Clean and detail wrapped with a layer of warmth. Efficient and easy to drive.

Not much.

I did an extensive comparison between the Nautilus 805 and the Joseph. The Joseph RM7si signature won with better soundstage and resolution. A great pair of speakers, especially if you can find them on the used market. My system consists of Pioneer 525 DVD transport, Bel Canto DAC1, and Audio Research pre/power amp. It worked very well with Monarchy solid states power amp as well.

Similar Products Used:

Nautilus 805

Clarity, speed

A tad bright, analytical midrange

System context: VPI/SME turntable, Naim cdp, Naim 32-5/hicap/250 amplification. This review is of the Signature version, placed on very heavy 24" stands in a well damped room 17x13, firing the long way, roughly four feet from back wall and away from the sides.

The Josephs do so much right. Their resolution is tremendous, best in this price range that I've heard. They image, but more importantly they let you hear what each instrument is doing. They nail the sound of guitar and brass. Really fantastic on those instruments. The bass doesn't go ultra deep, but is very good for a box of this size, very quick, and very tuneful. A little on the warm side, though. The treble is very clean and sparkling. They have great snap on percussion and transients in general. And they really resolve musical detail, like the eddies of a sax, and the pitch of instruments. The delicacy portrayed gives a good measure of the URTHERE feeling.

On the downside, the treble is a bit bright. But it is clean. However, the upper midrange can be a bit hard. In particular, piano, while rendered with great detail and tune, is too hard sounding. There are a couple of piano notes that jump out, which must be due to a resonance of some sort. And voices lack the breath of life that you hear in Pro Ac, for instance, sounding instead a bit thin and nasal. Perhaps tubes, or rich sounding solid state like Exposure (which I think would make a great combo) would cure this entirely. Well you can't have everything.

The cabinets are good, but not as good as the other brands mentioned above, and the veneer is not very durable.

Overall, these are very fun to listen to, and offer a very open window on the music for the price. But not perfect. If I find the perfect speaker in this or any price range, I'll let you know.

Similar Products Used:

B&W Matrix 805, CDM1, Thiel CS 3.5, Spendor S100

Have had the Joseph Audio RM7si Signature's for about a month now. Now I'm not an audiophile by any stretch of the imagination, but these speakers, my first venture into hi-fi land, are worth every penny. They were a little more than I wanted to spend, but I'm glad now I went with them.
They just do a lot of things right by me--bright but not too bright, never harsh, great depth, great imaging, just the right amount of warmth. My two favorite musical instruments are acoustic guitar and acoustic piano--and they sound just wonderful with these speakers. Even some of my old CDs that sounded muddled before now sound better.

What pleases me greatly is how good these speakers sound even though they are in a less than ideal location--on the bottom left and right cabinet shelves of a home entertainment unit. They're bookshelf speakers that actually sound good on a shelf.

My application is about 60% music, 40% home theatre. The RM7si's are helping me rediscover my old CD collection and getting back into music like I haven't been for years.

In summary, it is a pleasure to own these speakers. Definitely worth considering and auditioning.

Joseph Audio RM7si Signature loudspeaker
Two-way bass reflex monitors. 6.5" aluminum cone bass/mid, 1" silk/textile dome tweeter. Infinite slope™ crossover at 2.1 kHz. 86 dB sensitivity (2.83V @ 1 meter) 8 Ohm nominal, 7 Ohm minimum impedance. Frequency Response 42 Hz - 20 kHz, + or - 2 dB. 150 W maximum recommended power. 15H x 9W x 12D, 27 lb. each. Various wood veneer finishes available. From $1699.00 depending on exterior finish.

I had been searching for a smaller high performance monitor for some time. I had (and still have) a B&W DM602 - CC6 - DM302 setup in my HT outfit, but was looking for a system with more refinement, clarity and greater tonal accuracy for my audio/computer room setup. After an exhaustive search over 6 months, I found all of this and more once I was able to track down and bring home a pair of JosephAudio RM7si Signatures.

Originally I had planned to check out the regular RM7si (among some others on an ever-dwindling "short list"), but I hedged all bets and went toward the upscale signatures once I evaluated the potential benefits of the more exotic drivers in this model.

Upon opening the carton, I found the cabinets strong and quite dead (passes my knuckle rap test easily) along with being beautifully finished in real wood laminate on all sides. (Mine is in natural oak) They were packaged together in a serial number matched pair and were even labeled L/R. The binding posts are of a high quality design suitable for bi-wiring and are gold plated. Each unit is rated to handle 150 Watts RMS. Since I am not excessively heavy on the volume control, my high powered Adcom amp would be fine in my circumstance.

I tried them out Blu-Tacked onto 24" sand filled and floor spiked Sound Organization stands in both the audio room and with the current HT setup. Components used included a Carver CT-24 preamp, Adcom GFA-555 amplifier, Marantz CD-67 CDP, and NAD 533 TT with Grado Prestige Silver cartridge using custom Co-Netic shielding on the plinth. Because this nominally 8 ohm speaker is reported to exhibit a minimum impedance of about 7 ohms, I felt quite comfortable in also trying them out on the Yamaha RX-V992 A/V receiver, as well as an older Yamaha AX-500U integrated amp, and obtained quite excellent results there as well.

It is certainly unfair to compare the $550.00 DM602's in my A/V setup to this model, so I will try not. However, the RM7si Signatures were exactly the enhanced reproducers I was hoping to find, albeit at a slightly higher cash outlay than I was initially budgeting for. Quality, design, and performance justified my purchase decision though, IMO. I first tried them 6.5 feet apart facing straight out, a couple feet out from the back wall and well away from the sides, then angled in at the listening area. I finally settled on just the smallest amount of symmetrical toe in. The wide and deep soundstage was the first item to grab me, quickly followed by a smooth and dynamically detailed presentation. The opening track of Jennifer Warnes 'The Hunter' invitingly spread out beyond the location of the monitors with a depth and smoothness I had yet to experience. I then played the beginning track of Acoustic Alchemy "Reference Point' with anticipation. Everything just felt immediately balanced and very well articulated, without any sense of dryness. It was hard to listen for any sound to report on because they so easily drew me into the musical performance with their natural dynamics, speed, timbre, and ease. I still have this difficulty, and it is a wonderful experience.

The very bottom octave? Well, it just is not present. Of course, in a system of this size, I was not expecting it either. The RM7 system does respond flat in my room to around 40 Hz with some useful output down into the mid 30 Hz range. This is fairly outstanding extension for a box of this size, and the RM7's achieve this without any mid or upper bass boom or muddying of the precious midrange. The tweeter is of high resolution without harshness, excessive prominence, or tendencies toward annoying edginess or sibilance. Brass sounds, such as those in 'Parkers Mood' (Hargrove, McBride, Scott trio), were rendered with a bite and realism that placed me into the session with them. Imaging and space were presented with a precision that mini-monitors are often noted for. The sweet spot is a forgiving area rather than a rigorously defined location. While no speaker is perfect, the RM7si Signature does so many things right throughout it's whole band, for me, any small flaws are easily overlooked and seem inconsequential.

While the speaker terminals permit it, bi-wiring these units offered no improvement to these ears. It appears the infinite slope crossover really seems to allow this system to sing, even should you decide to roam about the listening area from time to time. From Joe Sample and Diana Krall to Pink Floyd and the Cranberries, this speaker system performs well by me.

My main quibbles are the somewhat low sensitivity and that I now wish I had another pair (with a Synergy center channel) for use in the HT, and that I have not yet listened to the 'other' remaining speaker on the aforementioned short list, the ACI Sapphire III. I am also still struggling with the correct placement and orientation of the m&m's. ;-)

These speakers are hard to find, but even harder to let go. They definitely stay.

I was lucky to find a used pair of Joseph Audio RM7-si (non-signature)(returns from the Far East). I agree with the raves by everyone: natural, wonderful with female vocals. Yet, I don't get the "holographic" vocalist presence with these that a friend does with Vanderstein 2C's. Perhaps I would with more power. Entire system is Arcam Alpha 7 int. amp, Marantz CC-65 CD changer, decent mass market turntable. Interconnects are Soundstage silver signal home brews, cables are Audioquest F-16 with separate positive and negative runs. Nice thing about this system is that for $1300 I have good sound, and can upgrade by adding a power amp to the Arcam and a better front-end source, with the RM7-si speakers being able to stay in the system through other upgrades.

Having lived with both the signature and the non-signature version of these for a while (upgraded in Dec.), I want to say first of all that these are two radically different speakers. As a number of reviewers have mentioned, the signatures are a little bright, definately brighter than the non-sigs. They also seem to be more sensitive to placement and perhaps anchorage. I just ditched the 24" stands (25" with spikes) I had in favor of much-more-solid 18" stands, and the sound warmed up tremendously. Just a much better balance between the low end and the high end. I don't know if this is because they're closer to the floor, more firmly anchored, or what. (Also I have quite low ceilings with lots of corners, so maybe moving the tweeter down is cutting down on reflected sound. Who knows?) Now I'm deeply satisfied again, as I always was with the non-sigs - beautiful rich sound through the whole spectrum, great soundstage and imaging (esp. with the sigs - have made me appreciate vinyl in a whole new light). Best bass I ever heard in a bookshelf speaker, too.
Also, the above comments on height shouldn't imply that these are incredibly fussy speakers. There's no tight little sweets spot - the sound great no matter where you are in the room. (Is there a name for that quality?)

I have owned the RM-7si Signature for just over 6 months. I am liking them more now than when I was auditioning them. They really image well and they also give suprisingly good and deep bass for their size.
For those who think they are a bit bright, try to pair them with tubes. I have tried them with a C-J integrated. The balance is just right.

Okay, here's a speaker I had high hopes for, but was underwhelmed. It sounded very nice and warm and certainly didn't have any major flaws. A friend bought them and we compared them to $600/pr NHT 1.5s. He felt they were just enough better that he wouldn't return them. I preferred the imaging and detail of the 1.5s and the way they blended with his subwoofer. But it was a matter of taste. I'd give them a 3, because, while I wouldn't buy them, I certainly would'nt kick them out of my system, either. I suspect their value is better if no sub is involved.

I just got a pair of Joseph Audio Speakers. The sound quality is unbelievable. It was if I had just bought all new CDs. The treble,
midrange, are clear and the bass is excellent all through a wide
range of volumes. I played one of my favorite Clark Terry CDs and
for the first time I could actually hear the bass players fingers
moving over the strings.

I have had my Joseph Audio RM7si's for 6 months and can say with all confidence that the choice of cables with these speakers is more important than any other speaker I've listened to.
I replaced my older Kimber cables with Cardas Golden Cross and the difference after about 2 weeks burn in is so astounding I thought I'd changed the speakers. The Golden Cross is by far the best match for these speakers (better than Transparent by a long shot) and the sonics are far more musical. Don't bi-wire these babies, it seems to be of no benefit, and it may even make the bass too boomy. Isolate them and they get so good you can't stand it (My stans are on spikes sitting on granite slabs and the speakers set on tip-toes atop the stands with 35 lb. granite blocks weighting the speakers, you wouldn't believe the improvement).

My only thoughts are, (1) the speakers are very well suited to tube amps, but the use of Russian tubes in your amp is probably a big mistake. These speakers like power and the russian valves cannot put out the way NOS American and British tubes can for any sane period of time before they begin to degrade (Sovteks and Svetlanas start to go in a a couple months, Golden Dragons are even worse); (2) there is a bit of midrange bloom in the RM7si, but only enough to help most recordings (especially CD's), be prepared to put a slightly higher gain tube in your pre-amp to eliminate it if this is an issue.

Overall I rate the RM7si very highly for a speaker of this size, I can't think of a single other speaker I would buy for less than $4,000.00, if you're thinking of spending a little less, think again, you won't be sorry.