@Adi777 your timing is impeccable given what I was just making much more long-winded. Now, with my page refreshed, I’ll go ahead and post, sparing you guys any further diatribe for now
@MKR given your initial feedback on the Salon 2, it’s great that your [preemptively heavily biased in favor of…
] opinion going into the audition was validated. No typical audition is objective, so it’s convenient when our “presearch” becomes reality.
Especially given the offer on the table for a center Ch as part of the discount deal. I thought back when you shared that, many folks would’ve folded in favor and auditioned nothing. So good on ya’s for holding out in favor of education.
But that makes me wonder - given the retail value of the Salon 2 now, would the discount permit 3x Salon 2’s within your budget, if you do go with that model? A 15-20% discount should about get you there…
I know, many folks do not like to use floor standers as center Ch’s for reasons of aesthetics or logistics (e.g. non-acoustically transparent screens). But that doesn’t change [in typical cases] the horizontal center Ch being more a lifestyle contrivance than anything else. I believe in speaker modularity being a product of lifestyle (e.g. concert PA rigs; my hifi setup). I do not believe in “end-game” speakers’ structural design being a product of lifestyle.
I’ve seen some floorstander L-C-R configs, and they‘re performance forces with which to be reckoned. If you go the DSP route with your music at any point, it could also (potentially) give fun results in up-mixing. But that’s a digression.
Regarding the “discontinued” status of the 2’s resurfacing, no speaker is guaranteed to have parts available indefinitely - I’m past believing in making such bourgeoisie selections as sound kit based on “future-proofing”. Did that with my new (at the time) music server-DAC in 2017 in part due to the company’s long history of cutting-edge disc-players and warranty/service. The manufacturer discontinued all AV lines the next year, shut down the CA lab that designed them, and the firmware for my device was so problematic as to be obsolete before 2018 was over. A discontinued Revel model seems to come with
more certainty about future options, than many of the “new now, so not obsolete for many moons” options out there, eh?