Полочная акустика — Revel Gem2

The Gem2 belongs to the Ultima2 series from Revel. This three-way model has a slim, shallow cabinet that can stand on an optional Revel pedestal or hang on a wall, and Revel states that it is not meant for ceiling mounting.

Key specs that matter

Revel combines a 25 mm pure beryllium dome tweeter, a 102 mm midrange and a 203 mm woofer. High-order filters split the band at 400 Hz and 2.3 kHz. Revel measures sensitivity at 86.4 dB SPL with 2.83 V at 1 m in a 4 pi anechoic space. Nominal impedance is 6 ohm, with a minimum of 3.4 ohm. The -3 dB range runs from 70 Hz to 45 kHz, and low frequency extension is also given as -6 dB at 60 Hz and -10 dB at 48 Hz. Revel lists two further figures from its own measurement method, a listening window response within 1.0 dB from 72 Hz to 20 kHz and a predicted in-room response within 0.5 dB of target from 75 Hz to 18 kHz. The cabinet is 615 mm tall, 305 mm wide and 137 mm deep, and the pedestal raises the total height to 117 cm. Shipping weight is 17.2 kg.

Engineering and use context

The in-room prediction comes from responses taken every 10 degrees horizontally and vertically, 72 curves in total, gathered in large anechoic chambers. To keep the enclosure quiet, the walls are thick and backed by extensive internal bracing. The crossover is built on three separate boards for woofer, midrange and tweeter, so the parts of one filter section do not interfere with the others. A front panel Low Frequency Compensation switch offers Normal, Contour and Boundary settings, while a Tweeter Level switch moves the top octaves in small calibrated steps either way. On the rear, a Listener Axis switch chooses between On-Axis and Off-Axis settings for different mounting heights. The cabinet was offered in high-gloss mahogany veneer or high-gloss black, and the beryllium dome must not be touched or cleaned, since damage from cleaning is excluded from the limited warranty.

Pairing

One pair of high frequency and one pair of low frequency gold-plated binding posts, joined by two jumper straps from the factory, support connection by a single cable, by bi-wire leads or by a bi-amp setup. Given its impedance minimum and sensitivity, Revel states that a reasonably designed power amplifier can drive the speaker, and a massive amplifier is not required.

Alternatives

Revel also makes the M126Be, a PerformaBe series two-way bookshelf model pairing a beryllium dome tweeter with a 165 mm Deep Ceramic Composite woofer.