Fast forward to CES 2007 I believe, and the new Ultima Salon2's unveiling by Revel's own Kevin Voecks. I walked into the Harman suite at the Hilton Towers to a pair of speakers I didn't recognize. In truth I thought Harman had brought along a pair of someone else's speakers, prompting me to ask Kevin "Where are the new Revels?"

"Right there," he said pointing to the pair of large, high-gloss towers.

Huh? There were no space thrusters. No machine guns; hell there weren't even custom finishes. What was going on? Had Revel lost their edge? Truth be told, I was so thrown by the new style that I didn't remember much from the demo aurally.

Fast forward to today. The updated Ultima line has been with us for a little while now and my initial reaction to their appearance has since tempered. However it seems a lot of the attention and accolades have gone to the largest of the line, the Salon2's leaving the smaller Studio2's, reviewed here, in the shadows. Well I have a soft spot for the next best in any speaker line, hell I still think the Wilson Audio Sophia is superior to the Watt Puppy so why couldn't the same hold true for the Studio2's?

The Revel Ultima Studio2 is a three-way, floorstanding speaker featuring a one-inch beryllium dome tweeter mated to a single five and a quarter inch midrange driver and dual eight-inch bass drivers. All of the drivers in the Ultima2 Series, from the Salon2's to the Gem2, have been redesigned from the ground up with larger motor systems, voice coils, and titanium diaphragms. Grills off, the driver array of the Studio2 is quite striking and somewhat unique looking, with each silver driver sitting in stark contrast against the surrounding piano black finish that looks more like flowing ink than the face of your typical loudspeaker.

In comparison to their predecessors, the Ultima2s are much more trim and streamlined in their shape, size and overall visual impact in a room. Where previous Revel designs had been more of a "look at me" statement, the new Revel loudspeakers, especially with their speaker grills on, are far more understated. Take the grills off and they regain a bit of their visual flare but it's definitely a more mature design language. While still a large speaker, at a little over 46 inches tall by nearly 14 inches wide and 20 inches deep, the Studio2s aren't going to be mistaken for mini monitors, though the subtle curves and sloping lines of the cabinet itself go a long way in portraying a far more compact looking floorstanding speaker then the Studio2's actual dimensions would appear.

The Studio2 has a reported frequency response of 32Hz to 45kHz, with crossover points at 230Hz and 2kHz. The Studio2's bass response is aided by a downward firing port, which rests above the Studio2's attached (non removable) base. The Studio2s are not what I'd call an efficient speaker; okay - they're pigs when it comes to power, evident in their 88.7dB sensitivity rating into a nominal six-Ohm load.

Around back, hidden behind a plastic door, are two EQ controls to aid in better tuning the Studio2's sound to the listening environment. The first of these controls handles high frequency or tweeter level, which allows you to boost or dial back the Studio2's tweeter output in half dB increments plus or minus a full dB. The second control is for low frequency compensation, which changes the Studio2's bass response depending on how the speaker is positioned in the room. For example, if you position the speakers near or next to a wall or hard surface you can select the Boundary setting, where as if you have a particularly challenging room with standing waves resulting in boomy bass you can select Contour. Normal is reserved for traditional placement in a room with little to no sonic abnormalities or problem frequency areas, such as a properly designed and implemented dedicated listening room. Below the Studio2's EQ controls you'll find a pair of rather robust binding posts that can accept spade or banana terminated speaker cable as well as bare wire.

The Hookup
Unpacking and placing the Studio2s is a job for two able bodied people or preferably your dealer; however since I had neither of those two options at my disposal I had to get creative. While I was able to unpack and setup the Studio2s on my own I do not recommend it for they are quite heavy at 140 pounds apiece. One thing that does help is Revel's rather ingenious packaging, which basically "peels" away from the speaker itself leaving it in an upright position with only a thick foam base below. The foam base can be tricky to remove by one's self, however not impossible. The Studio2s come with carpet spikes; I didn't bother with them due to my listening room having wood floors.

Once unboxed, I was able to slowly and gently slide the Studio2s into position, with the help of a small bath towel underneath the base, with little drama. Deciding on final positioning took a few days of experimentation between toe in and front wall distance, which is to be expected. I must say, the EQ controls did prove useful though, especially the low frequency controls. I ultimately ended up placing the Studio2's about eight and a half feet apart with the slightest bit of toe in towards the primary listening position with the back of the speaker itself resting about three feet off the front wall. In this position, while I could hear a difference in the bass response if I jogged through the various compensation controls, I ultimately chose to leave the Studio2s in the normal bass setting.

The Studio2s were connected to my Anthem Statement P5 amplifier via a run of Transparent Reference speaker cables. For my preamp/processor I utilized my trusty Integra DTC 9.8 with source duties falling to my Sony Blu-ray player, AppleTV and NAD C 565BEE CD player. The whole system was wired with Transparent Reference interconnects with power conditioning by Transparent as well.

Performance
I kicked things off with some two channel fare courtesy of Christina Aguilera and her greatest hits album Keeps Getting Better: A Decade of Hits (RCA Records). Now before you all go rolling your eyes at my music choice, I have to say it's actually a well recorded and mixed pop album that when played back on a system better than a stereo found in a Honda Civic can be quite revealing and enjoyable...for a pop album. Starting with the track "Candyman," a sort of 40's era big band throw back, the Revels were in full-ahem-swing. The bass was the first thing I noticed, largely because the track begins with a thumping bass line that is rich, nicely textured (in the right system) and immediate. Though it had good dynamic build and airy decay it did lack that last ounce of slam or edge. It wasn't tubby or bloated, quite the opposite, but it wasn't able to quite reach the depths I've heard from the larger Salon2s, though with fewer bass drivers I'm not sure it's a truly fair comparison. Moving to the opposite end of the spectrum, the treble was able to reach the highest peaks yet remain utterly composed and free of distortion even with my volume control set on unity gain. There was tremendous air and extension but also weight, which you don't always get from tweeters, a true sense of weight and heft. The midrange proved to be the Studio2's party piece rendering Christina's vocals naturally and faithfully. Christina's placement within the soundstage was rock solid and stood out in stark contrast from the rest of the surrounding instruments, especially the raucous horn section that while forward was never harsh or brittle. Speaking of soundstage for a moment the Studio2's ability to virtually disappear was a feat in and of itself and one I wasn't expecting given their size yet they disappeared like a pair of monitor speakers leaving a vast, wide open soundstage in their wake. One thing I did notice about the Studio2s with this particular demo was they did need a fair amount of volume to come to life and unlock their true dynamic potential, no doubt a side of effect of their thirst for power. I like to listen to music on the louder side of normal so this wasn't so much an issue for me, however if you're more of a background listener you may not be hearing everything the Studio2s can offer.