Well, here’s my long overdue SP Technology Revelation review. A little hard to find time working 6 days a week and coming home to a hyperactive 20 month old. I bought them as an obsolete finish special from Bob. But my wife left town, and I’m home alone. I won’t even tell you how much I paid–you’ll be sick. But my wife left town, and I’m home alone. I’ve owned the Revelations for about 6 months now. Before the SP’s showed up I was without speakers for about 4 months–sold my VMPS RM2's and waited for the Rev’s to arrive. During that time I sold everything in my system except the cables. Amps gone, preamp gone, source gone. To be honest, I barely remember what I use to have. Since my entire system has changed, it’s a wee bit difficult to review the speakers individually. I had no experience with any of the components when the Revelations arrived. Here’s my current setup:
SP Technology Revelations w/ internal wire upgrade & Mundorf basic external xovers
Empirical Audio modified SB3, Pace-Car, and Northstar 192 DAC
Odyssey Audio Extreme Monoblocks–super deluxe editions w/ every conceivable upgrade
EVS Ultimate Attenuators
Reality Speaker Cables, Power Cables & Interconnects
Lots of room treatments
A personal note: My idea of a great system is one that reproduces recordings as they are. If it’s crappy it should sound kind of crappy. If a recordings amazing, I want to hear the glory. If a system makes bad recordings sound good, what’s it doing to great recordings? It must be altering there sound in some way. With the Revelations there’s no problem separating the good recordings from the bad.
The Revelations are monoliths, but I love them. They have a great flat industrial finish and copper trim–hell I clean them with Armor-All. Now for the sound, oh sweet Jesus the sound. When I first heard music through them, I couldn’t get past the bass response–I still can’t. It’s simply the best I’ve ever heard. Sometimes bass can sound muddy, have very little impact, or every bass producing instrument sounds the same. Bob has bass down to a T. It’s deep with absolutely no bloating. It has authority that will make your cloths bristle. And every bass-type instrument sounds exactly as it should. You can easily hear the difference between the bass drums being used from one recording to the next. It’s a remarkable achievement, and easy to stay fixated on. I’d bet a good sum most audiophiles that listen to the Revelations will realize how bass deprived their systems have been.
If people separate the notion of bass from midbass, don’t worry. The midbass is equally impressive. Every note will thump you in the middle of the chest.
As for the rest of the sound, it seems like an injustice to use words to describe the aural experience. I should mention the Rev’s sound fantastic at low or high volumes, but if you really want the magic–crank em’ up. There’s no falling apart or blurring of the sound at high volumes. The music becomes more focused. The soundstage the Revelations throw is enormous from top to bottom, side to side, and front to rear. Imaging is spot on with every instrument taking its rightful place. The highs are crystal clean–snares snap, keyboards zing, and notes carry on into the void, trailing off as every good note should. If you close your eyes, it sounds like the singer standing right in-between your speakers. Every note, high, low, or in the middle sounds as it should. The balance between the frequencies is uncanny. You just sit there at receive an amazingly lifelike performance with every track. I could keep going on, but I’d start drooling all over my computer and short it out. The Rev’s are the bomb diggety and should be experienced not read about.
A short overview of my other components:
The Odyssey Monoblocks are amazing. Compared them to a number of other high-end amps. A AVA Ultra 550 or a Pair of Nuforce REF9 V2 monoblocks couldn’t come close to the authority, dynamics, or balanced natural sound. The Nuforce’s and AVA sounded quite a bit alike and were pretty flat sounding compared to the Odyssey’s.
The Empirical Audio gear is amazing. Stunning dynamics, eerie separation and blackness between instruments. Steve’s gear gets to the heart of what a recording’s intended to sound like.
The EVS Ultimate Attenuators are amazing. These little are nobs are the most surprising part of my system. I thought I was using them as a stopgap between the purchase of an active preamp, but they’re still my preamp of choice. I compared them to a AVA Ultra with the new upgrades, a Welborne Ultrapath, and a high end Lamm pre. The AVA and Ultrapath were inferior–just didn’t have the clarity and blurred the soundstage. The Lamm gave it the best challenge, but the best I can say is the comparison was a wash. And for 1000's of dollars more, keeping the Attenuators is a no-brainer. I know a lot of people suggest a lose of dynamics and bass with a passive pre–not in my system. The bass thumps you right in the middle of the chest, and the dynamics will make your hair stand on end. My system must be a perfect match for a passive preamp.
Long story short. Before I had my current setup, I would look on Audiogon everyday–multiple times a day–constantly read the forums and professional reviews, and would buy and sell equipment incessantly. Now I look at Audiogon and Audiocircle once a week–maybe–and haven’t bought a piece of gear in months. I simply can’t imagine my system sounding better, and the Revelation’s are the pillar of that enjoyment and piece of mind. Thanks Bob.
P.S. The Revelations due justice to every genre of music. From death metal to jazz, that’s my motto. Or ambient to country? Or Industrial to folk? or...
