A little late in responding but I have been out of the audiophile game while I moved. I have to say that the Joseph Audio RM25si's are wonderful in my 2 channel music system. Incredible, in fact. I have an all B&W Nautilus 805 HT system powered by a B&K amp and an Anthem AV20 pre. That sounds good. But my JA's, powered by Plinius SA102 and a Plinius MK16 pre, with Cardas Gold Cross speaker cables, Au24 interconnects and a Theta Digital Miles CD Player is easily the standard by which I compare everything to. The sound is amazing. Warmer and sweeter than the B&W's . . . I am going to try to make a HT system with them since I can't have both anymore. :( |
I Just got my used pair of RM7si Signature II's and bought a Bel Canto S300 Dual-Mono Class D amp to power it. My source is a Benchmark DAC1 Pre. I picked up the speakers for a grand and the amp for 800 bucks. I'm pretty happy with it so far. I had Dynaudio BM5a's and these Joseph Audio's have a much more revealing mid range and the low end is a bit more accurate. |
what electronics is everyone using with their joseph audio speakers? any thoughts on tube vs ss? any brands to recommend? |
I have always enjoyed listening to them at the Stereophile NYC Shows. I especially enjoyed the 33LE's at the 2007 HE Show. I have never owned a pair, but they are on my future short list. Jeff Joseph is also one of the truly nice guys I have come across at audio shows and it is great to see a good guy succeed. |
One of the best speakers I heard at RMAF. |
I was pleasantly surprised at how good they sounded at shows, and they were much friendlier in person than here on Audiogon. Still, not on my short list, but certainly in the next tier. |
Just to clarify two posts above: only the second paragraph is from Stereophile, the rest is mine. |
I have a pair of insiders that I had to install in my main system for family reasons last summer. They sound great for such a little speaker inside a wall! I can't wait for my 1 year old son to be able to be in the same room as a tower speaker so I can get a pair of RM25s. They work great with tubes btw.
Cheers,
Jim |
LOL - I'm a B&W fan (although not as much as I used to be). Joseph Audio bought out (or uses) Infinite Slope and their crossover ideas. From a 1996 Stereophile:
Joseph Audio is a relatively new New York based company making loudspeakers designed by Richard Modaferri, who for a long time was one of the engineering lights at McIntosh. All the Joseph models feature Modaferri's patented "Infinite Slope" crossover topology, where a modest network (in terms of number of components used) produces high- and low-pass filter slopes in excess of 100dB/octave.
As I understand it, the crossovers have a very severe drop. For example, if the crossover from the midrange to the tweeter is at 5000 Hz, almost nothing below that point reaches the tweeter, and vice versa.
That sounds like a good idea on paper, but I'm sure that accounts to some extent for the shortcomings I perceive.
Let your ears be the judge - pay no attention to the man behind the keyboard.
I had another point to make, but it escapes me. |
Amazing how this stuff hits people so differently. I'm completely opposite of Seditious3, and it's B&Ws that strike me the way the Josephs sound to him. In fact, probably one of my top 5 show experiences was hearing Louis Armstrong from St. James Infirmary (on vinyl) through the Pearls. How anyone could've heard that and not been at least somewhat impressed is beyond me, but so it goes...
I've heard Josephs numerous times at dealers and shows, and it's one of those few speakers that always sound good to me. Natural yet detailed, large and spatious 3D soundstage, excellent ability to disappear in the room, etc. I don't own them, but when I upgrade they'll surely be on my list. |
I've got to be the lone dissent. I've heard them several times at hi-fi shows, so it was their setup. I have found them dull and uninvolving. Not neutral, but blah every time, especially in the mids and bass. I've always wondered why people like them so much. But that's just me... |
I've owned the RM7si Sig for over 7 years, so I'm completely biased in their favor. I would love to move up the line, but don't really have the room for it.
Someday I'll get a chance to hear the Pearl's |
Very flat impedance curve; extremely easy to drive.
Great speakers.
No affiliation with Joseph. |
Although I have limited exposure to Joseph speakers, I cannot recall reading anything bad about them....ever! |
Every time I heard Joseph speakers at the NYC H.E. shows, I always went away impressed. Very smooth, open, natural sounding speakers, IMHO. Enjoy! |
Heard the Pearl II's at the Denver show. Awesome. |
I have RM25SI and I think there fantastic! They work great with tubes and S/S. Great value. |
I own and love the Rm25si MkII's for over seven years.
Tremendous value for $$$$.
Plays everything well. Huge sweet spot.
There's a reason you don't see much used on A'gon.
They just sound right. |
