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The Concerta2 line is available in high-gloss black or high-gloss white (below) finishes.
John McLaughlin’s guitar and Jan Hammer’s Moog. Some say many London Phase 4 Stereo LPs are close-miked and bright, so I was curious to hear what the M16’s expressive top end would do for Pictures at an Exhibition, with Leopold Stokowski leading the New Philharmonia in his own orchestration of Mussorgsky’s piano suite. It was close-miked, yes, but as reproduced by the M16s it was close-miked and vibrant. I
liked the upfront presentation of the strings because it brought out the distinctiveness of Stokowski’s free-bowing technique, which encouraged the players to achieve a fuller sound by avoiding lockstep movements. The stereo SACD of Bernard Herrmann: The Film Scores, with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, provided an almost shocking contrast, with vastly greater spatial information that once again showcased the monitor’s tremendously deep soundstage. And with that equalized sub in the system, I had to play my favorite pipe-organ classics: E. Power Biggs performing Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor. The 10-inch sub didn’t rattle the windows, but it did reach down to hit all the
bass-pedal notes pretty evenly. The Revel Concerta2 is a reasonably priced speaker line that consistently delivers impeccable highend sound, as Revel has done as a brand throughout its history. The B10 sub isn’t cheap, but nor would I call it overpriced, considering what it offers. I’m especially impressed that the M16 monitor provides so much transparency, refinement, and neutrality for well under $1,000 per pair. In fact, I came to trust and enjoy the monitor so much, I might have adopted it as my new reference speaker— replacing the Paradigm Studio 20 v.4,
which is now a decade old and lacks top-firing drivers to support Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Unfortunately, the otherwise sterling M16 doesn’t have Atmosenabled drivers either, so the (still quite wonderful) Paradigms get to live another day. But the Concerta2 made an unforgettable and overwhelmingly positive impression as a speaker system that does it all, and does it well nigh perfectly. Audio Editor Mark Fleischmann is the author of Practical Home Theater: A Guide to Video and Audio Systems, now available in both print and Kindle editions.