I can't remember what speakers wires that Mr. P is using. Do you know, Frenchie?
    2 Channel System
    Dynaudio Contour 1.8 Mk II
    Pass Labs X150.5 (Amp)
    Cary SLP-03 (Preamp)
    Music Hall MMF 5.1 (TT)
    Goldring 1012GX (Cart.)
    Pro-ject SE II (Phono Box)
    Rotel RCD-1072 (CD Player)
    Bryston BDA-1 ( DAC )
    Sennheiser HD-600 (Headphones)
    Musical Fidelity Xcan V3 (Headphone Amp) _

    HT System
    Usher X-719 (Mains)
    Usher X-616 (Center)
    Usher S-520 (Surrounds)
    Rel T2 (Subwoofer)
    Anthem MCA20 (Amp)
    Yamaha RX-A830 (Receiver)
    Panasonic TH-46PZ85U (Plasma TV)
    Denon DBT-1713UD (BluRay/SACD)

  10. #10
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    He is using Siltech MXT Pro New Yorker cables.

    what cable are you using ...I don't see it in your sig.
    Music...let it into your soul and be moved....with Canton...Pure Music


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    W10 i5 Quad core processor 8GB RAM/Jriver 20/ Fidelizer Optimizer/ iFI Micro DSD DAC-iUSB 3.0/Vincent SA - T1/Vincent SP-331 MK /MMF-7.1/2M BLACK/MS Phenomena ll+/Canton Vento 830.2

  11. #11
    Forum Regular Jack in Wilmington's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by frenchmon View Post
    He is using Siltech MXT Pro New Yorker cables.

    what cable are you using ...I don't see it in your sig.
    When I got my Dyns, I needed a non-biwire pair of cables. I tried an old set of Straightwire Rhapsody cables that I had and didn't care for the sound. I converted a pair of BJC that were setup for biwiring and wasn't liking them either. At that point I bought a pair of Verastarr Silver Stream cables and was happy with them as they were a definite improvement over the previous cables. I had been casually looking at other alternatives recently and today I found a new set of MIT AVT1's at less than half the original price. I had a good bit of cash in my paypal account between the sale of the Jolida and a few small items, so I'll try these out.
    2 Channel System
    Dynaudio Contour 1.8 Mk II
    Pass Labs X150.5 (Amp)
    Cary SLP-03 (Preamp)
    Music Hall MMF 5.1 (TT)
    Goldring 1012GX (Cart.)
    Pro-ject SE II (Phono Box)
    Rotel RCD-1072 (CD Player)
    Bryston BDA-1 ( DAC )
    Sennheiser HD-600 (Headphones)
    Musical Fidelity Xcan V3 (Headphone Amp) _

    HT System
    Usher X-719 (Mains)
    Usher X-616 (Center)
    Usher S-520 (Surrounds)
    Rel T2 (Subwoofer)
    Anthem MCA20 (Amp)
    Yamaha RX-A830 (Receiver)
    Panasonic TH-46PZ85U (Plasma TV)
    Denon DBT-1713UD (BluRay/SACD)

  12. #12
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    I love the looks of the Vincent! From what your saying, and from the reviews I've seen, it sounds as good as it looks.

    Happy for Mr. P. regarding his system.

    Thanks for the pics frenchmon.

  13. #13
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    Silly me....The blue light is the indicator of what component is being used and the camera makes it three times as big as it really is. In this case it was the CD.
    Music...let it into your soul and be moved....with Canton...Pure Music


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    W10 i5 Quad core processor 8GB RAM/Jriver 20/ Fidelizer Optimizer/ iFI Micro DSD DAC-iUSB 3.0/Vincent SA - T1/Vincent SP-331 MK /MMF-7.1/2M BLACK/MS Phenomena ll+/Canton Vento 830.2

  14. #14
    Forum Regular blackraven's Avatar
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    Congrat to Mr. P and Frenchmon on their new gear! They look great and I am sure they sound great! I wish there was a Revel and Vincent dealer here in the Twin Cities. Choices are pretty limited with only 3 high end dealers here.
    Pass Labs X250 amp, BAT Vk-51se Preamp,
    Thorens TD-145 TT, Bellari phono preamp, Nagaoka MP-200 Cartridge
    Magnepan QR1.6 speakers
    Luxman DA-06 DAC
    Van Alstine Ultra Plus Hybrid Tube DAC
    Dual Martin Logan Original Dynamo Subs
    Parasound A21 amp
    Vintage Luxman T-110 tuner
    Magnepan MMG's, Grant Fidelity DAC-11, Class D CDA254 amp
    Monitor Audio S1 speakers, PSB B6 speakers
    Vintage Technic's Integrated amp
    Music Hall 25.2 CDP
    Adcom GFR 700 AVR
    Cables- Cardas, Silnote, BJC
    Velodyne CHT 8 sub

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