Focal JM Lab - always a winner?

[nightflier]

OK, I'm shopping around for some used foreign bookshelf speakers. Any opinions on how the FOCAL JM LAB 705s sound? I will be buying before first hearing, so they are all a gamble. I'm looking for warmth and detail for classical music.

[Florian]

Focal is pretty good, i have a SW700S subwoofer from them. Havent used it much at all but was pretty good when i had it hooked up. What price range are you looking for, i heard the mini utopia and it was pretty good.

-Flo

[nightflier]

Focal is pretty good, i have a SW700S subwoofer from them. Havent used it much at all but was pretty good when i had it hooked up. What price range are you looking for, i heard the mini utopia and it was pretty good. -Flo

I was outbid, so I didn't get them. They ended up selling for $201. I would have gone higher, but the size and 65W rating kind of made me thinik twice. Here's another couple of speakers I'm considering:

- PSB Image 1B (lacks bass?)
- Infinity IL10 (reviews are very positive)
- Dynaudio Gemini kit: two Esotec 15W75 woofers & Esotec D-260 tweeter (a kit?)
- Canton LE 102 (only 50-90W / 87dB?)
- Paradigm Mini Monitor v.2 (may be the best value here?)

I'm leaning towards the infinity's, but it's a rather smallish speaker. Maybe the Dynaudio kit is not that bad?

[Florian]

I would go for the Canton. They are a german company and the build and sound quality is very good for the price. Canton is widely known in europe but not so much in the US.

-Flo

[topspeed]

Canton makes a nice, smooth speaker that errs to the warm side. Excellent build quality too, at least on the examples I've heard. I could see people finding them a tad dark for classical, then again there's probably an equal amount of people that would find that more musical. To each their own.

Before I bought my VR1's, I compared them to the Focal 706's and found the Von Schweikerts to be more fun to listen to. I don't know if you're willing to stretch your budget, but you can find VR1's on audiogon for around $500 now and again. As you won't be auditioning before buying, check out the many review (professional and otherwise) and I think you'll be impressed.

If you're interested in kits, I'd strongly suggest you look into the AR.com kit by Ed Frias. Kexodusc thinks very highly of them, as do others. You can check them out at madisound.com

Hope this helps.

[RGA]

OK, I'm shopping around for some used foreign bookshelf speakers. Any opinions on how the FOCAL JM LAB 705s sound? I will be buying before first hearing, so they are all a gamble. I'm looking for warmth and detail for classical music.

Well it doesn't matter what people think because they're not using your gear or in your room or listening through your ears. Some will like them others won't. If you must buy unheard buy from a palce that will let you return them if you don;t like them -- even if you have to pay some shipping.

On the flip side whatever you get you won;t have to compare it to anything else so if it is pleasing enough for what you want them for you're set.

[dean_martin]

I'm looking for warmth and detail for classical music.

www.upscaleaudio.com has had a pair of new sealed Acoustic Energy Aegis Ones on its "used, demo and specials" page for a while now. There's no price listed but the last time I saw a price on these new it was $199. They were replaced by the Evo One a couple years ago.

I have a pair of these that have mated well with a 25wpc NAD stereo receiver, 50wpc NAD integrated amp and I now run them with a 100wpc Acurus power amp. For the Acurus I had to upgrade my rat shack speaker wires to DH Labs Silver Sonic T-14s - a very good bargain speaker cable.

I listen to some classical music though my collection is not that extensive. I find that they perform very well. They're not as detailed as some with the high frequencies, but they don't produce those ear-piercing highs with strings as some speakers do. They extend enough in the bass to produce a very balanced sound and I would characterize them as warm. They're very relaxing to listen to. The problem you'll encounter at this price point with classical music is unsatisfactory production of large dynamic swings -- from pianissimo to fortissimo. You'll need sufficient power to bring out the detail at low volume levels because if you turn it up to hear soft passages you'll be scrambling to turn it down when the brass, percussion, etc. come in blasting. For smaller ensembles such as string quartets these speakers perform very well - not as well as the best I've heard in my system, but the best was 3x the price. I have several large scale ballet productions on vinyl that include orchestra and chorus. The voices in Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe really set an eerie mood. On my cd version of Holst's The Planets I can crank up Mars to high volumes without any strain, break up or compression from the AE's. The strings in Vivaldi's Four Seasons fly all over the place. Night on Bald Mountain is ominous. Petrouchka is very palyful in an other-worldly way. The only classical piece in my collection that did not live up to my expectations is a vinyl version of Firebird Suite but I attribute that to the recording because the Petrouchka on the same album sounds excellent.

If you're interested, I'll look up some specs. I think I still have my manual and the sticker on the back may have some info.

[nightflier]

Upscaleaudio has had a pair of new sealed Acoustic Energy Aegis Ones on its "used, demo and specials" page for a while now. There's no price listed but the last time I saw a price on these new it was $199. They were replaced by the Evo One a couple years ago.

DM, I am intreagued. I like the idea of the speakers being able to play down to 50Hz +/- 3dB, even all the way down to 38Hz at lower dB. But I have heard very little about these speakers. Would they still outperform the Paradigm Minis or the Canton LE's I am also considering?


The problem you'll encounter at this price point with classical music is unsatisfactory production of large dynamic swings -- from pianissimo to fortissimo. You'll need sufficient power to bring out the detail at low volume levels because if you turn it up to hear soft passages you'll be scrambling to turn it down when the brass, percussion, etc. come in blasting.

I'm not sure I follow. You're saying that I would need sufficient power to bring out detail at low volumes? Take for example Mahler's 5th that I am listening to right now (lots of wide dynamic swings) on a pair of Polk RT600i's. I understand that the amp has to work hard to play the large shift but the speakers should just follow along. Are you suggesting that some speakers will emphasize certain low volume passages or taper the volume peak? Wouldn't that be unfaithful to the music?.


...The voices in Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe really set an eerie mood. ...The strings in Vivaldi's Four Seasons fly all over the place. Night on Bald Mountain is ominous. Petrouchka is very playful in an other-worldly way.

I presume you mean these are good attributes, not colored, right?


There's no price listed but the last time I saw a price on these new it was $199.... If you're interested, I'll look up some specs. I think I still have my manual and the sticker on the back may have some info.

For $200 I guess I can't go wrong with the Aegis. What did they cost new (3? years ago)?

[dean_martin]

DM, I am intreagued. I like the idea of the speakers being able to play down to 50Hz +/- 3dB, even all the way down to 38Hz at lower dB. But I have heard very little about these speakers. Would they still outperform the Paradigm Minis or the Canton LE's I am also considering?



I'm not sure I follow. You're saying that I would need sufficient power to bring out detail at low volumes? Take for example Mahler's 5th that I am listening to right now (lots of wide dynamic swings) on a pair of Polk RT600i's. I understand that the amp has to work hard to play the large shift but the speakers should just follow along. Are you suggesting that some speakers will emphasize certain low volume passages or taper the volume peak? Wouldn't that be unfaithful to the music?.



I presume you mean these are good attributes, not colored, right?



For $200 I guess I can't go wrong with the Aegis. What did they cost new (3? years ago)?

I can't comment on how the AEs would compare to the Cantons. I think I know enough about Paradigm's Monitor series to say that the AEs would probably be a little more laid back whereas the mini monitors would probably have a more forward presentation and perhaps would be fatiguing or would seem to be more detailed in the treble depending on your ears. However, if you think that you might be using these in a HT system at some point, the mini monitors would probably work better than the AEs.

My comments regarding power may have been too generalized. The AEs sounded wonderful with my old 25wpc stereo receiver at regular listening levels, but I wasn't hearing everything when I played them at low listening levels late at night. I tried them with my 50wpc NAD C340 integrated and I got more detail at late night listening levels. These speakers seemed to mate really well with the NAD integrated and a Cambridge Audio cd player.

With regard to my descriptions of certain classical pieces, I believe I was hearing/feeling what the composer/conducter/recording engineer intended.

The Aegis Ones were $300 when I first started looking for bookshelf speakers. I got mine at $250 just as the Evo One came out. I got mine at www.audiolab.com. The last time audiolab had them in stock, they were $199.

Below is a review from Stereophile. The reviewer is John Atkinson, the chief editor. Generally, Rob Reina reviews budget speakers. For Reina, every budget bookshelf speaker he reviews "sets a new benchmark" at that price. Atkinson is at the other extreme. Whether he acknowledges it or not, he's comparing everything to a reference system costing thousands of $$$. Nevertheless, I pretty much agree with his review. Although the faults he points out are noticeable on occasion, it's only when I crank it up with rock music which is rare for me. When I move up a price bracket or 2, I know I want a similar sound to the AEs, but I know where the improvements should be.

http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/239/index.html

[dean_martin]

I forgot to mention this. Buying "new, sealed", especially if you get the warranty, would give me more peace of mind than taking a chance on a used speaker (unheard & unseen) that may perform marginally better at the same price. If you get the pair from upscale audio, ask about the warranty.

[dgastonb3]

I would avoid www.audiolab.com. They have great inventory, but they are not dependable. They are great on the phone, but one of my items from them took 5 months to be delivered. The company did not return phone calls, reply to emails, etc. I had to go through the book keeper to find out if the item not sent was in inventory and have it sent out to me. All items took from 2 to 5 months to be delivered, but tyey were paid for immediately. To much hastle when there are other great places to buy audio.