Last night my stereo floored me.

Merle · « **on:** 22 May 2006, 04:39 pm »

I have large Klipsch loudspeakers that I was looking for a new amp for. Years ago, I owned an Audio Refinement Complete Alpha that I had really liked. I thought the smooth nature of the AR would be a great match for the Klipsch. I was wrong. The AR and the Klipsch do not get along, at all. The AR makes the Klipsch tweeter sound very harsh and metalic. No good. Since this pairing was NOT going to work, I had to decide if I was going to move the AR or the Klipsch. Sort of on a whim, I decided to move my JM Labs Chorus 714S speakers from my bedroom system down to the basement. I've owned the JM's for quite a while and never really gave them much thought. They play at very low volumes throughout the night while my wife and I sleep. So, I took the JM's down to the basement, hooked them up where the big Klipsch had been sitting and sat down to have a listen. I put on one the Greatful Deads "Dicks Picks" cds. I spent the next 78 minutes with my jaw on the floor, drooling. It was absolutly STUNNING. Jerry was in the room and playing some of the sweetest guitar I've ever heard in my life. It was frightening real. I next cued up a Dire Straights LP. Same effect. Now this is an $800 pair of speakers that I had owned for years but never really opened them up due to their bedroom service. I had always just thought they were ok, you know, perfect for a bedroom system. I'm shocked by what I heard last night. As soon as I get home from work this evening, I'm going to give it another go and see if the combination is as real and vivid as it seemed to be last night. This was a real eye opener for me. I've had a lot of set-ups, most of which are far more expensive and "hi-end" than this modest setup, yet the music I was hearing last night was magic. I couldn't have stood up and turned it off if I wanted to. I was totaly riveted to the music before me. How often does that really happen? I'll post later if I hear the same thing tonight or if maybe all the stars just seemed to be lined up right last night.

bunky · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 May 2006, 09:45 pm »

Hey Merle, it sounds like you found the right synergy to take your system over the top. Audio Refinement is from the same French designer as YBA. chances are that the complete may have been voiced using the JM Labs loudspeakers, maybe not the same model but something similar as both are highly regarded French audio manufacturers. thanks....WCW III

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 May 2006, 09:56 pm »

I've found the JM Labs speakers to be pleasing whenever I hear them...as I have with YBA gear over time. I'm not too suprised you were floored last night.

Good stuff floors you any time!

mcgsxr · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 May 2006, 10:09 pm »

I have heard, at a local Burlington shop, the combo of Audio Refinement, and JM Lab, a couple of times - better together, than any other combo I have heard, great that you have discovered more fun, with what you already own!

SWG255 · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 May 2006, 11:13 pm »

Two Saturdays ago I took an old friend to The Gifted Listener in Centerville Virginia to listen to some gear. He'd been recently disappointed by the sound of classical orchestral and choir music at another more "mid-fi" dealer, and wanted some reassurance that good sound could be had at prices he is willing to spend.

The surprise was how good the final system combo the dealer assembled sounded to everyone in the room, including me and my other audiophile buddy Scott.

The system? A Rega integrated amp, the new Rega Apollo CD player, Linn Catan (sp) mini-monitor speakers on the Linn stands, and a Linn Seismik (sp) powered subwoofer. For a layout of around $5,000, this system was sublime in the dealer's showroom. Sure, the real test is when it plays in my old friend's place (if it ever does, he's not through looking), but for the half hour we listened to this system, we were all thoroughly entranced. i could nit-pick the sound, but the point is, I didn't feel any need to. The system synergy in that room with that equipment, at that time was marvelous to hear.

nodiak · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 May 2006, 12:32 am »

Merle, This article is interesting at least, may or not relate to your experience.

http://www.decware.com/newsite/mainmenu.htm

Click ARTICLES, then The Magic Hour.

Don

Merle · « **Reply #6 on:** 23 May 2006, 02:17 pm »

Well, last night I sat down with Elgar, "The Light of Life". Not as outright electric sounding as the Greatfull Dead the night before but still damm fine music making. The sound of the JM Labs with the AR integrated can only be described as "electric". It sounds like a live wire, a lit fuse if you will. Maybe better with rock than classical but I may be wrong on this. Much more involved listening is in order. The way this combination projects electric guitar must be heard. The inverted tweeter the JM's use is super detailed and clean. The midrange has a little trouble keeping up with the tweeter. I had a pair of the JM Lab 816s awhile back and wish I still had them to pair with this amp. I imagine the better JM's would just smoke with this amp. My pairing of the AR with the JM's was purely by chance. I had no intention of moving the JM's out of my bedroom system but the sound I was hearing through the Klipsch tweeter was driving me nuts. I wanted to try another pair of speakers with the AR so I could see if the offending sound was coming from the speakers or the amp. The treble in the Klipsch sounded fine hooked up to Rotel gear. Once I hooked up the JM's, it was clear that it wasn't the amp. It was the pairing of the Klipsch with the AR. They just don't mate well together. My buddy is going to use the big Klipsch in his home theater system for the time being and I will keep the little JM's with the Audio Refinement. I think it might be time to start saving for a little better pair of JM Lab speakers. So far, this is a combination I could live with for awhile. Tonight, it's classical LP's played loud. Should be fun!