Reference 3a decapo vs. J M Reynard Duets/Bliss


Wondering if anyone has had any experience with both of these speakers. They will be used in a small den (11' x 12')with tubes playing acoustical music such as vocals, jazz combos, and cello sonotas.

Looking for what differences to expect, what you may have liked or disliked about either of them.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.
no_regrets
I have owned the JMR Trentes and DeCapos

surprisingly the Trentes were easier to drive and I preferred them, I did not do a side by side comparison so I am not giving you a scientific impression, I owned the DeCapos a few years after the Trentes and they may have been under powered with my 8wpc Meishu, but they were a bit flat and muddy in the bass and lacked clarity in comparison.

fwiw the Trentes were among my favorite speakers so they were heavy competition for the DeCapos. They had a terrific musical quality that made you want to listen forever.

good luck

Phil
I have owned both of these exact speakers as part of the parade of small speakers that have passed through here during the past several years. The Duets I just sold, the Ref 3A's were several years ago.

They don't sound very much alike but they are both wonderful and superbly musical speakers -- musical meaning they communicate in a way that grabs you and pulls you into the music. I think Art Dudley's review of the Ref 3A in Stereophile was spot-on. And so was JA's measurements write up, in which he noted a mid-range rise. In my experience with it, this rise was a problem for me, but I can understand why many would be fine with it . The Ref 3A's have a big, open, dynamic sound that is, overall, forward in character -- there is a lot of imaging going on in front of the speakers. They have excellent and very adequate bass and a smooth, open treble. They play all kinds of music well, as I recall. I wouldn't mind having them back for another listen. They do very well with tubes.

The Duets, in my experience, are more restrained and have a smaller sound. They sound very immediate and have a "close up" perspective. JMR talk about them being both quick and warm, which I agree with. They have a woody warmth similar to Harbeths but are faster and more exciting. I described them as restrained compared to the Ref 3A, but they are less restrained than Harbeths. A bit less detailed and refined also, I would say. I used them on Skylan stands, which I am sure is quite common. The wonderful Bob Neill of Amherst Audio, who sold them to me, said that JMR's Magic Stands would be a significant upgrade, extending the bass and eliminating a bit of thickness that I heard. Both of those improvements would have been very welcome, but I never tried the Magic Stands. I used the Duets mainly with an Ayre integrated. I'm sure there are much better matches out there (Blue Circle is supposed to be the bomb), but I was not able to do much experimenting with amplification while I had the speakers. In my setup, the Duets were best with classical and other acoustic music, less good with rock.

By the way, my room is 17 x 23 and really needs a bigger speaker than the Duet. In a smaller room, they could be perfect. Ditto for the Ref 3As.
Thank you to both Phil and Drubin for the excellent and detailed responses. This has been very helpful to me.