Jamo S-426 Towers?

[spacemonkey]

Hey guys
Just writing in quickly to check if anyone has any feedback on the Jamo S-426 Towers. I recently stumbled upon them when auditioning the OWM3 BS from Polk. These were to be paired with a Denon 1612.

In my opinion, they are about 1k more expensive than the OWM 3s, but far better in terms of their sound reproduction considering they have one mid driver and one bass driver.

For a 13k price tag for a set, I am seriously contemplating them.
Feedback?

 

[hemantwaghe]

low priced Jamoes are freally bad ImHO....
Even a "small bookshelf" like wharfadale 10.1 beats them hollow

 

[spacemonkey]

Hey Hemanth
Thanks for replying.
What other brands do you recommend over them for a 10k - 15k price tag?
Have you ever auditioned these speakers anywhere for music?

Can you expect BS to sound as good as FS towers for a 2.1 gig? My eventual consideration would be to team them up into a 5.1 setup. But considering i am going for just a 2.1 setup right now with the Polk 110 SW and the Denon 1612, what should keep me happy in that price range if not for these babies?

 

[kernelpanicpopcorn]

A very important factor to achieve good sound is the rigidity of the cabinet. At the prices we are discussing, a quality fs cabinet is impossible to come by. On the other hand,as bs are smaller, they are easier to brace, making them sound better...

Sorry for the short reply, I'll elaborate tomorrow...

 

[spacemonkey]

So then I guess I should hold off and maybe try out a few more BS's before making up my mind.

For space constraints, I wasnt too keen on the Towers to start off with, but when comparing the S-426's and the Polk OWM 3's, i did find the 426's to be a lot better with their sound reproduction.

If any of you guys can recommend good BS's that would fit my budget range, do let me know.

Also, what are your takes on the Polk 110 SW?
Its a 200 Watt 10" driver. Pretty impressive when I auditioned it with the 1911 at ProFX. Planning on picking it up as the 11.5k pricetag on this is very lucrative as well.

 

[spacemonkey]

Side tracking again
Just read on the group buy option about the Wharfdale SW150.
Any good place to audition them in Mumbai and how good are they compared to the Polk 110?

 

[ShaQ.Blogs]

low priced Jamoes are freally bad ImHO....
Even a "small bookshelf" like wharfadale 10.1 beats them hollow

u can pretty much generalize that any low priced towers can only give u so and so much

 

[jls001]

For the price, the 426 sounds quite good. My comparisons are to a similar priced Yamaha FS and a Jamo 406.

If you like the sound, then there's no reason to be biased by the price. Or what others may say. Final listener will be you. If you can live with it, save yourself lots of money. I think the next available upgrade to this will be something like a Polk RTi 300 which will be 19-20K. AFAIK, there is nothing in between!
Joshua

 

[Teja]

What other brands do you recommend over them for a 10k - 15k price tag?......
Can you expect BS to sound as good as FS towers for a 2.1 gig?

I can recommend Mordaunt Short Carnival 6 FS for about 14K a pair, or their big brother the Carnival 8 for about 20K a pair. There was a big thread on these speakers in the hot deals section, but it got deleted for some reason. You can find a couple of reviews on the net.

I have the C6 hooked up to a Norge amp and my use is about 50-50 between music and movies. I am very satisfied, but then I haven't really heard any other speakers (except for a couple of short auditions in the store) so I cannot give you a proper comparo.

As for your second question, yes a good BS can sound as good as (or even better than) a FS and vice-versa. But in the end, get what appeals most to your own ears.

Cheers.

 

[spacemonkey]

Thanks for replying guys.

Honestly, i doubt any of the aforementioned speakers are "bad". That perception is usually cause of taste and subjectivity. If we were all here to give objective feedback, we'd all end up with the same set of speakers and amplifiers.

As it currently stands, there are some consequences that govern my choice of Amplifier and Speaker units.

1. Cost
2. Performance

I would say its a 50% split right down the middle with my decision of picking up something. When I decided on the 1612, I could have easily stretched my budget a tad bit more and factored in the now heavily discounted 1911 which has way better features than the 1612 has. But honestly, for me, those differences are marginal. Moreover, the availability of that USB port in front to feed through metadata from a USB drive/iPod/iPad just makes it so much more simpler for me as most of my music would be from those sources. Having said all that, the performance difference wasnt so drastic.

About the floor standing speakers, the bookshelves and the subwoofer. My worry is that there is a distinct difference in terms of quality of delivery between speakers. Some are better than the other, but its all very subjective. My question to the forum was more on the lines of build quality and efficiency and overall product performance. Like comparing apples to apples. You'd still pick the most appealing apple.

So having said all that, I've spent 27,500 on my Denon 1612. I am in the market for a 2.1 kit and had set an estimated budget of 50k for my total unit. With the 1612 in the bag, i have 22,500 to spare.

Lets just say, I am hoping to score some nice front speakers, irrespective of their floorstanding or bookshelf nature and one subwoofer (maybe stretching my budget a little). I had initially shortlisted the Polk 110 as the subwoofer which I was able to armtwist a deal of 11,700 for and the OWM 3's for another 10,400. Now with the Jamo towers / Wharfedale 10.1 and the possibility of the Wharfedale SW150, I'll have to stretch my budget even more.
I got to face a simple fact though, there will always be something better (and more expensive) to buy.

Mordaunt Short Carnival's dont sound like a bad idea. Any idea where I can demo them in Mumbai, although I did notice that your not from around these blocks

Objective feedback?

 

[BLASTO]

Tryout mourdaunt short aviano 2s.
They are the best for ~20k IMO.

You are in mumbai, it should be easy for an audition.

 

[BLASTO]

As for Jamos, avoid anything that starts with 'S'. They are for movies more than music.
The 'C' (Concert series) is better by a mile.

I have the C405 and am happy. You can find one for 30k in mumbai I suppose as it is discontinued. Ask for it in the same shop and audition. C605 is also good but a bit costlier.

Edit: You wont need a subwoofer for these speakers.

 

[spacemonkey]

As for Jamos, avoid anything that starts with 'S'. They are for movies more than music.
The 'C' (Concert series) is better by a mile.

I have the C405 and am happy. You can find one for 30k in mumbai I suppose as it is discontinued. Ask for it in the same shop and audition. C605 is also good but a bit costlier.

Edit: You wont need a subwoofer for these speakers.

Thanks for the feedback bro, but for that kind of money, i'll seriously be stretching it. Would the Wharfedale DX-1 Home Theater Package any good then? Its on the group buy and seems to be the latest one from the Wharfe's.

 

[BLASTO]

Thanks for the feedback bro, but for that kind of money, i'll seriously be stretching it. Would the Wharfedale DX-1 Home Theater Package any good then? Its on the group buy and seems to be the latest one from the Wharfe's.

I have mentioned in other threads also. If you are looking for speakers <30k, stick with the bookshelves.

Mordaunt short avino 2 is MY choice in your budget. Audition and decide.

 

[BLASTO]

For the price, the 426 sounds quite good. My comparisons are to a similar priced Yamaha FS and a Jamo 406.

Just an info.
ANY speakers in the price range will be better than Jamo S406. Dont even consider that. It is a waste of money!!

(Iam not talking of 426)

 

[spacemonkey]

Just updating some more info as I go along this journey of finding the elusive speaker kit.

Yesterday i had the opportunity of auditioning the Jamo s426's alongside Jamo c405's. One was listed at 13k and the latter at 40k (odd cause it's out of production and shouldn't cost that much). I had him switch between the two randomly as they were both connected. I auditioned them with some vocals and i must say, although there was a difference between the c405's and the s426's, the 426's sure did hold their own. The midrange sounded a bit more hollow when compared, but if I had nothing to compare them against, they'd sound just great. In my limited experience, I don't think they are a bad buy given their extremely low pricing and when that is compared to their performance, I must say I was impressed.

None the less, I am auditioning the Wharfedale 10.1 and the SW150 today. Hopefully will get to listen to the Aviano 2's as well. Doing this so I can make full use of the Group Buy option if they suit my needs.

Anyone have any feedback comparing the Polk PSw150 / 110 and the Wharfedale SW150?

 

[Kittu]

Jamo entry level series are pretty bad, look at E series or C 6xx series if you are planning for JAMO.

 

[BLASTO]

Jamo entry level series are pretty bad, look at E series or C 6xx series if you are planning for JAMO.

Key kittu,

I did a side by side comparo of C405 and C605 and c605 had a lack of bass and some smoothness. They were priced same (2-3k more) and while C605 was in production, the 405 was not, I eventually picked up the 405 because they sounded better in comparison. C605s would definetely need a sub even or sterio setup.

C605s could be new to the shelf than 405s which was older and burned in. I would never know.

 

[BLASTO]

Just updating some more info as I go along this journey of finding the elusive speaker kit.

Yesterday i had the opportunity of auditioning the Jamo s426's alongside Jamo c405's. One was listed at 13k and the latter at 40k (odd cause it's out of production and shouldn't cost that much). I had him switch between the two randomly as they were both connected. I auditioned them with some vocals and i must say, although there was a difference between the c405's and the s426's, the 426's sure did hold their own. The midrange sounded a bit more hollow when compared, but if I had nothing to compare them against, they'd sound just great. In my limited experience, I don't think they are a bad buy given their extremely low pricing and when that is compared to their performance, I must say I was impressed.

None the less, I am auditioning the Wharfedale 10.1 and the SW150 today. Hopefully will get to listen to the Aviano 2's as well. Doing this so I can make full use of the Group Buy option if they suit my needs.

Anyone have any feedback comparing the Polk PSw150 / 110 and the Wharfedale SW150?

What amps were used? You would see bigger difference when connected to better stereo amps and CD player.

I auditioned them with S606 which was 32k with high end maraantz and they did not come close.

 

[spacemonkey]

Hey Blasto
If i did decide on the 405's, which I am tending towards for their compactness and size, what deal should I ask for?

This guy at the Jamo store quoted 40k. Is that in accordance? Sounds odd to me..

To answer your question, the 405's and 426's were played with a stereo amp. I just dont recall the name though.
Have you rigged up your kit with a Subwoofer? If yes, which one?
How do they play with a Denon 1612?