Beryllium Dreams

I’VE REVIEWED

many Revel surround speaker packages over time, but it’s been six years since my last Revel review, a system centered on the Performa F208 tower speaker. At around 13 grand, that system could still be considered an affordable option compared with a full surround package built around the company’s flagship Ultima range. Now, with its Performabe line, Revel has a mid-price speaker offering to help bridge the gap.

The “Be” in Performabe indicates the Berylliumdome tweeters used across the range. Until recently, the only Performabe models were the F228BE tower and M126BE bookshelf. But three additional models were introduced in late 2019, all using the same 5.25-inch midrange and beryllium tweeter: the F328BE tower with three 8-inch woofers; the smaller F226BE tower with two 6.5-inch woofers; and the C426BE three-way center with four horizontally arrayed 6.5-inch woofers. While such an arrangement in a centerchannel speaker can cause erratic response due to comb filtering, the C426be’s design eliminates this concern by handing bass over to the midrange at a relatively low 210-Hz crossover point.

The F226BE towers, C426BE center, and M126BE bookshelf included in my review system are all ported and come with port plugs to reduce their bass output if needed. Aside from the C426BE center, I didn’t use the port plugs for my test. Spikes are provided for the F226BE towers, though I also I didn’t use these.

All of the woofer and midrange drivers in Performabe models (apart from the coated, pulp-coned subwoofers) employ DCC (Deep Ceramic Composite) cones consisting of an aluminum base coated with a ceramic oxide that forms when aluminum is heated. This oxide is said to help damp the resonances common to metal cone drivers. All of the speakers come with removable, magnetically secured, black grilles. Without them you might find the 14 light-tone drivers staring at you from the front of the room just a little intimidating! Nevertheless, I went completely grille-less since no speaker grille can be totally transparent.

Due to its combination of low mass and rigidity, Beryllium is increasingly used for tweeters in high-end speakers despite its high cost, fragility, and toxic qualities. The fragility is typically handled, as here, by some form of protective screen or shield. And the toxicity is only an issue if it shatters and scatters Beryllium dust (more of a potential problem during manufacturing). The Be tweeters here are also fitted with the latest iteration of Revel’s long-standing acoustic wave guide