Janszen za2.1 vs nola metro grand ref series2

Fair question Rcprince, so even though 2out2sea made his/her decision I'll try to answer for the general interest of other readers.

First off, I'll admit that soundstage is not my highest priority, that goes to tonality and a sense of involvement with the music. I attend a fair amount of live musical performances and I almost never hear the precise instrument placement as described by many magazine reviewers. That precision requires very close seating to the performers and I prefer to be back just a little to better take in the whole perspective.

Secondly, my room does not allow for optimum speaker placement since the right channel cannot be more than about 2 feet from the side wall. I've heard Duntech Princesses in four other rooms and all allowed better soundstaging than my set up did. Speaking with John Dunlavy confirmed that ideal placement provided at least 4-5 feet distance from sidewalls.

Now for those not familiar with the Princesses they are 6 feet tall with five drivers in a w/m/t/m/w array. So they do produce a very large soundstage, including width in a proper set up. The Janszens are a little more than half that size. In my room there is no appreciable difference in width of soundstage between the two models. And the height from the Janszens is greater that would be expected from their physical size. There has been a four year interval between owning these two speaker systems but from memory I don't feel there is much compromise in soundstage height.

One area where the Janszens excel, which as mentioned was not a priority for me, is image placement within the soundstage. With careful setup my system now presents more precision than any of the multiple other systems I've lived with through the years. I was not looking for this but it has been fun to experience.

Regarding Maggies, the most stupendous soundstage I've heard was recently from a friend's MG-20s. But to achieve that he places them almost half-way out into the room. Unless you close your eyes it can be something of a "2001" experience with those two large black obelisks there in front of you. Not many situations can allow for such placement and one of the benefits in the Janszen design is their performance when placed fairly close to the front wall (if fact they demand not to be pulled too far out for best bass extension). Any model Maggie, like all dipoles, will benefit from placement well out into the room. The hybrid Janszen does not radiate from the rear so does not have that need.

So I hope this longer reply helps 2out2sea with setup and offers a little more information for any others considering the Janszens.

2out2sea, congrats on moving forward with these speakers. I have had my pair for over 2 years, being one of the early adaptors. I've also enjoyed being close to David's operations and have spent time with him at his shop on a couple of occasions while he upgraded my pair to bring them to their current design. He is a great guy to spend time with as well as to do business.

As Pryso noted I used to be in the big SS amp camp but have gone all tubes. I used to have a Sanders Magtech for my Maggie 1.7s (a superb combo) but I now run a Decware ZMA with only 40 watts/channel. I actually had an earlier Decware amp briefly at 25 watts/channel before the ZMA became available.

My room is a 13' by 12' spare bedroom. I can exceed listening levels that I'm comfortable with in this room with the ZMA amp. The point here is David's speakers are indeed an easy load and tube amps from 25-100 watts are plenty unless you intend on damaging your ears.

I have come to enjoy most how correct everything sounds and how seamless the hybrid design is. Solo piano will convince you how cohesive these are. The crossover happens at roughtly the middle of the keyboard. I have tried (hard) to hear that transition and cannot, nor does the timbre of the sound change. It's perfect.

I local friend has 9' Soundlab speakers in his house. As impressive as the presentation is with those, I have no envy and feel my sound is as good or better in some ways. I like also that the soundstage is at the correct scale. I felt the Maggies were larger than needed in that area, similar to the Soundlabs.

I know the waiting is no fun. I had to for mine, as well as with the Decware amps. Do let us know your impressions once you get them.

thank you again everyone for your feedback. it is through a dedicated community like this that makes it possible to wade through the endless possibilities in hifi. I am currently just watching the calendar until the speakers arrive.

brad

On the truck for delivery on Monday. I will post impressions once they arrive. I got a little holiday discount on them as well which was nice.

ok so first impressions. these are very different. much more focused with a smaller sweet spot both vertically and horizontally. The sound is unlike anything I have heard previously. mind you my room is small so that limits some of the acoustics.

at first I thought they were less dynamic than the gallos that I currently have. they sounded more polite and laid back. but, after listening for a while I realized that all of the music was there. I didn't find myself leaning forward in my listening seat to try and hear deeper into the music. it was all there, just not shouty and forward. my old vandersteens had a similar laid back sound, but sounded veiled compared to the gallos. the janszens sound laid back and non-fatiguing without a loss of detail.

the width of the soundstage is smaller than with the gallos. the gallos have a 300* tweeter that is hard to beat. it is essentially a small electrostat tweeter. however, something in the drivers is harsher than the janszens. I will sacrifice a little width to gain the depth of soundstage and fatigue free listening.

the bass can't stack up to the gallos, but is very natural sounding and not lacking. the 250w subwoofer amp with the gallos results in subterranean 20hz depths. the janszens are close to 30hz and it's only because I was so used to the gallos that I miss anything at all. electronica music like Mannheim steamroller will require me pulling my subwoofer back out. luckily I bought a decent one a year or so ago and it's been mostly living in it's box.

now the most marked sound qualities I am hearing are pretty astounding. the center fill is otherworldly. my gallos would always lock the singer in one spot and move the instruments out to the sides around the singer. the instruments were never centered between the speakers, but rather were separated as if on either side of the singer. with the janszens everything populates the same soundstage, but each is defined uniquely. the sound is so different that it is hard to compare.

lastly the janszens do something that makes no sense to me. I have never experienced a speaker that at times sounds like I'm wearing a set of headphones. my gosh it is amazing!


the stature of the speakers is very similar to the gallos. they are slightly more substantial, but almost dead even in height. they are very nice looking as well. very simple and understated. there's not even a janszen label on them except a silk screen next to the binding posts. they get a high wife approval factor compared to the gallos.