Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Joseph Audio Rm33si Reference Standard Speakers by Atexanathome

Model:	Rm33si Reference Standard
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$7499
Description:	3-way Loudspeaker w/Asymmetrical Infinite Slope crossover
Manufacturer URL:	Joseph Audio
Model Picture:	View

Review by Atexanathome ( A ) on April 09, 2006 at 18:09:11
IP Address: 65.5.15.23

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I bought these used on Audiogon for $4600 + shipping. It was a pretty good deal;these are good enough that it will be hard to justify upgrading unless I get a new house with a large dedicated listening room. The seller was upgrading to a very expensive German Speaker (Audio Physiks or MBL?).
I bought these without seeing or hearing them first, mainly because of positive reviews in The Audio Critic of the RM7Si monitors. Jeff Joseph seems to have design goals mostly in line with those recommended by Floyd Toole, and I like the current lines of Infinity speakers designed according to those criteria.
I already had Infinity Interlude 40 speakers that were real bargains. I still use them in a bedroom system. They had an amazing wide lateral soundstage,but were lacking a little bass for organ music and movies (this is a dual-purpose system used for most of my TV viewing). I used a Velodyne sub for bass reinforcement, but I thought something closer to full range speakers would be nice.
The RM33Si definitely has enough bass for most music, even organ music. They won't shake the floor and vibrate your backside like Advents in the corners of a small room, but the bass is quite good. Actually, with the TV going in the next room, I can feel bass transients as I type this on the PC in the computer room. About the only time I feel something missing is with my Direct to Disk Virgil Fox albums (The Fox Touch Vol. 1 &2). You get second harmonics of the 32' pedal notes, but it's not quite earth-shaking. I measure the speakers with a corrected RS meter and Stereophile CD#2 at -3 dB at 31.5 Hz, -6 dB at 25 Hz and -10 dB at 20Hz. These are about as good as 8" woofers get.
The bass doesn't really stand out or seem overly prominent, it's just there when it's supposed to be. They basically sound like high-quality minimonitors with a good small sub. They seem very refined, with pinpoint imaging like a minimonitor, but bass transients are definitely there and are quite solid. They are sufficiently good even on movie sound tracks that I don't switch in the two Velodyne HGS-10 subs unless it's something radical, like T2 or Midway.
The human voice is reproduced extremely well, chamber music is excellent (harpsichord localization is pinpoint in Bach concerti for multiple harpsichords), jazz is not my favorite genre, but Kind of Blue sounds good. I haven't found a major weakness anywhere, though I'm betting that a great dipole speaker might give an even better sense of spaciousness (Orion or big Soundlabs?).
Soundstage depth and bass extension are the biggest differences between the Infinity IL-40 and the Josephs. The RM33Si also doesn't have the insanely wide lateral soundtage of the IL-40.The Stereophile #2 test CD has a band where someone walks around a church clapping. You get a better sense of the size of the church and a stronger sense of being there with the RM33Si. The Infinities seem to squash the space a little, like the church is a little smaller. The IL-40 has a somewhat recessed soundstage; the Infinity Intermezzo 2.6 had a forward placement of solo guitars, like the player was in your lap or on the coffee table. The IL-40 put the guitar just behind the TV, and the Josephs put it right between the speakers. Like Baby Bears porridge, it's just right.
If you need a relatively small, unobtrusive floorstanding speaker that looks good and sounds great, try these. I think these are the best looking Joseph speakers. The closest competitors appear to be the Merlin VSM's. Both are probably at their best in small to medium size rooms. You might run into some dynamic compression if you like rock at true concert levels or if you put them in a large room, but these will play The Who's Quadrophenia at sane levels with plenty of punch and authority.

Product Weakness: Width of soundstage is not the greatest; bass doesn't quite go deep enough for a few organ albums with real 16 Hz energy (not many); very insensitive, not a good choice for loud music in a large room
Product Strengths: Deep bass from a pretty small box, looks good;excellent lateral imaging; a lot of soundstage depth;really disappear on good source material

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Odyssey Stratos Xtreme monos (300W/channel)
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Dynaco PAS-4
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Pioneer DV-45A universal player with Modwright P/S and 2-CH mods,modified NAD 533 with Moth modified RB250, Lyra Helikon, Verion mk1 transformer
Speakers:	Joseph RM33Si, 2 Velodyne HGS10 subs, Audiocontrol Bijou equalizer and Marchand XM-9 60 Hz crossover (24 dB/octave)
Cables/Interconnects:	Very assorted, RS, blujeans, Cableplex, Audioquest, Transparent (whatever I could pick up cheap on the Internet0
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Mostly Baroque and Classical, some classic rock,use for TV sound (Stargate SG-1 has amazing sound on DirectTV);Virgil Fox The Fox touch, Miles Davis Kind of Blue, Complete Keyboard Works of JS Bach with Martin Galling
Room Size (LxWxH):	21 x 14 x 12
Room Comments/Treatments:	Open floor plan, room size should actually include dining/ kitchen area because of the large opening between them; two 18
Time Period/Length of Audition:	About two years
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Monster HT-2000 power conditioner
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Width of soundstage is not the greatest; bass doesn't quite go deep enough for a few organ albums with real 16 Hz energy (not many); very insensitive, not a good choice for loud music in a large room
Product Strengths:	Deep bass from a pretty small box, looks good;excellent lateral imaging; a lot of soundstage depth;really disappear on good source material