Troels Gravesen Revelator 851s by ARKE Audio

crikey, you have been busy.

The 851 look very nice indeed. Loving the look of them.

Apologies for the lack of detail in this build thread!  Things have been quite manic lately - I've been building and delivering lots of speakers.  It's been hard work, but well worth it and the speakers have been delivering exceptionally good performance.   All ARKE speakers have been developed (based on Troels Gravesen designs) to suit a client's exact needs and tastes - these Revelator 851s were no exception!

The client had heard the Ekta MkIIs, however, after much thought and discussion we decided the 851s would better suit the client's room, music tastes and preference for the speaker's shape and size.  After various design consultations we developed the finished design and spec.  These 851s are now finished and delivered to the client.  They are very similar in finish to my own Vaders (CNO4s) - Caramel bamboo veneer and solid bamboo ply front baffle.  The speakers have a bespoke plinth with recess detailing for the upgraded CMC posts.  These speakers are PC CCC wired and have a bespoke tweeter attenuation tuning.









Bespoke plinths with binding post recesses:







These speakers were delivered and set up last week. They are not completely run in, but already sounded exceptionally good on the client's system. With careful positioning and setup they deliver an extremely broad and deep soundstage. Imaging is fantastic and they really did disappear on a good recording.  The 8" bass drivers deliver deep, fast and resolving bass.  The high-end midrange and tweeter deliver the refinement and realism usually only found in speakers cost many times more.

Cheers Andy! I was gonna invite you over for a listen to the Revelator 851s and Discovery 861s, however, time was simply too tight. They were only here for a few days, but I did sneak a fair few hours of listening in though! 😀

Beautiful work Jason, and yeah, they sounded excellent as always.

If you are in the market for speakers, I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't get an audition of Troels speakers. Proper kit.

Well done on your success so far. I am sure there is more to come!

Where are you based Mike?

Hi Mike, thanks for the kind words.

As Oli says, we compared the Ekta mk11s and Revelator 851s in Oli's system. I think it may have been the only side by side comparison to date! I don't think Troels has compared them in this way. I agree with Oli's comments - both speakers sounded fantastic, but the 851s definitely had more HF refinement and detail. The 851s bass was more effortless and (in Oli's room) had better controll and was deeper. I briefly measured both and the 851s go about 5Hz deeper at -3dB.

The Ektas are exceptional, but the 851s are definitely worth the extra cost IMO.

Let us know where you are based as it may be possible to hear either.

Edit: The (851) client and I chose the 851s based on their musical preferences and what would suit their room best. Their room had strong fundamental modes which I believe would excite the Ekta's bass more (around the port tuning). The 851s have a deeper port tuning and suited their room better. The client expressed a preference for a little more bass weight and 'slam' which the 851's 8" bass driver deliver in an extremely compact cabinet.