Value for money

Not really high-end

This must be the MKIII already I think, and at this price and a little above possibly one of the best speakers one can buy. The temptation to compare them with the higher priced is there and that is a good sign. This is (almost) high-end at a shoe-string. Yes, deep bass lacks (as with many monitors at this size I think) and some resolution for sure, but it is an easy speaker. Easy to drive, easy to the ear. In the beginning I missed soul and character, but I am starting to find them more pleasant. Still I think it is a little too middle of the road for my (demanding) taste, but still, you cannot ask more in this priceclass I think and there it scores well beyond expectation!

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Zingali 1S

Transparency, musicality and a very romantic timbre.

None for a monitor.

This is by far the best speaker I ever listen to under $1300. I would say that is the best deal within this range. The musicality and airness of this speakers are hard to imagine. Acctually I am posting here the review for the Twins MK3, as long as I don;t have where to post else. And I listened to both of them, the MK2 and MK3. MK3 is incoomparable better than MK2. Before deciding to go with these speakers I listened to anything else available here in Toronto Canada. The Twins MK3 proof to be, in a direct comparison, better than: SONUS FABER Concerto, B&W 705, PROAC Tablette Ref. 8, DYNAUDIO Audience 52 SE, EPOS m12, REGA Jura, JMLAB Cobalt 806 Signature, ACOUSTIC ENERGY AE 300 or QUAD 11L. I dare to say, in such a select companion, that is the best monitor under $1000.

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SONUS FABER Concerto B&W 705 PROAC Tablette Ref. 8 DYNAUDIO Audience 52 SE

Its real lively

Dynamics are only for small rooms.

I have had Sonus Faber Amator Electa and wasn't amused because my tube amp could't make them alive. Alwayse the low freq. that make the music frustrating. Now i have JMR twin 2 and all musici are in my room with a dry en powerfull low.

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NONE

non-fatiguing sound, holographic soundstage, exemplary bass for a speaker of this size, lively, engaging, emotional.

long break-in time. 150 hours minimum, gets better and better pass 300 hours Not for hard banging rock fans but for most listening taste it will appeal to a wide range of audience.

I had the opportunity to own these speakers for 4 months now and to date I have never regretted purchasing it. I have compared these with the Spendors S3/5 which I also own and these are two different speakers. Each have their own forte. At first I wanted to sell the Spendors to replace it with these. But after break in time, I realized that each of these speakers excel at their own musical range. If to take an all arounder, the Twins would be to get. If one is really into classical, light pop, jazz, and instrumental type of listening, the Spendors take it. Emotional factor is one thing that the JMR Twins really shines. If one is at a concert hall, JMR is closer to the performers than the Spendors. With the Spendors you are about 4 rows back. Some people prefer to be near with the performers while some prefer to "party" with the performers in the stage. Take your pick. The other factor I really enjoy about the twins is the engaging and beguiling musicality it possess. Once I get stuck on my chair, I'm there for hours playing from one cd to another. I cant stop listening to them. The non fatiguing sound of the Twins allows you to experiment with near field positioning and without the rooms interaction, the speakers just paints the walls like potraits of instruments hanging into space, at the same time doing its disappearing act. I now begin to wonder what the other line of JMR speaker can do ????

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Sonus Fabers Concertino, Dynaudio A42, Vienna Acoustics Haydn, Totem Signature Model 1, Spendor S3/5

Midrange

Bass (of course, this is a small speaker)

I am not an audiophile by strict standards. I am a freelance musical arranger. My keyboard is my soulmate. On the side, I just enjoy the motion of “buy and sell” from time to time, partly because of my affection to cars. I thought I’d apply the same on my speakers. I own a Sonus Faber Concerto driven by a Bryston B-60. These were recommended to me by a close friend who now migrated with his family to France. He emailed me two months ago telling me to upgrade my Concerto to this hottest French speaker, Jean Marie Reynaud Twin Mk. 2. Cool name! So I did. After about 30 days break in (at 8 hours a day playing) I am convinced that indeed the JMR Twin Mk. 2 sounds better. I repeat, I am not an audiophile so I am not conversant on audiophile “jargons” (transparency, resolution, soundstage, blah blah blah…). Who needs those! Plain and simple, the Twin Mk. 2 sounds much much better than my Concerto. No fatigue. Its performance is very close to what I hear in the recording studio. Period. Any questions? So I sold my Concerto just last week. The dealer told me that the Twin Mk.2 has to reach at least 200 hours break in. So in that sense, I’m still breaking in my new Twin Mk.2. While waiting, I’m of to play with my new Ferrari. To me, cars and speakers do mix afterall ! So, excuse me. Brooom!

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Sonus Faber Electa Amator2, Concerto, Concertino, Minima, ProAc Response 1SC

It just draws you into the music.

None

Let me just say, I agree with everything that's already been said by the previous reviewers about these remarkable loudspeakers. Mike Masztal of Sounds Right Audio in Atlanta (who I recommend highly) did show me how to improve the Reynauds even further. And not in a small way. He strongly suggested that I try a pair of Analysis Plus Oval 12 speaker cables. That they really work well with the Reynauds. Well, I have never heard a speaker cable, that made such a dramatic improvement, to any speaker, ever. Right out of the box.

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Spica tc 60's, Apogee Scintilla, Tara speaker cables.

Amazingly musical.

I'll leave this one to someone else who cares.

These speakers are phenomenal. They play music. I dont know if they are accurate/phase coherent/image like banshees or whatever. I can just tell you that there is no speaker I listed above (and I have OWNED-- notice the past-tense-- them all) that is as outright musical- that has pleased me more-- that lives and breathes like these do. They are tonally perfect and so coherent I keep checking to see if there are actually two drivers in each box. You don't need anything more expensive. Forget the Revel Ultima Stallones or the Wilson wamm bamm thank-ye ma'ams or whatever. You're gonna turn into Jonathan Scull if you're not careful and you'll just end up selling them in 2 months anyway for something updated-- you know you will. Just buy these speakers (really they're better called musical instruments) from Garnet at Simply Music (a wonderful gentleman) and be happy. I am. They be a stayin'.

PS- the amplifier? A NAIM NAIT 3
the source? A NAIM CD 3.5
THE MUSIC (at last!)? Coutesy of messieur (or
however you spell it) Jean Marie Reynaud, of course!!

There aren't enough stars in the Montana sky.
Especially for value.

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Totem ones, Proac response 1sc, Quad ESL 63, Alon ones, Spendor 2/3 and 1/2, Martin Logan Aerius etc.

Spooky clarity, very effecient, lively and dynamic

Needs a sub(in my opinion)if you consider that a weakness.

The Twins are the best speakers I've ever heard in my home. I'm extremely happy with them. I can't imagine how their more expensive Trentes sound. Music has a realism to it that hypnotizes you. You get that tingley feeling that makes your head swim. I can't put my finger on it but they have a fluidity and air that's uncanny. I play them with a 2 watt per channel Decware Zen Select tube amp and they play plenty loud, so they are very effecient. Since I like low bass I added a subwoofer which really completes the sound but others might not consider that important. For $745 these speakers are a great bargain. When I was sitting on my bed(my listening chair)this morning I couldn't imagine anything sounding better, honestly.

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Boston Acoustics VR20, Paradigm Studio 80, Newform Research R630, ACI Emerald, B@W LM-1, JBL Studio Monitors.

One of *very* few speakers under $1000 that is truly coherent in the midrange. Very listenable and forgiving. Superb at low volume levels.

Not the last word in resolution or staging. Prominent upper bass. LF distortion pushed into lower midrange when driven hard.

For those who want to buy a speaker to enjoy the music, and not worry about the "audiophile" qualities like "soundstage" or "transparency," the Jean-Marie Reynaud Twin Mk. II is one of the very best speakers available for under a grand/pair. There are numerous two-way minimonitors out there, but this is maybe the first under a grand (and one of very few, period) to possess an absolutely seamless transition from woofer/mid to tweeter- for the midrange-up does possess the magical coherence one would associate with a full-range electrostatic speaker. (This speaker uses a series crossover, which may be responsible for this quality.) Small-scale jazz and country music both sound very convincing, as does piano. (I consider country music an acid test for midrange.) The top is unassuming- slightly understated (but never dull), which makes this speaker compatible with less-than-perfect solid-state electronics and front ends. In fact, less-than-perfect solid-state may provide a better synergy than cleaner electronics, which may make this speaker sound a little too "polite." From the midrange up, there are *very* few speakers, at *any* price, that will outperform the Jean-Marie Reynaud Twin Mk. II. This speaker is also very satisfying when played at low or "background" levels. For unlike many speakers, its qualities are maintained at low volume levels.

Now to the drawbacks. Like all minimonitors, the bottom-end is compromised. With the JMR Twin II, it's in the form of a slightly fat upper-bass, which can accentuate kick-drum and makes snares sound a bit oversized. Recordings with prominent upper bass (older jazz recordings, for example) can make vocals sound a little "chesty" at times. Although mid-bass information is there, it is high in harmonic distortion, and gets pushed into the lower midrange when driven hard. With high-powered rock, this can result in a somewhat "boxy" type of coloration. Especially when played loud. (I'll add that rock music played at lower levels sounds fantastic on the Twin, since LF distortion components are reduced.) The low-level resolution is also blurred, which also relates to the lack of staging- virtually no depth or height, although the lateral placement is very good. With classical works, it's not a speaker that one will hear the rosin on individual strings. But in spite of all the lack of ultimate resolution, classical works still sound *very* natural and well-balanced, and the midrange coherence does nice things with winds and brass.

With these mentioned faults, along with the utterly listenable and forgiving midrange and top end, the Jean Marie Reynaud Twin Mk. II provides a slightly romantic overall tonal balance that will make only bass fanatics yearn for a subwoofer. And this slightly-romantic balance makes the Twin an ideal speaker for those more concerned with the performance than the recording. As well as those who would rather relax and enjoy the music than sit in the sweet spot and try to decipher what type of violin the concertmaster is playing.

Since this is a front-ported transmission-line design, the JMR Twin is also ideal for apartment dwellers who choose not to impose their musical tastes on the neighbors.

For those who shy away from minimonitors due to anomalies in the midrange, harshness, or those who like enjoying music for *hours* at a time, the Jean-Marie Reynaud Twin Mk. II could be your speaker. For what it does do well (midrange, electrostatic-like coherence) is rare for a two-way mini and also rare for any speaker under a grand. (Or two grand, for that matter.) For what it does not do well, unless you're either a head-banger, bass lover, or an imaging-staging-hyper-detail freak, the drawbacks never get in the way of the music. It's also the type of speaker that could make you want to leave the system playing ("smooth" jazz or "soft" rock on FM) while you sleep. And the natural-wood finish of the speaker is superb. Value is 5 stars in spades. Overall performance is a weak 5 stars, but 5 stars nonetheless due to the fact many music lovers will be able to live with the Jean-Marie Reynaud Mk. II's for a *very* long time.

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ACI Sapphire III. Coincident Tech. Triumph Signature.

natural, musical and exciting

none

this is one of the best bookshelf speakers, and definit the best value. I totally agree everyone said in review. btw, if you buy the speakers, please add that breakin magic cd with it. worth the money and time...

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