Audiophilepure

https://www.hifinews.com/content/quad-revela-2

The Revela 2’s performance was similarly superb with The Mitchell Trio’s set Violets Of Dawn [Mercury STX 61067], recorded in 1965 (post-Chad) and featuring a young John Denver, whose instantly recognisable voice made aural dissection even simpler. Again, the unplugged instruments had body and the right resonances, my only regret being that I didn’t have present one of my guitar-playing friends to see if they could tell which make was being played.

If Quad’s goal with the Revela 2 wasn’t just to revive the brand’s ribbon of 70-plus years ago but to create a box-type speaker that sounds like a dipole or panel, two later studio creations deemed it a success. Both Dr. John’s In The Right Place [Analogue Productions CAPA 006 SA SACD] and Bonnie Raitt’s The Glow [Warner Bros 8122-78383-2 CD] – two albums recorded during the 1970s and therefore probably all-solid-state – are great for evaluating attack, bass power and, again, distinctive vocals.

The KEF R3 Meta is a three-way bookshelf speaker, which incorporates KEF’s Metamaterial Absorption Technology and Uni-Q driver array. The speaker features a 25 mm vented aluminum dome tweeter, a 125 mm aluminum cone for midrange frequencies, and a 165 mm hybrid aluminum bass driver. This combination allows the R3 Meta to cover a wide frequency range from 38 Hz to 50 kHz.

With a nominal impedance of 4 ohms and a rated sensitivity of 87dB, it is a moderately easy to drive speaker. KEF suggests amplifiers with up to 180 Watts power. The R3 Meta measures 422 x 200 x 336 mm (HWD) in total and comes with a weight of 12.4kg. That translates to 16.6 x 7.87 x 13.22 inches and 27.33 lbs. For bookshelf speakers, the R3 Meta is on the bigger side. They easily blended into my room though. Especially with the speaker stands KEF also offers.

The R3 Meta has a three-way crossover built-in, which splits the frequencies at 120 and 2,300 Hz. On the back of the unit, you’ll find two sets of speaker posts to connect your cables to. Between them are two knobs, which you can turn, should you want to bi-wire or bi-amp them. By turning the knob, you basically make a connection between the two posts. You could potentially disconnect them and run individual cables in them, or you could also use your own set of jumper cables.