Loudspeakers

Standmount? Or floorstander? It’s a question faced by many hi-fi enthusiasts. On one hand there’s the potential for a tight, clean sound from a smaller enclosure, albeit with the need for a stand to bring the speaker up to listening height and stabilise it. Meanwhile, the argument for floorstanding speaker designs involves the possibility of a bigger, more forceful presentation, often taking up no more floorspace than that smaller speaker on its stand. Then again, which design is more aesthetically pleasing is very much a matter of taste...

French company Revival Audio has either the best, or the worst, of both worlds. Yes, it makes conventionally sized standmount and floorstanding designs, but its flagship Atalante 7 Évo, selling for £9390 per pair in walnut [pictured] or ebony finishes, comes in the form of an 82cm-tall enclosure partnered with a metal stand adding 34cm to the height – all in a 45.6x48cm (wd) footprint. It gives the speaker a distinctly retro look, a style coming back into fashion alongside the various ‘heritage’ models recently appearing under the Mission [HFN Jun ’22] and Wharfedale brands, for example.

Seen and heard

Whatever the pros and cons, there’s no denying that the Atalante 7 Évo has an imposing presence in even the largest of listening rooms. Okay, not in the fashion of some of the larger and more outrageous high-end monster loudspeakers, but the four-square styling and sheer bulk does catch the eye, along with that nagging feeling that one has seen speakers looking just like this in photographs by audiophiles of a generation or so back.

The styling is the work of A+A Cooren Design Studio, a French/Japanese partnership said to ‘seek to integrate a fragrance of nature’ in the interiors and objects it designs. Clearly Revival Audio is quite excited by this tie-up, saying of the Atalante 7 Évo that its ‘sculpted lines and premium materials elevate it beyond just a speaker – it is an artful statement of sound and design’. On the other hand, those looking at the speaker and seeing a very large dark wood box on an oil-rig stand wouldn’t get any argument from me.

Large the front baffle may be, but it’s more than adequately filled with the complement of three drivers and a front-venting bass reflex port, not least since the bass driver here is a fairly huge 38cm/15in unit. Its cone uses what the company calls BSC (Basalt Sandwich Construction), with the lava-sourced stone as the light but inert filling in this rigid sandwich. The fully ventilated motor system uses a 75mm voice coil and oversized magnet, with 1cm of linear excursion, promising extended bass and dynamics.

Get your coat

The Atalante 7 Évo’s woofer is tuned by Revival’s Aerovex bass port, with waveguide shaping around its opening for smoother airflow, and an aluminium flange to strengthen and stabilise it. Both the 75mm midrange driver and the 28mm tweeter use RASC (Revival Audio Special Coating) soft domes treated to absorb internal resonances, the mid driver having dual suspension systems and the tweeter a second inner dome. Both drivers are fitted with their own rear chamber and ventilation to improve cooling and control unwanted rearward radiation.

The cabinet may look plain if beautifully finished, but Revival says it’s the result of extensive simulation and testing to optimise its structure, and uses enhanced internal bracing to suppress internal resonances. Decoupling spikes are used between the speaker and the stand, which itself is provided with adjustable spikes, sitting on isolation pads. Completing the speaker is an inset terminal panel at the base of the rear wall of the cabinet, with just a single set of combination terminals. As with all the company’s speakers, there’s no provision for bi-wiring or bi-amping.

Although Revival says the front port makes the speaker less sensitive to positioning, the manual still suggests they be kept far away from side and rear walls, and with a sight toe-in to firm up the stereo image [see PM's Lab Report].

Also, the speakers are handed, the mid driver and tweeter offset from the bass unit. Convention suggests keeping the upper drivers outermost when the speakers are <3m apart, and vice versa. But with speakers so large, and room sizes so variable, your preference is what counts. There’s no right or wrong way here so, even if the speaker and stand combination weighs upwards of 67kg, take the time to settle on the positioning you like most.

Massive attack

The 7 Évo isn’t the easiest of drives, but in the HFN listening room on the end of a meaty BAT REX 500 power amp [HFN Feb ’24] in a system fronted by the dCS Varèse network player/DAC [HFN Feb ’25], these speakers created a favourable impression with Sting’s 3.0 Live set [A&M, 48kHz/24-bit download]. Here the presentation was big and bold, with fine vocal definition and good punch in the hardworking rhythm section, combining Sting’s bass guitar with the drums of Chris Maas, the latter also treated to some serious sizzle in the cymbals.

There was plenty of live ambience despite the hefty bass, especially in the solo take on ‘Roxanne’, and the rather over-extended call and response section of ‘Englishman In New York’. But do note that ‘despite’, for if there’s one thing the 7 Évo loudspeakers aren’t, it’s bass-light or tight. The sheer weight on offer here, combined with a certain looseness in the lower frequencies, means these standmounts can become a tad over-excited even in a precisely calibrated room. Raising the volume from ‘background’ to ‘normal listening’ requires some caution and demands a home demonstration to confirm the speakers’ in situ behaviour.

Low tide

They’re also somewhat content-dependent, shining with simple, well-recorded music, such as the folky ‘Waves Away’ from Ye Banished Privateers’ ’Till The Sea Shall Give Up Her Dead [Napalm Records NPR1359DGS]. All the aspects of the sound were revealed here, but they were less at home with the full-blooded onslaught of Hawkwind’s latest set, There Is No Space For Us [Cherry Red CDBRED924], with its multilayered synths and driving rhythms.

Yes, space rock lives, but it’s hardly a happy place for these large and low-frequency-loving loudspeakers. Perhaps appropriately, the 7 Évos delivered tracks like ‘Changes (Burning Suns And Frozen Waste)’ as a solid wall of sound, with precious little space around all the elements in the mix.

Drama class

My favoured orchestral tester, Britten’s ‘Young Person’s Guide...’, here in the Simon Rattle/London Symphony Orchestra recording from LSO Live [LSO0830, DSD64], opens with a big, splashy sound, with the brass more about weight than character. Through the Revival speakers there was no shortage of impact and body, but it was all a bit ‘Technicolor’, with the open soundstage and subtler instrumental textures traded, at least in part, for an undeniable sense of drama.

Similarly, the overture opening the Royal Norwegian Opera recording of Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer [Decca 4870952, 96kHz/24-bit download] emphasised onslaught rather than the thrilling, menacing soundscape. Yes, there were credible instrumental timbres in there, but the bass dominated and lacked the clarity and control of the 7 Évo’s more refined midband dome, especially when the volume was increased to what one might hope would be exciting levels.

Switching tack completely to the extended mix of Kylie Minogue’s ‘Padam Padam’, from the Extension remixes album [BMG 44.1kHz/24-bit download], found the deep bass being certainly full, though her processed voice was at some risk of being swamped. Safer ground was reached with the faux nostalgia of Still Blooming, Jeff Goldblum’s latest album with his Mildred Snitzer Orchestra [Decca 7541773], but then this is pure lounge, right down to the Scarlett Johansson – yes, really – vocal on ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’. This recording isn’t going to push any system to its limits, let alone frighten any horses, but it clearly illustrated the potential of the 7 Évo’s transparent midrange.

Mind how you go

But then that’s the story with these speakers – played at modest levels they will appeal with a sound that oozes warmth, smoothness and intimacy, despite their size, but pushed and they can lose this civility. They will undoubtedly hold their sweet spot in some systems so, if the look appeals, try before you buy...

Hi-Fi News Verdict

When they’re good, they impress, but the Revival Audio Atalante 7 Évo speakers demand great care over selection of music and volume level. Yes, they deliver on the promise of massive bass, but there are more conventional floorstanding designs that do as much, and in a more ‘room-friendly’ manner. But that’s also the point, as the Atalante 7 Évo is clearly designed for audiophiles who admire a bold aesthetic!

Sound Quality: 81%