Review: Revolver AudioVue 2S surround system

Overview Price: £2,000 More info: Revolver Size (HxWxD): AVF 100x11x17cm, AVC 12x36x16cm, AVR 36x12x16cm, AVS 40x21x38cm Weight: AVF 7kg, AVC 4kg, AVR 4kg, AVS 17kg Drive units: AVF 1x 26mm metal dome tweeter, 2x 75mm woven paper cone mid, 1x 130mm woven glass fibre woofer AVC 1x 26mm metal dome tweeter, 2x 75mm woven paper cone bass/mid AVR 1x 26mm metal dome tweeter, 2x 75mm woven paper cone bass/mid AVS 1x 254mm paper cone long throw subwoofer Sensitivity: AVF 88dB, AVC 88dB, AVR 88dB, AVS Line In100mv, Hi-Level 2v Power handling: AVF 15-100W, AVC 15-100W, AVR 15-100W Frequency response: AVF 40Hz-28kHz, AVC 70Hz-28kHz, AVR 70Hz-28kHz, AVS 30Hz-200Hz Subwoofer power: 300W Nominal impedance: AVF 6 ohms, AVC 6 ohms, AVR 6 ohms Ports: AVF rear, AVC rear, AVR rear, AVS acoustic suspension infinite baffle Finishes: Light cherry or dark cherry real wood veneer over MDF

Some would disagree, but here at AVR we find that very little in the way of domicile furniture can compete with the tastefully conceived boxes of a quality home cinema surround system. So we were very pleased to get access to the AudioVue system from Revolver.

The brand started in the late seventies producing turntables (do you see what they did there?) but was later bought up by the Cornwall-based Acoustic Partnership in 2002 to launch their new R-series loudspeakers. The AudioVue series is intended as a slimline alternative to the R-series and is one of those increasingly rare beasts - a speaker that's fully designed and manufactured in the UK.

The AVF floorstanders aren't small, standing at a metre high, but the thin face they show to the world has the effect of making them seem less domineering than they otherwise might.

The interesting thing is the clever way they've reduced the front of the speakers without sacrificing any low-end power. Up top is a brace of 75mm paper cones flanking a 26mm metal dome tweeter in a d'Appolito alignment. Bass is handled by a side-firing 130mm glass fibre woofer down the bottom.

It seems unusual, but there's really no reason why it should be, since bass frequencies are much less directional than mid or treble, and so have less necessity to be aimed directly at the listener. They're supplied in mirror-image pairs, so if you decide to have them out in full view, they'll appear symmetrical.

You could use the AVF for your surrounds as well as your stereo pair, but we plumped for the more subtle (and complimentarily named) AVR standmount. This uses the same d'Appolito arrangement as the upper part of the AVF, as indeed does the centre channel AVC. There are wall brackets available for each of these and if you do decide to go the wall hanging route, there's a crossover adjustment to allow for close-to-wall or free-space standing. Since they're virtually identical you can choose to place them either horizontally or vertically according to taste, without any depreciation in audio value.

The AVS subwoofer is a chunky affair with a side-firing (assuming you have it facing roughly the same way as your AVFs) 254mm paper cone driver. Unusually, it's a sealed unit, rather than a reflex-loaded one, which should produce tighter if not ultimately low bass and there's 300 watts of power packed in there too, which goes some way to increasing the efficiency of this design.

Performance
The look is clearly aimed more at the average home rather than a glass and steel designer domicile and sound-wise too, the overall feeling is more of comfort than impressive audio fireworks.

It doesn't offer a grandstanding performance or collection of party pieces. But what you do get is a fully rounded, mature sound that invites you in whether you're immersed in a blockbuster movie or enjoying your music. It's a simple, straight-ahead, common sense approach that some manufacturers seem to forget in their race to impress with metaphorical bells and whistles.

But if any aspect of the AudioVue can be singled out for special praise, it's the low end. The bass-heavy soundtrack to anime blockbuster Ghost In The Shell was well rendered with clarity and a feeling of precision while the ping-ponging surround effects were a diverting pleasure throughout.

This could in part be due to the mid/treble crossover being set fairly high (3.75kHz on the AVF, 4.5kHz on the AVR and AVC). With the crossover set a little above the most common voice frequencies, voices appear to be held more solidly towards the centre, with effects free to impress by dancing around the surrounds.

There are others which can offer more of a throb factor, but the sub here is terrifically well integrated into the overall soundstage, sounding like a fully developed part of the picture rather than a grandstanding low-end circus elephant or an audio wallflower. Arranging the AVFs so that the woofers are facing each other seemed to boost the bass slightly too.

Verdict

The Audiovue system sounds big and open, which only really comes as a surprise because of the relatively small impression it makes on a room. The real wood veneer looks gorgeous and should fit in nicely with most real living rooms and the thin face they show to the world helps them blend in well. The sound too is well blended, offering a coherent, well connected soundstage that tells you all you need to know about your CDs or DVDs without drawing undue attention to minutiae. A very capable system in other words, that offers high quality sound at an affordable price - it may not be a bargain, but you won't regret the investment.

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