[FRANKe]

So I'm at the in-laws for the holidays, making conversation, and I'm talking to my brother-in-law about me being interested in upgrading my speakers in the coming year. He tells me he recently bought a set of "James Loudspeakers" and tells me "they are the best speakers out there". Of course, he knows absolutely nothing about audiophile equipment, so I just smile and nod and tell him I've never heard of them.

So to humor him and quench my curiosity - I ask you all at there if you've ever heard "James" speakers or if you own a pair and where do they fit in comparatively to other speakers (I might have heard of)?

To give you an idea of my point of reference - I would be interested in buying something in the range of B&W 800D, Legacy Whisper, or Dynaudio Evidence Temptation. (I'm not set in my ways, and haven't even gone out and auditioned any speakers yet - I just picked these because they are in the price range I'm thinking of and I've read good things about them). So does "James" come close to this ballpark?

Thanks for any input!
-FRANKe

[wshuff]

This link should get you started:

http://www.jamesloudspeaker.com/index.cfm

[Bemopti123]

About 2-3 years ago, James Loudspeakers seem to have made a paid campaign for public recognition at the likes of Stereophile, as well as other publications.  Asides from glossy ads, it seems as if they did not push themselves enough to get an "advertising review" at the standard publications.  For what it seems to me, when I see what is advertised in Audiogon and the James website, their products seem to be solid, heavy cabinets and concrete execution.  What called my attention the most is their back breaking subwoofer which has two drivers, one sealed and the other outside, should I call it isobaric design?  

One would be surprised at the quality of things that are available but are not well known....too many companies competing for the same pool of jaded audiophiles and too many ways of making themselves known.  I would not mark them out of contention right away.... of course, your brother in law's assumption of James being the "it" company might be somewhat overblown.  
He might need to be exposed to some other better known heavy weights and perhaps we all should check out what "James'" has on their pockets.
They are still afloat after two or three years, which makes me think that they are customers out there who purchase their speakers.

[FRANKe]

Thanks for the response!

Bemopti123 - It's interesting that the sub caught your attention, because what my bro-in-law bragged about most was his subwoofer. I thought the consensus was that the Wilson "Alexandria X2" was the "best" speaker and that the best speakers didn't need a subwoofer. Am I wrong? Do $20,000 and $30,000 speakers still need subs? (I know the Wilson's are considerably more)

As a point of irony, in the same breadth of bragging about his awesome speakers and sub, he said he got an awesome deal and only paid $4000 for the whole lot. (He's a bit frugal) So I did not tell him how much the Alexandria's cost, as he would surely mess his pants.  --  But considering the great deal he got from James, I too wonder how they are still afloat.

-FRANKe

[bhobba]

So I'm at the in-laws for the holidays, making conversation, and I'm talking to my brother-in-law about me being interested in upgrading my speakers in the coming year. He tells me he recently bought a set of "James Loudspeakers" and tells me "they are the best speakers out there".

Best is very subjective - best value, best bass extension, best what?  By all means listen to the James speakers but from I know of them they look fairly pedestrian.  However if you are looking at spending the type of money on the speakers you mentioned I believe there are 3 speakers you need to listen to:  

The SP Technology range:
http://www.4sptech.com/version2/index.html

The Linwitz Orion:
http://www.linkwitzlab.com/orion_challenge.htm

And if possible the WAR reference one.  That speaker is only really available in Australia but its maker Pat O'Brien of WAR Audio in Perth will ship you one.  I believe there is a good chance all of those speakers will outperform those you mentioned and at much less cost.

You will find many that claim the WAR and/or Orion are the best speakers performance wise they have ever heard - period.  Personally I purchased the SP Technology speakers because they are a good deal less expensive and I doubt the perforce gain, if any, is worth the cost.  But hey if you are spending the type of money you are looking at you owe it to yourself to find out.  You could pay for a trip to Perth to hear the WAR and still have a lot left over and a great holiday to boot.  The same with the Orion -
http://www.linkwitzlab.com/orion_searanch.htm

Thanks
Bill

[Rocket]

Hi Franke,

I presume that you live in the states?

If you do i recommend that you consider speaker manufacturers who have a forum on ac.  They seem to be good value.

Regards

Rod

[jackman]

So I'm at the in-laws for the holidays, making conversation, and I'm talking to my brother-in-law about me being interested in upgrading my speakers in the coming year. He tells me he recently bought a set of "James Loudspeakers" and tells me "they are the best speakers out there". Of course, he knows absolutely nothing about audiophile equipment, so I just smile and nod and tell him I've never heard of them.

So to humor him and quench my curiosity - I ask you all at there if you've ever heard "James" sp ...

I think any time you hear someone say "the best out there", you should proceed cautiously.  Speaker preference is very subjective and personal.  I have listened to some very well known brands on some expensive systems in some nice rooms and have scratched my head because the sound was not my cup of tea.  I have a friend who has the most expensive system I know of (I should say out of all the people I actually know) and it doesn't sound as good as the >$100K he spent on it should sound.  In fairness, he has no room treatments and the room is not ideal...

Anyway, getting to the "James" speakers.  I have never heard them, and I don't know anyone who has. It might be fun to accompany your brother in law to CES or a large show to check out some of the big money brands.  Unfortunately, there is no guarantee shelling out big bucks will get you great sound.  For the money, it would be very difficult to put together a system that would sound better than Linkwitz Orion speakers.  They are exceptionally good and worthy of their praise.  

I am also a big fan of my fully active Bamberglab.com Series 5 MTM's with subwoofer stands.  Unfortunately, unless you are in the Indianapolis area or can find someone who has a set it would be difficult for you or your brother in law to audition a set.  Same for the Orion speakers.  I think Sigfried has a list of people on his site who give auditions.

Honestly, it appears your brother in law isn't interested in the best speakers.  I don't know him and I could be mistaken but he sounds like the kind of guy who is just looking for a speaker he can brag about.  Brands like Bamberglab and Linkwitz are great values and great sounding but are only known in small circles.  I don't think anyone owns these speakers because of the "bragging rights" factor.  I sure don't!

Cheers,

J

[FRANKe]

Thanks for the responses fellas!

I apologize if my original post (and title) was unclear, but I didn't intend for this thread to be an advertising platform for speakers you like. I appreciate the opinions, I'm just not immediately ready to shop for new speakers, so I'll leave the "who makes the best speakers" debate for a later time.

At the moment I'm just primarily interested in any "real world" reviews from people who have listened to James Loudspeakers.

By the way, Bill and J, I live in Southern California, so I will keep the Orion's in mind when I begin to audition.

Thanks!
-FRANKe

[bhobba]

By the way, Bill and J, I live in Southern California, so I will keep the Orion's in mind when I begin to audition.

Take your time.  Listen to James spekers.  Listen to the other speakers you mentioned.  Take Sigfried up on his offer to audition his speakers in his holiday house.  I suspect you will come back to them and save yourself a bundle compared to the other speakers like the BW.  Remember with speakers you get from a high end store they are marked up considerably on what they cost to build to pay for store overheads, sales staff commissions and profit margins etc.  With the Orion those overheads are missing.  So those spekers you pay $20k for about $10k more or less is chewed up in those overheads.  With the Orions you pay for what you get.  Sure you can't walk into a store and listen and compare - but you pay big for such a privlege.

Just to whet your appetite here is a review:
http://www.linkwitzlab.com/Orion-TSS-review.pdf
'The Linkwitz Lab (LL) Orion is the finest loudspeaker known to me. Other than some limitations in ultimate output, and the design trade-off of being - 6 dB at 20 Hz anechoic, the Orion meets or exceeds the performance attainable by the conventional or even the exotic transducers available to the well-heeled audiophile in today’s high-end audio salons. That it is able to do so for a fraction of the price of competitive designs is remarkable; that it is not commercially available in any of those same high-end audio salons is in my view a travesty'

Thanks
Bill

[JLM]

FRANKe,

Now I vaguely recall these speakers (with the cords looking "grills" across the drivers).  The AFDC circuit essentially does what the compensation circuit does for my Bob Brines FTA-2000 single driver speakers, but on a continuously variable basis.  In my case I swap resistors in a simple circuit until I get the right balance.  According to Bob the bass portion of the boost serves as a baffle step correction.  Not a big deal IMO if you don't change rooms very often.  And with a single 8 inch driver (with no stinking whizzer cone) the treble range could use a boost too.

No information on the James drivers (??).

Hard for me to take seriously a vendor that has in-wall products or offers both MTM and TMW designs.

They seem to be oriented more towards the studio/HT crowds.


bhobba,

Thanks for the link to the Orion review.  I'm a fan of O.B., but more a fan of simplicity and transmission line bass.  The O.B. concept is simple, but always ends up with EQ and powered bass to provide full frequency range response.  The O.B. sound (imaging, room loading) is very natural to my ears.  With its cost, complexity, and locked in ancillaries I doubt the Orion will ever become popular with the open baffle or general audiophile crowd, but by all accounts it is an excellent product.  And who can argue with Linkwitz?