Speakers...

[cybot]

Any thoughts on the following : Harbeth and JMR, specifically the Cantabille Supreme speakers? I've read some reviews and, to tell the truth, I'm a bit overwhelmed :) Are they really as good as they say? Cloney have both makes in stock....





Cantabile Supreme

[Diapason]

I heard Harbeths once in the shop and hated them. Lots of people feel differently, but there it is.

I recently heard JMR speakers in the front room in Cloney and thought they were very good, but it was a very short session with unfamiliar music. I know why people put them in a similar bracket to Harbeth as they're voiced in a very listenable way, but my short session with them suggested they would be more to my taste.

That's probably not much use to you, cybot, but I'd definitely give them a listen if I were you.

[cybot]

I heard Harbeths once in the shop and hated them. Lots of people feel differently, but there it is.

I recently heard JMR speakers in the front room in Cloney and thought they were very good, but it was a very short session with unfamiliar music. I know why people put them in a similar bracket to Harbeth as they're voiced in a very listenable way, but my short session with them suggested they would be more to my taste.

That's probably not much use to you, cybot, but I'd definitely give them a listen if I were you.

Thanks for that Simon. I'll definitely put them on the short list...BTW what did you not like about the Harbies? Too rich? Not open enough? Looks? No castors ;)

[mcq]

I've heard the JMR Cantabiles at Cloney Audio on two separate occasions now and each time I have been very impressed.  Very well balanced speaker that reminded me of a livelier Spendor.  The second time I heard the Cantabile was with Devialet amplification and it sounded quite superb.  There was also a pair of Dynaudios in the shop which, whilst very good in their own right, present a smoother, more refined sound than the JMRs which are voiced with a very live "roughness" that gives a very emotional impression of live music (regardless of genre).  The Cantabiles are priced at around €3500 and the Dynaudios at €5500.  When I heard that the JMRs cost €3500, I was genuinely shocked.  Believe me, there is a lot of musical value for money there.  Before his death in 2011, Jean-Marie Reynaud had been making speakers since 1967 and the flagships of his line, the €6K monitor, the Offrande Supreme and the €10K floorstander, the Concorde Supreme, are considered to be his masterpieces.

[cybot]

I've heard the JMR Cantabiles at Cloney Audio on two separate occasions now and each time I have been very impressed.  Very well balanced speaker that reminded me of a livelier Spendor.  The second time I heard the Cantabile was with Devialet amplification and it sounded quite superb.  There was also a pair of Dynaudios in the shop which, whilst very good in their own right, present a smoother, more refined sound than the JMRs which are voiced with a very live "roughness" that gives a very emotional impression of live music (regardless of genre).  The Cantabiles are priced at around €3500 and the Dynaudios at €5500.  When I heard that the JMRs cost €3500, I was genuinely shocked.  Believe me, there is a lot of musical value for money there.  Before his death in 2011, Jean-Marie Reynaud had been making speakers since 1967 and the flagships of his line, the €6K monitor, the Offrande Supreme and the €10K floorstander, the Concorde Supreme, are considered to be his masterpieces.

Thanks for that Paul. Good to hear from you again. I'm shocked to hear that Jean-Marie has passed away. Genuinely didn't know that....The live "roughness" is spot on as the likes of Jimi and co. sounded sublime.

[Diapason]

How did I miss that earlier question to me? And wasn't there another post in this thread that's now disappeared? I'm losing my marbles!

Harbeths, when I heard them, sounded kinda woolly and overly resonant to me. It seemed like I could hear the enclosure very clearly. Now I favour a more precise kinda sound anyway (I own kharmas after all!) but the Harbeth speakers were like something from the 70s, and not in a good way.

I thought the JMR sounded smooth and warm but simultaneously lively. A neat trick if you can pull it off. I didn't catch the roughness, but that probably wouldn't have featured in the music I heard anyway.

[cybot]

How did I miss that earlier question to me? And wasn't there another post in this thread that's now disappeared? I'm losing my marbles!

Harbeths, when I heard them, sounded kinda woolly and overly resonant to me. It seemed like I could hear the enclosure very clearly. Now I favour a more precise kinda sound anyway (I own kharmas after all!) but the Harbeth speakers were like something from the 70s, and not in a good way.

I thought the JMR sounded smooth and warm but simultaneously lively. A neat trick if you can pull it off. I didn't catch the roughness, but that probably wouldn't have featured in the music I heard anyway.

Finally ;) That's exactly what I heard re. the Harbeth's but, maybe ever so lightly livelier than the norm.....Thanks for your thoughts anyway.

[mcq]

Perhaps "roughness" of sound is too crude a word for what I heard but these are very well-balanced speakers that are voiced to give a very unique reproduction of the sheer emotional immediacy of the live event. There is a forwardness of presentation that never becomes overwhelming or fatiguing.  It is quite a balancing act that JMR achieve.  My Kharma DB7s offer a more precise, more detailed and more clearly resolved sound allied to a velvety warmth that never becomes syrupy and offer the listener a profoundly rewarding experience but they do cost a lot more than the JMRs.  Based on my experience of the Cantabiles, I would be interested to hear the flagship models, the Offrande and the Concorde.  The JMR line is also notably easy to drive and can be partnered with good quality low-powered amps.  They're a very popular combination with Lavardin in France which does make me curious to hear the flagship models with my own IT-15.  

[cybot]

Perhaps "roughness" of sound is too crude a word for what I heard but these are very well-balanced speakers that are voiced to give a very unique reproduction of the sheer emotional immediacy of the live event. There is a forwardness of presentation that never becomes overwhelming or fatiguing.  It is quite a balancing act that JMR achieve.  My Kharma DB7s offer a more precise, more detailed and more clearly resolved sound allied to a velvety warmth that never becomes syrupy and offer the listener a profoundly rewarding experience but they do cost a lot more than the JMRs.  Based on my experience of the Cantabiles, I would be interested to hear the flagship models, the Offrande and the Concorde.  The JMR line is also notably easy to drive and can be partnered with good quality low-powered amps.  They're a very popular combination with Lavardin in France which does make me curious to hear the flagship models with my own IT-15.  

One word that crept up in the all too few reviews of the Cantabiles was how alive they were. Bringing much needed LIFE to music, live or otherwise. They get that forwardness/smoothness balancing act almost perfect. As I said in an earlier post neither themselves nor the Harbeth's did justice to the electronic piece I brought with me to the dem - complete lack of bass and drive, which was a surprise as it's not a terribly taxing piece of music. My conclusions and Noel's were that the room wasn't helping or the 'light' sounding tt. Hopefully I'll get the an opportunity to hear the Cantabiles at home sometime soon and all it's foibles will be laid bare....or not :)