Results of the 2024 TSR Spring Speaker Shootout

If you’d like to discuss the results of this event or are interested in any of these speakers, please contact us at info@thescreeningroomav.com or call us at 720-377-3877. Content like this is difficult and expensive to produce; the business we hope to earn from this is what funds the next big event. If you find this kind of content valuable, please reach out to us about any of your audio / video needs so we can keep putting out this kind of good, reliable information. We'll be hosting a webinar soon to discuss in detail what we learned from the shootout. If you’re interested in attending the webinar, be sure to sign up for our mailing list.

INTRODUCTION

The focus of this speaker shootout was a little different than last year. The intent of 2023’s shootout was to see if speaker preference could indeed be predicted by looking at anechoic speaker measurements in the CEA2034 format. I think we showed that pretty conclusively, which you can verify by checking out the detailed writeup we posted here.

This year, Steve had the great idea of seeing if an in-wall speaker could “hold its own” with a truly top-rate floor-standing speaker.  Last year the Revel F226Be “won” the under $10,000 per pair category, so this year we used its bigger brother, the Revel F228Be (which was also Stereophile’s 2019 Loudspeaker of the Year) as the “anchor” for the shootout. What made this even more fun is that Revel has come out with a series of Be in-wall speakers that match their box speaker equivalents almost exactly in specs, using the same drivers, waveguides and cabinet volumes. Would the in-wall version of the F228Be - the W228Be - hold its own against the F228Be? Read on to find out!

In addition to the F228Be and W228Be, we also added the entry-level JBL Synthesis SCL-6 in-wall speaker to the mix as well as the Triad Gold In-Wall LCR. On top of that, Mark Seaton brought his amazing new custom install subwoofers to the event – not only to show them off, but to blend with all four speakers for a truly level playing field event where bass response was no longer a variable.

Listening session with speakers hidden behind acoustically transparent screen

Putting on events like these require herculean efforts for all involved. Before going any further I’d like to express deep appreciation for our own Steve Crabb and Conner Harding for blazing through and getting the test set up when they were both slammed with install work. Steve was also seriously ill the two weeks leading up to the event, and could barely talk by the time we got to the shootout itself. Still, he stayed up past midnight several nights putting together the speaker rig you will see in the picture below.

On top of that, the JBL SCL-6 we had brought in for the shootout disappeared from the warehouse and Steve and Conner had to snag one last minute out of an existing customer install. During the rush to pull it out of the install and put it in the custom-built speaker shuffler, the wire to one of the woofers got disconnected. As a result, the SCL-6 during the first round of listening sessions had a huge hole in the mid-bass. For that reason, the scores for the SCL-6 on day one are not included here. It also meant that the aggregate scores for both days include only half the number of listeners for the SCL-6. Still, the scores were pretty consistent and we have a high level of confidence that the aggregate scores are representational of how people judged the speakers.

All speakers were fed a signal via Roon and our Trinnov Altitude32 processor (actually, the JBL equivalent, the SDP-75). We used a JBL DSi 2.0 SA4-D cinema amp @ 360 watts x 4 to make sure the speakers were all fed the exact same amount of power. All speakers were crossed over to Mark Seaton’s custom install subs at 80 Hz and precisely level-matched in volume by Mark himself. All speakers were hidden from view from the attendees. Test supervisor John Schuermann handled switching duties. He was unaware which speaker was which during Saturday's session but was aware which was which during the Sunday session. For this reason, he sat behind the group and did not include his scores.

Here are the total scores for all four speakers. NOTE AGAIN that we did not include the scores for the JBL SCL-6 we listened to on Saturday for the reasons outlined above. Accordingly, the JBL scores are from Sunday only and based on a smaller data set (as noted). However, we do think they are valid for the purposes of ranking.

The speakers are revealed! From left to right, Revel F228Be, Revel W228Be In-Wall, JBL Synthesis SCL-6, Triad Gold In-Wall LCR.

COMBINED SCORES FROM BOTH DAYS,

RANKED IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE

NOTE - these scores may be slightly different than what was sent to attendees via email. Two listeners ranked speakers on a scale from 1-5 rather than 1-10, so we worked out a formula to properly weigh their scores with the other test results. Ranking did not change, however.:

1) Revel F228Be Floor-standing Speaker, List Price $5500 each - Avg Score 7.54

2) Revel W228Be In-Wall Speaker, List Price $3500 each - Avg Score 7.29

3) Triad Gold In-Wall LCR Speaker, List Price $3033 each - Avg Score 6.72

4) JBL SCL-6 In-Wall Speaker, List Price $1650 each - Avg Score 6.67

So, what do we have here? Essentially a statistical tie between the two Revels - the in-wall and the floor-standing speaker for first place, then a statistical tie for the two speakers in second place, the Triad and the JBL.

Fascinating!

In our opinion, this is some pretty strong validation that a good in-wall speaker can hang with the best floor-standing speakers! Of course, the operative word here is “good.” Many in-wall speakers measure terrible, so will most likely sound terrible. They key is in picking speakers that measure well, whether in-wall or floor-standing.

As we think we demonstrated in our first shootout, the 50-plus years of research that shows speakers that measure the best will also score the best in a blind shootout has been demonstrated once again.

If you're interested in the detailed scores, you can scroll down and see them below.

SPEAKER MEASUREMENTS

Once again, with the exception of the disabled JBL Synthesis SCL-6, the speakers ranked in terms of how well they measured, just as predicted by the CEA2034 research.

Revel F228Be CEA2034 “Spinorama” measurements.

Revel W228Be CEA2034 “Spinorama” measurements.

JBL Synthesis SCL-6 CEA2034 “Spinorama” measurements.

Triad Gold In-Wall LCR CEA2034 “Spinorama” measurements.

Steve (left) and John (right) discuss the "speaker slider" and how we chose the speakers we chose for the shootout.

DETAILED SCORES

Following are the detailed scores, organized by day and group, followed by the combined scores. The list of listening tracks is also provided.

DAY ONE

GROUP ONE – Seven Listeners

F228Be – 37.84 / 5 tracks – 7.57

W228Be – 41.14 / 5 tracks – 8.23

SCL6 – 25.72 / 5 tracks – 5.14

Triad Gold – 33.66 / 5 tracks – 6.77

GROUP TWO – Six Listeners

F228Be – 59.51 / 8 tracks – 7.45

W228Be – 56.67 / 8 tracks – 7.08

SCL6 – 46.16 / 8 – 5.77

Triad Gold – 55.55 / 8 – 6.94

DAY ONE COMBINED SCORES – Thirteen Listeners

F228Be – 97.35 / 13 tracks – 7.49

W228Be – 97.81 /. 13 tracks – 7.52

SCL6 – 71.88 / 13 tracks – 5.53

Triad Gold – 33.66 / 5 tracks – 6.77

DAY TWO

GROUP ONE – Six Listeners

F228Be – 62.48 / 9 tracks = 6.94

W228Be – 60.62 / 9 tracks = 6.74

SCL6 – 53.48 / 9 tracks = 5.94

Triad Gold LCR – 52.34 / 9 tracks = 5.81

GROUP TWO – Five Listeners

F228Be – 74/9 = 8.3

W228Be – 67 / 9 = 7.44

SCL6 – 65.6 / 9 = 7.44

Triad – 67/9 = 7.44

DAY TWO COMBINED SCORES:

F228Be – 136.48 / 18 tracks – 7.58

W228Be – 128.1 / 18 tracks – 7.12

SCL6 – 120.06 / 18 tracks – 6.67

Triad Gold – 119.34 / 18 tracks – 6.63

TOTAL COMBINED SCORES

F228Be – 233.83 / 31 tracks – 7.54

W228Be – 226 / 31 tracks – 7.29

SCL6 – 120.06 / 18 tracks – 6.67

Triad Gold – 33.66 / 5 tracks – 6.72

LISTENING TEST TRACKS

Fast Car - Tracy Chapman

World in Your Eyes – Depeche Mode

Tricycle – Flim and the BBs

Battlestar Galactica – Stu Phillips

A Very Good Year – Ray Charles / Willie Nelson

Bird on a Wire – Jennifer Warnes

Take Five – Dave Brubeck

Fat Cry – Yello

Los – Rammstein

NOTE - If you’d like to discuss the results of this event or any of these speakers in detail, please contact us at info@thescreeningroomav.com or call us at 720-377-3877. Also, we'll be hosting a webinar soon to present and discuss in detail what we learned from the shootout. If you’re interested in attending the webinar, but sure to sign up for our mailing list.

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CEA2034 “Spinorama” Primer

The top lines in the Spinorama graph essentially represent anechoic frequency response. Note that the smoother the frequency response, the better the speaker did in the listening test. This correlates with the research that shows that the most accurate speakers are those that do the best in controlled listening tests. This really shouldn’t be surprising; for the same reasons our eye / brain combination can tell when colors are “off” on a video display, our ear / brain combination can also tell us when sounds are ”off” from how we experience them in real life. But frequency response isn’t the only thing shown on a CEA2034 graph – there are other elements that contribute to the overall sound quality of a speaker reflected in it as well.

Color-coded measurement of the CEA2034 measurement of the Revel F228Be

On-axis Response - This represents the direct sound heard by a single listener sitting on the design axis of the loudspeaker. A flat frequency response is an absolute requirement for all electronic devices. Therefore, it is not surprising that loudspeakers with a flat on-axis frequency response have a higher probability of being preferred in double-blind listening tests.

Listening Window - The well-designed loudspeaker should deliver good sound to a group of listeners -- not just the person sitting on-axis. The listening window is the average frequency response measured for listeners sitting on and slightly off the reference axis of the loudspeaker. Loudspeakers that receive high sound quality ratings in double-blind listening tests tend to have listening windows with a flat frequency response.

First, or Early Reflections -- Most of the sound we hear is reflected in rooms. The second loudest sound (after the direct sound) is the first reflected sound produced from the loudspeaker. Therefore, it is paramount that the sounds radiated by the loudspeaker in the off-axis directions generate early reflections that sound good. The shape of this curve should not differ greatly from the on-axis response curve.

Sound Power Response -This is a measure of the total sound radiated by the loudspeaker without regard to the direction in which it is radiated. The shape should be smooth and slightly downward tilting.

Sound Power and First Reflection Directivity Indices - These directivity indices tell us how the directivity of the loudspeaker changes as a function of frequency. At low frequencies most loudspeakers radiate sound omni-directionally (DI = 0 dB), where wavelengths are long. In forward-firing, 2-way and 3-way loudspeakers, as wavelengths get shorter, frequencies get higher, and more of the sound is radiated towards the front. The goal is to have this trend develop smoothly and gradually.

NOTE - If you’d like to discuss the results of this event or are interested in any of these speakers, please contact us at info@thescreeningroomav.com or call us at 720-377-3877. Also, we'll be hosting a webinar soon to present and discuss in detail what we learned from the shootout. If you’re interested in attending the webinar, be sure to sign up for our mailing list.