Revo SuperSystem All-in-One System Review

Super by name – super by nature?

by Ed Selley
Hi-Fi Review

9

Recommended
Revo SuperSystem All-in-One System Review
MSRP: £550.00

What is the Revo SuperSystem?

The Revo SuperSystem is the flagship of the Revo range which is focussed on compact single chassis devices that are intended to be used as standalone systems. What sets the Revo apart from many of its rivals is that is equipped with a specification that goes a long way to justifying the use the word 'Super' in the title. The SuperSystem is able to offer a range of functionality that should allow it to take on a number of roles in a household.

With Revo product, this is only half the story though. The company has a design aesthetic that is quite different to most rivals and has long taken different design decisions to the key competition. This was good as far as it went but was sometimes undone by the ability of the company to make such a product being a little adrift of their ambitions. On paper, the SuperSystem is an ideal device for 2016, offering as it does, a huge amount of functionality in a stylish container but can it make good on the promise and deliver all of this in the real world?

Specifications

Revo SuperSystem
The Revo belongs to a category of units that have existed for some years but have become increasingly big business over the last five or six. Traditionally, these systems were (and indeed many still are), CD based designs with a DAB/FM radio supporting it and a selection of outputs and inputs intended to allow a limited bit of system building to be attempted. The Revo doesn't completely dispense with this concept but it does revise it somewhat.

To this end, there is no CD mechanism. Revo hasn't used them in any product up until now so it isn't hugely surprising that the SuperSystem does without one. Instead, the Revo is a network capable device that is DLNA compliant and able to hunt out music over UPnP. The installation by Revo is able to replay files up to 24/48kHz in size in WAV, FLAC and various compressed formats. This does make the Revo a little limited compared to some rivals. The playback of high resolution material isn't that important- while the slightly more expensive Naim Mu-So Qb can play files up to 24/192kHz, it can only do so when wired in to a network (although it will play and downsample files when running wirelessly) but the limited file support is more of an issue. Quite a few people who have arrived at streaming from an Apple background will use ALAC as a format and not supporting it is not ideal.

What is rather better news though is that with the ability to stream files over nerwork, Revo has added internet radio support. I've long made my enthusiasm for the medium well know and in a device like this it makes perfect sense. Not only do you get the full selection of UK stations – for the most part in higher quality than you would via DAB – but you also get the ability to listen to thousands of other stations from around the world. Now, to be perfectly clear, most of these are terrible but there are enough gems on there to make it an extremely useful addition. If you are living abroad, the Revo is even more useful as it still allows for access to UK stations for a little bit of home comfort. Revo has backed this up with a conventional DAB/FM radio section if the concept of internet radio still unsettles you.

The other positive aspect of adding network support to the SuperSystem is that it also offers Spotify Connect. While there are qualitative arguments for the lossless services over Spotify, on a device like the SuperSystem it makes a huge degree of sense and is still pretty much unmatched in terms of the number and variety of devices that support it. Like a number of devices I've used over the last few years, the implementation on Connect on the Revo is slightly disjointed. You can press a button on the remote resplendent with the Spotify logo but (as is the case with everything else that uses the system), it won't actually do anything until you connect to the Revo via a Spotify capable device.
Revo SuperSystem
The wireless aspect of the SuperSystem is completed with Apt-X capable Bluetooth. This is a convenient way of ensuring that the SuperSystem will talk to a variety of devices that it would otherwise struggle to do. Like the lack of ALAC support, a number of users might make the perfectly reasonable argument that AirPlay would have been useful but given that iOS devices support Bluetooth as well, it gives the Revo the ability to cover all the bases and the implementation of Bluetooth on the SuperSystem is stable and well thought out.

As well as the internal features, the SuperSystem boasts a smattering of additional inputs – one optical and one RCA analogue. There is also a digital output and a wired LAN connection if you find yourself in a place with weak wireless. The chances are that these features won't see a huge amount of use but they give the scope to connect a TV or other external source to the SuperSystem and boost the functionality a little further.

Of more interest is how the Revo converts these signals to sound. The SuperSystem is built around a pair of 3 inch BMR drivers that fire forwards. BMR is an acronym for Balanced Mode Radiator and this is something that Revo has been working on for a little while. Technically, a BMR is two drivers in one. The front of it is a panel section that produces high frequency signals by passing an electrical current across the panel section exciting it to produce soundwaves. This is then augmented by mounting the panel on a conventional pistonic mount that allows it to produce far more bass than would be the case.

'Far more bass' is a relative term here because the SuperSystem still needs the assistance of a downward firing 4 inch conventional driver to produce a meaningful bass response. Power for this three driver arrangement comes from an 80w class D amplifier which is a logical choice for powering BMR drivers and keeps the cooling requirements for the amplifier down to a minimum as well as improving the power consumption as well.

Design

Revo SuperSystem
As a brand, Revo has championed a design aesthetic that is different from both their existing rivals and indeed many other brands in the industry. Revo products manage to be at once quite retro and timeless. There are shades of Braun in the design language and the use of buttons for functions rather than burying everything in menus is quite unusual and while it makes a degree of sense, there are some downsides in the interface.

For the most part, the Revo is controlled by a jog dial next to the display and this is completely self explanatory. The large swathes of buttons under the display then gives you direct access to a variety of functions – some self explanatory, some less obvious as to why they were chosen to be singled out in this way. Coupled with a slightly dark display – even on the brightest setting, the SuperSystem seems a little dim – and the effect isn't perfect.
Revo SuperSystem
It is cool though. The Revo doesn't subscribe to a 'me too' design ethos and it looks and feels like a product with its own distinct identity to it rather than something designed by committee to offend the smallest number of people. This is combined with decent built quality and reasonable quality materials used throughout. The Revo doesn't feel as solid as the Naim Mu-So Qb but it does have better connectivity which does go some way to levelling the score.

As a final bonus, the Revo has a reasonable app available for free for Android and iOS devices. Compared to some rival efforts it lacks a little slickness and smoothness but the stability is good and the SuperSystem is quick to respond to it. One gripe is that the app can't recognise high res files that the Revo can't play which will leave it sitting there doing nothing if you happen to select one.

How was the SuperSystem tested?

Setup of the Revo was entirely painless and it was placed on my wireless network inside of two minutes. Having done so, it was tested in a variety of locations with network audio, internet radio and streaming services like Spotify via the Connect function and Tidal via Bluetooth from a Motorola Moto X and LG/Google Nexus 5. Additionally testing of the internet and conventional radios was carried out using a selection of stations.

Performance with streamed audio

Revo SuperSystem
Having carried out the painless business of getting the SuperSystem online, the Revo manages to make effective use of its BMR drivers without many of the obvious drawbacks. First and most importantly, the frequency response of the Revo doesn't feel curtailed at either end. Treble is crisp and clean right up to the hearing threshold and this integrates nicely with the midrange –traditionally an area where BMRs have been strong.

This means that listening to the wonderful Sailor's guide to Earth by Sturgill Simpson, the Revo puts in a fine performance. Simpson's vocals are rich and clean and supporting instruments have a pleasing sense of weight and impact to them. The cover version of Nirvana's In Bloom is genuinely enjoyable rather than being 'good for a compact system.' Part of this seems to stem from the dispersion of the drivers. The SuperSystem can't completely hide the obvious fact that it is a single point source with forward firing speakers but it manages to sound wider and more expansive than you might reasonably expect.
At the other end of the frequency extreme, the Revo isn't quite so well sorted. There is no shortage of bass from the lower firing driver and the mounting system is sufficiently stout that there is no sense of it sounding flabby or uncontrolled but the integration between it and the BMRs isn't perfect. The changeover isn't perfect between the two and the tonality shifts very slightly as it does so. Unless you happen to be listening to music where something critical is happening at this crossover point, the effect is not too pronounced though and the Revo does a more convincing job than many rivals.

Another very strong area for the SuperSystem is that it sounds very consistent across material. If you listen to the lossless version of something and then straight back via Spotify, a few tracks show up some differences in scale and bass weight but nothing that you'd bet money on consistently telling the difference over. This means that pretty much regardless of what you choose to listen to, unless you let the bitrates drop a very long way, the Revo remains a capable listen.

Performance with Internet radio and DAB

Revo SuperSystem
The Internet radio section of the Revo's 'Undok' app isn't a world beater – it lacks the ability to search by bitrate and other niceties – but it is good enough to allow you to get accessing the world's radio stations and this allows the Revo to show that it is an excellent radio. Like with network and on demand media, unless you let the bitrate drop to extremely low levels, this is a fine performer. Dialogue is crisp, clear and easy to follow and if the encoding of the station is any good, the performance is genuinely listenable and indeed very easy to listen to for long periods. The only detractor besides the slightly uneven search facility is that the Revo can only store ten stations as presets.
This rather well sorted internet radio does tend to mean that the DAB section can seem a little pointless. It does absolutely nothing wrong, proving stable and able to find the stations I would expect in the area but it doesn't have anything like the variety of the internet radio option and even with DAB+ support it usually sounds no better than the internet option. I get the feeling Revo fits it out of a sense of obligation rather than a genuine belief in its virtue.
Revo SuperSystem
Another very strong area for the SuperSystem is that it sounds very consistent across material

Performance with Bluetooth

Getting the Revo paired and up and running with Bluetooth devices is quick and painless and once done so, the performance is extremely good. The SuperSystem proved free of dropouts and interference with all devices tested and the range is good enough to allow you to wander about with the paired device in your pocket. Streaming Radiohead's latest effort via Tidal manages to sound tonally rich and believable and there is little in the way of discernable difference between Bluetooth and conventional network streaming.

Conclusion

Pros

  • Extremely flexible feature set
  • Handsome looks and good build
  • Full bodied sound

Cons

  • No high res
  • App a little clunky
  • Display too dim

Revo SuperSystem All-in-One System Review

Putting the word 'Super' into the name of any product can be a bit of a risk but the Revo SuperSystem delivers enough in the way of facilities and ability to justify the name. This is a very flexible piece of equipment that has clearly been thought through carefully and the result is a very capable all-in-one system. Compared to Naim's Mu-So QB, the Revo can seem a little less slick and it can't match the Naim's sense of drive or bass response but equally, the Revo offers more facilities and features at a lower price in an attractive chassis. The SuperSystem isn't perfect but it's a seriously accomplished product that is well worth an audition if you are looking for a self contained system rather than a multiroom one.

Scores

Build Quality

.
.
8

Connectivity

.
.
8

Ease of Use

.
.
.
7

Sound Quality

.
.
8

Features

.
.
8

Value for Money

.
.
8

Verdict

.
.
8
8
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

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