Revel Ultima Salon2 pictures

more...

Great pics ! Now you have a set of speakers to build your system around. Remember, with the Salons, they will continue to get better as the rest of your gear does. So take your time and audition as much gear at home as you can.

MDP said:

Great pics ! Now you have a set of speakers to build your system around. Remember, with the Salons, they will continue to get better as the rest of your gear does. So take your time and audition as much gear at home as you can.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Mark.
I have most of them (and more pictures too) in NEF format, also. In that format the size of each picture is more than 40 Mb and is very detailed.

PacMan said:

Thanks, Mark.
I have most of them (and more pictures too) in NEF format, also. In that format the size of each picture is more than 40 Mb and is very detailed.

Click to expand...

Pac Man,

I like those photos with your reflection in the curves of the front baffle, very artistic!

Ken

Alpinist said:

Pac Man,

I like those photos with your reflection in the curves of the front baffle, very artistic!

Ken

Click to expand...

Thanks.
The photos are taken by a friend with a Nikon D800E camera.

Another photo:

joeinid said:

Great photos. I heard them again today! Love them.

Click to expand...

Hi Joe, how do the Ultima Salon 2's stack up against the Magico S5's in the areas of sound staging, imaging, balance, coherency, resolution, inner detail, tone/timbre and overall naturalness in your view? I know you've got big wraps on the S3's which also impressed me .

Hi David,

I've lived with Studio2's which are great (especially with ART monos). A couple of friends have Salon2's, which are awesome (they've used Ayre and the Hegel H30). I briefly heard the S1, S5 and S3 in different demos. They are world class but can cost well above the Salon2's.

Honestly, I think the S5's have better/more bass than the Salon2's. The S5's display a higher level of resolution and clarity. The S5's also have a better - more balanced midrange, as the Salon2 midrange can seem slightly recessed, especially with certain amps (but it's not a deal breaker) . However, the Salon2 tweeter is world class and smoother to me. That being said, there is still a $10K - $15K difference in pricing which also much be taken into account. The Salon2's, with the right amps, fight way above their class and can easily satisfy one's audiophile needs. I'd take S3's, for my room, in a heartbeat. I'd also take Salon2's in a heartbeat with the gear that I already have and never have to look back.

Bodhi said:

Hi Joe, how do the Ultima Salon 2's stack up against the Magico S5's in the areas of sound staging, imaging, balance, coherency, resolution, inner detail, tone/timbre and overall naturalness in your view? I know you've got big wraps on the S3's which also impressed me .

Click to expand...

That's a very fair comparison Joe.

David, I know you didn't ask me,but I hope you don't mind me putting my 2 cents in. The S5 is probably a better overall speaker when it comes to reproducing sound. What I mean by that is that it does all the audiophile stuff better than the Salon 2. I really like the S5, a lot !

What the S5 didn't do, and I'm only speaking for myself so please don't take this as a criticism, is give me the emotional connection to the music as well as the Salons do. The Revel tweeter as Joe pointed out is one of the best in the world. And the speaker has an excellent overall balance, with a seamless integration of the drivers.

At this level, it comes down to very personal choices. The S5 truly is a world class speaker, as is the Salon.

I love Apples, you love Oranges. Everybody wins !

Very well said Mark.

I'd love to live with the S3 and see how I connect with them.

pacman-Looks like someone broke in and stole your stereo system and just left the speakers!

priorities, Mark. it was either a stereo or furnishings, he chose stereo... duh:congrats:


btw, nice speakers.

Pacman - your room is a perfect candidate for room treatments.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

puroagave said:

priorities, Mark. it was either a stereo or furnishings, he chose stereo... duh:congrats:


btw, nice speakers.

Click to expand...

I don't see much stereo there which was my point and thus the comment that it looks like someone broke in and stole his stereo system and left the speakers.

mep said:

pacman-Looks like someone broke in and stole your stereo system and just left the speakers!

Click to expand...

I do not like things like paintings etc. hanging on the walls. Room treatment products are OK, though
The pictures show only a small part of the room. A three seater sofa + 2 single sofa chairs + more chairs are in the not-shown part of the room. The other part has higher WAF.
The amplifier is an integrated amplifier. On my "PC table" is a Benchmark DAC1 and a Sennheiser HD800. As this is a "Revel Ultima Salon2 pictures" thread, it feels natural to focus on the speakers.

Mike said:

Pacman - your room is a perfect candidate for room treatments.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

That may be true, and I guess most rooms are perfect candidates for room treatments.
The room's acoustics will be measured and several room treatment products will be bought.

puroagave said:

btw, nice speakers.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Rob!

joeinid said:

Hi David,

I've lived with Studio2's which are great (especially with ART monos). A couple of friends have Salon2's, which are awesome (they've used Ayre and the Hegel H30). I briefly heard the S1, S5 and S3 in different demos. They are world class but can cost well above the Salon2's.

Honestly, I think the S5's have better/more bass than the Salon2's. The S5's display a higher level of resolution and clarity. The S5's also have a better - more balanced midrange, as the Salon2 midrange can seem slightly recessed, especially with certain amps (but it's not a deal breaker) . However, the Salon2 tweeter is world class and smoother to me. That being said, there is still a $10K - $15K difference in pricing which also much be taken into account. The Salon2's, with the right amps, fight way above their class and can easily satisfy one's audiophile needs. I'd take S3's, for my room, in a heartbeat. I'd also take Salon2's in a heartbeat with the gear that I already have and never have to look back.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply Joe :thumbsup: The Salon 2 by all accounts sounds like a terrific speaker with an outstanding tweeter. These are very different speakers; 3 way/4 driver vs 4 way/6 driver, carbon nano-tec vs titanium, aluminium vs wood cabinet, sealed vs ported, single wired vs biwired. Yet their are similarities; both are dynamic speakers and both use aluminium bass drivers & beryllium tweeters. Harman of course bought out Infinity from Arnie Nudel, John Ulrich and Carie Christie and basically used their reference speakers from the mid-late 90's and 30+ years of research to develop their Revel line of speakers. In fact, there used to be a photo on the net showing Revel voicing their Ultima GEMS with a pair of Infinity IRS Omega's, however that photo has mysteriously disappeared. So you could view the Revel speakers as an evolution of the classic Infinity's, albeit without the iconic planar magnetic drivers which ostensibly left with Arnie.

Your comments about the S5's bass resonate with my own experience. I've found that ported bass drivers can sound a bit bloated and less tight/accurate compared to my current sealed box design. I found that to be the case to greater and lesser degrees with my previous Marten Coltranes and the Wilson Alexia's which i've heard on a couple of occasions. I suspect Harman's use of multiple smaller bass drivers was an attempt to address that issue. The S5's bass is solid, tight, accurate and has excellent inner details and layering. Overall it is a very well balanced and coherent sounding speaker with excellent resolution.

Interesting feedback about the two beryllium tweeters also :happy:. I recently upgraded my previous Oyaide R1 wpo which can sound a tad bright in the top end to a Furutech GTX-D (G) wpo which should provide a more organic sound and smoother top end, together with a lowered noise floor and more solid, fleshed out images compared to the GTX-D (R).

I have heard the S5's sound average and lacking an emotional connection paired with the wrong amps and front end, yet extremely pure and mellifluous sounding paired with Vitus and Soulution. And by all accounts S5 sounds marvellous with the CJ Art and Gat amps. Magico is more of a reference speaker and demands much of your upstream equipment and cables. You can't skimp on upstream gear or get the synergy wrong, or the S5's will let you know. They are very honest, but not brutally so like the Q series. But if you're prepared to invest the required funds in your upstream gear, then the S5's can be tremendously rewarding speakers.

MDP said:

That's a very fair comparison Joe.

David, I know you didn't ask me,but I hope you don't mind me putting my 2 cents in. The S5 is probably a better overall speaker when it comes to reproducing sound. What I mean by that is that it does all the audiophile stuff better than the Salon 2. I really like the S5, a lot !

What the S5 didn't do, and I'm only speaking for myself so please don't take this as a criticism, is give me the emotional connection to the music as well as the Salons do. The Revel tweeter as Joe pointed out is one of the best in the world. And the speaker has an excellent overall balance, with a seamless integration of the drivers.

At this level, it comes down to very personal choices. The S5 truly is a world class speaker, as is the Salon.

I love Apples, you love Oranges. Everybody wins !

Click to expand...

Thanks for chiming in Mark. As I eluded to in my previous post, the S5's being such a linear and resolving speaker demand much of your upstream equipment. You need to invest in the right gear for synergy, and the S5's have expensive taste. The best amps for synergy with S5 thus far have been Vitus Signature Series, Soulution's new 7 series, Absolare & CJ Art/Gat. Pass .8 series also gets an honourable mention. The S5's also require cables which are up to the task such as Siltech Royal Signature Series, Jorma Prime or Kubala Sosna Elation. Given the right amps, front end, cables and ac treatment, the S5's are capable of intimacy and an emotional connection to the music. In fact I would argue their resolution, inner detail and excellent midrange offer greater insight into female voice, in particular intimate jazz recordings.

It's all a matter of taste as you said, though I don't know if i'd describe the comparison as apples vs oranges? For sure these speakers are very different, but it's not like comparing tubes to solid state for example. Both are dynamic speakers, and both use aluminium bass drivers and beryllium tweeters. Nor is it a matter of win or lose as there are no losers here. What we can agree on is both speakers will not disappoint within their own market segments :thumbsup:.

Hi David (et al.) -

Good post re: comparison between the S5 and Salon 2. Just one correction: all Salon 2 drivers save the beryllium tweeter are titanium.