Revel Owners Thread - Page 100

Originally Posted by comfynumb 

Maybe I should save my time and money. What about bi wiring, any benefits? I'm thinking I just opened up a can of worms lol.

Originally Posted by MUDCAT45 

I never heard any benefit from biwire or biamp. If you want to hear a difference you likely will (initially).

You were asking about Dynaudios. Why do you suppose a high end manufacturer like Dyn doesn't offer dual speaker terminals?

Originally Posted by MUDCAT45 

I never heard any benefit from biwire or biamp. If you want to hear a difference you likely will (initially).

You were asking about Dynaudios. Why do you suppose a high end manufacturer like Dyn doesn't offer dual speaker terminals?

Originally Posted by AcuDefTechGuy 

Both Dynaudio & Focal do not offer bi-wire & bi-amp because of the increased cost for high quality speaker posts with no added practical benefit.

Originally Posted by AcuDefTechGuy 

Theoretically from an engineering point of view, there is a benefit to both bi-wiring & passive bi-amping.

But in actual real life practice, those theoretical benefits seem totally insignificant for most of us.

You could try and see for yourself, but I bet you won't notice any difference at all with passive bi-amp & bi-wire.

Originally Posted by comfynumb 

I did bi wire my PSB's at one time, I actually thought they sounded better with a single wire. But I wanted to know what you guys thought about this with the Revel's. Thanks.

Originally Posted by AcuDefTechGuy 

Simple is best. Less room for errors.

Originally Posted by 4DHD 

As I've said before, ALL Harman brand speakers with dual set binding posts is nothing more than a marketing gimmick.
Maybe in the case of the Everest II, with the dual 15" drivers, it might be a benefit, but to drive a Salon2 with only 8" drivers, I see no benefit to do so.

Originally Posted by Gugu_s 

In my oppinion, bi-amping makes sense, if you have a low power amp with 60-90 Watts, and this way you can pump the double of it into the speaker. But in our case, it doesnt make any sense, because if you own a Revel speaker, than you need proper amplification to get the most out of it, and in this case, you shouldn't have something with low power output.

I haven't seen any real pictures from the binding posts, with the XO, and the cableing, if I had I would be able to understand, how it could bring any improvement.

By the way, I wanted to ask, what is the opinion on the original Ultima Studio vs the Performa2 speakers? Are they equal, or better? I never heard any of them, just the F30/F12/Saloon2, so any experience would be helpful.

Originally Posted by Gugu_s 

In my oppinion, bi-amping makes sense, if you have a low power amp with 60-90 Watts, and this way you can pump the double of it into the speaker. But in our case, it doesnt make any sense, because if you own a Revel speaker, than you need proper amplification to get the most out of it, and in this case, you shouldn't have something with low power output.

I haven't seen any real pictures from the binding posts, with the XO, and the cableing, if I had I would be able to understand, how it could bring any improvement.

By the way, I wanted to ask, what is the opinion on the original Ultima Studio vs the Performa2 speakers? Are they equal, or better? I never heard any of them, just the F30/F12/Saloon2, so any experience would be helpful.

Originally Posted by MUDCAT45 

You are not doubling the wattage if you bi-amp. Unless you use an amp with double the power you are still feeding the same 60-90 watts to the speakers.

The only way that I know to possibly double power is to use bridged amp channels. Most amps are not capable of this.

Originally Posted by 4DHD 

Most certainly true.
Getting a good 250~400 wpc amp is the way to go. I personally like Parasound amps, been using one for over a decade. I also have a '79 vintage HK Citation 19, which is a true doubling amp; 100w > 8Ω, 200w > 4Ω and 400w > 8Ω when bridged. And both run Class A at low output.

Originally Posted by comfynumb 

I have a parasound HCA1500 I haven't used in a few years, I guess I'll be experimenting to see if it sounds as good as the Sunfire. Just no XLR's on the Parasound, which I prefer.

Originally Posted by 4DHD 

As I've said before, ALL Harman brand speakers with dual set binding posts is nothing more than a marketing gimmick.

Originally Posted by AcuDefTechGuy 

B&W Diamonds also have dual posts.

And all the KEF Reference speakers have 3 pairs of binding posts for tri-amp.

Originally Posted by AcuDefTechGuy 

B&W Diamonds also have dual posts.

And all the KEF Reference speakers have 3 pairs of binding posts for tri-amp.

Originally Posted by 4DHD 

My HCA2205A only has RCA connections, sounds very good. Although I would not mind getting a Halo amp to go with my Halo P7 pre.

Originally Posted by comfynumb 

Does anyone have any experience with the M20's and would they handle my Sunfire's power? Would they match up to the 50's as surrounds?

Originally Posted by thrand1 

Yep, the M20's would be the match to the F50's for surrounds...in my opinion, having surrounds in the same "product line" as the fronts is not as critical. I know quite a few people who even use different brands for their surrounds. Even a few people in this thread have matched Performa products with Concerta (I think someone might have had M22s with a C12 center?) with good results.

You have more than enough power for the M20's with either your Sunfire or Parasound amp, especially if you will have a subwoofer in the mix. Surround channels probably won't place as much of a demand on your amp as the fronts will, and if you are crossing over to a subwoofer that makes it even easier on the amp.

An oft-quoted link ( http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html ) can give you an idea of the approximate SPL at a listening position given the speaker sensitivity, amplifier wattage, and distance to listening position. At 87dB sensitive, 100w power, 8 feet to the listening position, you'll easily hit 100+ dB.

Originally Posted by comfynumb 

It is always nice to have the matching set. At the very least I'll have fun trying a different amp with the 50's. if they ever get here, it's going to be nerve racking waiting. What speakers do you have?

Originally Posted by 4DHD 

5 JBL PT800 (think Revel Gem2), two custom JBL L212, pair of Revel subs.

Originally Posted by comfynumb 

Nice, I"d love to hear those!

Originally Posted by comfynumb 

It is always nice to have the matching set. At the very least I'll have fun trying a different amp with the 50's. if they ever get here, it's going to be nerve racking waiting. What speakers do you have?

Originally Posted by comfynumb 

Hi, sounds like good advice thanks. Since you mentioned other speakers, I'm going to use a deaf tech supercube 1, at least for now. And I've have a great pair of pinnacle BD650's I use for surrounds. Your thoughts on how both of those would match up? The pinnacles are a good bookshelf speaker, 3 way and can take my amp no problem. I'm not as technically advanced as many of you on here, that said I'm reading into that link. I know some of you can probably look at the specs on the 50's and my pinnacles and see if they look like a match. I will find the right deal on Revel surrounds and a center, but for now I'm limited.

Originally Posted by 4DHD 

The customs, I should not really call L212s, as the only things the same as original are the size of the boxes and the 112A mid-bass drivers.
The 052Ti tweeters replaced the 066 Al tweeters
The 2105 Pro midranges replaced the LE5-9 mids
The boxes are mirror imaged (better soundstage)
And last but not least, Biased crossover networks.
The components for the XOs cost more than some people want to spend on a pair of speakers.
For pure stereo playback, I prefer the customs to the PT800s.
And the PT800s are better than any other speaker in the $3K range, imo.
And having auditioned the Gem2, I would not pay the difference.

I would want to go up to at least the Salon2 on an upgrade.

Originally Posted by MUDCAT45 


Your money is better spent on getting a better sub than playing amp roulette. Amps are basically created =, whereas subs are not.