Speakers dat don't get no love ... (1 Viewer)

[Jeff.bart]

So I walk into an undiscovered local audio shop the other day, and I hear these splendid 'entry' line speakers by France-based JM Labs. Now, as a general rule, I hate all things French except for their wine, their food and their women, but the Chorus line of speakers was quite impressive. Tight, fast, neutral, clear and .... warm (owing to a great pairing with the Nad T752, which prevents the coldness that some attribute to JM Lab, my researh later found.)

It got me thinking. I never heard much at all about JM Labs. And I wonder how many other undiscovered fine speakers and speaker makers are still out there (or ignored, as I initially and mistakenly did with Polk).

So how about it? What are some other speakers out that "dat don't get no love." Relatively speaking, of course.

 

[Jeff Ery]

Mirage....

 

[Khoa Tran]

JM lab is a pretty well known name....i don't know where you've been but that's all i hear about except paradigm....

 

[LanceJ]

Vandersteen (on my list of speaker upgrades):
http://vandersteen.com/
Infinity (not what you think. Price for these? "Starting at $10,000."):
http://infinitysystems.com/homeaudio...ry/prelude.asp
Stereophile's review:
http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?295
Dynaudio:
http://dynaudiousa.com
The best speaker in the world???:
http://dynaudiousa.com/products/evid...intro/menu.htm
KEF (super accurate speakers from the U.K. And I think the first to use the computer to help design speakers): http://kef.com/index2.html
Boston Acoustics (well, nobody ever mentions them!!! I'm a proud owner of these :
http://bostonacoustics.com/
Celestion (another fish-n-chips eatin' company . I had the priviledge to hear their awesome "SL6" back in the 80s. Amazing. And the aluminum honeycomb enclosure felt like a block of concrete):
http://celestion.com/
LJ

 

[Phil Keep]

I can honestly say a company called Audiofile really impressed me. The name definately isnt a selling point, I have rarely seen them in stores, and if they are, they sell for $1200 pair (830 LR), but on ebay these can be found new for $200-300 pair. If they made a center channel, I would keep them.

 

[Mark R O]

Soliloquy - elegant, refined
AAD - "C" series is IMHO one of the best values around.
"Q" series - All components are built by AAD. No parts catalog drivers, binding posts or x-overs. Cabinet build has no equal remotely close to their price/class.
Our next HT speaker choice, hands down. Def-Who?
SoundLab - For those with the room, the bank and the desire.
MBL- Ahh, who am I kidding. On the list with the Bentley Azure...
Monitor Audio - B&W, KEF, Paradigm, PSB, etc. shoppers should have a listen. Great example of how good it can be outside of the brand-hype mainstream.
Mirage - Agree with Jeff E.. Hard core R&D. Built to a standard that the mass-marketers long since abandoned or never had.
Revel - Haven't heard the newer, less costly series, but the Studio's are among the finest loudspeakers I've ever heard. If I could get away with it, the wife would be driving her car a few extra years and the kid would be attending community college...
PMC- Claim to have more film industry credits AND owners than any other speakers. Don't know, but the two models I've heard were astonishing. Very cool drivers and designs.
Genelec - Studio Monitors from Sweden. Power and majesty beyond any possible description. The top model is quad-amped,(600 watts to the tweeters!) and will generate a bowel evacuating 131 dB at 20Hz!!! For the real world, they make a 5.1 channel system that uses little 2-ways w/ 5 1/4" woofs and a loaded tweeter with performance that defies logic. Check out the web site.

 

[DaleR]

mission

 

[Brandon Blair]

I own a pair of JM Lab Electra 906's and an Electra 901 CC and have posted quite a bit on this forum about the JM Lab speaker lines. I used to have a pair of B&W Nautilus 805's and HTM-1 and sold them very shortly after I demoed the JM Lab speakers. This was by far the best upgrade/change I have ever made in my system. I had always liked my B&W's and thought that was as good as it got, boy was I wrong! JM Lab makes incredible speakers, and if you like their Chorus line you really ought to try to find a place to demo their Electra or Utopia lines. I promise you will be blown away.
Link Removed
-Brandon

 

[Scott Oliver]

There are a ton of speakers that don't get mentioned on this forum, so I won't try to list them.

But I can tell you the top 4 speaker manufacturers in France make great products that are very reasonalby priced considering their performance and import duties beng added on.

Jm Labs
Jm Reynaud
Cabasse
Triangle

 

[mike_decock]

Speakers dat don't get no love ...

BOSE!!!
Okay, I couldn't resist
-Mike...

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Phil Keep
I most sincerely hope you jest. "Audiofile" is a white van
scam speaker that is well known about. They are garbage in
every sense of the word. Poor materials, poor drivers and
in some cases they don't even have crossover networks.
As far as JM Labs (AKA Focal) they are one of the most
respected names in audio and they routinely get "much love"
here and everywhere else. It's just that they are out of
the price reach of most people.
Acoustic Research doesn't get much love and IMHO they should.
Everyone associates them with Recoton (whom they are owned
by) and they down talk the brand because of this. But in
the same token they boast NHT whom is also owned by Recoton.
AR's Hi Res and Phantom series are both top notch Mid-High
end audio and the AR1's have been choosen as Stereophile
Class B Products, Class A is typically reserved for the
pure audiosnobbery gear that starts at 15K a pair

 

[Jeff.bart]

Mark, I've been waiting to see some reviews on the AAD C line, but none so far and the nearest dealer is 2 hours away. Could you supply a brief description/comparison with other speakers. I am looking at the JM Lab chorus, Energy connoisseur c-7, Dahquist QX10 (My favorite, but spacing is tight); Totem Arro, PSB 4T-6T, Axiom floors, etc. I'd greatly appreciate it.

To Khoa, I don't see many US reviews of JM speakers, especially the lower-level lines. Most reviews I've found are British. Even here, I don't see much mention of JM at the prices I am looking at.

 

[Mike_Ch]

In terms of speaker brands that sell globally, I think Tannoy's presence in the USA is very much smaller than in regions like UK and Australia. Also, many many "small" brands that do not sell outside their local markets.
Cheers,
Mike

 

[Phil Keep]

Well, I was halfway joking..compare them to anything else you can get for $250/pair and they quite honestly blow them out of the water.

 

[Khoa Tran]

Heh, i don't read reviews i go down to my local jm dealer and listen to the Utopia Grande Setup..........*drool* sorry just seeing and listening to the jm labs is so much better.....

 

[Brett DiMichele]

I wouldn't mind a pair of Wilson Benesch Bishops

 

[Greg Kolinski]

I also go with Acoustic Research,I have a pair of TSW510's from the early 90's as my front channels,and I havent found anything that wasnt WAYYYYY out of my price range that sounds as good.

 

[Bill Law]

.

 

[Ron Alcasid]

Miller & Kreisel, they're better known in pro audio. I would love to own a set of S-150P's someday.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Aw heck no. $229 paradigm titans would rock them every which way. No possible way that white van speakers could even ATTEMPT to create sound any better than $5 computer speakers, no less even bose speakers at $200...