Joseph Audio RM33si & others in the $8,000 range

One of my best friends owns the Joseph RM33si. He also uses SS amps and preamp. He has them in a room with some problems. He has them very close to the back wall. I have never been impressed with any of his systems.

I am now wanting to spend as much time as possible listening to his incredible music making machine. He will soon have his Spectral 360 monos, Mit Oracle IC and speaker cable, and will soon add dedicated lines. I can't wait to hear what will be an obvious improvement over his already excellent music making setup.

I hope his new beautiful, classy, knockout bride can tolerate my many visits to come. i just won't let her get to know me too good. I have a new system to listen to and i didn't pay a penny. The RM33si is one of a few great speakers. You may never know it listening to it in a dealers showroom. I am not a Jeff Joseph fan. I don't even like him for reasons that has nothing to do with his integrity, service, or any reasons that should cause concern buying his products. But i am sold on the RM33si.

I like the RM33sis, but they just didnt get my toe tapping enough in the audition. I also worry about the low impedance.

What did get me going are the new Avantgarde Solos---tremendous speaker at the same price, including built-in amps. Perhaps the best speaker I have heard under 13-14k.

Cheers,

the joseph audio speakers sounded great at ces, and no, they didn't ask me to vote for them. they were a bit too crisp/dry for longterm enjoyment, though.

i would have to steer you towards auditioning vandersteens. the 5's are particularly outstanding. yes, i know they cost a bit more, but watch for a used pair.

Hey there - I know this is about 33si which in advance you have my vote to buy... they are just great... I am an opera tenor so I guess and hope my ears are in good shape with regards to others'... I guess less subjective at least... they sound like the real thing (almost as any other some other speakers including $50k and $60k ones).

I just wanted to let you know that I happily own a pair of 25SIs and they sound beautifully and I have auditioned various times the 33s and I think they are superior (specially for the money), some findings are: Thruth of timbre and spatial information presentation, more relaxed presentation.

And I do not think these are the kind of speakers which will demand to have a huge space on the back to perform great. On the other hadn they wont demand a BIG DEAL OF POWER... HOW ARE U DRIVING THEM?.

SOME OF MY GEAR IS: PLINIUS SA250 MKIV (with latest factory upgrade), Plinius M16p preamp, and ML390s CDP... cables are important... I recommend to you to consider silver wiring for these speakers at least in my set up it worked better.

Contact me to chat!

regards

ALEX

In defense of Jeff Joseph and his speakers, while I found the format of playing controlled material less to my liking than just playing what folks want to hear (this can be said about most exibits, and is a pet peeve of mine at the 3 shows I've been to), I personally found the Pearl/Manley set-up at Hi-Fi 2002 to definitely be among the best if not the best at the show (the "St James Infirmiry" finale was THE BEST "you are there" demo), Jeff or Eva Marie Manley did not ask for my vote but Jeff did remind folks to vote as he stated above. I would reserve final judgement on the Piega because I just didn't like the 5 channel demo by Sanibel, certainly not because of the speakers which sounded quite seamless for a multi-driver system. Both are nice systems but like Twl, at this price point Sound Labs A-3's would also be on my short list. I thought they were a bit more than 8K though.

With your existing equipment, I would think the Piega would a better match than the Joseph which would benefit greater from tube gear IMO.