Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Great Infinite Slope speakers in black lacquer finish. Tweeter on one is shot. Does anyone know how I can replace it? Thanks.

Price Paid:  $1700.00 from Sound Advice (1989)

Summary:
Reviewed: JSE Model 2a (10" & 12" woofers instead of 2 sets of 10's)

I purchased the Model 2's (demos) in 1989, and I will probably pass on before the speakers do. I'm not a true "audiophile" so these are purely subjective opinions.

Warm, smooth and sweet (oops, I don't mean to bring sex into this). Anyway, I love them.

I never knew the potential of these speakers until I upgraded the amp, preamp, and interconnects. Years ago, I heard that they didn't need a subwoofer, but I never understood what that meant until recently. I now hear on some CD's (or should I say "feel" more than "hear") bass I never knew existed. Not only that, I never knew the high end existed like it does now! Sparkling clear on some CD's (and you discover which CD's are the better quality...some of my favorites aren't so great after all, and some that I never cared to listen to are becoming my new favorites). Those speakers disappear in a beautiful wall of sound I never experienced before.

There's a new meaning for me in the saying, "garbage in, garbage out" (no, I won't say what I had before upgrading...I don't believe in bad-mouthing anyone...the previous equipment just didn't match well with the JSE's). I can't believe what I was missing for the past 15+ years.

These are (I think) very revealing speakers...bad CD's sound bad good CD's sound better...if there's bass, you'll hear or feel it, same goes for the highs (except you won't feel those). I'm willing to bet I still haven't heard their full potential. I may never be able to AFFORD to! If you manage to get a pair, keep in mind that these may be a bit fussy about what drives them (my present equipment: Musical Fidelity A3CR amp, Bryston BP-20 preamp, Linn Genki CD player, Audioquest Gibralter speaker cables, Audioquest Vampire interconnects (will be upgrading to Jaguar hopefully), Audioquest and Kimber Kable power cords.

Finally, a comment I heard: An audio dealer told me that I would have to spend about $6,000 to get speakers of comparable quality to the Model 2's. True or not, I don't know. I'm sure there are better speakers that may cost less than that but, for me, these are priceless...music to my ears.

Strengths:
Very revealing
Nicely balanced highs, mids, lows
Musically very satisfying. If I had the time and inclination to sit still, I could listen to them all day long.
Potential for sounding even better (I believe) but...I'll settle for what I can afford to hear

Weaknesses:
It's strength can be its weakness...very revealing

Similar Products Used:
Again, I don't want to bad-mouth the equipment that wasn't a good match for the Model 2's.

Price Paid:  $50.00 from Garage Sale

Summary:
HUGE speakers, they have a 12" a 10" a 6.5" a 3" and 1" (5 speakers in all) I did notice feedback BUT that was due to being to closeot the turntable. Excellent listening and performing speakers. Took two of us to load and unload but they have wheels. The seller said they have to go or hes NOT allowed back in the house (this came form his wife) so I got them CHEAP. black lacquor ( or however you spell it) there called the JSE infnite Slope and ther about 4' tall. PS did I mention ($50.00) wich I could post a photo

Strengths:
Can handle TONS of power and at LOW volume the bass still shakes the floor so low listening is excellent

Weaknesses:
Delicate black lacquor finish, and keeping the finish clean EVERYONE want to touch them with there greesy fingers. like petting a new puppy.

Similar Products Used:
Allsion one various componenets

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Stereo Exchange,N.Y,N.Y.

Summary:
Overall i found the 2A's to have many strengths and few weaknesses.While they may lack the transient snap and immediacy of electrostats,they are a real bargain and certainly worthy of comparison to loudspaker systems that costed twice as much.Anyone out there owning them will be sure to agree!

Strengths:
I purchased my model 2A's in Sept of 1991 and after 10 years i can safely say that these brutes have never let me down yet.Although i purchased them used for less than half of what they were new(2200)i must say that the price does not in any way affect the way these perform.Its biggest strength perhaps is to have the genius of its crossover engineering credited to none other than Richard Modaferri of Mcintosh fame.The model 2A is a highly sophisticated 4 way system for those seeking a very fine speaker system regardless of size or price.The 2A's make full utilization of its Infinite Slope crossover and Phase Shift bass loading for unparalled uniformity and deep bass extension.Each driver above 150hz is crossed in and out using crossover slopes near 100db per octave eliminating cancellations and interference effects so common in systems this size.Instead of getting the common wall of sound effect found in most large systems,the 2A's precisely integrates all of its driver units into a cohesive line source for,in my opinion,hard to match clarity and imaging.In addition,the Infinite Slope crossover provides far greater power handling and dynamic range witout distortion making them the perfect choice for todays newest digital recordings and players.I alternate running them from a Mcintosh MC2255 to a Perreaux 3000B.Each has a power output of 250wpc and 180 wpc respectively although the MC 2255 pushes their limits a bit more.If you have the room for them and can find them at a price that suits you,dont pass these babys up! You wont be dissapointed!

Weaknesses:
When describing the 2A's to knowledgeable audiophile friends it is inevitably asked aren't there phase shift problems with crossover slopes as steep as they have.JSE's answer to that is to just have a minimal phase shift designed into the crossovers so that all of the three main drivers are operating in phase with a MAXIMUM of 10% phase shift.The advantage of using such steep crossover points is that each driver need only operate in a clearly defined freq range,with which they are comfortable.There is very little overlap,if any,in freq response from one driver to the next and this is claimed by JSE to greatly reduce distortion and increase the dynamic range and power handling abilities of this fine system.So in all,not much weaknesses to discuss here!

Similar Products Used:
I also run a pair of McIntosh XR-7's,AR91's,and Klipsch Forte II's.

Price Paid:  $1500.00 from Longplayer stero NY

Summary:
In 1989 these JSE 1.8 speakers were $2300 retail which I paid 1500 as demos in july 1990. Very heavy 110 pounds each, with a black laquer finish even under the speaker where most speaker manufacturers could skimp on. Smooth bass, with great crossovers between mid & treble. I use B&K ST-202 amplifiers bi-amped, which these speakers need all the power they can get (I have 300 watts per channel into them and sometimes ask for more). These speakers can easily take 700-1000 watts of power with no problem. Dynaudio tweeter is very neutral sounding, with very good soundstage, as long the speaker is not near any walls or other objects. I recommend bi-amping these speakers since I had only one amp to them, and the speakers distort badly with high bass passages.

Strengths:
Great bass & midrange

Weaknesses:
very thirsty speakers and inefficient

Similar Products Used:
none