Revel F328Be Review

 

Revel F328Be Floorstanding Speaker Review

Assuming you've perused our surveys of Revel's F226Be and F228Be floorstanding speakers, you might have the feeling that those two models, alongside the F328Be ($16,000/pair), are just the little, medium, and huge emphasess of the PerformaBe floorstanding arrangement. While actually right, this would be enormously distorting reality. We expect the bigger forms of comparable speakers to have more prominent unique reach and to have all the more low-recurrence augmentation, and F328Be performs appropriately. In any case, there is something else to this speaker besides simply "stronger F228Be with more bass."

Allow me to move the similitudes first thing. The F328Be has a cupboard plan like the remainder of the PerformaBe floorstanding arrangement, with a level front confuse, adjusted side dividers that meet in an adjusted point at the back, a sloped dark plinth at the base, and a bended metallic dark top board. The bureau is widely propped, with a sub-nook for the midrange driver. Likewise with the remainder of the PerformaBe floorstanding family, the F328Be is accessible in your decision of decision of four serious shine wraps up: Black, White, Walnut, and Metallic Silver.

The five-driver, three-way speaker is genuinely enormous at 50.9 inches high, 13.5 inches wide, and 17.6 inches down, and it tips the scales at powerful 112.6 pounds. Sharp perusers will see that this is just five inches taller than the F228Be, however very nearly three inches further. The unassuming stature increment was overseen by moving the bass-reflex port from the front of the bureau. The triple eight-inch woofers need altogether more air than a couple of them, so the bureau has some additional profundity and a couple of back terminating ports rather than a solitary port.

We suitably noticed the ports are suggestive of double fumes of a muscle vehicle. The actual drivers are additionally unique in relation to the eight-inch woofers in the F228Bes. The "B bend," the bend that shows the power factor connected with the driver's development in the two headings, is more evenly offset with the F328Be's woofer than the F228be's. B_Curve_F228_vs_F328.jpgAdditionally, utilizing three separate woofers keeps the voice loops cooler, lessening pressure.

While the expansion of a third woofer is the most apparent distinction, the F328Be's new tweeter is the greater story, and most will presumably track down it to have a greater effect. It's a one-inch Beryllium arch tweeter with enormous ceramic magnets like the remainder of the PerformaBe arrangement, however the closeness closes there. The tweeter in the F328Be is an all-new plan found distinctly in the F328Be right now. At the point when I got some information about the new tweeter, I was furnished with immeasurably an excessive amount of data to incorporate here, yet I'll put forth a valiant effort to sum up it. I was told with regards to an acoustically damped, vented shaft piece that brings down mechanical reverberation recurrence and expands data transmission, and an inductance tweak ring that diminishes contortion when contrasted with the earlier Beryllium tweeter.

All in all, what's the significance here? To put it plainly, the new tweeter is more unique with less bending than a similar estimated Beryllium tweeter in the remainder of the setup. This new tweeter is joined with a 6th era, fired covered, cast-aluminum Acoustic Lens waveguide designed to coordinate the tweeter's directivity with the directivity of the midrange driver. Scattering is diminished at lower frequencies and expanded at higher frequencies. The new tweeter likewise has a stage plug that helps scattering above 8kHz. Revel expresses that in contrast with the organization's profoundly acclaimed Ultima 2, the F328Be's tweeter is a lot of smoother. I was fascinated by this assertion, as the PerformaBE series comes up short on the etched bewilder of the Ultima 2 and needs to beat that plan limit.

Revel_F328Be_Exploded_View.jpgThe 5.25-inch midrange is the main driver that is continued from different models in the PerformaBe setup. The midrange and the eight-inch driver woofers fuse Revel's Deep Ceramic Composite ("DCC") stomach, which gives a compelled layer damping framework intended to push cone separation modes outside of the passband, permitting the driver to keep up with ideal pistonic movement all through its reach. The DCC cones are combined with a worked on engine structure for more prominent effectiveness, dynamic reach, and power-taking care of with decreased contortion and pressure.

The F328Be's expressed recurrence scope of 26Hz to 40kHz (- 6dB) (- 3dB at 35Hz) has all the earmarks of being extremely moderate, particularly when contrasted with appraisals of other Revel speakers. I asked with regards to this and was informed that Revel is utilizing an alternate estimation framework than with prior series speakers and that the anechoic chamber was recalibrated decently as of late to give more precise outcomes. The F328Be's ostensible impedance is determined at 8 ohms, and awareness is expressed at 91 dB/w/m.

Setting Up the F328Be

Revel_PerformaBe_F328Be_RearDetail_Walnut_Web.jpgThe pair of F328Bes showed up in street cases that housed customary cardboard boxes like those utilized for other Revel speakers. While these cases might be difficult to store, they give additional insurance during delivery and seem pretty cool.

The F328Bes were exceptionally lenient concerning the two parts and room situating. I found the them simple to drive, functioning admirably with the couple of various enhancers. I didn't have any low-power tube amps in-house during my experience with the Revels, yet all of the moderate-to powerful strong state units turned out great. My moderately balanced room likewise made for simple situating. I thought the back terminating ports might have represented a test with the front divider, however I was mixed up.

Their last position was with their backs 25 creeps from the front divider and around 90 inches separated, flanking my 100-inch projection screen. Like the remainder of the PerformaBe setup, the F328Bes were excusing when it reached toe-in, and I wound up directing them toward a spot marginally behind my listening position. Likewise with the F328Be, I introduced IsoAcoustics' GAIA II feet (Crutchfield and Amazon), however had the front feet a little lower than the backs to marginally point the tweeter down to my listening tallness. I should note here that I likewise tuned in with the stock spikes, yet found that on my second-story wood-outlined floor they diminished energy transmission to the floor.

The F328Bes were assessed in both my reference sound system just as in a multichannel design. Beginning with the sound system, I utilized a solitary pair of Kimber Select speaker links with Kimber Select jumpers to associate with a couple of McIntosh MC501 monoblocks being driven by a McIntosh C500 preamplifier. The F328Be's double restricting posts are utilitarian in nature yet useful, and accompany shorting lashes assuming that you like to utilize them rather than jumpers or bi wiring.

A PS Audio DirectStream DAC and Network Player was my essential source part. Optical plates were played on my Oppo BDP-95 with its computerized yield taking care of the DirectStream.

Marantz's AV8805 AV Preamplifier ($4,499 at Crutchfield, Check cost at Amazon) goes about as the focal point of my multichannel framework, and enhancement for the five base-level channels is given by a Krell TAS Amplifier. Revel Performa3 C208 filled focus channel obligations, as audit tests of the recently delivered C426Be focus speaker were not yet accessible. Keep your eyes open for an audit of the C426Be later on.

An Oppo UDP-203 and a Roku Ultra are my essential multichannel sources. Over the span of my listening meetings, I introduced acoustic boards in my room, yet those will be the topic of conversation in a future article

How Does the Revel F328Be Sound?

When I had the F328Bes set up in the room, I began discussing what music from my F226Be and F228Be audits I should use for consistent examination. After I began tuning in, however, that cautious pondering went right out the window. I essentially didn't have any desire to pause and wound up paying attention to every one of the tracks from those surveys and some more.

I'll begin with one of those extra tracks I paid attention to, "Strolling on the Moon" by Infected Mushroom (Tidal), an electronica track with horde audio cues, every one of which was definitively positioned in a three-layered soundstage into which the speakers totally vanished. This track — not certain assuming that I can call it a melody — has profound, strong, orchestrated bass.

 Is it sensible? I have no clue; everything is super-handled and not the slightest bit takes after any kind of genuine instrument. However, I can see you it compressed my room without any indications of strain or twisting up to volumes that were well above open to listening levels. The couple of voices that were not intensely handled sounded fine, yet not being comfortable with the craftsman I have no clue assuming they were passed on precisely.

The Downside

My greatest grumbling with the F328Be stays the bureau. While it works fine and dandy, it's a similar bureau as the non-Be series speakers and falls behind the opposition in the completion of the touch focuses. I likewise saw that I could feel additional vibration from the side boards of the F328Be when playing bass-weighty music at stronger volumes than I could with the Magico A3.

The inside propping of the cupboards is intended to move the full frequencies to a limited extent where the bureau is definitely not an effective transducer, however, and I didn't see any bureau shading during my tuning in. Be that as it may, taking everything into account, less bureau vibration is better. I can't resist the opportunity to contemplate whether there would be a perceptible improvement in execution with a more inactive cupboard.

Revel F328Be Compared to the Competition

Revel's own profoundly respected Salon2 ought to most likely be viewed as the F328Be's stiffest contest. Regardless of the Salon2 being fundamentally more costly ($22,000/pair) 

Website: revelspeakers.com

Price: $8,800

Revel F328Be General Specifications

Type 3-way triple 8" floorstanding loudspeaker

Low-frequency transducer Three 8" (200mm) Deep Ceramic Composite aluminum cones, with cast frames

Midrange transducer 5-1/4" (130mm) Deep Ceramic Composite aluminum cone, with cast frame

High-frequency transducer 1" (25mm) Beryllium dome, with acoustic lens waveguide

Recommended amplifier power range 50 – 300 watts

Frequency response 26Hz - 40kHz (-6dB)

Low-frequency extension 24Hz (-10dB); 26Hz (-6dB); 35Hz (-3dB)

Nominal impedance 8 ohms

Sensitivity (2.83V/1m) 91 dB

Crossover frequencies 240Hz; 2.1kHz

Enclosure type Bass-reflex via dual rear-mounted ports

Inputs Dual gold-plated binding posts with shorting straps

Available high-gloss finishes Black, White, Metallic Silver, and Walnut

Dimensions with base and grille (H x W x D) 50.9" x 13.5 " x 17.6" (1294mm x 341.3mm x 448.5mm)

Product Weight 112.6 lbs (51kg)