Superb for home theater and music as well.

Perhaps a bit weak on bass extension.

I purchased the 810's after auditioning a pretty vast array of very different speakers, including B&W's and Alon's. While each has a particular quality that grabs you, the 810's were so natural and balanced that they were hands down the winners -- particularly for home theater, where the brightness of the Alon's would have been deadly. The somewhat light bass is easily compensated for by my REL sub, and in any event is plenty for most types of listening, and probably truer than the overdone bass of many speakers. The things even match my furniture!

Highly recommend -- especially for versatility between home theater and music.

Many

None, period

I got these speakers almost 1/2 year ago. I did not post before since I wanted to get familiar with the setup and make sure that I have used the system long enough.

Quickly, these things can't be beat for the money and likely even if you spend double the amount I doubt you'll get better speaker.

Initially I was thinking that these ones are too expensive. How good can they be? In 10 seconds after hooking them up I realized how inexpensive they are.

My setup:
Cobalt 810 x4
Cobalt CC20 x1
Marantz SR7000 AV/REC
Bryston B60 INT amp
Technics A10 DVD Audio
Transparent Music Link interconnects
Audioquest spkr cable (bi-wired)

That is right, I ended up buying 2 pairs, and I never looked back.

I don't think that there is any point in me trying to describe how they sound, there is so many variables that it is mute point for the most part.

Extremly neutral and extended. A great balance from the highs to the lows. Great build quality. Very dynamic and smooth. The drivers are no doubt the best in the world.

The speaker only goes to 40hz. If you want more bass buy a bigger speaker. Don't miss the magic of the 810's unless it is The JM Lab Electra 915 or JM Lab Utopia. You pay for what you get. For the price these speakers offer 98% of the performance of their bigger brothers. Add a sub (JM Lab or Vandersteen 2WQ) and your system will rule.

Current System: JM Lab Cobalt 810's
Audio Refinement Complete Amp
Rega Planet CD Player
Chang Lightspeed Line Conditioner
Straight Wire Cresendo Interconnect
Straight Wire Octave II Speaker Cable

I have owned the 810's for about a month. They are hands down the best speakers I have owned. They sounded a little muddy in the bass for about the first week. That subsided now there is excellent bass definition. Drum symbols were not that present at first. The 810's are still opening up with excellent detail begining to emerge by the second week. Now into week five and the 810's are really singing. Exellent top to bottom coherence. They flat out reproduce music in a very engaging manner. The music sounds live and performers come to life. Sink into the chair and hang on for a great listening session.

If you like any kind of music these are the speakers. Jazz, rock, R&B, vocals are all handled without a hitch. Horns, guitar, piano, strings are all fleshed out with no compression or stridency. The midrange is where the 810's really live. You will be drawn into the score and play song after song.

Compared to the Paradigm Reference 20 and 60's the 810's blow them away. The theil 1.5's are too weak. You get a flat response and a flat sound very detailed but uninvolving. The theil's are not very dynamic and soft to loud passages don't sound much different.

The Cobalt 810's are very system dependent. Use good electronics and you will get good sound. Use excellent electronics and accessories and you will be rewarded with musical bliss.

I traded in my Bryston B60 and Krell 300i for the Audio Refinement Complete. This made the 810's really sing.

If you do purchase the 810's make sure you get the optional stands and use good speaker cable. If you don't they won't perform up to their potential.

For those lucky individuals who already own JM Lab Speakers;
Happy Listening!

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Reference 20 and 60's (owned both).
Theil CS 1.5's (owned)
The 810's blow them away and the Electra 915's are even better.

Excellent tonality, imaging, & smooth treble

A bit shy on the bottom end

JMLab speakers are, essentially, an acquired taste. Unlike so many so-called "high end" speakers that have one or two really catchy attributes, these do not. When listening, nothing leaps out and grabs you - no overdone bass, forward midrange, nor over emphasized treble; all things that can serve to sell a speaker following a five minute audition. Instead, the JMlab line, and this speaker in particular, give a very neutral presentation, one that grows on me as being *right* & real.

Tonal balance is accurate, imaging precise to nearly the level of planar or electrostatic speakers, and detail enough to convey the true musical experience.

The only real drawback to this speaker is the lack of real low frequency extension, but given the driver and box parameters it acquits itself well in this department. Recommended for use with both tubes and solid state, providing they are electronics of reasonable quality. I have heard this speaker with YBA, Audio Refinement, NAD, Audio Research, Threshold, Rotel, & Amber gear, and the better the associated equipment, the better the 810 gets.

Similar Products Used:

Too many to name

I listened to many speakers in the < $1500 range and found the 810's to be the clearest, most detailed speaker out there. The bass is defined, fast but the weakest link. What do you expect given the specs. The mids and highs cannot be beat at this price. Because my speakers are incorporated into HT I added the cobalt cc and cobalt sw27 and that took care of the lack of deep bass! Sounds great in both two channel (with tubes) and HT with solid state. Very happy with this setup, give a 5 star.

These speakers are absolutely fabulous! Clear, accurate, precise. Imaging and soundstage are first rate. I also auditioned the 815 - a two-and-a-half way design with 2 7" mid-woofers and 1" inverted dome tweeter (the 810 does not have the second woofer). The 815's tweeter is positioned between the two woofers. Although the 815's bass extension reached down to 40 Hz as opposed to 45 Hz (+-3dB), I liked the 810's better. I thought the bass was more accurate, and I liked the positioning of the tweeter at the very top of the enclosure.
Do yourself a favor and audition these if possible prior to buying anything else - I did!

the Cobalts give maybe the best in pinpoint imaging and detail for the money. Or, to be exact, the best for dynamic speakers. Yes, the sound is 'forward' but very comfortable. Unlike older JM models, Cobalt tweeters are sounding sweeter and more musical, now they are oxide-covered and don't report their metallic nature in sound in any way. They reveal a lot of detail, and excel in symphony music. Some notes on particular records I tested (YBA Integre CD and amp):
Richard Strauss, Alpensinfonie - LA Philarmonic with Zubin Mehta: excellent definition on very quiet passages. The rumbling of acoustic basses, usually skipped by cheaper systems, is tangible to the point I started counting the number of basses. Brass steps in, one instrument after another - pinpoint localized, although brighter than 'used to'. This sensation of brightness disappears when the orchestra goes full forte. A good dynamic amplifier (two thumbs up for YBA) is a must to let these speakers reveal their dynamics.

Beethoven's 3rd, Karajan - excellent grand orchestra presentation. No brightness, just plain forward soundstage and piano-to-forte linearity. No matter how loud the orchestra goes, the instruments retain position and timbre.

Charlie Haden/Pat Metheny 'Missouri Sky' - alas, those 7-inch drivers cannot give full credit to this deep, uncensored acoustic bass. They don't sound harsh or distorted at reasonable volume, however, at the very lows the fundamental disappears - what would you expect from a small ported box?

I never experienced wider-than-speaker-base soundstage with these or with the 815s. Yet they allow very wide placement (I use 3.5 meter apart and 2 m to listening position) not sacrificing anything in image and soundstage.

p.s. Torn between Magnepans and JMlab-Focal, I chose and now own Cobalts 815 and vote for it too.

These speakers have very detailed and accurate highs/mids. However, they lack in bass extension and sound rather lean and top-heavy at times. I believe they would benefit by increasing cabinet thickness from 3/4 inch MDF to 1 inch or greater to improve stability and remove the sometimes "hollow-sounding" mid-bass effect. Some of the better two-way designs (e.g., Merlin VSM) are definitely more expensive but indeed sonically superior, with higher-grade components and higher-quality construction. I will, therefore, rate the 810 at 3 and 1/2 stars.
When all is said and done, you get what you pay for.

I love these things. My system is well established but I decided to dump the mini-monitors and set out looking for similar but floor standing speakers. My criteria was imaging and tonal beleivability. Since my system uses tubes throughout, a forward, brightish sound, which the 810's certainly have was perfoect. They image like crazy. Because I also had a good, fast and articulate(ADS) sub, deep bass was not such a concern.
I listened to Dynaudio (many of em), Paradigm, Totem Staaf and Arro, Van der Steens, etc. and the 810s absolutley shined and seemed a perfect system match. Plus $$$ leftover for more jazz! These should be reviewed by anyone looking for detail and imaging and has killer solid state or tubes.

While looking to replace my current speakers, I stumbled upon a dealer carryingthe JM Lab line. I spent one hour listening to the 810. I found them to be
forward, bright, lean, and lacking bass extension. Everthing I detest In a speaker the 810 had. I have heard nothing but good things about the JM line.
The dealer said, they work better with tubes and excellent wires. I said I was looking to replace my current speakers not my entire system????