Revel Concerta2 M16 Black

Product Information

My room is 23x12x8.5'tall and I do louder sessions regularly and again I recommend a subwoofer or two or three. In a typical set-up I'd high pass the 530's between 80-100hrz and the M16 at 70-90. In my set-up I actually high pass the 530's at 125hrz in a situation where that makes sense. High passed like that the 530's can play very loud without any issue and very low distortion as long as you have power as they are very power-hungry. more than up to the task of providing the sound. Revel Concerta2 M16 Bookshelf Speaker Measurements and Analysis The M16's grille attaches magnetically, so there's no ugly hardware on the front baffle of the speaker if you decide to leave the grille off. Tested by instrument and by ear As we also could put our hands on some other integrateds at the time of this review, we decided to plug the Revel standmounts into them too to see what happened. Revel bringing to the table to make their bookshelf speakers noteworthy? Read on to find out... Appearance

In parts of the audio industry, there is a belief that all components from wires to electronics to loudspeakers need to “break in.” Out of the box, it is assumed that they will not be performing at their best. Proponents vehemently deny that this process has anything to do with adaptation, writing extensively about changes in performance that they claim are easily audible in several aspects of device performance. Yet, the author is not aware of any controlled test in which any consequential audible differences were found, even in loudspeakers, where there would seem to be some opportunities for material changes. A few years ago, to satisfy a determined marketing person, the research group performed a test using samples of a loudspeaker that was claimed to benefit from “breaking in.” Measurements before and after the recommended break-in showed no differences in frequency response, except a very tiny change around 30–40 Hz in the one area where break-in effects could be expected: woofer compliance. Careful listening tests revealed no audible differences. None of this was surprising to the engineering staff. It is not clear whether the marketing person was satisfied by the finding. To all of us, this has to be very reassuring because it means that the performance of loudspeakers is stable, except for the known small change in woofer compliance caused by exercising the suspension and the deterioration—breaking down—of foam surrounds and some diaphragm materials with time, moisture, and atmospheric pollutants.fs will drop, qts and vas changes also, as I say I’m not saying it’s night and day, but physical parameters do change, it doesn’t take long, (I say 100hrs as a long time, as by that point it’s 100% not going to change until it gets to end of life or something perishes or breaks…) and anything will have happened that will Once decoupled, the M16’s cabinet and tuned rear port began to function in sync. All interactions between driver, cabinet and port now produced a sound which was smooth, detailed and extremely well chiselled. In my time I have come across very few speakers that display such a stark contrast in performance pre and post spikes, so be warned: I suspect the M16 will sound as good on most stands, provided the two are de-coupled. Digital tunes again seem to be better handled, which we can only put down to the skilled DAC. We left the filter set in Linear Phase Fast Roll Off (LinP Fast) which is the SA10’s default setting - No phase shifts and with minimal high-frequency aliasing compared with slow roll off. SA20, CDS50, Revel Concerta2 M16 Review As the transducers neared their limits, bass resonances and natural sustain and decay were a little beyond the M16s’ reach; nonetheless, this level and quality of extension in a fifteen-inch compact created an illusion of orchestral weight, scale, and hall ambience that was hugely rewarding in a sub-thousand dollar speaker (even if it didn’t quite fool you into believing you sprung for Revel’s world-class Salon2 flagship).

Some PEQ are vey sharp so they probably better left out in favor of room EQ and the tolerance between the different speakers across the production may render the second EQ useless but I just made it for the fun of it. Also at the rear are three digital input terminals – one optical and two SPDIF – leading to the amp’s 32bit Sabre ESS9016K2M DAC. When approaching your local dealer for a listen it is essential that you discuss a home demo. Take your time; the M16s will grow on you and could prove to be indispensable. I can imagine many people spending years of sonic bliss with these speakers and being ever so grateful that they had the patience to run them in. Find the correct isolation and stands and begin to build a system around them. The CDS50 did very well and put on a brave show. However, we were keen to hear how it performed through the SA20 as, after having the disc spinner already plugged into one of our other amplifiers, we knew that it had more to give. The crossover is at 2.1 kHz and we see rising distortion prior to that. Seems like the woofer is breaking up before its shift is over.Although the unusual shape of the Revel Performa3 M105 has many acoustic advantages, it does have the disadvantage that it decreases the volume of the cabinet over a standard rectangular cabinet of the same width and depth, which in turn limits the low-frequency extension of the driver Revel is using, so that this same driver, in a cabinet of larger volume, would have more bass extension. I spent many evenings listening to the seductive M16s. I often find that a darkened listening space enhances the realism of venue acoustics and transients. So a speaker with the M16’s qualities is perfect for these occasions. Listening to the Concerta2 M16s is a journey of exploration: the more you listen, the more you discover. I put many hours on this pair, and the rewards are significant over time.

Measurements that you are about to see were performed using the Klippel Near-field Scanner (NFS). This is a robotic measurement system that analyzes the speaker all around and is able (using advanced mathematics and dual scan) to subtract room reflections (so where I measure it doesn't matter). It also measures the speaker at close distance ("near-field") which sharply reduces the impact of room noise. Both of these factors enable testing in ordinary rooms yet results that can be more accurate than anechoic chamber. In a nutshell, the measurements show the actual sound coming out of the speaker independent of the room. The 25mm aluminium-domed tweeter in the M105 has Revel’s newest version of the waveguide. Although the Series’ model number (3) would suggest three generations of evolution we think this is actually the sixth generation for the waveguide itself, because it is used on other Series made by Revel, and it evolved there as well. Both are rear ported through curvaceous tubes, and they have several other similarities. I think both companies are fairly heavily influenced by lab testing and research, but with listening still featuring in final design. Both products are made in China.Revel is now part of the considerable grouping of product that forms the impressively named Harman Luxury Audio Group. This also includes Mark Levinson, Lexicon, JBL, Harman Kardon, AKG and Arcam and this large (by the standards of Hi-Fi anyway) group is in turn owned by Samsung. Revel seems to have been issued the challenge of making speakers that can complement this considerable selection of electronics brands, leaving JBL to get on with the business of being JBL. Does this mean that the M16 is a flexible friend to many an amp or a speaker struggling to exert its own identity? Revel's world-class speaker design and testing facility features an anechoic chamber and the latest high-tech measurement gear. But some of their most critical test instruments are the ears of their trained listening panel. When working on a new design, Revel's engineers set up a series of controlled auditions comparing their design to several competing speakers.

The bundled remote can also control the CDS50 CD player and streamer. The remote’s buttons light up and, given slightly darker silver over slightly lighter silver text on the amps’ selection buttons, I found myself keeping that glow-in-the-dark handset close. Arcam CDS50 research and is not something that some audiophile just mused one day; here is a white paper by Dr. Floyd Toole that discusses Again, the Arcam amplifier supplied the Revels with plenty of warmth and tonal realism. However, the SA20 added a bit more musicality into the mix.On the large-orchestra front, in Schumann's Piano Concerto, with pianist Byron Janis and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski conducting the Minneapolis Symphony (CD, Mercury Living Presence 432 011 2), the piano was rich and woody, with no trace of compression in the loudest passages as the orchestra filled my room with drama. In "Peaches en Regalia," from The Ed Palermo Big Band Plays the Music of Frank Zappa (CD, Astor Place TCD 4005), the fortissimo passages bloomed in a dramatic fashion, just as they did when I heard Palermo perform this piece live.