Loudspeaker of 2019
Revel Performa F228Be ($10,000/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson, February 2019, Vol.42 No.2 Review)
There's nothing strange about a Loudspeaker of the Year win by a three-way reflex-loaded floorstander. What distinguishes the Indonesian-made Revel are both the degree of refinement apparent in its design and a level of value that led Kal Rubinson to declare that this speaker exists as a challenge "to justify charging any significantly higher price for a domestic loudspeaker." KR found the F228Be to be "very transparent" to whatever he fed it and praised its bass performance as "full, extended, and surprisingly tight." For his part, Technical Editor John Atkinson concluded his measurements with praise for the speaker's "excellent" engineering. Prospective buyers will note with pleasure the Revel's higher-than-average (90dB) sensitivity, although JA noted that this nominally 8 ohm speaker presents a lower impedance than that through the bass and midrange, and so will perform its best with amps that are 4 ohm-cordial.
Notes on the Vote
Some POTY winners succeed by coaxing second- and third-place wins from the majority of our writers, but not this one: The Revel Performa F228Be won with three second-place votes and a full five first-place votes. The second-place Dutch & Dutch 8c—a product that I half-expected to take top honors—earned 4 points less and took second place, and the Harbeth HL-P3ES earned 4 points less than that to take third. Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Dutch & Dutch 8c active loudspeaker system ($12,500/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson, August 2019, Vol.42 No.8 Review)
Elac Adante AF-61 ($5000/pair; reviewed by Thomas J. Norton, December 2018, Vol.41 No.12 Review)
Harbeth HL-P3ES 40th Anniversary Edition ($2890/pair; reviewed by Herb Reichert, December 2018, Vol.41 No.12 Review)
Joseph Audio Perspective2 Graphene ($14,999/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, July 2019, Vol.42 No.7 Review)
Magnepan LRS ($650/pair; reviewed by Herb Reichert, August 2019, Vol.42 No.8 Review)
There's nothing strange about a Loudspeaker of the Year win by a three-way reflex-loaded floorstander. What distinguishes the Indonesian-made Revel are both the degree of refinement apparent in its design and a level of value that led Kal Rubinson to declare that this speaker exists as a challenge "to justify charging any significantly higher price for a domestic loudspeaker." KR found the F228Be to be "very transparent" to whatever he fed it and praised its bass performance as "full, extended, and surprisingly tight." For his part, Technical Editor John Atkinson concluded his measurements with praise for the speaker's "excellent" engineering. Prospective buyers will note with pleasure the Revel's higher-than-average (90dB) sensitivity, although JA noted that this nominally 8 ohm speaker presents a lower impedance than that through the bass and midrange, and so will perform its best with amps that are 4 ohm-cordial.
Notes on the VoteSome POTY winners succeed by coaxing second- and third-place wins from the majority of our writers, but not this one: The Revel Performa F228Be won with three second-place votes and a full five first-place votes. The second-place Dutch & Dutch 8c—a product that I half-expected to take top honors—earned 4 points less and took second place, and the Harbeth HL-P3ES earned 4 points less than that to take third. Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Dutch & Dutch 8c active loudspeaker system ($12,500/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson, August 2019, Vol.42 No.8 Review)
Elac Adante AF-61 ($5000/pair; reviewed by Thomas J. Norton, December 2018, Vol.41 No.12 Review)
Harbeth HL-P3ES 40th Anniversary Edition ($2890/pair; reviewed by Herb Reichert, December 2018, Vol.41 No.12 Review)
Joseph Audio Perspective2 Graphene ($14,999/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, July 2019, Vol.42 No.7 Review)
Magnepan LRS ($650/pair; reviewed by Herb Reichert, August 2019, Vol.42 No.8 Review)
