Revel Concerta F12 Loudspeakers

Arnie WilliamsEquipment ReviewRevel Concerta F12 LoudspeakersHigh-end heritage you can really hearAcolleague of mine recently tookhis SUV in for its 60K tune-up.The bill? $1200. Ouch. Keepinga car in good running shape in today'seconomy often means tapping one'scash cache at irritatingly re-occurringintervals. But here's a comforting alternativeto consider: For exactly $98more than the price of that 60K tuneup,you could buy a pair of RevelConcerta F12 loudspeakers and enjoyyears of maintenance-free listening.Revel is guided by its Director ofTechnology, Kevin Voecks—a manrespected both as a designer of "nocompromise" loudspeakers and as aresearcher whose studies have led todevelopment of specialized speakerperformance measurements said tocorrelate closely with listeners' perceptionsof sound quality. Few manufacturerswork harder than Revel toincludes the full complement of surroundsound elements, but as a twochannelguy I was most interested inthe $1298/pair F12 floorstanders,which are the flagships of the Concertaline. We immediately requested a pairto try out.Helping Strings andTrumpeters SingThe Concerta F12 floorstanders sportfour proprietary transducers—two 8"woofers, a 5.25" mid-range, and a 1"tweeter. The pair I reviewed came in abeautiful black-ash finish, but the F12sare also available in cherry and maple.As taken as I was with them visually, Icouldn't wait to put them through asound test of my own with my listeningroom as the lab, and once I got themup and running I made several basicAs an audiophile on a budget, I was delighted when Revelintroduced its shockingly affordable Concerta series loudspeakersat the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show.merge the artistic and scientificaspects of speaker design, so it is notsurprising that the firm's Ultima- andPerforma-series speakers both enjoyreputations as capable, well-balancedperformers. The only catch is thatRevel's speakers are expensive.As an audiophile on a budget, Iwas delighted when Revel introducedits shockingly affordable Concertaseries loudspeakers at the 2005Consumer Electronics Show—andwith the promise that they would be"real Revels," not cheap Revelwannabes. The Concerta familydiscoveries. First, the speakers arepleasingly transparent, offering a goodmeasure of clarity and articulation—especially in the midrange. Second,their imaging, as enjoyed on a varietyof reference CDs, was precise yet spacious,with images sometimes extendingfar to the left and right of the speakersThird, sound stages were deepand three-dimensional, starting from aplane forward of the speakers andextending well behind them. Finally,the Concertas offer extended and veryevenly balanced frequency responsethat ranged from around 30Hz on up tothe highest violin upper position whisperrange and beyond. Revel claimsthe F12's treble frequency responseextends to 18kHz, and based on mylistening I believe them. But now let'sgive added meaning to all these audiophiledescriptors by considering somemusical examples that show how theConcertas really sound.I had the pleasure of hearing Matt© Copyright 2005, Absolute Multimediawww.avguide.comPage 13AVguide Monthly • AUGUST 2005

Arnie WilliamsEquipment ReviewHaimovitz play the Bach Cello Suiteslive, along with a variety of more moderncompositions and as a finale—hisrendition of Jimi Hendrix's "Anthem"—at the Enchilada Bar in San Antoniothis past year. He played a 1710Matteo Gofriller cello, which has beautifulsympathetic overtones, especiallydown on the instrument's C string (itshaunting C minor "Sarabande" to CelloSuite 5. And you can't get into a higherregister on cello than Haimovitzdoes with his Jimi Hendrix "Anthem"tribute. Closing my eyes in theEnchilada Bar, I could imagineHamovitz playing a Hendrix rock guitar;and closing my eyes in my listeningroom, the Concertas hadThe Concertas proved to be champs at soundstaging,placing the contrabasses to the right and rear of theorcherstra and the upper strings forward and to the left.lowest). So I was eager to play theHaimovitz CDs [Matt Haimovitz J.S.Bach and Matt Haimovitz Anthem,Oxingale Records] to see how closethe Concertas would come to that listeningexperience. They did not disappoint.There were no audible frequency-responsebumps as Haimovitzmoved from Bach's low chord counterpointsand implied harmonies up intothe higher registers of the cello in theHaimovitz sonically replicated in 3Dwith his cello singing acid-rock riffs thatmade the hair on the back of my neckstand on end.When you first see Paul Galbraithwalk onto stage with his 8-string guitarwith cello endpin and combinationstool/chair/sound box, you knowyou're in for a treat. Galbraith holds hisguitar in the cello position and thecombination end pin/sound box givesthe guitar an almosteerie organ-likereverb. TheConcertas showedimpressive transparencyonGalbraith's renditionof the D Minor lastm o v e m e n t"Ciccona" to"Partita No. 2," originallycomposed forunaccompaniedviolin and transposedto E minor forthe guitar [Bach:The Sonatas andPartitas, Delos].The Concertas capturedthe tight focusof the guitar's ringingovertones propelledby the speciallydesignedsound box thatovercomes the guitarstring's naturaltendency for quicksonic decay with a resulting cathedrallikeresonance.On Benjamin Britten's "Requiemaeternam" [War Requiem, TeldecClassics/Warner Music] the ConcertaF12s showed their ability to accuratelyreplicate the sweeping orchestraldynamics of Kurt Masur and the NewYork Philharmonic as well as sensitivityto the small-scale dynamics of individualinstruments. I turned up the volumeon the F12s, left my listeningroom, moving into the adjacent area ofmy living room, and had a déjà vuexperience of standing in the back ofthe Luther Burbank Hall in Californiawhere I last heard this piece live. TheConcertas proved to be champs atsoundstaging, placing the contrabassesto the right and rear of the orcherstraand the upper strings forward andto the left.It's clear that the Concerta F12shave the sensitivity throughout theirrange to deliver for the Classical musiclover. But they show their moxie withjazz as well. Chet Baker's last liverecording before his untimely death,[Chet Baker: The Last Great Concert,My Favorite Songs Vol. I and II, EnjaRecords] contrasts the honey smoothnessof his signature horn techniquewith the gravely, sand-paper quality ofhis drug-ravaged voice in his melancholic,heart-rending rendition of "MyFunny Valentine." Here the Concertasreproduced the contrast faithfully,showing that authenticity can at timesbe painful.© Copyright 2005, Absolute Multimediawww.avguide.comPage 14AVguide Monthly • AUGUST 2005

Arnie WilliamsEquipment ReviewSTRENGTHSWell-balanced and essentially full-range frequencyresponse (with solid bass extending to the low30Hz range), good three-dimensionality andsoundstaging, seamless crossover,dynamic sensitivity.WEAKNESSESSpeaker packaging leaves much to be desired(owing to minimal side protection one review unitsuffered cosmetic damage in transit).ConclusionsRevel has struck a winning chord inthe $1298 price range with theConcertas. I recently did some roundrobinlistening to speakers in or nearthe Concerta's price range, includingMagnepan MG12s, Triangle Heliades,Dynaudio Audience 62s, and PSBT55s. Each of these speakers has itsown strengths, but for my tastes, theConcertas still won out. They haddeeper and more powerful bassresponse than the Magnepans, betterattack-articulation than the Dynaudios,more neutral frequency response thanthe PSBs, and overall performanceAt an attractive andastonishingly accessibleprice, Revel has added amusical marvel to its lineupthat you won't want tooverlook.your car will doubtless forgive you forit. At an attractive and astonishinglyaccessible price, Revel has added amusical marvel to its lineup that youwon't want to overlook.SPECIFICATIONSRevel Concerta F12 FloorstandingLoudspeakersPrice: $1298/pairDriver complement: two 8" OrganicCeramic Composite (OCC) bass drivers,one 5.25" OCC midrange driver,one 1" OCC tweeter mounted in a"Constant Acoustic Impedance" waveguideFrequency response: 33Hz-18kHz, ±1dB "in-room" responseSensitivity: 90.5dB (1W/1m)Impedance: 6 ohms (nominal)Recommended amplifier power: 20-200 wattsDimensions: 42.3" (including feet) x9.75" x 14.3" (including grille); floorspikes add 1.5" to heightWeight: 62.6 lbs.Warranty: 5 years, parts and laborMANUFACTURER INFORMATIONREVEL3 Oak ParkBedford, MA 01730(781) 280-0300www.revelspeakers.comASSOCIATED EQUIPMENTNAD C320BEE Integrated Amplifier;Sony DVP-S9000ES DVD/SACDPlayer; AudioQuest Jaguar interconnectsand CV-6 speaker cablesChris Martens CommentsI spent several hours auditioning the Concertas at Arnie Williams' home, and myreactions to the speakers closely parallel his. To my thinking the F12's two greateststrengths are its smooth and extended frequency response, and its opensoundingmidrange. The F12s benefit greatly from having a real midrange driverrather than a mid/bass driver that is pressed to cover too broad a portion of theaudio spectrum. The only small drawbacks I noted were slightly dry-soundinghighs, an occasional tendency for the speaker to draw unwanted attention toitself on hard, sharp transients (which detracts from imaging somewhat), andever-so-slightly under-damped bass. But these flaws absolutely pale in comparisonto the value the Concertas offer. If the F12s aren't at the top of the sub-$1500/pair class, then they're certainly close.about equal with the Triangles. While Ididn't have the opportunity to try"blind" comparison tests between theConcertas and any of these speakers,my sense is that the F12s more thanhold their ground against stiff competitionin this price class.So if you are brave enough to skipat least one of your regularly scheduledtrips to the mechanic for that wallet-invasivetune-up, you can enjoy thedelight of these Concerta F12s, andManufacturer CommentI would like to extend our thanks to everyone at Absolute Multimedia, and in particularArnie Williams and Chris Martens for taking the time to thoroughly reviewthe Revel Concerta F12 floor standing loudspeaker. We are extremely proud ofthe entire Concerta product line, and it is gratifying to see that our hard work isbeing recognized in such a positive light. However, we would like to acknowledgethat we find the shipping damage that occurred to one of the units - unfortunateand unacceptable. The packaging of all Revel products is designed and tested toexceed the packaging standards set forth by the major carriers. Normally ourproducts are sent to our dealers and any shipping damage that may haveoccurred would be resolved between the dealer, the carrier and us before everreaching a consumer. But ensuring that our products arrive safely at our dealeris extremely important to us and we are reviewing the situation to determine theappropriate corrective action. Thanks again.Andrew ClarkVP, MarketingHarman Specialty Group© Copyright 2005, Absolute Multimediawww.avguide.comPage 15AVguide Monthly • AUGUST 2005