Revel W990 vs Revel W263 Comparison

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Revel W990

Passive In-wall |

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Revel W263

Passive In-wall |

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Revel W990

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Revel W263

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Revel W990

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Revel W263

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Revel W990 vs Revel W263 Speaker Comparison

In this review, we will be comparing W990 and W263, two Passive In-wall speakers by Revel.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Revel W990 and Revel W263 first before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Key Specs	Revel W990	Revel W263
Brand	Revel United States · founded 1996	Revel United States · founded 1996
Design	3-way	2-way
Tweeter	1"	1"
Midrange	3.5"	—
Woofer	9"	6.5"
Sensitivity	89 dB	88 dB
Impedance	8 ohms	8 ohms
Power range	10 - 200 W watts	10 - 100 W watts
Weight	7.71kg / 17lbs	1.54kg / 3.4lbs
Dimensions (H x W x D)	—	10.75" x 8.31" x 3.46" 273 x 211 x 88 mm

W990 and W263 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 W990 is a 3-way design whereas the W263 is a 2-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 W990

Revel W263

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 W990	Revel W263
Driver Setup	3-way	2-way
Tweeter	1-inch	1-inch
Midrange	1 x 3.5-inch	-
Woofer	1 x 9-inch	1 x 6.5-inch

W990 features a 1" Tweeter, a 3.5" Midrange and 1 x 9" Woofer. On the other hand, the W263 features a 1" Tweeter and 1 x 6.5" Woofer.

Frequency Response

W990 and W263 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 In-wall class in our database.

Low Frequency

In-wall Speakers

W990

W263

Min

Average

Median

Impedance and Sensitivity

W990 and W263 have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. W990 sensitivity is rated at 89 dB and the W263's is at 88 dB. This 1 dB difference makes the Revel W990 a more sensitive speaker compared to Revel W263, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.

Sensitivity

In-wall Speakers

W990

W263

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 W263 has a max power handling value of 100 watts RMS, 100 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 W990

Revel W263

Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring

W990 features Spring clip type posts and W263 has a Spring clip 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 W990's and Revel W263's external dimensions. Revel W990 has external dimensions of () whereas Revel W263 has external dimensions of 273 x 211 x 88 mm ().

Revel W263 is 143mm narrower and 250.9mm shorter than Revel W990 but it is also 88mm deeper.

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Revel W990 and Revel W263 in scale.

Comparison image of Revel W990 and Revel W263 Size and External Dimensions

Weight Comparison

The weight of a loudspeaker can become an important factor if you need to move and reposition the unit often. Weight of a speaker can also "sometimes" be an indicator of the rigidity of the enclosure and the quality of the internal components used. The Revel W990 weighs 7.71kg / 17lbs and the Revel W263 weighs 1.54kg / 3.4lbs. This makes the W990 401% heavier than the W263.

Here is a comparison of how W990 and W263's weights compare with the average, max and min weights in Passive In-wall class.

Weight
All In-wall Speakers

Revel W990

Revel W263

Min

Average

Max

Reasons to choose Revel W990 over Revel W263

Max Input Power	200 watts vs 100 watts	Handle more power from your amplifier
Driver Setup	3-way vs 2-way	Have a dedicated mid-range driver
Sensitivity	89 dB vs 88 dB	Play louder with same amount of amplification power
Woofer Size	9 inches vs 6.5 inches	Larger woofer
Base Surface Area	0cm² vs 185cm²	Takes less floor space

Reasons to choose Revel W263 over Revel W990

Height	273mm vs 523mm	Easier to fit in smaller spaces
Price per pair*	420USD vs 4240USD	costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time)

Revel W990 vs Revel W263 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Revel W990	Revel W263
Brand	Revel	Revel
Speaker Type	Passive In-wall Speaker	Passive In-wall Speaker
Power Range	10 - 200 W watts	10 - 100 W watts
Sensitivity	89 dB	88 dB
Impedance	8 ohms	8 ohms
Frequency Response
Drivers
Woofer Quantity	1	1
Woofer Size	9"	6.5"
Woofer Composition
Tweeter Size	1"	1"
Aimable Tweeter	No	No
Midrange Driver	3.5"	No
Physical Specs
Height	523.9mm (20.6")	273.0mm (10.7")
Width	354.0mm (13.9")	211.0mm (8.3")
Depth	mm (0")	88.0mm (3.5")
Weight	7.71kg (17lbs)	1.54kg (3.4lbs)
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 (89dB vs 88dB) - both want much the same power.
Headroom	A	Revel W990 takes more power (200W vs 100W) - more in hand in a big room.
Price	B	Revel W263 is cheaper - $420 against $4,240, about 90% less; arguably a different class.

A Revel W990 B Revel W263
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 10.1x the price. That is a lot of money for a narrow margin on paper - Revel W263 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 $3,820 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.