Jamo C803 Bookshelf Speaker Review

[TjMV3]

Been trying some different gear with these Jamo speakers.

The C803, the C807 and the C809. As well as the C603 and C607.

Even did a Blind Test involving all the C80 Series speakers I have.

The McIntosh C220 preamp, MC252 power amp, Van Alstine Ultra Hybrid EC preamp, Van Alstine Fet Valve 500 Hybrid power amp, the Marantz PM8003 Integrated; were all tried out, as well as used for the (no so scientific ) Blind Test. Sources were the Rega Saturn and Marantz SA80003.

Of course I've been trying out different gear with these speakers, for the better part of the last 18 months or so. Gear at various price points of the spectrum. The Vincent SA-T1 pre amp saw a lot of time with all these speakers.

Also used were the Pioneer VSX-917V Receiver, the Quad 909 power amp, the Rega Apollo CD Player, Integra DPS 10.5 Universal player, Pioneer Elite DV59AVi, Onkyo DV SP1000 Universal player, Marantz DV7001 and Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai Universal Disc Player.

To my ears (and brain, of course ), some of these combos sounded better than others. But in my opinon and to my own personal tastesd......these Jamo C80 and C60 Series speakers really respond and open up with the McIntosh combo.

Such a sweet ...melodic...musical combo (with the Rega Saturn). Absolutely beautiful sound! Even the C607 and C603 are taken to a new level with this gear.

Don't get me wrong. The Marantz combo, the Pioneer VSX-917V Receiver combo with Pioneer Elite Universal, players ...the Quad amp with the Vincent SA-T1; they sound very good, too. At different degrees of improvement, depending on the combo in question.

The Van Alstine combo is outstanding, with these Jamo speakers!

But the Mac combo is just so synergetic...so smooth....so musical and melodic!

The better the gear, the better these speakers respond.

 

[manlystanley]

I too have been very impressed with my Jamo speakers. I have had my C809's for about two weeks and am impressed with how: full, musical, open, accurate, and non-fatiguing they sound. My journey to these Jamo's has been:

-- First, had a pair of B&W 684's driven by a old H/K integrated amp. Loved the sound. Full and rich.
-- The H/K died and so I bought a Emotiva XPA-2 and a Adcom GTP-500 to replace it. But, the sound because thin and harsh.
-- So I tried: B&W Nautilus 803's, and Magnepan 1.6's. Both are great speakers, but they just did not give me the sound I wanted.
-- Got these Jamo's and Wow, what a sound! Also, they are such a beautiful pair of speakers. I'm thrilled!

I'm still working on positioning them and would appreciate any pointed that you all have.

Best Regards,
Stan

 

[TjMV3]

Hi Stan.

Placement is going to be dependant on each individual room. All rooms are different.

But some good rules of thumb....

1) 18" to 24" off the backwall

2) The C809 .....8 ft. to 9ft. apart. Play around with their distance and see what suits the room and your ears best. It's possible 7 ft. to 8 ft. may work best in your room.

3) If possible, each speaker two and a half to three feet from the sidewalls.

4) The front baffle of each speaker should be further out than any piece of furniture that maybe between them; to avoid immediate reflections off the furniture. No furniture pieces should stick out further than the front bafle of your speakers.

5) Depending on your seating location and room size; try no toe-in (and listen for a while), then try just a slight toe-in (and listen for a while), then try more toe-in at tiny increments and listen for a little while, every time you move them.




And here's another little experiment I did.

I bought a bunch of these .......self-adhesive Waxman Grippers.....

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=54359-255-4739495N&lpage=none

I cut them into one or two inch pieces, peeled the protective paper off the adhesive side and carefully placed the adhesive side together; to make a thicker pad.

Then I placed one each under the front spikes (Front spikes only or front of floorstanders only) of my floorstanders (you can use a penny or dime under the spike and on top of the little gripper pad; to prevent puncture). Or if you have those brass spike coasters, depending on the thickness; you want to use just one gripper pad. As opposed to sticking two together.

I found that by lifting the front of my Jamo speakers just a 1/4 inch or a little over a 1/4" ........the soundstage became even bigger than it already was. Wider and more enveloping.

The bass response also seemed more powerful.

But, lifting the front up to a 1/2" or more.........compressed the bass down and made it seem like the bass was be squeezed out of a little vent; while expanding the midrange even larger. Didn't like that.

Different speakers, diffferent rooms ...may offer different results. But you'll immediately notice some differences.

Whether you perceive the changes as improvements; is an individual preference as well reliant of your room and speakers.

I also found that by using these.....

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=54433-255-4750095N&lpage=none

.....under all four corners of bookshelf speakers that may reside on some shelf, cabinet or speaker stands; it really smoothed out the sound and cut down on the effects of footfalls or vibrations coming from the floor and furniture.

Again, I peeled the protective paper off the adhesive side and carefully placed the adhesive sides together; to make one thicker pad. I used whole pads (stuck together) on my bigger Jamo C803 bookshelf speakers. And cut them down a little for a pair of smaller bookshelf speakers I have.


Basically, I made four thick pads (one neatly placed under each of the four corners on my speakers).


It made a very nice improvement in all cases.

Other's may find that heavier bookshelf speakers require a three stack of these stuck together grippers. Speakers weighing less, maybe only one pad thickness will be required.

I also use these under DVD Players, a Turntable, CD Players and Pre Amps. They work well. And it's a relatively inexpensive tweek to try.

Inexpensive and easy.

 

[KEW]

Woofer: 7" Hard Conical Cone*

As opposed to a 7" Hard Spherical Cone??

Do Bose come with 7" Hard Cylindrical Cones?? (if you get my drift...)

*Specifications provided by the Department of Redundancy Department.

PS-Nothing against Jamo, just having fun with those marketing guys.

 

[manlystanley]

Hi Stan.
And here's another little experiment I did. ........................

Very interesting. I know that when the B&W 684's first came out, the speakers sat directly on the floor, and all the reviews said that "they sound best when played loud" (e.g. The problem being that the bass was week at low volumes). But raising the speakers on a plinth (A flat piece of wood) drastically improved the dynamics of the bass.

Back to the C809's, I have laminate hard wood floor, and so I use the plastic feet that came with the C809's. So, I guess that just putting the speakers plastic feet on top of the waxman grippers would be high enough--correct?

Thanks,
Stan

 

[highfigh]

Woofer: 7" Hard Conical Cone*

As opposed to a 7" Hard Spherical Cone??

Do Bose come with 7" Hard Cylindrical Cones?? (if you get my drift...)

*Specifications provided by the Department of Redundancy Department.

PS-Nothing against Jamo, just having fun with those marketing guys.

Got a link to that quote? If it was after '04, it's the Klipsch technical writers or editors who screwed up, not necessarily the people in Denmark. The Danes did a good job of translating to English and in fact, their top US management & office staff were all from Denmark, all speaking English very well.

 

[TjMV3]

Back to the C809's, I have laminate hard wood floor, and so I use the plastic feet that came with the C809's. So, I guess that just putting the speakers plastic feet on top of the waxman grippers would be high enough--correct?

Thanks,
Stan

Hi Stan.

Yeah, that's the idea. I have the plastic footers that the spikes slip into, too. But remember, only place the waxman grippers under to two front spikes/footers. Not all four. I'm interested to see if you hear the same improvements I do and if you like it that way.

Very interesting. I know that when the B&W 684's first came out, the speakers sat directly on the floor, and all the reviews said that "they sound best when played loud" (e.g. The problem being that the bass was week at low volumes). But raising the speakers on a plinth (A flat piece of wood) drastically improved the dynamics of the bass.

I use 11" x 14" and 12" x 18" bamboo cutting boards (a half inch thickness and 5/8 " thickness, respectively), depending on which speakers (and their dimensions); as their base/foundation atop the carpeting.

But that's just me.

I got them from Wal-mart and Target.

I have some pictures on the digital camera of the way I do it. I'll come back later and upload some picks for you to see. Right now I have to recharge the batteries of the camera.

 

[KEW]

Got a link to that quote? If it was after '04, it's the Klipsch technical writers or editors who screwed up, not necessarily the people in Denmark. The Danes did a good job of translating to English and in fact, their top US management & office staff were all from Denmark, all speaking English very well.

It came from the specifications section in the Audioholics review. I assume that it is a "cut and paste" from the manufacturer's site.

 

[manlystanley]

I'm interested to see if you hear the same improvements I do and if you like it that way.

I teleworked yesterday, so spent 10 hours of trying different speaker positioning. I'm still in the evaluation mode, I'll get back to you on this.

I use 11" x 14" and 12" x 18" bamboo cutting boards (a half inch thickness and 5/8 " thickness, respectively), depending on which speakers (and their dimensions); as their base/foundation atop the carpeting.

Cool. Did raising the entire speaker improve anything??

I have some pictures on the digital camera of the way I do it. I'll come back later and upload some picks for you to see. Right now I have to recharge the batteries of the camera.

If you get a chance, that would be nice. I'll also get some pictures of my setup.

Best Regards,
Stan

 

[rnatalli]

A few months ago, my dentist re-modeled their waiting area. As I waited, I noticed the classical music sounded quite a bit better than the typical restaurant or elevator. I looked up and to my surprise saw Jamo speakers.

 

[TjMV3]

My apologies for the delay in getting this up here.

This is the way I do it. Note: These pics are not final placement and completed setup. We've been and continue to re-carpet (and shop for new accent rugs/area rugs), shopping and buying new furniture and reorganizing to do (furniture and stuff). So we're not even half way done, yet. Still a lot of work to do and shopping to do. but these pics should give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

The pads under the bamboo boards are only used in this office room. The floor in here has a dip, so for now.....I use the pads under the bamboo boards, too. When I decide on which area rug (and matching accent rugs), I'll use two wedges under the rug. Then, bamboo board over that and decline will be eliminated.

1) I set the speakers up on the bamboo boards with the Gripper Pads under the front feet. I make sure each speaker is pulled close to the front of the bamboo board and evenly placed on the bamboo board.

Jamo C607:

2) Then I work on distance between the speakers, distance from the sidewalls and off the backwall. I listen every time I make a change.

3) When I finally get the placement right. I measure the distance of the feet from the front edge, side edge and back edge of the board; and make note of it.

Jamo C607:

I take small area/accent rugs (2 x 3 ...etc), have my friend lift the speakers for me and place the rug evenly over the bamboo board. Then I he places the the speakers a top the area/accent rugs. Finally I measure to place the speakers exactly where they were on the board.


I like oval or round rugs over the sqaure rugs. But that's just me

I've have even used inexpensive table mats.

Jamo C807:

 

[manlystanley]

Hello TjMV3,
Thanks for the posting. I tried this out, but it made no real improvement. That's not to say the my Jamo 809's sound bad. On the contrary, of all the speaker's I've tried in my listening room, they sound the best.

I'm working on reducing the standing bass waves in my listening room. Let me get that resolved and then I'll give your suggestion a second try.

Best Regards,
Stan

 

[TjMV3]

Hello TjMV3,
Thanks for the posting. I tried this out, but it made no real improvement. That's not to say the my Jamo 809's sound bad. On the contrary, of all the speaker's I've tried in my listening room, they sound the best.

I'm working on reducing the standing bass waves in my listening room. Let me get that resolved and then I'll give your suggestion a second try.

Best Regards,
Stan

Hi Stan.

I found that with the C809 three gripper pads (about 1/2" thickness worth) was required. The weightr of the C809 compresses the pads and quickly reduces the lift.

But like I said earlier, in some rooms and in some setups; no beneficial difference may be heard. If it doesn't work to your liking, it's easy to remove the pads. And cheap, too

I don't have the C809 setup yet. After moving into a new house late last summer and having some work done, new carpeting aqnd the semmingly neverending shopping and buying of new furniture and area rugs; I'm not going to move those bad boys around five or six times. When we're finally finished with it all, then, the C809 will be brought out and setup.

They're too heavy and big to be setting up and breaking down....several times.

For now, the C607 and C807 are doing the job. The Dark Apple C807 are sold, now. Just have the C807 in the Black finish.

Looking forward to your review.