Revel Performa3 F206 vs Revel Performa3 C208 Comparison

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Revel Performa3 F206

Passive Floor-standing | 42Hz- 20kHz

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Revel Performa3 C208

Passive Center Channel | 50Hz- 20kHz

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Revel Performa3 F206

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Revel Performa3 C208

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Revel Performa3 F206

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Revel Performa3 C208

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Revel Performa3 F206 vs Revel Performa3 C208 Speaker Comparison

In this review, we will be comparing two different types of speakers by Revel. Revel Performa3 F206 is a Floor-standing speaker whereas the Performa3 C208 is a Center Channel speaker.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Revel Performa3 F206 and Revel Performa3 C208 first before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Key Specs	Revel Performa3 F206	Revel Performa3 C208
Brand	Revel United States · founded 1996	Revel United States · founded 1996
Design	3-way	3-way
Tweeter	1" Hard-Dome with Acoustic Lens Waveguide	1" dome with proprietary acoustic lens and waveguide
Midrange	5.25"	4"
Woofer	2 x 6.5" Aluminum	2 x 8" anodized aluminum cone with cast frames
Frequency response	42Hz- 20kHz	50Hz- 20kHz
Sensitivity	88 dB	89 dB
Impedance	8 ohms	8 ohms
Power range	50-200 watts	50-350 watts
Weight	26.41kg / 58.1lbs	23.41kg / 51.5lbs
Dimensions (H x W x D)	41-5/8" x 10" x 13-7/8" 1058.0 x 254.0 x 353.0mm	12-1/16" x 29" x 13-11/16" 307.0 x 737.0 x 348.0mm

Performa3 F206 and Performa3 C208 are members of Revel's Performa3 series of speakers. Below you can find the loudspeakers from this series.

Revel Performa3 Series History

Model	Body	Frequency	Sensitivity	Impedance	Woofer
Revel M106	Bookshelf	59Hz- 20kHz	87 dB	8Ω	1 x 6.5"
Revel Performa3 F206	Floor-standing	42Hz- 20kHz	88 dB	8Ω	2 x 6.5"
Revel M105	Bookshelf	60Hz- 20kHz	86 dB	8Ω	1 x 5.25"
Revel Performa3 F208	Floor-standing	31Hz- 20kHz	88.5 dB	8Ω	2 x 8"
Revel Performa3 C208	Center Channel	50Hz- 20kHz	89 dB	8Ω	2 x 8"
Revel Performa3 C205	Center Channel	80Hz- 20kHz	89 dB	8Ω	2 x 5.25"

What size room are the Revel Performa3 F206 and Revel Performa3 C208 speakers good for?

The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size and max power parameters:

Listening Environment*	Revel Performa3 F206	Revel Performa3 C208
Near-field	Bad	Are you nuts?
Small Room	Poor	Bad
Mid-size Room	Good	Poor
Large Room	Good	Good
Very Large Room	Poor	Good

(* Approximate Room sizes: Small < 100sq. ft / 9 m², Mid-size: 100-220 sq. ft / 9-20 m², Large 220-400 sq. ft / 20-36 m², Very Large: > 400 sq. ft / 36 m². Average Floor Height: 9" / 2.7m. Typical room sizes differ from country to country, and the actual listening experience changes depending on floor height, room shape, surface materials, listening position, speaker locations, etc.)

The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.

Drivers

Both Performa3 F206 and Performa3 C208 are 3-way speakers.

Revel Performa3 F206

Revel Performa3 C208

TweeterMidrangeWoofer

Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.

Driver	Revel Performa3 F206	Revel Performa3 C208
Driver Setup	3-way	3-way
Tweeter	1-inch	1-inch
Midrange	1 x 5.25-inch	1 x 4-inch
Woofer	2 x 6.5-inch	2 x 8-inch

Performa3 F206 features a 1" Aluminum Hard-Dome with Acoustic Lens Waveguide Tweeter, a 5.25" Midrange and 2 x 6.5" Aluminum Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 275Hz and 2150Hz. On the other hand, the Performa3 C208 features a 1" aluminum dome with proprietary acoustic lens and waveguide Tweeter, a 4" Midrange and 2 x 8" anodized aluminum cone with cast frames Woofer.

Frequency Response

Performa3 F206 has a frequency range of 42Hz- 20kHz whereas Performa3 C208 has a frequency range of 50Hz- 20kHz. With a minimum frequency of 42Hz, the Performa3 F206 can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Performa3 C208's min frequency of 50Hz.

The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.

Low Frequency

Floor-standing Speakers

Performa3 F206

Performa3 C208

Min

Average

Median

Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.

Impedance and Sensitivity

Performa3 F206 and Performa3 C208 have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. Performa3 F206 sensitivity is rated at 88 dB and the Performa3 C208's is at 89 dB. This 1 dB difference makes the Revel Performa3 C208 a more sensitive speaker compared to Revel Performa3 F206, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.

Sensitivity

Floor-standing Speakers

Performa3 F206

Performa3 C208

Min

Average

Median

Power Range

Power range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. Staying within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.

Performa3 C208 can handle a max power of 350 watts RMS, whereas Performa3 F206 has a max power handling value of 200 watts RMS, 150 watts less than the Performa3 C208.

Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays on a real amplifier.

Which plays louder on your amplifier?

Starting with a popular amplifier - change it to the one you own, or any you are considering, and watch both numbers move.

Amplifier - change this

Distance

Playing as

Revel Performa3 F206

Revel Performa3 C208

Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring

Performa3 F206 features Binding post type posts and Performa3 C208 has a Binding post type posts. None of these speakers feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.

Revel Performa3 F206's Binding post terminals

Revel Performa3 C208's Binding post terminals

Physical Specs

The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Revel Performa3 F206's and Revel Performa3 C208's external dimensions. Revel Performa3 F206 has external dimensions of 1058.0 x 254.0 x 353.0mm (41-5/8 x 10 x 13-7/8inch) whereas Revel Performa3 C208 has external dimensions of 307.0 x 737.0 x 348.0mm (12-1/16 x 29 x 13-11/16inch).

Revel Performa3 C208 is 751mm shorter and 5mm less deeper than Revel Performa3 F206 but it is also 483mm wider.

Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited. The base surface area of the Revel Performa3 F206 is approximately 896.6cm² / 139.0inch² and base area of the Revel Performa3 C208 is approximately 2564.8cm² / 397.5inch². The Performa3 F206 requires 65% less surface area than the Performa3 C208 which gives it a small advantage on placement in tight spaces.

What's in the Box of Revel Performa3 F206?

Here are the items that are included inside the box of Performa3 F206:

Floorstanding loudspeaker
Grille
4 Spike feet
4 Locking rings
4 Washers
Foam port plug
Owners Manual

What's in the Box of Revel Performa3 C208?

Here are the items that come with the Performa3 C208:

Center-channel loudspeaker
Grille
2 Short feet
2 Long feet
2 Terminal jumpers (pre-installed)
Owners Manual

Reasons to choose Revel Performa3 F206 over Revel Performa3 C208

Low Frequency Response	42 Hz vs 50 Hz	Generates deeper bass
Base Surface Area	896cm² vs 2564cm²	Takes less floor space

Reasons to choose Revel Performa3 C208 over Revel Performa3 F206

Max Input Power	350 watts vs 200 watts	Handle more power from your amplifier
Sensitivity	89 dB vs 88 dB	Play louder with same amount of amplification power
Woofer Size	8 inches vs 6.5 inches	Larger woofer
Height	307mm vs 1058mm	Easier to fit in smaller spaces
Price per pair*	2200USD vs 3850USD	costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time)

Revel Performa3 F206 vs Revel Performa3 C208 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Revel Performa3 F206	Revel Performa3 C208
Brand	Revel	Revel
Speaker Type	Floor-standing speaker	Center channel speaker
Power Range	50-200 watts	50-350 watts
Sensitivity	88 dB	89 dB
Impedance	8 ohms	8 ohms
Frequency Response	42Hz- 20kHz	50Hz- 20kHz
Drivers
Woofer Quantity	2	2
Woofer Size	6.5"	8"
Woofer Composition	Aluminum	anodized aluminum cone with cast frames
Woofer Surround Material	Rubber	n/a
Tweeter Size	1"	1"
Tweeter Type	Hard-Dome with Acoustic Lens Waveguide	dome with proprietary acoustic lens and waveguide
Aimable Tweeter	No	No
Midrange Driver	5.25"	4"
Crossover Frequency	275Hz and 2150Hz	n/a
Firing Direction	rear	n/a
Physical Specs
Height	1058.0mm (41.7")	307.0mm (12.1")
Width	254.0mm (10")	737.0mm (29")
Depth	353.0mm (13.9")	348.0mm (13.7")
Weight	26.41kg (58.1lbs)	23.41kg (51.5lbs)
Enclosure	Bass Reflex	Passive Radiator
Finish	Wood/Lacquer	n/a
Available Colors	Gloss Black	Gloss Black
Grille	Yes	Yes
Moisture Resistancy	No	No
Connections
Biamp Inputs	No	n/a
Other
Parts Warranty	5 Years	5 Years
Labor Warranty	5 Years	5 Years

Verdict

Siblings in Revel's Performa3 series, so they share a family sound. It comes down to size, output and price.

Area	Better	Why
Bass	A	Revel Performa3 F206 digs deeper - 42Hz against 50Hz. A subwoofer would even that out.
Amplifier needs	evenly matched	Similar sensitivity (88dB vs 89dB) - both want much the same power.
Headroom	B	Revel Performa3 C208 takes more power (350W vs 200W) - more in hand in a big room.
Size	depends	Similar cabinet size - neither is easier to fit.
Type	depends	A Passive Floor-standing against a Passive Center Channel - a different job rather than a better one.
Cabinet	depends	Ported vs Passive Radiator.
Price	B	Revel Performa3 C208 is cheaper - $2,200 against $3,850, about 43% less; arguably a different class.

A Revel Performa3 F206 B Revel Performa3 C208
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both speakers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.

Which should you choose?

Neither runs away with it - they trade advantages. Let the "depends" rows and your own room settle it. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 50Hz anyway, which makes the cheaper Revel Performa3 C208 much easier to justify. Match it to your room: we rate Revel Performa3 F206 the better fit for a mid-size room, and Revel Performa3 C208 for a very large room.

And remember what a spec sheet cannot show: how each looks in your room and whether the finish suits it, what dealer support and warranty are like where you live, and how they actually sound to you. If you can hear them first - ideally with your own music - that will tell you more than any number above.