Excellent speaker in the sub-$3000 range. I've heard them twice and wasvery impressed. Nice balance to the sound, good bass depth and resolution for
their price range. Very pleasant to listen to.

But can be tough to drive as their impedence can dip to around 2 ohms in
certain frequencies. So some amps might shut down if driven hard.

But if you've got a decent amp, then I strongly recommend giving these an audition. If you can find them - which isn't always easy.

I first heard these last year about this time. Bought a pair this Spring. I don't know of any speaker in or near the price range that plays as beautifully as these. When I first auditioned them I was guessing $4500-5000/pair. When the salesman told me, with a grin, $2200, I nearly fell out of my chair. Granted, they had about $20K in electronics and interconnects driving them, but after I took them home for a 5 day trial and found that my front end (B&K M200's and Luxman C35 tube pre, Transparent cables and inter's) made a great sound I couldn't believe what I'd stumbled upon. The most impressive may have been the wife factor - she was drawn into the room by what she was hearing and raved about how good the system sounded. 25 years of marriage and that had never happened before. If you don't try these and spend up to $5K on some other brand, you've made a mistake.

I recently auditioned the Revelation 3's in my home over a three day period. Without a doubt, Paul Hales has designed a giant killer. The sound is detailed and smooth with deep, accurate bass. I listened to lp's and cd's, and they all sounded as thought they were "remastered" with the Rev 3's. I have been visiting hi-end audio shops for many years and can't recall the last time I have heard so much for $2200 list. This is a hard price range to design and sell a speaker in. To obtain this level of performance is astonishing. Yes, I have heard speakers that disappear better or have more "air" in the top end, but for the most part these speakers were in the $4000 or more price range. The build quality is excellent. I recommend anyone considering speakers give these a listen. If you can't afford the Rev 3's, then by all means listen to the rev two's or the rev 1. By the way, I ordered a pair as soon as I brought the demo pair back to the store. The only point that may be of concern is the fact that you need a good amp to run these. My 100watt Belles amp was hot to the touch after the audition, but I believe its up to the task. Way recommened.

While in the process of upgrading from a good mid-fi system to high end, I had the opportunity to audition these speakers. Intent on Thiel in the beginning, these speakers blew my socks off. For $2200 you get high build quality, detail, deep bass extension and a huge soundstage. If you truly are looking for a big sound, give these a try. As for Hales as a company, I have a little story to tell. As I have no dealer in my area, I had to buy my speakers from a dealer 300 miles away. After unpacking and playing speakers, I noticed that they had been damaged in shipping. Sight unseen and with no hassle whatsoever, Hales shipped a replacement pair right to my office immediately. This is the mark of a class organization! My thanks to Audio Insight in Plano, TX and to Paul Hales for an excellent product.

Hales Rev 3 -- best speaker I have heard under 4500 (at which price I like the M-L ReQuest).
I liked these speakers a lot when driven by a Bryston 4B NRB, Melos SHA-Gold preamp, Micromega Stage 2 cd, Cardas Microtwin, and Kimber 16LPC.

Now I upgraded to Bryston 7B ST monoblocs, Tara Decade interconnects, and Tara MG2 speaker cables, and the speakers are unbelievable (same cd and preamp).

Many people questioned the audition of a 2K speaker with 15-40K of electronics, as has been the case when Hales takes the speakers on the road or when they are on display in many shops. In my case, there is a meager (kidding) 12K of equipment driving the speakers, and they are every bit up to the task. If you are dividing up your stereo buck between electronics and speakers, my experience suggests that you save money and buy the Rev 3's, and put the rest of the money further back in the line. The 7B ST's are true class A, the SHA-Gold is pretty damn close, the wire is top-notch, and the cd player (despite what people say about the build quality) is a great source -- and the Hales go toe-to-toe with all of it. Certainly a product that carries its weight in a price class one or two notches above the one it's in.

Smooth, transparent, even presentation throughout the audible range. Excellent value for the money.

Long break in period.

I have had these speakers for 6 months and they are now broken in. They provide a wonderful, even presentation up and down the frequency ranges including bass down to 23 hz; I have a subwoofer but I decided not to use it since the bass of the Rev 3's is so good that the sub did not add appreciably to the lower end so the sub is now left with my home theater system. I listened extensively to the B&W speakers above; the 805's are of course bass shy and the 804's did not have the smoothness or as good a range as the Rev 3's plus they were $1,300 more! I heartily recommend these speakers and would consider giving them a listen even if you are looking to spend considerably more than their $2195 list price.

Associated equipment: Plinius SA-100 mkIII
Plinius M16P
Rega Planet
Nakamichi BX-300
Very old Pioneer turntable
Vampire interconnects to Rega
Tributaries interconnects for Plinius
Tributaries SP-2 speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Studio 60's, B&W Nautilus 805's and 804's

My audio dealer recommended the Revelation 3's. I've had them for over a year and I recently purchased the Revelation 1's for my other system. In my opinion both models offer exceptional value for the dollar. Both models (but especially the 3's) needed to be broken in for a long time (50 hrs?) before they opened up and became more dynamic. After break-in the bass capability and accuracy of the 3's is unlike anything I have ever heard for a speaker of this size. They require a good quality amplifier. These speakers will certainly reveal the weakness in poor equipment or poor recordings. Many rock recordings will sound too "in your face" on these speakers because they reproduce poor studio recordings so accurately. Single or carefully recorded multiple micropone live recordings with natural room acoustics in the recording will best demonstrate the capabilities of this speaker. For example, Cowboy Junkies first two albums, Big Joe Maher's Mapleshade release, most of the Naim label realeases, etc. You'll feel like they're playing in your living room. I guess there might be comparable speakers in the $2500-5,000 price range but I am so happy with these that there's no reason for me to look.

Simply put, after auditioning a number of other speakers in comparable and higher price ranges (B&W, Thiel, Vandersteen, Soliloquy, Genesis), there was no comparison. The tonal neutrality is simply wonderful, and the bass is powerful, tight and (deeply) extended. The other products all sounded quite good (without the remarkable low-end), but they were twice the price...
Thank you, Paul Hales, for giving me the gift of music.

Listened to these speakers with a variety of equipment including a Classe CAP 80 and 150, Audio Research VT 100 mk II, D130, LS 15, and CD 2 with Transparent Cabling throughout. My extended listening sessions(2 consecutive days) proved to me that I would never own these speakers. My main problem was the lack of detail and transient information. For reference, the frequencies did not integrate nearly as well as any Thiel or Dunlavy speaker I've heard. Bass seems bloated and slow. Midrange was very closed in and treble was rather dull and lifeless. I was able to point out the weaknesses in all the frequencies precisely because they seemed to have an "all on" or "all off" quality to them. These speakers are very far from neutral as they retained all of these qualities regardless of the equipment feeding them. These speakers put me to sleep.

Until recently I hadn't heard of Hales Design Group. I first listened to the Revelation 3 and loved them. I then listened to the 3's and was blown-away. The 3's midrange is more articulate and is able to resolve more detail. The bass is harmonically richer and less loose than the Rev 2's. Where these speakers excel is in their soundstage, imaging, and timbre. They have great depth and image. Another aspect that sets the 3's apart is its coherency. The speaker sounds like one driver working in unison. It doesn't sound like your listening to a box with a woofer, midrange, and tweeter. However, as a whole the 3's blew them away. At $2200, I know of no loudspeaker in its price range that can match its performance. If this speaker was made a by a more well known company it would price in the $6-8K price range. Do yourself a favor and listen to them.