Clean, rich sound, excellent treble

Screechy at high volumes

I've used these speakers for a while now as a second pair for my stereo reciever in my bedroom, but just recently I moved the two main speakers to my home theater setup, and therefore had a bit of a gap to fill. I decided to try these as my main speakers for a while, and was pleasantly surprised! I knew that they sounded decent, as I had them mounted up in the corners of the room and they played with my bigger front two sometimes, depending on my listening mood. I had never listened to them by themselves, though. They certainly are nowhere near as nice as my bigger speakers, (old, full-range ones, I think the brand might be "Sound V" or "V Sound" as that's the only mark on them) but the Advents sound very nice nontheless.

The bass leaves a bit to be desired for music such as Rock, Heavy Metal, or Techno, but is just perfect for Jazz, most Alternative, and Celtic music. The bass certainly won't ever rock the room, but at times I could feel it, and it's just enough to fill the room with nice, rich sound. During one of the songs in The 5th Element Soundtrack, the woofer cone rattled a little bit, but aside from that, there was no distortion until you got to very high levels.

The treble is excellent. Listening to the mandolin and hammered dulcimer in some of my Celtic music just about brought me to my knees. If only all of my speakers could handle the subtleties of some music like that...

The only downside to these is that when you start listening at high volumes, the bass response falls out compared to the blaring treble, which during one song actually hurt my ears. (Had the damn thing up too loud anyway) So, if you want to listen to something really loud, hook up a subwoofer to it, and give it a try then. :)

All in all, this was an EXCELLENT deal for $50. Perfect for small rooms, and the hanging brackets work excellently. The bass is just enough to fill the room, and the treble is wonderful. I have yet to try them outside, but perhaps sometime soon... It would be nice to listen to something on my deck.

Similar Products Used:

JVC, JBL bookshelf speakers

Clarity and upper frequency range beats Bose and JBL

Cabinet resonance overshadows lower frequency range

This review is for the Calypso which is basically the same speaker as the Marbl with a few modifications. The Calypso is a newer model and the cabinet shape has been changed slightly. The drivers are the same (5 1/4" woofer, 3/4" tweeter) but the mounting brackets included attach to the rear of the speaker and allow much better positioning of the speaker. There are no other indoor/outdoor speakers in this price range that can touch these speakers. As a matter of fact, they sound better than the $200+ Bose model I had listened to. They have excellent clarity and imaging, but bass is just passable. The only drawback to this speaker is the cabinet resonance. Its made of a polymer plastic which I feel was not given enough thickness. Rock and roll does not favor these speakers, however they perform very well with classical, jazz, and light instrumentals.

Similar Products Used:

none

Great sound for a little speaker

At $50 a pair, how can you complain?

I just got a receiver and didn't have any speakers, so my uncle picked these up for me at CostCo. Damn, I wasn't expecting much, but they sound awesome when considered that they only cost $50 a pair!!! I was totally surprised, I expected em to sound like crapp, but they outperformed all the more expensive models I tested out in stores. Suddenly, I'm not so motivated to get those more expensive new speakers I was thinking about..... :-)

$50. How can you complain? I can't.

very clean, open sound

none so far

These speakers are great. I have four on my 12' by 80' back porch and they fill every inch with great sound. These sound so close to Bose 251's that you could not tell the difference until you see them. They are driven by my Sony 555ES receiver. The bass even sounds good (the receiver is set to smallspeaker size, so changes the sound to get more bass out of small speakers.)I would highly recommend these to anyone who wants great sound and a not so high price.

Similar Products Used:

Bose 251

Price

Bass

Great for surround. These are not made to handle much mid-bass, but if you have a sub and any type of decent front speakers these will work well as rear surround speakers. I am waiting for the day when I go to someones home with better sounding surround speakers than these. The only reason I havent is because I dont know anyone stupid enough to pay hundreds for rear surround speakers that are virtually the identical to Marbl. Put in U-571 on DVD or Heat or The Matrix and you will see what I mean.

Similar Products Used:

Polk, SAE, JBL, AudioSource, Onkyo

Price,excellent build quality,P R I C E.

Woha, we're getting critical here! At this price, I can't be too critical!

I purchased these speakers at Costco for $50 just to see how the would be. Costco has a very liberal return policy, I figured I couldn't go wrong. (I read reviews here AFTER I purchased the speakers). I have listened to these speakers for about 5 hours today....they are great! I disconnected my AR2ax garage speakers (left over from college in the late 60's)and fired them up. These speakers were not a disappointment. They are bright, lacking in bass, and have a hollow quality in the midrange on some material. I'm listening to a Paradigm Reference speakers throughout my home,so a comparison is not fair. Outside, on my patio, for background music, these speakers can't be beat! As a matter of fact, within the next few days I'm going back to Costco to get another pair for my porch. At $25 a piece these are a bargin. They provide background music at throw-away cost. For critical listening, reach deeper into your wallet. What do you expect for this price? This is excellent bang for the buck!!

None

Bass distorts easily, highs are tinny. Colored sound.

This purchase was a huge disapointment. I wasn't expecting this speaker to have an audiophile sound, but I was looking for a redeeming value to these speakers. I use them as an outdoor speaker in my front yard. I have the Klipsch AW-1's (discontinued) in the back yard. The highs are too tinny and screechy. There is no softness whatsoever in the high end. If this speaker was indoors, i imagine it would produce great listening fatigue. Also, the bass has no extension whatsoever. I don't expect deep thick bass, but a speaker of this size produced both by Polk and BIC produce tons more bass and articulation. I would recommend skipping this selection and opting forother alternatives. The Klipsch all weather speakers although not great sounding provides a much more palatable sonic characteristic.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch AW1, Polk M5, Polk M3II's BIC DV52SI's

I just want to say that I was surprised by these speakers. I have an enclosed pool area and also a four level deck outside of that. I have had several types of speakers in the pool enclosure before but when I needed to add speakers to the deck area I thought I would try the advents. I bought two pairs, new, at around 80 bucks a pair shipped to my door and mounted both pairs on the deck, one pair by the grill area, and the other by the bench and seating area at a different level. I use an Onkyo 5160 amp at 150 watts per channel to run them through an adcom gfs 3 speaker switch. On the pool deck I always had to mount the speakers under the eve to get the bass reflection I needed so I could enjoy the sound, but on the deck there is nowhere to do this. Believe it or not its not necessary with the Marbls. The bass is clean and full while the midrange and treble are full and tight. I was totally surprised. I have listened to the Bose, Edge, BIC, and Audio Source, the Audio Source sounding best on the pool deck. I will soon be replacing them with the marbls too. Put them outside, hose em down every now and then, and sit back and enjoy. A five year guarantee helps the confidence level too, but the sound is the winner. Give them a try, with the price and quality of the sound and build, you can't go wrong. Of course you can always pay 5 or 6 hundred for a pair of Parasounds or Niles but I doubt they will sound 4 or 5 hundred dollars better. Happy listening fellow enthusiasts.

I recently purchased a pair of these about a month ago, and I have to say that these speakers are two of the best speakers I have ever heard for what they are and the price. Well I should rephrase that, for any price! I use them for surrounds and they are outstanding. You could easily spend $300 or $400 for a pair of surrounds but you won't be getting your money's worth. I like the ease of mounting or these baby's and the angled brackets are a God send. I also like the dual inputs for use as surrounds or mains, creating a slight dealy. Using just Dolby ProLogic you wont hear a drastic difference but using Dolby Digital there is a big difference. I have also auditioned them as mains and they are equally impressive. The bass is tight and just deep enough to get the job done for whatever your music tastes are.

Well, I was in the market for outdoor speakers and had settled for the Polk MR II's (All weather) for a mere $299 a pair. I happened to be in Costco this Weekend and saw the Advent's for $49.95 a pair!! Well I thought what the hell, I'll get them, hook em up,get a good laugh and return them the following day to make my wife happy. After all for 50 bucks you know you're going to get crap. So I hooked them up to my Sony 925 and was absolutely floored. These guys sounded every bit as good as the polks for 1/6 of the price, and the mounting brackets are an absolute dream. My neighbor Spent $200 for a pair of AR's and is feeling like a total idiot. If your in the market, GET THEM! you won't regret it!