[inky blacks]

I am interested in the Revel Ultima Voice 2 center speaker with a 1" beryllium tweeter, a 5.25" titanium cone midrange, and two 8" titanium cone woofers. The design is a compact acoustic suspension design I was thinking of building into a wall for a new project. It has a switch that alters the sound for in-wall use.


I had never heard a beryllium tweeter before a few days ago when I was in a store and listened to a Paradigm bookshelf model that had them, along with some kind of strange aluminum-cobalt mid-woofer. I liked the tweeter, but the overall sound seemed cold and clinical, like being in an X-ray of the music. There was just no warmth or body to the music. It was impressive, very transparent, but I would not like to listen to those speakers for long. I think they would be fatiguing despite the clarity.


Will I feel the same way about the larger and much more expensive Revel's? Was what I heard the result of the beryllium tweeters or the aluminum-cobalt midrange-woofer? As stated, the Revel has a titanium midrange cone which I am worried about. My favorite midrange material is TPX plastic because I like the high damping factor. I am worried I will buy the Revel's and not like them. There is no Revel dealer in my area so I would have to buy them on the Internet.


Are all metal tweeters and midranges cold and hard sounding?

 

[4DHD]

First of all, the Voice 2 is NOT an in-wall speaker. The flush setting is for when the speaker is placed in a bookcase or wall unit.

If you want to install in wall, then use a speaker designed for in-wall use.

I have auditioned the entire Ultima 2 series, it is a beautiful sounding system. I have the JBL cousin to the Ultima Gem2, the PT800.

Neither the JBLs or the Revels are fatiguing. You can listen to them all day! There is no metallic sound at all.

So whatever your heard from the Paradigms, forget it, they are not the Revels.

 

[inky blacks]

I know the Revel is not an in-wall speaker like a Sonance model, but I thought that the setting for built-into-cabinet use would provide about the same sonics as needed for in-wall placement. The main point is the speaker is flush to a large flat surface. No?


The only in-wall speaker that appeals to me is the Pioneer S-IW691L6 1/2" Reference Standard In-Wall. It has a 1 3/16” ceramic graphite tweeter, a5 1/2” magnesium midrange, and dual 6.5" woofers. I have never heard that speaker either, but the relative time alignment and the large tweeter area appeals to me. That speaker can be had for a very low price on the Internet. It was designed by the same designer who does the TAD loudspeakers.

 

[AuralXTC]

Do you have the matching Revel Ultima Studio2/Salon2 towers?


The Ultima2 series is definitely NOT cold and clinical, they are amazingly smooth and detailed without being anywhere near harsh or metallic. Compared to the Paradigm v3 Sigs... they are on a another level.

 

[inky blacks]



Quote:
Originally Posted by AuralXTC  /t/1414886/revel-ultima-voice-2-center-speaker-is-it-a-cold-and-clinical-speaker#post_22118705


Do you have the matching Revel Ultima Studio2/Salon2 towers?

The Ultima2 series is definitely NOT cold and clinical, they are amazingly smooth and detailed without being anywhere near harsh or metallic. Compared to the Paradigm v3 Sigs... they are on a another level.

Thanks.


No, I have not heard any Revel products. I would use two of the Revel center speakers for a built-into-wall stereo pair, not for 5 or 7 channel sound. I have 11' behind the wall, so their depth is no problem.

 

[rich wu]

I have the salon2 and voice 2 and I can only describe them as being accurate speakers.


I would not recommend putting these speakers or any speakers for that matter into a wall cabinet. It will will give a chesty and congested sound from my experience. If you want something that is more flush, you might consider the Revel Gem 2s which are designed for wall mount.

 

[inky blacks]



Quote:
Originally Posted by rich wu  /t/1414886/revel-ultima-voice-2-center-speaker-is-it-a-cold-and-clinical-speaker#post_22119296


I would not recommend putting these speakers or any speakers for that matter into a wall cabinet. It will will give a chesty and congested sound from my experience. If you want something that is more flush, you might consider the Revel Gem 2s which are designed for wall mount.

But what about the switch on the back of the speaker which is supposed to compensate for that? That is part of the design.


I want two woofers, not just one.

 

[mtrot]

If you have that much depth to work with, perhaps you could either yourself, or have a cabinet maker build a couple of finished, custom "nacelles"( which would serve as a sort of built-in "bookshelf surface"), into your wall at the appropriate locations. These nacelles would be made to dimensions such that the speaker would fit with an inch or so clearance all around. Then you could bring the speaker wires in from the back. Actually, you could make these nacelles any dimension you want, which means you could use more conventional bookshelf type speakers instead of the Voice 2, which is specifically engineered to be a center channel speaker. Of course, you would need to avoid any models with rear ports, which is kind of hard to do.


As to the Revel beryllium tweeters, I recently heard the Salon 2 as a stereo pair, and I found them to be very revealing and accurate. The Revel beryllium tweeter may be better than the Paradigm, but I don't think it is going to give you any kind of "warm" or euphonic sound quality, if that is what you are looking for. Any kind of poorly recorded or harsh CD is going to come out exactly that way.

 

[4DHD]



Quote:
Originally Posted by inky blacks  /t/1414886/revel-ultima-voice-2-center-speaker-is-it-a-cold-and-clinical-speaker#post_22119311


But what about the switch on the back of the speaker which is supposed to compensate for that? That is part of the design.

I want two woofers, not just one.

Yeah, that switch is for bookshelf install. I've never heard the Voice in that kind of setup so I have no way of knowing how it would sound.

As for using two center speakers for a stereo setup, its been done before. In fact, I know of at least one person who used center speaker for all five channels.


My thoughts of the Voice2, is its such a beautiful cabinet, I would not want it mounted flush to a wall. But to each his own. The one problem I can think of is then the wall becomes an infinite baffle to those speakers. Something that is not intended in their design. But as mentioned, the Gem2 is designed to be wall mounted and likewise, also has a boundary switch.