Saw these speakers in a vintage audio store. Went home got on-line and read the reviews. Went back to the store and brought them for 1/2 price retail. I could not be happier. Just the sweetest mid-range with awesome clarity especially when listening to vinyl.

These are build for mid-range clarity. I will eventually buy a sub-woofer.

Hello there in-case there is any one looking at these after there 10years old these are one of the best bang for the dollar for mid size book shelf speaker ive used them for small tube system for first 4 years loved them then they have bin my rears for HT system for 5/6 years now well i had just sold my fronts so till i get my new fronts i put these in the front now i will start they still sound good ten years later and sound good even with them runing on a higher leval front system Classe ssp600 , p70/d70 source, and set of Bryston 28bsst'd all on Shunyata cables , now for a speaker that you can buy for 200/300 used with stands it still proforms with no shame at that price point or its origanal retail and always has bin a great back up speaker for me

Speed, detail, coherance

none

I have the new model 706s which look much better and sound fantastic. They are one of the most neutral speakers I have heard. The top to bottom coherance is very smooth with excellent detail. I use these in my master bedroom and are driven by a Carver M400 cube directly fed from a sony 5Es cd play with no pre amp. In my main room I have Chorus 725 as my mains and when compared to the 706s the later leave them behind in all areas except bass extension and ultimate loudness. The 706s disappear in the listening room and you don't hear the loudspeakers just the music. When hooked up to my Velodyne FR1800II and crossed over at 80hertz they blow you away even in a large room. They have suprised me enormasly with their detail and transient responce. It is very hard to critisize the treble, mids or bass as they blend together seamlessly. Very good resolution even at low volumes.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, EV SENTRY 100 AND 500, JM-LAB 725 DYAUDIO, JBL, PARADIGM, AE, MISSION

Nicely detailed yet smooth & sweet, with no harsh treble. And just enough bass extension that a sub isn't an absolute must, though a good sub (like my Rel Strata III in my main system) can make a nice improvement. They're also quite attractive (in Calvados, e.g.).

At this price, NONE, really. If you can pay at least twice the price, you'll be rewarded with much better bass, perhaps real wood veneer, etc...

Perhaps the best standmount speaker you can buy in its (under $500/pair) price class! I usually prefer floorstanders, but these were purchased for my bedroom system where size & (adjustable via stands) height is more important than bass extension. No regrets. Noticeably better than JMLab 705 and PSB Image 1B & 2B, IMHO. In order to judge their potential, I temporarily compared them to my Thiel CS1.6's in my main living room system; while the 5X-the-price Thiels were clearly superior (as you would hope/expect), the baby JM sounded surprisingly good when paired with superior electronics. In fact, after hearing how good they *could* sound, I now have to buy a better source component for my bedroom! The JMLab's will survive some upgrades of your other components :) You'd have to spend more than twice as much on speakers (Magnepan MGMC1, paired with a small sub, e.g.) to get significantly better sound, IMHO. They are sweet & detailed, yet lack any trace of fatigueing treble that some competitors suffer in their attempt to be as detailed. Even better than PSB's acclaimed Image series, e.g., which sound just a little harsh by comparison. (They're also even more attractive looking than most comparably priced speakers, incl. PSB.) There's also just enough bass extension that a sub isn't a must (though it could help); and what bass there is is relatively taught and controlled, not boomy like many small speakers.

Similar Products Used:

PSB Image 1B, 2B; JMLab Chorus 705; Thiel CS1.6; Def Tech Studio 350; Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo 1 (not bad!); Totem Dreamcatcher (great for the size); B&W (no contest); Paradigm; Klipsch; Athena Tech;

Finish, design (Calvados looks pretty), neutral sound, comfortable listening, non-fatiguing, good resolution

- Don't sound as spectacular as other speakers do. Don't be mislead by the first 20 minutes you listen to them in the shop!!! - The bass reflex tunnel glued to the wooden housing has gone loose on one of my 706's, seems they have used the wrong type of glue - nothing tragic however.

This is for the Studio guys of us: Hours of listening to Jazz/New Age Piano/Rock/Pop made the JM 706 being my favourite over the B&W DM601 which sound rather aggressive after listening for more than an hour, especially when you're sitting closer than 2m in front of'em. The JM's are less "crisp" in the mid-highs than a good studio monitor (JBL 4408, Genelec >=1030A etc.) but even though reveal every detail that's in the music. And they're less fatiguing IMHO. A good recommendation especially for near(er) field monitoring or simply as a good pair of bookshelf speakers. For the size, you get more than enough bass also, even though they're certainly not built for that purpose ;-)

Similar Products Used:

JBL 4408 Studio Monitor, Tannoy Reveal, ACR Isostatic 200, Fostex FE103 Sigma in BR housings

*Sweet Mids *Detailed Highs *Suitable for most types of music

Long break-in Lower Bass extension no bi-wiring

Didn't appreciate the 706's sound at first because it sounded thin and harsh. However, after almost two months of breakin these speakers will perform to no dissatisfaction. I auditioned the 705's and love them, and purchased the 706's so to handle heaver type music. I do however think the 705's played better vocals. Who knows, they had better equipment in the showroom. I don't believe there is better in this price category.

Depth, price, dealer service

I shopped everything in this class from B&W to Linn to Paradigm, and nothing came close to the level of performance that these speakers come to. I would, and do, recommend these to anyone looking for a bargain speaker.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 600series 3, Paradigm Monitor series

Great midrange and highs. Good bass extention for their size Fantastic powerhandling ! Great looks and finish.

To cheap...does not give you the same feeling as much more expensive speakers even if they sound just as good.

I use them as rear speakers in a very powerful surround setup, where I play both movies, DVD Audio and SACD surround music, 5 channel stereo and DTS music DVDs. I can actually set them as "large" speakers in the setup meny and play as loud as my ears can take, and they can handle it with no trouble at all !! And they sound really great too !! The test in Stereophile says it all.

Similar Products Used:

Sonus Faber Conserto Home

Incredible sound reproduction

None, to my ears

These speakers are an absolute steal!! For $400.00, the bulid quality is impecable. The chose the cherry finish. Its actually a vinyl finish, but very good quality and look. Everything fits seamlessly at all corners. The sound reproduction of music is just stunning for a speaker of this size and price. Its the PERFECT choice of a mid size living room in a condo or and apartment. Its has plenty of base too! These speakers are especially great on acoustical, folk and vocals. Try listening to James Taylor Greatest Hits 2 and you will fall in love with these babies! I HIGHLY recommend these JM Lab speakers to anyone with good common sense about enjoying music

Similar Products Used:

JBL Music One speakers

Good and convincingly natural sound. Accurate high/mid range. Fair bass for their size (with an appropriate amplifier).

May need good?/appropriate? amplifier.

I have never enjoyed the idea of bookshelf speakers, however I wanted speakers for my bedroom and in this case the space really was a problem... I acquired these without much thinling/auditioning, since I was quite happy with JMLab Tantal 520 floorstanders I already had been using for some time. However, initially they turned out not to be a big success - the midrange sometimes seemed to be more accurate compared to Tantals, however the bass was practically missing and as a result a lot of recording were hardly listenable. When a half year later I changed the amplifier from Marantz PM-68 to Arcam Alpha 10 I was very pleasanty surprised - the bass appeared and the sound improved dramatically (compared to slight improvement in sound for Tantals)! Now they sound quite impressive, excelling Tantals in precision and having more detailed soundstage (although I would like to call it somewhat "flat" - but I am not sure whether I mean the same as I have seen in other reviews). The bass is sufficient to make most of the recording enjoyable, though apparently they still have some size dictated limitations and I am starting to consider the idea to complment them with a subwoofer. Currently they are the speakers of preferance (vs Tantals floorstanders) for approximately 1/3 of my recordings - especially piano music and, probably, female vocals. Equipment used: Arcam Alpha 10 amplifier Yamaha CDC-775 CD playe

Similar Products Used:

JmLab Tantal 520