a solid speaker, that sounds. I bought these used about 6 years ago (when they were about 9 years old) from my friend who is an audiophile for a $1000, great at a very reasonable price- I have heard speakers that cost more than $4500 than do not come close. When I eventually needed customer service after the speaker was $15years old and I needed a re-foaming for my midrange, the owner stewart himself called me back and took care of me. For people shopping for a new speaker system get a chance to listen to these there will be no choice. Newer models have improved materials and sound even better than what I already love.

Build Quality, drivers/crossovers, cabinet inertness, imaging, detail, etc.

Simple looks (similar to Vandersteen) may have lower WAF

The Chapman speakers are excellent! The T-7 has an amazing amount of bottom end for a speaker of its size. I am having a custom pair of T-77's made for me by Stuart Jones, the owner of Chapman Audio Systems. He has a genuine passion for good audio. Currently he's testing my Harmonic Technology Pro-9 cables to see how they sound, and can take that into consideration in the manufacture of the T-77's. Champman speakers are primo quality; the drivers are calibrated to +/- .5db; the crossover components are matched ; the Air core coil has +/- 1% tolerance, time aligned similar to Vandersteens (However, having owned Vandy 2CE's in two different systems, I much prefer the Chapman sound. I understand that Vandersteen also matches drivers, but I do not know to what point they match other components like caps and coils)... In the end, all this perfectionist work on the speakers yields a stunning result. I am guessing that anyone who has heard them will concur. I first heard the T-7 more than ten years ago, and I remembered its sound for more than a decade. Truly a work of art in electronics. The Eminent Technology LFT-8A's are wonderful planars, and the Chapman T-7's are wonderful box speakers. Both give the buyer WAY more than expected for the price point. I have really struggled with selling my last set of E.T.'s since they are so good. But, in order to pursue my quest for the absolute best imaging I can afford, I'm letting go of them. In a word, the E.T's are awesome at soundstage, and the T-7's are awesome at imaging. I used to say that if someone could combine the best qualities of the Vandersteen 2CE and the Magnepan 1.6 (both of which I've owned) it would make a great speaker. Well, personally in my systems, I feel that the ET-8 and the Chapman T-7 are clearly superior products to the aforementioned speakers. If someone could combine the best attributes of the ET and chapman, WOW! That would be a mind-blowing speaker for the price level! I am hoping that the T-77 approaches that goal.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan 1.6, Vandersteen 2CE, Eminent Technology LFT-8A

transparent
great mid range
very good base
good ability to disapear, for a large speaker

size could be an issue
WAF because of the above

I agree with Bob Bottman in his thinking. I have owned and have auditioned many speakers. The T7's have pretty much all I want in a speaker. They are 90DB effecient so it does not take a "killer" amp to drive them, the have a mid range that is as good or better than speakers that are double the price, IE Pro Acs' and Dunlavy's. Or at any price for that matter. The base response has been called "slow"; my thinking is that might be because of the electroncis used in driving them. If one wants a full range highly effecient, dynamic speaker, look no farther. And what other company would send out it's president to fix a minor flaw in the "sock" that covers and acts as its "skin". the president arrives tomorrow. Five stars from this guy. PS I use a Nait 3 to drive em.

dynamic range, strong bass, quality construction

slightly rough mid-range, treble, in absolute terms

My first true audiophile purchase, about ten or so years ago. Paid $500.00 from a private party. Deal of a lifetime. The T-7s have a strong, fairly quick bass (no subwoofer needed), and the mids and treble are good. None of it is truly world class, but not weak in any way. Like any good piece of gear, its sound reflects and changes in relation to the gear ahead of it. Now, with connie j and proceed electronics, the sound is punchy, taut in the bass, and transparent. Very listenable, an attractive sound. A good speaker for house and trance music. It is part of my bedroom sytem, and while not in the same league as my main system (connie j, audio research, theta, aerial) I have never been so well served, for so long, for so little spent. Last year a woofer gave up the ghost. I called Stu Jones and drove up to have him replace the woofers at his shop. Nice fellow, nice repair. The T-7 is out of production (Stu does custom work now, as I recall), but if you can find one, don't hestitate to buy it. Wonderful speaker.

Similar Products Used:

Snell C-IV, Aerial 10-T

Surprisingly good base, Scanspeak driver & titanium tweeter.
Well balanced

None

Spent almost a year looking and listening. Having enjoyed the Janszen electrostatics for over 20 years I wanted something lively but pretty tight. I tried the Chapman model T-7 system after reading the great reviews in Sensible Sound and Bound for Sound. I invited a group over to do a side by side comparison with $4500 Proacs and everyone agreed that there was no difference in the mids & uppers (the T-7s held their own easily with the Proacs but in the base there was no comparison. The Chapman T-7 killed the Proacs. Fuller, tighter, deeper. They go down to the mid 20's with only a 3db loss. Ditto with the Martin Logans (although in fairness to the latter I was only driving them with about 50 wpc and they need far more -this could have been part of the problem with the Proacs too - that is another thing that made the Chapman's such a good buy they are 90db efficient and can be used with smaller amps). The speakers are well crafted and use some of the best drivers and tweeters that were available in the mid 90's. They have a switch to tone down the treble if you prefer something less They use the finest crossover components available as well. I felt I couldn't get better sound for more double or triple the price when I purchased them and am still a happy camper. This isn't a $20,000 speaker by any means but it sure beats the competition and then some.

Similar Products Used:

Comparison with Proac at double the price, Janszen electrostatics (former speaker) & Martin Logans.

I've owned T-7s for about 5 years now and still enjoy music reproduced by them but have heard better speakers at roughly the same price. To call the T-7s a mature design is I guess accurate, but I feel they're a speaker that has not evolved or improved much in a decade. Still they are a speaker worth listening to at their price point and do nothing badly. You've probably guessed I'm ready for a change, but I'll audition carefully before moving on to a speaker I can rate 5 Stars without reservations. Just one opinion; nothing more, nothing less.

I spent a LOT of time auditioning speakers to replace the 25 year old Jensen's that had served me quite well. I was looking in the $2000 to $3000 price range for a decent floor standing, full range model. After listening to about 20 different brands, I was completely discouraged- nothing really sounded distinctively impressive. That is until I heard the Chapman model T-7 system. It's a relatively plain (elegant) looking, tall narrow three way system, with a 10" woofer in a dual port transmission line enclosure, with a 7" Scanspeak mid/bass driver and a 1" titanium dome tweeter. These systems are nothing short of FANTASTIC! Chapman is a small company, and each cabinet is hand crafted to insure sonic excellence. They use the finest crossover components available, and the attention to detail is evident in the incredible sound field presented by these speakers. VERY detailed, bass down to 28 hz at - 3dB, and a midrange to treble response that is as impressive as anything I've heard at ANY price point. These units sell for about $2800 a pair, and everyone who has heard them asks two questions: 1. What kind are they? and 2. Where can I get a pair?! Definitely worth checking out if you are in the market for a full-range floor standing speaker- these speakers are comparable,(and often better) than units priced 3 or 4 times as much.

I owned a pair of Chapman T-7's until personal circumstances forced their sale about two years ago. I found them to be everything Mr. Stumbris says they are in his review.
In fact, I was an audio reviewer myself for about 10 years, contributing to The $ensible Sound and Marty DeWulf's Bound For Sound newsletter. For the last two years of my reviewing career, I used the T-7's as my reference. I found no speakers at their price point to be better in any significant way.

The T-7's are built by Chapman Sound on Vashon Island in Washington State's Puget Sound. I've had the pleasure of meeting Stu Jones, the company's proprietor, on several occasions, and have also visited his manufacturing facility. Stu's life reflects what many people consider to be the American Dream -- he started building loudspeakers in his college days as a hobby, and his friends liked them so well he decided to go into business. He's built versions of the T-7 for over a decade, so it's a mature design. And one of the best American-made dynamic speakers available. Two thumbs way up from me.