Build, looks, sound

Lack of precise bass - a sub would do the trick

A fantastic pair of speakers that look the part. However I have found that you do need to have relatively good equipment to drive them to their best. People say that your equipment should all be in the same price range. For these I thinl a slightly better amp/CD player is needed to get them going. BUt when you do, they sound extremnely detailed. I would recommend the use of a sub such as the B&W ASW1000 to make the bass a bit more taught, but for smaller rooms the speaker can fill it with pleasing amounts of bass. For 200 pounds it is hard to find any better.

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM302, JBL L20T

Beautiful sound

Midrange seems weak on occasion

I really **love** these speakers. I think the salesman knew he had me when I walked out of the audition room with a silly grin on my face....
I mostly listen to (and auditioned these speakers with) jazz, and I think they're the best-sounding speakers for this sort of music I've encountered on a regular basis. Their sound is detailed without being harsh; it feels balanced just right for jazz. They're undoubtedly the best speakers I've heard that could fit (with a bit of wriggling) into a university student's budget. Each time I listen to them I get that gee-whiz reaction that you really ought to get from listening to music.
That said, they sometimes seem a bit limited in the midrange when dealing with rock and pop. I suspect that this has to do with the decent-but-lowrange equipment making up the rest of my setup; I subscribe to the "stretch your system with your speakers rather than have superior equipment feeding mediocre speakers" school of thought on this (made necessary by the aforementioned student budget).
I've also noticed that, given a proper stereo setup (again not always possible in a university setting) these speakers do a wonderful job of creating a soundstage _and_ of filling a space/room (good for parties-don't tell mom though).
Overall wonderful speakers; the move from my previous Klipsch pair was probably the most dramatic increase in sound quality I'll be able to afford in a long time. My final thought? Listen to Miles on these and you'll have the same reaction I did... ::joyous grin::

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Klipsh KG 1.5

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This a follow up to my earlier review, I have now had these speakers for almost one year:

Magnificent speaker at a great price - My highest recommendation if you are on a budget (or even if you aren't). Time has only made me appreciate them more.

Note: pair them with a sub-woofer. I recommend the B&W ASW1000.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 302, JBL

Clarity, Musicality, build quality.

Base (Boomy - see below)

This is actually a very good product for most people, but I have to place my speakers against the wall and that causes the base to become unbearable. Wish I could have found a way fix it.

Similar Products Used:

Linn Index +

Midrange, clarity, looks (without grills of course)

Bass, Bass, and a little 'bright' at the higher treble end.

Having purchased these in the UK just over a year ago I have been pleased to a certain degree but not completely. The speakers, although 'opening-up' the soundstage, lack any strength of bass to match and so is 'missing' something I reckon! The bass they provide is ok I imagine for the driver dimensions but not enough for my liking.

I am using bi-wire cable and NAD C520 Cd and NAD C340 Amp which are fine. The speakers are on Atacama Nexus 5 stands which I am to fill with some weighting material to improve the bass but feel that a Sub-Woofer is needed to really do the trick!

Extremely clear and natural sound, good range except low bass

Low frequency bass

These speakers are lovely!!! So cheap and yet they present very modern speaker techniques! They sound a little annoying when just packed out from the box, but after a couple of hours medium volume musik playing, these speakers really come alive!!!

They are great standalone if you listen to soft music like classic or jazz etc.. but if you like to punch it with the Dire Straits album and feel some nice bass tunes set you in motion, they are excellent to combine with a medium sized sub!! GREAT!!!! Wonderful sound!!!!

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Some different crap

Tone, Soundstaging, Bass, Midrange, Highs

Lowest octaves missing

I reviewed these previously and thought that since I had a chance to break/tweek these in it was worth an update.

First, I have read some negative reviews that completely goes against what I have heard from these speakers.
The only explanation I can come up with is that these speakers are sensitive to certain equipment.

Let me explain my impressions.
When I first heard these in the store, they were connected to Denon recievers. Overall, I was not pleased with what I heard (I'm a midrange kind of guy and was using Quad ESL63s prior to this). The bass was loose and not very strong and highs were somewhat gritty and irritating. However, there was a glimmer of balance and clarity in the midrange that caught my ear. I decided that I might be able to live with these (at low volume!) until I could afford better. So, I brought them home.

I hooked them up to my Levenson 331 using cheap zip cord. They sounded tonally better than in the store but zero soundstaging and had somewhat muddy sound. I ran to a local audio store and picked up some Esoteric ($20/60foot)wire. That improved the sound by quite alot, but there was much room for improvement, so I biwired the woofer and tweeter. Now, we were getting somewhere! To shorten this a bit, The best sound using Esoteric wire was when I had two pairs
going to the woofer and one going to the tweeter.

Now the sound was very clear but a little bright on top. Soundstaging was begining to form, the images had direction but were formless.

I removed the Esoteric wire from the tweeter and replaced it with AudioQuest Midnight cables. The sound became very muted. Why??? Anyhow, after much deliberation I thought to myself, ("The Esoteric's are too bright and the Audioquest are not bright enough. What would happen if I put them together?")
Well I did that, and wonders of wonders, it was a perfect match.

The result: Very deep soundstaging, plenty of air around the instruments/performers and tonally almost perfect. The bass is tight except maybe a little soft at the lower extreme. Also, these speakers will not dissapear completely.

Especially with the covers off, the image appears well above the speakers. What I enjoy most about these speakers is that the images have shape/definition/depth and space. Also, They are FAST! Speaker placement is also important to acheive this effect (not difficult).

I found myself thinking repeatily that If I could put them in a different box I could ask thousands of dollars for these.

What I find sad is that there are alot of good speakers out there that we never realize because the dealers don't take the time to tweek their systems in. That's not their fault. It takes too much time to do this.

Conclusion: Use the right equipment and tweek it and you will find yourself asking if that two or three thousand dollar speaker you were considering is a step up? For the money -- "**********" Ten stars.

For those that read Stereophile, I would put this speaker firmly in class B, restricted low end.

Now I go play some tunes.
Bye All!!!

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Many

Great sound, relatively compact size.

MSRP of $450

I bought these speakers from an individual a couple of months ago, as new. I was going the next day to buy them from a dealer for $400 when I found these in the marketplace section for $250! They didn't even have a fingerprint on them. Boy did I luck out!

Anyway, I am using them on D-Tech wallbrackets as rear surround speakers. They matchup very well with my 602/S2 fronts and LCR6 center. I have vaulted ceilings, so I mounted them about 6 feet up on the back wall, aimed at the center of my listening area slightly in front of my sweetspot. They image very well, and as they break in they are blending in better and better into my room. It really is difficult to pinpoint sound directly to one speaker while watching a movie. I really enjoyed watching Air Force One, there is a scene where the jumbo flies directly overhead. It started at the back of my room and went dead center over my head and into the Television set! I really don't see that type of precision positioning of sound effects possible with dipolar or bipolar speakers.

I would rate them a 5 for sound, but I think the MSRP is at least $50 to high, so value rates a 4.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 602/S2's

I had these speakers for more than a week and i am very impressed. I read all reviews and all i can say it's a very good investment. You would not believe the sound coming out from this so called bookshelf speaker from HT or just plain listening it will give good highs and lows. I have auditioned others speakers but B&W came out the best.
So if you are in the market for new speakers try them first
and you won't regret it.

Excellent clear tweeter and mid bass

none

Using them as rear surrounds with 603S2 mains and LCR6 center. Considered Polk and Paradigm but as systems and digital sound technology expand with increased sampling rates, full bandwidth surround sound and to have no limits in your investment AND to really appreciate the surround experience it is very important the speaker tweeter and mid bass match.
Best surround package at an affordable price.