ON TEST
30 AustralianHi-Fi http://www.aushifi.com
Revel Performa F228Be Loudspeakers
The manufacturer’s plate near the termi-
nals advises that although the Revel F228Be
is ‘Designed and Engineered by Revel’ and gives
Harman’s address in Northridge, Califor-
nia, it also says ‘Made in Indonesia’ (in four
languages).
The Revel F228Be is available in four
high-gloss finishes: Black, White, Walnut
and Metallic Silver, but it appears that here
in Australia, currently only the Black and
Walnut versions are available ex-stock.
In Use and LIstenIng
sessIons
Since Revel is a part of the Harman Specialty
Audio Group that also includes JBL, Mark
Levinson, AKG, Lexicon and Arcam (and
a group that has been owned by Samsung
since 2018) it has complete access to the test,
measurement and listening facilities at Har-
man’s headquarters. This includes Harman’s
famous ‘shuffle’ speaker comparator, which is
a device that operates behind an acoustically
transparent (but visually solid) curtain that
actually physically moves pairs of speakers
into exactly the same spot in the listening
room within two seconds, so you are able to
hear true A–B comparisons between different
speakers. It’s an amazing piece of machinery
and, to the best of my knowledge, it is the
only one of its kind in the world. It was used
when developing the F228Be. Dr Sean Olive,
of Harman, used to have an excellent video
of this machine in operation on his excellent
personal blogspot (www.tinyurl.com/AHF-HK-
Lab) but last time I looked the video seemed
to have been removed for some reason
(though the viewing screen still remains).
You can, however, read all about the device,
and see pictures of it, at http://www.avhub.com.au/
Harman_Test_Lab
The Revel F228Be speakers are good with
rock. No, strike that! They’re absolutely
fabulous with rock! I have been waiting for
five years for Irish pop crooner Hozier to
release another album, so ‘Wasteland, Baby!’
has been on constant rotation chez Riggs ever
since it was released. Indeed I think I played
it so many times through the F228Be’s alone
that they could probably play the album all
by themselves... no signal source required! I
can recommend this spectacular new Hozier
release to everyone, because it has something
for everyone—rock, folk, gospel, blues, R ‘n’
B, and all are spiced heavily with the ines-
capable flavour of golden pop. The standout
track for me is Dinner and Diatribes, not least
because I wish I’d thought of the name, but
also I just love the blues guitar on it, and the
drumming is fabulous as well—the kick-drum
during the opening bars really had the air in
my listening room pulsing with energy. Plus
once the pace of D and D ramps up, Hozier
introduces two of my favourite musical de-
vices—hand claps (hello Africa!) and a choir
(hello Beethoven!). Handclaps also feature
on the fabulous Movement, a lovelorn lament
of a song, while if you want your speakers to
really pump, just listen to the soulful sound
of Nina Cried Power, where he sings ‘Joni cried
power, Nina, Billie, Mavis cried power, and I
could cry power’ (and indeed this track also
features the fabulous Mavis Staples). This
last has more hand-clapping, more choral
work and some incredible Hammond organ.
The clarity of the midrange from the Revel
F228Be was demonstrated to perfection for
me whenever I listened to the title track, with
its delicate acoustic guitar and Hozier’s close-
miked vocals, despite the inevitable sibilants.
The superb clarity of the Revel F228Be’s
midrange—and its incredible ability to
reveal even the tiniest musical details—was
amply demonstrated by the sound of HopeThe Revel F228Be
speakers are good with
rock. No, strike that!
They’re absolutely
fabulous with rock!
Csutoros’s violin on David Bridie’s compo-
sition She’s Upped and Gone, from his album
‘The Wisdom Line’. The way her delicate fills
come in is just magical. As for Bridie’s per-
formance on this particular track, it sounds
exactly as though he’s channelling Leonard
Cohen... both lyrically and vocally. You can
hear his voice recorded more naturally (in
fact so totally naturally that it’s just as if he’s
live in your listening room giving a private
performance) on the more accessible track
that is People Come and Go, which benefits
tremendously from the performance on it by
Helen Mountfort on cello. And just listen to
the way you can hear the mallet-hit drums
on Book of Revelation, plus the throaty sound
of the flugelhorn. Unlike Hozier, you do have
to be a fan of Bridie to ‘get’ his music... plus
the subject-matter is all a bit on the sad side,
and delivered so well that you’ll feel sad too
whenever you listen to it. That said, you
really do have to listen to The Wisdom Line’s
title track though the Revel F228Bes. (It’s
instrumental, so I can guarantee you won’t
have to listen to another sad lyric.)
The pitch accuracy and depthy-sounding
bass delivery of the Revel F228Be was demon-
strated to me perfectly on Tim Rollinson’s
latest album, ‘Old New Blues’. If you’re a
fan of ‘cool’ jazz, you’ll love this, not least
because he’s roped in Steve Elphick and Toby
Hall for this, his fifth foray into the recording
studio. The sound of Elphick’s bass is always
true and the Revel F228Bes reveal the depth
of his melodic inventiveness. A standout
track on this album for me is Old New Bor-
rowed Blues, a Rollinson original (one of seven