[ncdrawl]

Just wanted to drop in and give my thanks to Duke! I am a proud owner of Jazz Modules since March, and coming from speakers such as Quad ESLs, B_W 801s and 802s, Wilson Watt, Lipinski, ,Von Schweikert and assorted others, I can honestly say that I have never heard any speaker that gets so many things right.

as a recording engineer, I compare the Jazz Module sound to that of a really well designed ribbon microphone. All the frequencies are there, the top end is open, the bottom is full and extended, and wrapping everything up is this honey-sweet opium like "warmness".... nothing sacrificed...euphonic glory....

I have used the Modules with Tubes and Solid State alike, and have found that the Modules love em both.

I have mine toed in in such a manner that the speaker axes cross about a foot in front of my listening chair.  The pics below are from several months ago, before all of our furniture made it back home from Germany where I was stationed for 5 years...at any rate, new pics are coming. tv is gone, proper stand and more richard gray conditioners, not to mention a lot of room treatment..oh yeah, and a new house.








the amazing speakers aside.. i have never, in all my years, met a more caring, generous man than Duke Lejeune. He has helped me countless times,with various things. He really cares about his products, and is truly interested in feedback from his customers.   For these reasons, few amongst many, he has a lifelong customer in me.  I will NEVER buy outside of the Audio Kinesis line as long as Duke is around. you can quote me on that.

SUPPORT DUKE LEJEUNE!  The industry needs people like him!

-TRB, Betrothed to the AudioKinesis Line for life

[satfrat]

If you don't mind my asking, what do you generally listen to thru the Jazz Modules? Thanks and please keep them pictures acomin'.

Cheers,
Robin

[ncdrawl]

If you don't mind my asking, what do you generally listen to thru the Jazz Modules? Thanks and please keep them pictures acomin'.

Cheers,
Robin

Howdy, I mainly listen to Rock, Old Time Country,BlueGrass, and Jazz.. occasionally classical(mainly Choral Works(I love Arvo Part,Tavener, John Cage, Erik Satie, Milhaus, Poulenc, Wagner) and Chamber Music, ... but primarily rock.

(Wilco, Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, Son Volt, Steve Earle , AKUS, , old REM.... The Minutemen, Black Flag, Fugazi, the replacements,,.)

also a huge YES Fan and NEKTAR.

[satfrat]

I hope to one day have an opportunity to hear Duke's Jazz Modules. I'm seriously considering making THE Show in NYC this year, hopefully Duke will be making that show.


Cheers,
Robin

[mgalusha]

These were my favorite speaker a few years ago at RMAF. I may not have known it at the time but they left a lasting impression on me. Enough that I purchased a pair of the Geddes Abbey kits which have much in common with Duke's Jazz Modules. And I agree, Duke is a class act.

[ncdrawl]

These were my favorite speaker a few years ago at RMAF. I may not have known it at the time but they left a lasting impression on me. Enough that I purchased a pair of the Geddes Abbey kits which have much in common with Duke's Jazz Modules. And I agree, Duke is a class act.

I am trying to coax duke into building some monitors for my recording studio. 

dont know if he'll have time or not(eh duke? )

[Duke]

Thanks very much for the thumbs-ups, gentlemen.

It may be a little while before I get those monitors developed, but it's something I'd very much like to do.  I also think there may be a market for a more small-room, against-the-wall optimized variation on the Jazz Module theme.  But the economy is taking a bite out of my R&D budget at the moment. 

Duke

[Rocket_Ronny]

Thanks for sharing ncdrawl.

Looks like a nice speaker for sure.

You compared the sound to a good ribbon microphone and this has me  .

Ribbon microphones have a muted high end, not what one would think when using the word ribbon. Most ribbon speakers give fantastic resolution and detail. While a good ribbon mic will give great imaging, and a warm presentation, they do mute the highs, especially when compared to a good condenser mike. So are you saying the speakers give a muted high end? Not what I would expect from the compression driver used.

Thanks,


Rocket_Ronny

[Russell Dawkins]

(OT for a moment) - what ribbon mics are you familiar with Ronny? I have Speiden and Royer SF12s and the Royer SF24 and I would call the top end un-exaggerated, but still there in proper proportion. They measure flat to 15kHz most of the way around, but do lack the boost around 7 - 12k of many a popular condenser. And many a popular speaker!

[arthurs]

SUPPORT DUKE LEJEUNE!  The industry needs people like him!

Nice speakers, nice pics and spot on in regards to Duke....a truly decent and humble man of considerable skills when it comes to designing and building speakers. 

[Rocket_Ronny]

Howdy Russell:      I figured you would chime in on the mic. thing.

I guess I will state it frankly, I am not a ribbon mike fan. At least not as main mikes. Yet if I ever bought one, or two, it would be a Royer.

When one listens to a good ribbon tweeter, to it's speed, detail, and openess, and then use a ribbon mike expecting the same results, they will say, huh! Of all the recordings I have heard using ribbon mics, including the one's Royer themselves offer up on their website, there is a muted quality to the sound. Now, given the thing recorded, the ribbon may well be the best mike for the job. You have done a wonderful job using ribbon mikes.

But like you said in our conversation a year, or two, ago, most musicians you record prefer the Royers while most audiophiles would want the extra detail of a great condenser like the Schoeps, and many Schoeps do not have the 7-12 khz bump. I guess it's the audiophile in me speaking.

I know on the Royer CD I have, it compares the Royer to different condensers and most times I prefer the condenser.

I am not sure if the same comparisons are on their website but for fun people can listen to a ribbon themselves.

http://www.royerlabs.com/session_photos.html


Rocket_now I am in deep do-do_Ronny     

[ncdrawl]

Sir, you have taken what I Said out of context. I said a "well designed" ribbon,  which in no case,  means "rolled off high end" (I am not including Royer in my "good" list, because , frankly,as a general sort of rule, they sound awful, at least to me. Harsh, strident, nearly "dynamic like" bite which makes them suitable for, well nothing. :    I have gone through a couple of sf12s and sf24s in my lifetime, but had I known about coles, id never have touched the royers...). Think Coles 4040s.. THAT is a good ribbon.....   I am an engineer specializing in Classical and Acoustic recordings, and my studio is a house of tubes,ribbons, transformers, and tape. Why? Because to be honest, those 4 things give "the sound"...  Do not get me wrong, I use schoeps mk21s, many gefell mk221s and dpa 4006s regularly, but when a client wants "the royal treatment" , they get u47s, my modified akg 426b(modded by stephen paul audio) Coles 4040s, akg c12s ,schoeps m221,  and others into my custom analogue 6/2 vacuum tube mixer straight to tape.... I could wax poetic about recording gear all day, but this isnt the forum...I did want to address the "rolled off high end" comment because I did not imply that in any way, shape or form...This is how rumours get started..some unknowing soul will take speculative statements(such as the one above about "rolled off high end") and run with them..doing damage in the process.


back to the speakers...

when I drew comparisons to a "good ribbon" I was implying a full range of frequencies, not too shy in any area, not too heavy, great high and low extension, enormous soundstage,  great transient attack, and with just the right amount of "sweetness" to wrap everything up in......   that is what Duke's amazing speakers give me.

Thanks for sharing ncdrawl.

Looks like a nice speaker for sure.

You compared the sound to a good ribbon microphone and this has me  .

Ribbon microphones have a muted high end, not what one would think when using the word ribbon. Most ribbon speakers give fantastic resolution and detail. While a good ribbon mic will give great imaging, and a warm presentation, they do mute the highs, especially when compared to a good condenser mike. So are you saying the speakers give a muted high end? Not what I would expect from the compression driver used.

Thanks,


Rocket_Ronny

[Russell Dawkins]

Hmmm, you've really got me thinking, ncdrawl!

Just the other day I heard my first pure Blumlein recording with a pair of Coles 4040s and I was mighty impressed. It was baritone and piano - the sort of thing I do, so I'm familiar with the sound of many recordings of this type. I've got to say this was one of the best of them - maybe the best.
Here it is, by an Australian engineer: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/3868720-post55.html
He also posted a guitar recording which is similarly impressive: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/3920562-post17.html

What I am hearing relates to what you are saying regarding flatness of response, i.e., it does sound flatter than the SF12 - at least the Royer SF12. This encourages me to actually take the trouble to compare my Royer SF12 to my Speiden SF12 that predates it and looks superficially identical, but is entirely different on the inside - different polepieces, ribbons, screens(?) and transformers (laminated vs toroidal).

As you say - "not too shy in any area, not too heavy" - is how the 4040 clips sound to me, and flat in this way doesn't sound boring, but beautiful.

[James Romeyn]

Heard for the 4th or 5th time Duke's JM, at AC facilitator Bill Berndt's place Sunday.

For a length of time Bill played his favorite Ozzie Ossborn metal at live SPL on vinyl through both his own Jolida Envoy 200W 211 transmitter-tube monos & at other times Edwin's great 300B- Elliano monos.  I worked at the Sausalito Record Plant decades ago w/ two JBL 15s & huge horn lens in each of the four corners.  I sat there looking at Duke's modestly sized speakers in sheer amazement at the unbelivable volumes of air being shoved around the room with absolutely no audible stress whatsover. 

The picture was strange because one is more used to seeing something about 2-4x larger to achieve a similar level of output.  They never hiccuped after 5-6 hours of horrendous use.  I know of nothing of similar size w/ the same output capability & resolution.     

The JM also played very subtle & polished Gilberto/Getz jazz & classic blues with great finesse.  These are among my favorite speakers ever.  The musicality & integrated wholistic character is constant & incredible yet never a distraction. 

Beyond being a great humble person, Duke is generous to a fault. 

[ncdrawl]

Hmmm, you've really got me thinking, ncdrawl!

Just the other day I heard my first pure Blumlein recording with a pair of Coles 4040s and I was mighty impressed. It was baritone and piano - the sort of thing I do, so I'm familiar with the sound of many recordings of this type. I've got to say this was one of the best of them - maybe the best.
Here it is, by an Australian engineer: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/3868720-post55.html
He also posted a guitar recording which is similarly impressive: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/3920562-post17.html

What I am hearing relates to what you are saying regarding flatness of response, i.e., it does sound flatter than the SF12 - at least the Royer SF12. This encourages me to actually take the trouble to compare my Royer SF12 to my Speiden SF12 that predates it and looks superficially identical, but is entirely different on the inside - different polepieces, ribbons, screens(?) and transformers (laminated vs toroidal).

As you say - "not too shy in any area, not too heavy" - is how the 4040 clips sound to me, and flat in this way doesn't sound boring, but beautiful.

Mr. Spearitt is a class act, online friend of mine, great guy. We have similar ideas when it comes to recording, both are in awe of Opus 3's wonderful engineer, Jan Erik Persson. (check out Opus 3!)

[ncdrawl]

The JM also played very subtle & polished Gilberto/Getz jazz & classic blues with great finesse.  These are among my favorite speakers ever. 

Amen to that. I sort of stumbled upon Duke by happenstance, (google search of "great sounding jazz speakers"! (seriously, thats how it happened! ) ) but thank God that I did. I am not exaggerating when I say that these were the best purchase ive ever made. Period.

also..Duke in his infinite modesty said that classical may not work on them, but ill be damned! They do everything well.

[James Romeyn]

Apology for brief OT:
Have either/any of you recording fanatics heard Ray Kimber's Iso-Mic recordings (made about 40 mins SE of my home)?  Ditto same question played back as recorded, 4-ch SACD?  Curious how you would rate above vs. your favorite standard stereo recordings.  I certainly don't have the experience you guys do w/ the best stereo techniques, but I'd be pretty shocked if such could rival Ray's Iso-Mic.  (IM has limitations: size of the 4-mic spacing, size of the cardiod damper, difficulty in setup, blocking of live performance views, ratio of signal to ambient noise because of large spacing mics-to-source...in other words, as usual, no free lunch...)  But the resulting dynamic range, image & stage qualities are just nuts.  It's the only source to cause my amps to shut down so far.   

[ncdrawl]

Apology for brief OT:
Have either/any of you recording fanatics heard Ray Kimber's Iso-Mic recordings (made about 40 mins SE of my home)?  Ditto same question played back as recorded, 4-ch SACD?  Curious how you would rate above vs. your favorite standard stereo recordings.  I certainly don't have the experience you guys do w/ the best stereo techniques, but I'd be pretty shocked if such could rival Ray's Iso-Mic.  (IM has limitations: size of the 4-mic spacing, size of the cardiod damper, difficulty in setup, blocking of live performance views, ratio of signal to ambient noise because of large spacing mics-to-source...in other words, as usual, no free lunch...)  But the resulting dynamic range, image & stage qualities are just nuts.  It's the only source to cause my amps to shut down so far.   

Yes, ive heard them, sound is ok/good but the setup is just ridiculous. About the farthest thing from practical! In my mind, nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing will rival pure blumlein.

[Berndt]

Heard for the 4th or 5th time Duke's JM, at AC facilitator Bill Berndt's place Sunday.

For a length of time Bill played his favorite Ozzie Ossborn metal
Beyond being a great humble person, Duke is generous to a fault. 

Forgive the interuption...
It was the Black Sabbath self titled album 180g.

[James Romeyn]

Apology for brief OT:
Have either/any of you recording fanatics heard Ray Kimber's Iso-Mic recordings (made about 40 mins SE of my home)?  Ditto same question played back as recorded, 4-ch SACD?  Curious how you would rate above vs. your favorite standard stereo recordings.  I certainly don't have the experience you guys do w/ the best stereo techniques, but I'd be pretty shocked if such could rival Ray's Iso-Mic.  (IM has limitations: size of the 4-mic spacing, size of the cardiod damper, difficulty in setup, blocking of live performance views, ratio of signal to ambient noise because of large spacing mics-to-source...in other words, as usual, no free lunch...)  But the resulting dynamic range, image & stage qualities are just nuts.  It's the only source to cause my amps to shut down so far.   

Yes, ive heard them, sound is ok/good but the setup is just ridiculous. About the farthest thing from practical! In my mind, nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing will rival pure blumlein.

Did you hear Ray's Iso-Mic played back on Ray's estimated $350k system w/ two floor-to- ceiling Soundlab stats per corner?  I have twice at CES.  This system will never be heard again in public.  One of Ray's guys explained at CES '09 that the stats just can not be moved any more because of the risk of damage.  I'd have to opine that all who have not heard this system are minus a reproduction reference unequaled anywhere in the world.  Further, as a Trinaural enthusiast, I must add that I find stereo lacking certain realism cues that can not be attained in any other way except for three or more channels.  Infinity IRS IIIs professionally setup in a huge dedicated room may be an exception to the above rule, but I never got to hear them in Trinaural.  One may opine that two dipoles or bipoles may achieve some of the advantages of a 3-ch system (but some downsides too).   

Your points are certainly well taken regarding Iso-Mic's Herculean setup difficulty.  Not for your favorite jazz club!       

Would love to read of list of a half-dozen of your favorite blumlein recordings.