Revel W553L vs Revel W990 Comparison

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Revel W553L

Passive Center Channel |

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Revel W990

Passive In-wall |

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Revel W553L

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Revel W990

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Revel W553L

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Revel W990

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Revel W553L vs Revel W990 Speaker Comparison

In this review, we will be comparing two different types of speakers by Revel. Revel W553L is a Center Channel speaker whereas the W990 is a In-wall speaker.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Revel W553L and Revel W990 first before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Key Specs	Revel W553L	Revel W990
Brand	Revel United States · founded 1996	Revel United States · founded 1996
Design	2-way	3-way
Tweeter	1"	1"
Midrange	—	3.5"
Woofer	2 x 5.25"	9"
Sensitivity	90.5 dB	89 dB
Impedance	8 ohms	8 ohms
Power range	10 - 150 W watts	10 - 200 W watts
Weight	2.99kg / 6.6lbs	7.71kg / 17lbs
Dimensions (H x W x D)	15-1/8" x 7-7/16" x 2-15/16" 384.2 x 188.9 x 74.0mm	—

W553L and W990 are members of Revel's Architectural series of speakers. Below you can find the loudspeakers from this series.

Revel Architectural Series History

Model	Body	Frequency	Sensitivity	Impedance	Woofer
Revel W253L	In-wall	55-18kHz	91 dB	8Ω	2 x 5.25"
Revel W553L	Center Channel		90.5 dB	8Ω	2 x 5.25"
Revel W383	In-wall		89 dB	8Ω	1 x 8"
Revel W763	In-wall		89 dB	8Ω	1 x 6.5"
Revel W783	In-wall		89 dB	8Ω	1 x 8"
Revel W990	In-wall		89 dB	8Ω	1 x 9"
Revel W228Be	In-wall	35-40k Hz	90 dB	6Ω	2 x 8"
Revel W126Be	In-wall	55-40k Hz	89 dB	6Ω	1 x 6.5"
Revel W226Be	In-wall	45-40k Hz	90 dB	6Ω	2 x 6.5"
Revel W263	In-wall		88 dB	8Ω	1 x 6.5"

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

Drivers

One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that W553L is a 2-way design whereas the W990 is a 3-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.

Revel W553L

Revel W990

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 W553L	Revel W990
Driver Setup	2-way	3-way
Tweeter	1-inch	1-inch
Midrange	-	1 x 3.5-inch
Woofer	2 x 5.25-inch	1 x 9-inch

W553L features a 1" Tweeter and 2 x 5.25" Woofer. On the other hand, the W990 features a 1" Tweeter, a 3.5" Midrange and 1 x 9" Woofer.

Frequency Response

W553L and W990 has exactly the same frequency range of .

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

Low Frequency

Center Channel Speakers

W553L

W990

Min

Average

Median

Impedance and Sensitivity

W553L and W990 have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. W553L sensitivity is rated at 90.5 dB and the W990's is at 89 dB. This 1 dB difference makes the Revel W553L a more sensitive speaker compared to Revel W990, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.

Sensitivity

Center Channel Speakers

W553L

W990

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.

W990 can handle a max power of 200 watts RMS, whereas W553L has a max power handling value of 150 watts RMS, 50 watts less than the W990.

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 W553L

Revel W990

Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring

W553L features Spring post type posts and W990 has a Spring post type posts. None of these speakers feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.

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 W553L's and Revel W990's external dimensions. Revel W553L has external dimensions of 384.2 x 188.9 x 74.0mm () whereas Revel W990 has external dimensions of ().

Revel W553L is 165.1mm narrower and 139.7mm shorter than Revel W990 but it is also 74mm deeper.

Size, drawn to scale

Both speakers and both views share one scale, so everything here is directly comparable. Hover a box for its dimensions. Depth is not published for both, so only the front view is drawn.

Revel W990 is 140mm taller.

Reasons to choose Revel W553L over Revel W990

Sensitivity	90 dB vs 89 dB	Play louder with same amount of amplification power
Number of Woofers	2 vs 1	More woofers
Height	384mm vs 523mm	Easier to fit in smaller spaces
Price per pair*	545USD vs 4240USD	costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time)

Reasons to choose Revel W990 over Revel W553L

Max Input Power	200 watts vs 150 watts	Handle more power from your amplifier
Driver Setup	3-way vs 2-way	Have a dedicated mid-range driver
Woofer Size	9 inches vs 5.25 inches	Larger woofer
Base Surface Area	0cm² vs 139cm²	Takes less floor space

Revel W553L vs Revel W990 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Revel W553L	Revel W990
Brand	Revel	Revel
Speaker Type	Center channel speaker	Passive In-wall Speaker
Power Range	10 - 150 W watts	10 - 200 W watts
Sensitivity	90.5 dB	89 dB
Impedance	8 ohms	8 ohms
Frequency Response
Drivers
Woofer Quantity	2	1
Woofer Size	5.25"	9"
Woofer Composition
Tweeter Size	1"	1"
Aimable Tweeter	No	No
Midrange Driver	No	3.5"
Physical Specs
Height	384.2mm (15.1")	523.9mm (20.6")
Width	188.9mm (7.4")	354.0mm (13.9")
Depth	74.0mm (2.9")	mm (0")
Weight	2.99kg (6.6lbs)	7.71kg (17lbs)
Enclosure
Moisture Resistancy	No	No
Connections
Other
Parts Warranty	Lifetime	Lifetime
Labor Warranty	Lifetime	Lifetime

Verdict

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

Area	Better	Why
Amplifier needs	evenly matched	Similar sensitivity (90dB vs 89dB) - both want much the same power.
Headroom	B	Revel W990 takes more power (200W vs 150W) - more in hand in a big room.
Type	depends	A Passive Center Channel against a Passive In-wall - a different job rather than a better one.
Price	A	Revel W553L is cheaper - $545 against $4,240, about 87% less; arguably a different class.

A Revel W553L B Revel W990
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?

Revel W990 is ahead, but only on 1 of the measured areas, and it costs about 7.8x the price. That is a lot of money for a narrow margin on paper - Revel W553L looks like the sensible buy unless something else about the Revel W990 appeals to you. Think about the whole system, not just the speakers: the roughly $3,695 saved by taking the cheaper pair would buy a subwoofer or a better amplifier, and either usually does more for the sound than the difference between these two.

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.