Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: JMLab Chorus 714S Speakers by machani

Model:	Chorus 714S
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$650
Description:	Entry level JMLab floorstanding speakers
Manufacturer URL:	JMLab
Model Picture:	View

Review by machani ( A ) on July 19, 2004 at 21:31:36
IP Address: 24.87.215.133

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for the Chorus 714S

BACKGROUND:
Once I made up my mind to seperate my 5.1 home theater system from a dedicated stereo music system, my quest for a reasonably priced pair of good floor-standing speakers began.
After listening to a number of speakers and brands, I came accross a pair of JMLab Chorus 710 speakers belonging to a friend. I loved their overall neutrality, tonal accuracy, midrange punch and all round capability. Moreover, my friend is not a big fan of huge bass, nor am I.
I found that JMLab had updated its Chorus line in 2004, with the new "Chorus S" line. The Chorus 714S sits somewhere between last year's Chorus 710 and 715. It has a 5 1/2" polyglass mid-bass driver and a 5 1/2" woofer. The tweeter is 1" TNC inverted dome. The tweeter is made of a magnesium/aluminium alloy which replaces the treated titanium from previous years.
The frequency response reaches a new high of 28KHz in this line, the frequency range of the Chorus 714S being 50Hz - 28KHz (versus 49Hz - 22KHz of the Chorus 715). The rated impedence is 8 Ohms and sensitivity is 91dB.
When I went to buy my speakers in April 2004, the dealer (Commercial Electronics, Vancouver) had no 714S' in stock, so they let me take home their already broken-in floor model until the new ones arrived.
These speakers are extremely well built and finished. I have the "Calvados" (Cherry-like) finish, and there is actaully a real wood veneer on the speaker enclosure. So it complements classic furniture quite well, although not quite as "wife freindly" as the Kef Q4's (which I will review separately), but close.
SOUND
I hooked up my speakers to a Cayin TA-30 integrated tube amp (upgraded with Auricap capacitors) using 12 AWG cable (Radio Shack brand) and gold-plated banana plugs. These speakers have no bi-wire capability, but the crossover is extremely smooth (more of which I will touch on in the review).
The JMLab Chorus 714S got a 5-star rating in What Hi-Fi, May 2004 issue, and won a group test amongst six floorstanders in What Hi-Fi, July 2004 issue. (See http://www.focal.tm.fr/bancs/export/jmlab/chorusS/714S/714S_1.pdf ). To be fair, it got less than a stellar review in Hi-Fi Choice, July 2004 issue. Hi-Fi Choice thought the top-end was a bit too strong, giving them the impression that the speaker was brighter than normal. They also said that there was an emphasis on the upper bass which produced a "chestiness" in male voices and that the mid-band was not the smootest. My belief is that, based on my experience as detailed below, Hi-Fi Choice did not wait for the speakers to break when they did their review.
I did NOT experience the brightness described in the Hi-Fi Choice review in my already broken-in demo pair. Actually the highs were really clean, smooth and extended.
It was only when I received my new set of speakers and returned the demos did I notice the brightness. It then took a good six weeks for the new set to break in and then, magically and without notice, the mid and bottom end opened up beautifully. Gone again was the brightness, being replaced by wholesome speaker with wide mid-range.
I also did NOT experience chestiness in male voice as noted in the HiFi Choice review - probably because I have them positioned 3' from the wall. That said, these speakers do NOT require a lot of breathing room.
After the break in, the integration of the three drive units became extremely smooth and seemless. The use of the provided spikes removed any semblance of low-end boominess. The bass is tight and fast and the extension is also not bad.
The soundstage is quite impressive, but the speaker manual recommends a toe-in because the sweetspot is on the narrower side of average (but not too narrow). The imaging about as precise as it gets.
The speakers are really transparent and bring out fine detail in any music I throw at them. And I tried a variety of music ranging from classical, to jazz, rock and blues (I don't listen to hip-hop).So much tonal nuance is brought out that I could tell the differences between different cymbals being struck and the timbre of the drums.
CONCLUSION
Don't let the entry-level price of these speakers fool you. The combination of build quality, sonic neutrality, midrange punch, tight bass and all round capability make these speakers, in my opinion, a winner. Just have faith and let them break in.

Product Weakness: Needs 50 - 75 hours to break in. No bi-wire.
Product Strengths: Superb build and finish, smooth highs, wide midrange, tight bass.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Cayin TA-30
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	JVC XV-S60 DVD player with AOS Piccolo external DAC
Speakers:	JMLab Chorus S
Cables/Interconnects:	Radio Shack gold plated interconnects. Radio Shack 12 AWG speaker wire. Gold plated banana plugs.
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classical, jazz, rock.
Room Size (LxWxH):	14 x 18 x 9
Room Comments/Treatments:	High rise concrete building
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	None. The Cayin TA-30 has huge power transformer.
Type of Audition/Review:	Home Audition

Product Weakness:	Needs 50 - 75 hours to break in. No bi-wire.
Product Strengths:	Superb build and finish, smooth highs, wide midrange, tight bass.