soundstage.

midrange, lack of bass

The 815 lacks bass and needs a subwoofer to accomodate. Midrange flats and surrounding the sound. Highs roll off.

In my own opinion, 815s is not for music and is for home theater. The 820 is much more musical for $500 more. Planed
to purchase the 815s but disappointed. I am reconsidering the 810/820.

Similar Products Used:

Energy C-6, 820.

Driver Components, Ability to project a 3-D Soundstage

Boomy, Severe Midrange Coloration

I read David's review and had to state my opinion due to the fact that I disagree with some of the things he expressed. The Cobalt 810's are actually the best overall sounding model in the Cobalt Line. They use the same t-90 tweeter and crossover type throughout the Cobalt line so I find it surprising that the 810's are Bright and the 815's are not. Then going to say that drums are bright and musical with the 815's? The 815 uses two of the same 7" drivers opposed to the singe 7" in in the 810.

The 815's also only go 5hz lower than the 810's when properly set up.(40hz vs. 45hz +3db)I have had both speakers in my home and in order to get that 5hz difference you loose all midrange accuracy and tightness of bass. Yes, in various set ups I will agree it is a bigger sound yet colored as well. Even with different placement options I could not get these speakers to please me.

The Cobalt 820's are slightly better due to assigning a 4" midrange to correct the coloration of the 815's and bring things out but still don't get it right. They also only go down to 45hz but sound slightly cleaner than the 815. The 815 is not a bad speaker but the 810 is definitely superior when going for transparency, accuracy, and overall realism. Audition both but I had to state my opinion and experience.

Associated Equipment

YBA Integre / Audio Refinement Complete
Pioneer Elite PD-65 CDP
AudioTruth Diamond x 3
XLO Type 5 Speaker Wire

Similar Products Used:

Other Cobalt & Electra Models

Supreme musicality; very natural

possibly a heavy mid-range (too soon to tell)

I originally purchased the 810's, and they were certainly bright and forward with accurate and crisp (yet wonderfully musical) mids and highs. But like many people who posted reviews on the 810 page, I grew frustrated with the lack of bass. In particular, in many jazz recordings (even newly remastered versions), the horns were wonderful, the drums were great, but the bass was just lost. On live rock recordings, I found the speakers couldn't give me the fundamental lows. I found myself pumping up the bass tone control on my NAD 317 amp, which still didn't do the trick. I must admit, however, that the 810s were tight and accurate on rock and jazz recordings where the bass was pumped in the album mix (i.e. Levin on Sledghammer or LeFaro on Evans' Live at the Village Vanguard), and vocals were spectacular. By the way, I am also using a California Audio Lab DX-2, which I matched to the 810s because the 810s are very forward. The DX-2 lay musch of the music back a bit, which I found important for my NYC apartment which is a very bright and small space compared to, for example, a large carpeted living room in a house.

So I upgraded to the 815s, which is a world of difference. I get the same crisp highs with the bass that I craved. I guess size does matter. In addition, the mids are fuller and and warmer, which as I explain below, may be a bit of a mixed blessing. In the past week, I tried to find fault in the 815s, tirelessly putting them to the test, from Miles, Hubbard, Morgan, Brown, Coltrane, Mobley, Peterson, Mingus, Ellington to Lyle Lovett, Radiohead, SRV, Van Halen, Knopfler, Clapton, RUSH, James Taylor, Gabriel, early Phil Collins, Bowie, Police, Sting, Lisa Loeb, Sarah McClaughlin, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Guy Clark, Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, Dylan and Springsteen. Many of these albums were recently re-mastered, which are the versions that I used. I found the trumpet and other horns stunning - - much fuller than with the 810s. In particular, Hubbard (trumpet) on You're My Everything was bright but also full bodied. It is remarkably live in its presentation. Mobley (sax), too, was full yet bright. And the bass was all there. Of course, many old jazz recordings didn't mix the bass well, but these speakers picked up whatever was there and gave real natural balance to the music. The bass was wonderfully acoustic. Drums were great. Too appreciate the full panaply of bright yet accurate sounds that the 815s can give you, throw on Miles and Evans' remastered Sketches of Spain. Every instrument and, in particular, piece of percussion is alive with flavor. Miles' remastered Kind of Blue was also phenomenal (now that's tone!), as was the remastered Complete at the Plugged Nickle, which higlights great bass. McCoy Tyner's piano (The Real McCoy) was also wonderfully full (also listen to piano on Lovett's Joshua Judges Ruth).

Rock also shines on these speakers. Drums in partuclar sound VERY natural and alive. Collin's snare and toms (Hello I Must Be Going) are incredibly natural and bright with a full chest pumping bass drum. Copeland's high hat is well-defined yet not too bright on Red Rain and Regatta De Blanc or Synchronicity. Or check out the drums on James Taylor's Country Road on his live album - - everything from the ride cymbal to the toms is perfectly displayed. Also check out Costello's New Lace Sleeves (Trust)You would think that there is a drum set in the room! Female vocals simply shine - - Lisa Loeb and Sarah M. sounds like they're in the room. VH's guitar is full, and SRV's tone in there in all its glory. On that point, hard, distorted guitar (VH 1984) is fuller and more listenable on these compared to the 810s. Bright recordings (i.e. Radiohead the Bends) remain bright (as recorded), but more mellow and not harsh, which reduces listener fatigue on these types of recordings. Acoustic guitar is warm and really shines on Lyle's live recordings when perfectly placed among the live horns and rhythm section. Also check out Dylan's World Gone Wrong - - the tone is so natural that (for those who care) you can tell what brand of guitar he uses! ANd the soundstage is great. As others have mentioned, these can fill a room from side to side without loosing too much.

The only downside is male vocals to seem a little heavy at times (Lovett, Roger Waters, Sting, Costello, etc.) and the mid-bass is not as defined as I would have liked. The 810s were better in these respects, but of course, that's probably a function of a lighter overall feel due to the lack of low frequency capabilities. I didn't listen to the 820s (I don't have the cash for them) but I wonder if the extra speaker dedicated to the mid-range would help on this point. But we're really nitpicking here. Also, this is also a function of many of the recordings themselves. My dealer told me to make sure the cd player is on a separate shelf (so that the amp doesn't heat is up), which made a difference. Also, he tells me that they need to break in for 50-100 hours before the mids lay back a bit. I have heard that this is true elsewhere too. If this is true, then I will have no comp[laints. The point is that I can listen to these for hours on end and still marvel at how well the 815s perform throughout a wide range of music and timbres. Perhaps that is the most remarkable quality of these speakers - - I can go right from jazz to hard rock and they consistently give me natural accurate sound.

After listening to every other speaker I could fnd at anywhere near this price, I finally brought home a pair of these speakers and the CC-20 matching center channel.
Excellent sound stage, Broad, but with pinpoint imaging. On the other hand they have a very wide sweet spot. I don't know how they do it. Very natural, musical sounding. These speakers can shine with virtually any kind of music. Outstanding with female vocals, excellent with classic rock and simply superb with classical.

Finally the build quality and finish are first rate.

Very good soundstage, crystal clear highs

Lack of bass, flat mids

A very good product for classical and light rock music. However, after hearing the Cobalt 815 with my Moon I-5 integrated amp I was not so impressed with the bass spectre.

Highs were pretty good, mids were not so impressive and very
tasteless. Imaging was fantastic and filling the big room
(approx. 16'x20') with nice music.

But at this price and even lower than the 815's, you can easily find something better, like the Totem Staff that deliever a comparable sound at a better deal.

Similar Products Used:

NONE

I originally bought a pair of Cobalt 810s since the dealer were out of 815s. I came back to the same place 3 weeks later and found they had received the 815s and had both 810s and 815s available for listening and comparing. The 815s, of course, has an extra (but exact) 7-in driver dedicated for bass only. Although the freq response on the two model were not very far apart, the sound of a piano note was noticeably fuller and more satisfactory on the 815s. The perceived difference between the two on typical percussions and bass guitars wasn't as great a factor. Listening to Al Stewart and Elvis Costello, I noticed the 815s had a heavy feel (lack of airiness is what I'm trying to describe) on male vocals as compared to the 810s. The dealer speculated that the 815s only had a week or more break in time as compared to over a month for the 810s. Anyway, the 815s do sound better, that's the easy part. The extra $500 for them??? That's the tough part.I should mention this though. I did spend 15 minutes with the Electra 915s which costs $2K more than the Cobalt 815s. The soundroom I was in had an Audio Refinement CD player feeding into a Manley Stingray tube amp. In this setup, I really could not hear where the extra $2K went. From this angle, the 815s do make a great buy. Have fun guys.

Soundstage, natural sound, driver component, sufficient bass

nothing

I Listen Enegy, Jamo Classic and Concert Series, B&W 600 Series, Canton, Dali, Mirage, Monitour Audio, Elac, loudspeakers with various of combinations Onkyo, Denon, Rotel, NAD Ýntegrated amp. I have researched loudspeaker market for 1 and half month and decided and conceived that Cobalt 815 is the best one. Other loudspeakers which are in the similar price range in the market can't be as qualified as Cobalt 815. I can say It is excellent. I don't understand the critics, which I have seen in the magazines, about it. If you listen rock, jazz and blues I recommended it wholeheartedly.

Similar Products Used:

other cobalt

soundstage depth, solid clear bass, effortless highs, lifelike midrange

keep trying to find them

You can tell from the list of tryouts that I have been at this for awhile --- over 6 months actually. I have been able to hear in my living room the Cobalt 815's as well as the PSB's, the PMC's, and both Totems. I have only heard the 820's, Soliloquoy's (sp?), and the ProAc's in a store.

Reading over the reviews of the 815 makes me wonder how much they require the right equipment. Some reviews bring up coloration, but after 4 listens in the store and one at home, I don't know what these people are talking about. Male vocals are actually clearer on this speaker than ANY of the comparators here. I drive them with matching Audiolabs, bi-amped, and using a Rotel Cd player as a source.

I am very hard on speakers. I do not want ot buy something and then have my attention constantly drawn to weaknesses at specific points in music I want to listen to. So it means something when I give up and admit that these just about "do it all": amazing imaging, timing, depth, smoothness, the nicest bass in my living room I have heard --- notes, not boom, solid, not teeth-rattling, perfectly centred between speakers due to the front firing ports, the most unstrained speaker I have heard, incredible scale and impact when required, incredible delicacy when required. They sound as a good playing Sisters of Mercy or Metallica as they do Elgar or solo harp.

I am about to order these speakers. I found the 820's in the store a bit LESS clear in the midrange, which could be due to the fact they were less broken in. But also, the bass was better defined on the 815's. If you want to go strictly for articulation, listen to the PMC's. Otherwise, give these a careful listen through the right equipment (changing amps really makes a difference on these speakers).

Similar Products Used:

PSB Stratus Silver i, Cobalt 820, Totem Forest, Totem Staff, Soliloquoy 5.3, PMC FB1, ProAc Studio 125

Clear, crisp, excellent speakers for the $

No problems yet

Overall excellent speakers for the money. I auditioned the B&W 804, Sonus Faber, Martin Logans and considering my budget sound quality these fit right in. Have not heard the 820s. Does anyone know what the main difference is?

Similar Products Used:

Electra 920 - Out of range $$$