Loudspeakers

Given that Quad's custom 165mm bass/mid unit has already proven its mettle in a two-way configuration with the brand's ribbon tweeter , the stretch to a floorstander could have gone one of two ways. The simplest route would involve adding one or two additional 165mm units into a three- or four-driver two-and-a-half way solution. All three drivers would support the bass, leaving the upper cone to work through the midrange before crossing over to the ribbon at ~2.9kHz. However, designer Peter Comeau has elected for a true three-way in his vision for the Revela 2, introducing an entirely new 150mm variant of the 'advanced fibre composite cone' to handle the critical 650Hz-3.8kHz midrange.

'The reasons for a three-way are twofold', Peter explains. 'A two-and-a-half way design would leave all the bass units in a common enclosure where the unit handling the midrange would still remain subject to large (bass) excursions. By contrast, our three-way enables the midrange unit (in its own sub-enclosure) to handle all the musical detail from 650Hz through the upper midrange and lower treble and, as its excursion is so small, it is capable of revealing this detail more accurately. That leaves the two bass units to provide the extra sensitivity and improve bass extension.' Moreover, as illustrated by the Revela 1, a smooth Directivity Index (DI) ensures reflections from the side walls offer a similar character to the direct sound - key in realising a low coloration performance. Says Peter, 'We found that reducing the bass/mid cone diameter from 165mm to 150mm gave a superior DI, better suited to a pure midrange unit'. PM