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Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Jean-Marie Reynaud Trente Speakers by Grover

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REVIEW: Jean-Marie Reynaud Trente Speakers

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Model: Trente
Category: Speakers
Suggested Retail Price: $2300
Description: 3 way loudspeaker system using two drivers
Manufacturer URL: Jean-Marie Reynaud
Model Picture: View

Review by Grover ( A ) on January 08, 2003 at 19:16:13
IP Address: 64.4.130.231
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Most of you probably are familiar with the JMR Trentes as they’ve had some pretty good press over the years. Briefly, they’re stand mounted speakers, 4 ohms, 45 to 22000 Hz frequency response and 88 db sensitivity. Our living room serves double-duty as our listening room, so I had to make some compromises with speaker placement given the fireplace, furniture etc. The speakers span the corner of the room, one placed on the short wall and one on the long wall with the entertainment center in between. The short wall is about 60% glass so there’s a potential for some bad reflection. 40 watt tube amplifier, tube preamp and CD player, speaker cable is Analysis Plus Oval 9 with their T1 spades, single wired and the speaker posts are jumpered with Zu Cable IBIS.

Some of the physical criteria I was looking for in a speaker were beauty, small footprint and ease of positioning. The Trentes fit the bill perfectly. I have them on the JMR Magic Stands which are 28 inches tall and black. The speakers are cherry stained beech veneer in a subdued butcher block pattern. Fit and finish on both speakers and stands are excellent and visually gorgeous. The stands are not weighted at the bottom and are a bit top heavy with the speakers in place - especially on my carpeted floor. We have a couple of Golden Retrievers that like to wrestle in the living room and although the speakers haven’t toppled yet, a good hit would knock them over. If you have dogs or kids, a stand with more weight and mass at the bottom might be advisable especially on carpet. Wanting a bit more stability, I inquired about spikes with the U.S. Distributor, Fanfare International, and they are sending a set for me to try out. The Magic Stands don’t come with spikes as JMR thinks the bass performance might suffer somewhat with the spikes in place. We’ll see.

I have the latest version of the Trentes, but have never heard the previous version so can’t offer any comparisons. Music I enjoy is mostly folk or folk-rock based, chamber music, ballad oriented rock and some jazz.

The Reynaud “Magic CD” break-in CD should be considered mandatory. It reportedly speeds break-in by a factor of ten, and after using it I believe it. I ran the Magic CD on continuous play for four days while at work then listened to music CDs after that. The speakers sounded great after about 10 days and maybe 75 hours or so of playing. (You don’t want to know what they sounded like before that).

The best quality of these speakers is the huge sweet spot. In fact, the whole house is the sweet spot with these speakers playing! Now obviously, sitting between the speakers provides the best soundstage and most realistic presentation. But the Trentes still have a wonderful coherence – melding of treble, midrange and bass into a musical whole and with good dynamics – no matter where you are in relation to the speakers. Off axis, standing, sitting, far left, far right, down the hallway and in a different room; the Trentes still draw you into the music. They are remarkable.

I can’t really find much to complain about with the Trentes. I thought they might be a bit veiled, but changing the tubes in my CD player fixed that. I thought they might be congested and lacking in soundstage focus, but dropping the fabric blinds on the living room windows fixed that. The only thing I can say is they might not disappear quite as well as my Vandersteen 1B speakers with the Vandersteens doing a bit better job of pinpointing the instruments in their own acoustical space. But there’s soooo much more information available with the Trentes that the trade off is more than worthwhile. Last night I was playing the soundtrack from “O Brother Where Art Thou” and my wife from the kitchen says, “Is that the same CD we’ve always had?” I say Yes, Why? She says, “Well, there’s so much more music in the background that I’ve never noticed before.” (I love it when purchase decisions get validated like that!)

Treble presentation is quite detailed with just the right sparkle and decay on cymbals. Bass response is superb for such a small speaker. The bass is tuneful, articulate and not just that one note boom. Male vocals are particularly good. I’m totally enjoying Mark Knopfler, Richard Thompson and Lyle Lovett. Yeah I know, some of you are probably saying, “Jees, how could anyone actually enjoy Lyle Lovett?!”

If I could use just one word to describe the Trentes, that would be “organic” because the music just sounds so alive. The Chieftains have a CD out called “Long Black Veil” with some great music and guest musicians such as Sting, Mick Jagger, Mark Knopfler and Sinead O’Connor. Sinead O’Connor does a hauntingly beautiful version of “The Foggy Dew”, a traditional Irish ballad about the 1916 Easter Uprising that is sheer poetry to hear. It’s done with battlefield instruments such as pipes and drums. Partial lyrics are…

But the bravest fell, and the requiem bell rang mournfully and clear
For those who died that Eastertide in the Springing of the year.
And the world did gaze in deep amaze at those fearless men and true
Who bore the fight that freedom’s light might shine through the foggy dew.

Well about this time the “battle drums” and the bagpipes kick in along with Sinead’s haunting voice, and hell, I’ve got tears in my eyes and I’m not even Irish! The Trentes convey emotion really well and are just a whole lot of fun!

There are a lot of really great speakers out there in the budget range of up to about $3,000. I was somewhat constrained in my search in that the speaker needed to mate well with my 40 watt tube amplifier and my desire for an easily movable speaker that fit into our living room. I’m just ecstatic over the Trentes, feeling I’ve made a choice that I’ll be happy with for a long time and that can serve me well as my system grows and changes.


Product Weakness: Binding posts a bit small; will uncover any flaws in your room acoustics or weaknesses in your equipment.
Product Strengths: Bass Response, conveys superb emotion, room filling sound. Detail.


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Anthem Amp 1 modified with premium parts.
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Music Reference RM5 Mk II
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Heart CD6000 and JA Michel Gyrodek with Linn Ittok arm and Grado cartridge
Speakers: J.M. Reynaud Trente
Cables/Interconnects: Clarity Labs Foxfire, Homegrown Audio Silver Lace, AP Oval 9
Music Used (Genre/Selections): See Review
Room Size (LxWxH): 27 x 16 x 8
Time Period/Length of Audition: 2 months
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Jean-Marie Reynaud Trente Speakers - Grover 19:16:13 01/8/03 ( 6)