To Roger Kanno,
I heard the Hegel [Music Systems H80] integrated amplifier recently and really liked it. I am thinking of mating it with either the Revel Performa3 F206 or the KEF R700. Do you have a preference for either of those two speakers? Thanks.
Regards,
Ned
United States
I haven’t actually heard either of those speakers, but I have reviewed the Revel Performa3 F208s and own a pair of the KEF R900s. Based on what I’ve heard from those, I don’t think that you can really go wrong with either model. One thing that I did notice about the Revel was that it required a bit more power than the KEF to play really loud, but that it had more control in the bass when it did and was a little more neutral from top to bottom. I found the Hegel H80 was better able to drive the R900s to very high levels than the F208s. I am not sure how this observation will relate to the smaller R700 and F206; it will also depend on how loud you like to listen to your music.
Another speaker that I found sounded excellent with the Hegel H80 was the Definitive Technology Mythos ST-L. With its built-in powered subwoofers, I was able to get plenty of clean, room-filling, full-range sound from them when mated to the H80. Paradigm will also soon be releasing their new Prestige line of speakers, which are similarly priced to the Revels and KEFs so you might want to consider those as well.
As we reviewers are fond of saying, which speaker you ultimately prefer will depend on your own personal preferences, but I am sure that both the Revel and the KEF will sound excellent with the Hegel integrated. . . . Roger Kanno
