mbloemhard

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $300.00

Summary:
Fantastic sound for all kinds of music! This speaker sounds warm , with lots of power and detail! It's a party speaker, it goes loud, but also very enjoyable for careful listening!

Strengths:
Very powerful! very good with ROCK! Metallica sounds awesome on these speakers! Never agressive, warm dynamic sound!

Weaknesses:
Needs careful matching! Very good with a NAD or Sony ES amp.

Similar Products Used:
Elac, Canton, JBL. Tannoy, Acoustic Research

Summary:
A friend of mine owns a pair of these speakers - upgraded from the bass-light Reference 31s. I have listened to these loudspeakers often enough to be able to judge their performance soundwise, but I must add that I have not really listened to anything similar in the same price range and therefore can't draw any real comparisons. My friend drives his 51is with a Musical Fidelity Tempest and source is a mid-budget NAD player, although the exact model eludes me. We have also used an EAD T1000 and DSP 1000 series II with the speakers -and they seem to perform far better with a (reasonably)good quality source.
The sound is very-much mainstream, with good, solid bass and a perfectly reasonable midrange - detail levels are very good, but the tweeter sometimes turns a bit shiny and shrill with poor or very bright recordings. (I'm sure playing around with the cables and source component(s) will remedy this.)
Finish is commendable, and the drivers seem to be of pretty good quality. Although they are easy to drive, I suspect that these speakers will thrive on the end of some hefty amplification. As it is, the MF(75WPC) drives them to high levels relatively easily, but there is a noticeable hardening in the sound if the levels are pushed very high. Again, cables or source may remedy this, but I do feel that the speakers need some serious clout to really get going.
The speakers perform well with rock and jazz, but I've not auditioned them with classical music often enough to be able to give a true reflection on their abilities with this genre.
What they do play well is fast, intricate rock - Dave Matthews, Tull, Dire Straits, King Crimson, Supertramp etc, with real energy and conviction (snare drums are very, very good). To wrap it up then: Cost-effective, good looking speakers that do the business sonically (with classical, I'm not too sure - but give 'em a listen anyway). System matching may be a small problem, but I'm quite sure that careful cable auditioning should make the job easier. Four stars.

Strengths:
Nice looks, price, composure under high levels, easy to drive, good bass, detail.

Weaknesses:
Highs a bit shrill, driver integration not as good as it could be.

Summary:
I was searching the web up and down to find some info about this loudspeaker. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything that would be of value to support my overall auditionig of them. Anyway, I used to listen them in a pair with technics suvx800 amp and sony cdp-x222es cd-player. When the source direct was selected on the amp, they sounded pretty well in the bass band - controlled, deep, a bit shrill and extended. However, the mid and high-band was rather vague and not enough clear with the lack of impression and clarity. When I changed my amp to more budget class (marantz pm-66se) I got improvements in the mid - and noticably within the high-band frequencies but at the expense of the low-band at which now 51i sound rather loosy and uncontrolled without a pitch. Although I am still seeking for some test info about them, I can judge them as a pair of speakers which are warm, gentle, open at the mid-high band with pleasent and well-extended bass (be careful though to combine them with enough watt power amp). So, the rating is