balanced sound with powered base, beautifull

AC power required, not a weakness but may limit placement

WOW! Stereophile is right! A terrific speaker with overall sound balanced to match the base amp. See the April/May'99 Stereophile for details. This is a terrific speaker but needs room to max. sound.

Neutrality, accuracy, quality of construction

Placement is critical to optimize coupling of passive bass radiators

I think these speakers are the end of a my audio upgrade journey. I bought these speakers to upgrade JBL L-112s which I had used for nearly 15 years, after upgrading all other components to top-of-the-line Adcom gear. Current system consists of:

Adcom GFP-565 preamp
Adcom GFA-5800 Power amp
Adcom GCD-700 CD player
Yamaha Tuner

The old JBLs were a bit heavy on the low end, but sounded exceptionally good with the improvements in other system components. I spent three years listening to possible upgrade speakers, including Thiels, B&Ws, and many others in the $3000-$5000 range. I found the Genesis 500s on AudioShopper.com web site, and auditioned them the next day. The Genesis 500s simply knocked me out. The sound stage is wide and deep, and brings all types of music to life. These speakers are unbelievably accurate and transparent when listening to traditional jazz groupings with piano, bass and drums. I am still tweaking the adjustments to optimize them to my listening room. At suggested retail, these speakers would have been out of my price range. I can't imagine ever replacing these speakers, especially at the price I paid. I've given them a Vaue Rating of 4 based on the suggested retail. If a pair of Genesis 500s can be found in the previously owned market place, I would assign them a value rating of 5+++. In terms of their sound, appearance, quality of construction, I'd give them rating of 6 or 7.

Similar Products Used:

JBL