Jamo C607 and Jamo C603...

[DLeague]

Continuing Discussion

Highfigh: Since 2004, but what does that have to do with your answer. I have wood veneer speakers since the 1970's, never did like them with the veneer splitting or pulling loose. I prefer the photo print vinyl myself, looks like wood veneer, last longer with fewer problems. I did kick off an email to Jamo for some feed back on why they are using vinyl print now since veneer is cheap in China where they're built.

 

[highfigh]

Highfigh: Since 2004, but what does that have to do with your answer. I have wood veneer speakers since the 1970's, never did like them with the veneer splitting or pulling loose. I prefer the photo print vinyl myself, looks like wood veneer, last longer with fewer problems. I did kick off an email to Jamo for some feed back on why they are using vinyl print now since veneer is cheap in China where they're built.

When you started dealing with Jamo gives me a frame of reference and that's the year they were sold to Klipsch, so that tells me you may not have talked with the original people in Chicago, unless they were transitional. If you talked to anyone at Jamo who's Danish, they were original employees. A lot can change in the world markets in the more than 20 years since we asked why they changed and you make a good point about the possibility of using real wood veneer, sourced from China. When they stopped using real wood, all of their cabinets and most of the drivers were made in Denmark. China was a much smaller player in everything at that time.

I did some home theater work on a loft in downtown Milwaukee and the kitchen cabinets were photo-print veneer. With the finish used on them, it looked absolutely real. It's a great alternative, although a lot of that is more expensive than real wood if the wood comes from China.

 

[manlystanley]

Let me clarify one point on the dark apple finish, it is not some cheap color impregnated thing you find on cheap American made wood colored speakers. This is a photo finished vinyl that is so good you need a excellent close vision (or magnifying glass) to even decide if it is real or not. It isn't necessarily cheaper to use this finish, but the thin wood veneers are soft and less durable. Longevity is the reason they use this type of finish, and to this day my wife does not know this finish isn't wood veneer.

I agree. IMHO the DA looks gorgeous!

Best Regards,
Stan

 

[TjMV3]

So who designed the C40, C60 and C80 Series?

If the original founders retired, who designed these speakers and who is designing any future Jamo speakers?

 

[DLeague]

Jamo Today

TjMV3: I cannot answer for what happened 10-11 years ago, but the complete design and development team is in their headquarters location near Copenhagen. The manufacturing is in PRC (China) operated 100% by Klipsch Group, and that's why this question about finish seems to still be a question. As far as the relationship with Klipsch, Jamo does manages all of the Klipsch Group in Copenhagen for Europe and part of Asia. The manufacturing in China should not be taken as some reduction in quality as that is not true. Some of the largest international audio brands have manufacturing in China including KEF for some models, and B&W for the 600 Series. American brands such as BIC (who uses Danish Vifa/Peerless drivers) also have their manufacturing in China to reduce the production cost. I'm guessing the C607 would probably cost double if not triple if still built locally in Denmark.

 

[highfigh]

So who designed the C40, C60 and C80 Series?

If the original founders retired, who designed these speakers and who is designing any future Jamo speakers?

I remember those models from before '05, so it would have been Jamo-owned but as DLeague posted, the design is still done in Denmark. Julius's son heads the design department, AFAIK.

The founders were A. a cabinetmaker (Preben Jacobsen) who liked designing/building speakers and B. his brother in-law (Julius Mortensen), who was in marketing and an accountant. They started the company in '66 and it grew from there. By 1994, they were the largest loudspeaker manufacturer in Europe.

Here's a link with some history-
http://www.jamo.com/na-en/about/history/
http://www.jamo.com/na-en/about/milestones/


They had some interesting designs back in the early '80s- one was a 12" three-way with preamp input, a 12 band graphic equalizer, all active crossovers and true tri-amplification. The woofer was mounted on a baffle that was more than 1" thick and had a lead sheet on the backside. The woofer was controlled using Motional Feedback (MFB), ribbon tweeter, dome midrange and they really sounded nice. At the time, they used mostly Phillips, Peerless, some Audax and a few other brands. They had polyswitches on the tweeters for protection and although many people tried, most failed in damaging them with power or distortion.

 

[highfigh]

TjMV3: I cannot answer for what happened 10-11 years ago, but the complete design and development team is in their headquarters location near Copenhagen. The manufacturing is in PRC (China) operated 100% by Klipsch Group, and that's why this question about finish seems to still be a question. As far as the relationship with Klipsch, Jamo does manages all of the Klipsch Group in Copenhagen for Europe and part of Asia. The manufacturing in China should not be taken as some reduction in quality as that is not true. Some of the largest international audio brands have manufacturing in China including KEF for some models, and B&W for the 600 Series. American brands such as BIC (who uses Danish Vifa/Peerless drivers) also have their manufacturing in China to reduce the production cost. I'm guessing the C607 would probably cost double if not triple if still built locally in Denmark.

I don't know if you build speakers at all but Peerless/Vifa are now Chinese-owned. For price vs performance, they have some really nice drivers.

 

[DLeague]

Vifa/Peerless

Yes I do outfit existing boxes, and every time I've used Vifa and Peeless. Dana (Danish audiophile speakers) uses Vifa tweeters, and others do under their own name as well. Their dual concentric tweeters are quite good, just looking for the right project to use those. I believe the new owner's name is Tymphany and you are right, they are located in China as well. The reason I like the Jamo's so much is they control everything from design to the boxing of the speakers, and as far as building them in China's; that's a financial not a quality decision.

My wife has the Thiel CS1.6 (no subwoofer) for her Bluegrass disc; they sound very good but not my cup of tea. I don't even have the C607 (listen to them don't own them, yet!), just the E680 (manufactured 2004-2008), and I'm extremely happy with them. Of course I mainly listen to music cd's (jazz), they drop off at 40 Hz and mesh so well with my big sub (crosses at 45Hz).

 

[highfigh]

Yes I do outfit existing boxes, and every time I've used Vifa and Peeless. Dana (Danish audiophile speakers) uses Vifa tweeters, and others do under their own name as well. Their dual concentric tweeters are quite good, just looking for the right project to use those. I believe the new owner's name is Tymphany and you are right, they are located in China as well. The reason I like the Jamo's so much is they control everything from design to the boxing of the speakers, and as far as building them in China's; that's a financial not a quality decision.

My wife has the Thiel CS1.6 (no subwoofer) for her Bluegrass disc; they sound very good but not my cup of tea. I don't even have the C607 (listen to them don't own them, yet!), just the E680 (manufactured 2004-2008), and I'm extremely happy with them. Of course I mainly listen to music cd's (jazz), they drop off at 40 Hz and mesh so well with my big sub (crosses at 45Hz).

I have seen the Tymphany name associated with Peerless and Vifa for quite a while and read about the sale on their site. I had some older 6-1/2" Peerless (~13 years old) and replaced them with the new 830874- cast aluminum frame, shorting ring, poly with butyl rubber surround. The old ones had replaced a pair of Peerless TO-165, which got old and the surrounds fell apart. I got a Denon receiver, so it became easier to turn the sub on/off and change crossover points and I was able to try several combinations- they sound great without the sub and my RTA plot shows good energy below 40, because of the placement. They're not expensive, either.

I listen to far more music than movies and am very happy with these but even with special effects, they sound great and the Jamo sub handles everything without much effort. I matched them with the 812687 tweeters, which are disco'd, but I bought enough for 5 channels with a spare. On the next speakers, I'll be using the same woofer and the Vifa BC25SG15-04 tweeter. I also have some that I need to make that will use the Peerless 830860, which is the 5-1/4" version.

 

[DLeague]

Jamo, Vifa, Peerless

You impress me by keeping the quality speakers and bringing them back. One of the things that Jamo has over most any other speaker are those wonderful tweeters. They give great detail without the piercing, shrilly output that so many tweeters seem to have. So far, I like every Jamo speaker I've listened to, own a bunch of different ones. The 680's have the fiberglass mid and woofer and the sound tends to jump out at you a bit, and a little surprising the first time you hear them, but Chris Botti's trumpet never sounded so good. I don't think that a lot of people knew about them as they were ending their run when they came to the USA. The C400 series have the pulp based woofers with wood fibers added back to the mix before the mold them. According to Jamo, it adds a lot of strength without also adding weight. They sound very smooth and for a Jazz guy that works very well too. Anyway, I have the 400 series center and the 403's in the rear and they mesh very well for movies. If you ever care to buy some decent sized bookshelves, I do recommend the 403's. As far as their future products, I really think the Jamo line with start with C600 range, as Klipsch seems happy to keep them more high end.

 

[highfigh]

You impress me by keeping the quality speakers and bringing them back. One of the things that Jamo has over most any other speaker are those wonderful tweeters. They give great detail without the piercing, shrilly output that so many tweeters seem to have. So far, I like every Jamo speaker I've listened to, own a bunch of different ones. The 680's have the fiberglass mid and woofer and the sound tends to jump out at you a bit, and a little surprising the first time you hear them, but Chris Botti's trumpet never sounded so good. I don't think that a lot of people knew about them as they were ending their run when they came to the USA. The C400 series have the pulp based woofers with wood fibers added back to the mix before the mold them. According to Jamo, it adds a lot of strength without also adding weight. They sound very smooth and for a Jazz guy that works very well too. Anyway, I have the 400 series center and the 403's in the rear and they mesh very well for movies. If you ever care to buy some decent sized bookshelves, I do recommend the 403's. As far as their future products, I really think the Jamo line with start with C600 range, as Klipsch seems happy to keep them more high end.

It's good that Klipsch recognizes the place Jamo has in the market. They're not trying to be the top of the line but they have always wanted to provide good quality at a fair price. When we first got the J-101 (the smaller of the two in the photos) in '80, I had been looking for new speakers but spending a lot wasn't an option, even at employee cost. I went in on my night off and listened to them for a couple of hours, then bought a pair. One of the other guys bought a pair and then we really went to town with them. Real Black Walnut or Palisander Rosewood veneer, 8" three-way using Phillips drivers, butyl rubber surrounds and we sold them for $200/pair before the price increase. Then, we raised them to $239/pair. We sold literally hundreds of pairs in only a few weeks and some people bought two pair, or more.

 

[DLeague]

Connection between Tymphany and Klipsch

The owner of Tymphany is Ed Boyle, and one of his Chief Directors worked for 30 years with Klipsch, and is on the Board of Directors of Klipsch. Although the manufacturing division is in China, the ownership is not. Ed Boyle has his headquarters in Hong Kong, but there is still a design and development team in Denmark that works with the Chinese Development team run by Jacky Van (lots of degrees). You can say that Tymphany is a world company now.

 

[highfigh]

The owner of Tymphany is Ed Boyle, and one of his Chief Directors worked for 30 years with Klipsch, and is on the Board of Directors of Klipsch. Although the manufacturing division is in China, the ownership is not. Ed Boyle has his headquarters in Hong Kong, but there is still a design and development team in Denmark that works with the Chinese Development team run by Jacky Van (lots of degrees). You can say that Tymphany is a world company now.

This is weird- I think I confused 'based in Hong Kong' with 'owned by a Hong Kong-based company'. Must have been havin' one o' my spells again. Sorry about that.

Seeing that one of the directors has been with Klipsch for so long and is still on the board, I wouldn't be surprised to see the new Peerless drivers in Jamo speakers. That management group has a lot of good experience-

 

[DLeague]

Highfigh: I did a poor job differentiating between Chinese ownership and having a business based in Hong Kong as a non-national.

 

[highfigh]

Highfigh: I did a poor job differentiating between Chinese ownership and having a business based in Hong Kong as a non-national.

I don't think that's it- I actually thought it was owned by Chinese interests. I could swear I read that but as long as they keep making good drivers, it's not a problem. Almost everyone has at least some of their drivers made there now, so it's kind of a moot point unless major problems between the US and China make that an unsustainable situation.

 

[DLeague]

Jamo C607 or C807

TjMV3: I think you said in another post that you own both the C807 and the C607. I know they both sound excellent, but which satisfies you most when listening to music and also surround (if you have them both set up that way)?

 

[TjMV3]

TjMV3: I think you said in another post that you own both the C807 and the C607. I know they both sound excellent, but which satisfies you most when listening to music and also surround (if you have them both set up that way)?

It's a two part answer.

For poorly recorded or average recording quality music, I prefer my C607.


For the better quality recordings, the C807 (now the C809).

But I've now sold both pairs of the C807 I had. In favor of the Jamo C809.

The C807 and C809 sound nearly identical, with a bit more bass power in the C809. But the rest of the presentation is identical. So to help finance my new amps and preamps, I sold both pairs of the C807 and the C809 now stands in their place..

 

[TjMV3]

It's a two part answer.

For poorly recorded or average recording quality music, I prefer my C607.


For the better quality recordings, the C807 (now the C809).

But I've now sold both pairs of the C807 I had. In favor of the Jamo C809.

The C807 and C809 sound nearly identical, with a bit more bass power in the C809. But the rest of the presentation is identical. So to help finance my new amps and preamps, I sold both pairs of the C807 and the C809 now stands in their place..

Just to clarify.

The C607's are wonderful with high quality recordings. But they straddle that line that allows poorly recorded material to be presented without being too revealing and distracting of the poor recordings and/or masterings. Of course, a recording that is just downright unlistenable will remain unlistenable on any speaker unless one could adjust the EQ a bit to help. But the C607 do have a way with that. Source components, preamps and amps in the chain, as well as room acoustics will also contribute to the final outcome. So one's mileage may vary, depending on those elements.

The C807 are a just a little more revealing and can be less forgiving of many poor recordings. Yet, some poor recordings still sound good enough so you can enjoy the songs, without irritating distractions. Depends on the recording itself and the other factors I mentioned above.

Ulitimately, I'm splitting hairs and really breaking it down to finer points, here. Because these Jamo speakers (both the C607 and C807) are still some of the most forgiving speakers I have ever listened to, while being amazing with high quality recordings. They have a sort of sweet presentation and deliver it with a dash of subtle warmth. But some recordings/masterings are simply attrocious and beyond help. With high quality recordings they really shine.

The C809 while being amost identical to the C807, do bring a few things more than the C807; than just bigger, deeper bass. They have this huge sound. Large soundstage, wonderful presentation of scale and presence; with a slightly laid back politeness to them.

Dynamics are very nice, without being over-the-top, kick-in-the gut ridiculous about it. Which in my experience over-the-top, kick-in-the gut dynamics and impact are good for wow-wee thrills when you first audtion a pair of speakers or gear.

But when you live with them every day, it becomes tiresome and bit absurd.

Because gear and speakers like that exaggerate dynamics way too much. Surely a personal preference/personal taste-based opinion.

Again, splitting fine hairs.

The C807 are one hell of a speaker. They will shock most people with their enormous, beautiful, musical sound and the amount of powerful bass they are capable of. And they can dig deep, too.

But the C607 do have this certain something....hard to describe, this addictive musicality to them. I find myself drawn to them often, despite all the other speakers I have in my house.

 

[highfigh]

Just to clarify.

The C607's are wonderful with high quality recordings. But they straddle that line that allows poorly recorded material to be presented without being too revealing and distracting of the poor recordings and/or masterings. Of course, a recording that is just downright unlistenable will remain unlistenable on any speaker unless one could adjust the EQ a bit to help. But the C607 do have a way with that. Source components, preamps and amps in the chain, as well as room acoustics will also contribute to the final outcome. So one's mileage may vary, depending on those elements.

The C807 are a just a little more revealing and can be less forgiving of many poor recordings. Yet, some poor recordings still sound good enough so you can enjoy the songs, without irritating distractions. Depends on the recording itself and the other factors I mentioned above.

Ulitimately, I'm splitting hairs and really breaking it down to finer points, here. Because these Jamo speakers (both the C607 and C807) are still some of the most forgiving speakers I have ever listened to, while being amazing with high quality recordings. They have a sort of sweet presentation and deliver it with a dash of subtle warmth. But some recordings/masterings are simply attrocious and beyond help. With high quality recordings they really shine.

The C809 while being amost identical to the C807, do bring a few things more than the C807; than just bigger, deeper bass. They have this huge sound. Large soundstage, wonderful presentation of scale and presence; with a slightly laid back politeness to them.

Dynamics are very nice, without being over-the-top, kick-in-the gut ridiculous about it. Which in my experience over-the-top, kick-in-the gut dynamics and impact are good for wow-wee thrills when you first audtion a pair of speakers or gear.

But when you live with them every day, it becomes tiresome and bit absurd.

Because gear and speakers like that exaggerate dynamics way too much. Surely a personal preference/personal taste-based opinion.

Again, splitting fine hairs.

The C807 are one hell of a speaker. They will shock most people with their enormous, beautiful, musical sound and the amount of powerful bass they are capable of. And they can dig deep, too.

But the C607 do have this certain something....hard to describe, this addictive musicality to them. I find myself drawn to them often, despite all the other speakers I have in my house.

Sometimes, a speaker can be really pleasant to listen to because it has/lacks something where the listener's hearing needs or is more sensitive to and the resulting sound happens to fit the listener's hearing better than another. If you test the speakers and have a hearing test performed, you may see something that corresponds. This can explain why some people who are well-versed in audio and critical listening prefer speakers that others hate. Some speakers are thought of as brutally honest and this makes them useless to some for general listening but for mixing tracks for a record or CD, they can be very helpful.

AS far as dynamics, there's only so much that a speaker can do to affect this and it's usually a case of reducing peaks, especially when the average level is close to the limits of the speakers.

 

[TjMV3]

Sometimes, a speaker can be really pleasant to listen to because it has/lacks something where the listener's hearing needs or is more sensitive to and the resulting sound happens to fit the listener's hearing better than another. If you test the speakers and have a hearing test performed, you may see something that corresponds. This can explain why some people who are well-versed in audio and critical listening prefer speakers that others hate. Some speakers are thought of as brutally honest and this makes them useless to some for general listening but for mixing tracks for a record or CD, they can be very helpful.

AS far as dynamics, there's only so much that a speaker can do to affect this and it's usually a case of reducing peaks, especially when the average level is close to the limits of the speakers.

Absolutely, I agree.

That's why it's essential to audition and learn to understand what one loves as an individual and what one's room environment/acoustics contributes to the sound. Not what people try to market and sell on these forums.

BTW, I get my hearing tested every year and I do very well.

Although, that may or may not start to change over the next 10 years, as the inevitable occurs: getting older