Questions about Jamo A102 HCS speakers (yes them again!!!)

rob_981

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Dec 10, 2007
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Hi

I'm rather new to all this home cinema stuff, so please bear with me. I have read loads of good reviews about these Jamo speakers in the What Hifi magazines and on here, and I think I'm going to go for them if I can find them in stock (kind of got a mix and match set of speakers at the moment, but I will keep my old B&W's for another room because I really like them). For the moment I will be partnering them with -

Marantz SR 4400 Surround Sound amp (with a view to getting an Onkyo TXSR 505 or 605 and a Blu Ray player in the future).

Marantz CD player (quite old - can't remember which model)

Philips upscaling DVD player

Virginmedia V+ box

I do sometimes still listen to CDs or more often, I will connect my Cowon mp3 player to my amp to listen to music. What I'm wondering is how the speakers sound with music in general (I don't imagine many people will have paired them with my amp!!!!)? All the reviews and posts seem to talk about them in a home cinema set up, and while I do want a good home cinema set up, I still want to be able to listen to my music in my living room. Would a proper set of 5.1 speakers like these give a better sound than the mix and match set up I've got just now?

Sorry if this question is a bit all over the place - it's kind of like my head with all these different possibilities!!
 

Gerrardasnails

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Not great is your answer. They are fantastic with films but not the best for music. Then again, what can you expect, for £200. You get five speakers and a very decent subwoofer (which sells for £90 on it's own source: www.soundandvisiononline.com). I had them for a while and they are far better than I expected with films and tv and as would be expected with music.
 

rob_981

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Thanks for the quick reply. Kind of thought that might be the answer. I presume this would be the case for all speakers in this sort of price range? Or are there any others that would be better all rounders? It's really the size of my current set of speakers that's becoming annoying - they are all quite large!!! So I would like more discreet speakers for something up to about £300 - £350. Do you think I'm asking too much?
 

Juzzie Wuzzie

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Horses for courses really. I like my Jamo set-up because it is unobtrusive and provides good (enough) sound when listening to Sky HD / DVDs and my music (from MP3 or internet radio). Thus, coupled with the Onkyo 605 it meets my needs perfectly. Rarely do I sit and purely listen to music - it is a background filler. For what it is worth, I did consider the Arcam Solo Movie 2.1 which, when coupled with the right speakers, I guess is far better - but at 2-3 times the cost - query the bang for the buck return.
 

rob_981

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Sorry to bring this up again, but I have come across a few other speaker set ups in my travels, and I was wondering what people thought of them in terms of music and home cinema sound -

Mordaunt Short Premiere

Tannoy SFX5.1 or EFX5.1 or HTS100

KEF KHT1005

Or if anyone has any other suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated. The more I look around, the more confused I seem to be getting!!
 

Gerrardasnails

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I can only comment on the Tannoy EFX 5.1 as my brother-in-law has the same. Very good for cinema same as the Jamos for music. I don't think that will change until you buy a style package like B&W MT20/30s and my other bro-in-law has them and they are not brilliant with music either - much better than the Jamos though.
 

rob_981

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Ok, thanks for that. I guess in that case, I should perhaps just look to replace the rear speakers for now then, as I think they are the weak link in terms of sound. Excellent....more research coming up, after which I'll probably be even more confused that I am now!!!!
emotion-42.gif
 

rob_981

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Cheers Juzzie, I have now ordered the Jamos. The size and the number of good reviews swayed it for me. I'm sure the music sound will be good enough for my purposes, and I expect the home cinema experience will be a good improvement on my current set up. I will set my old B&W's up in another room when I get a new flat - I really like them.
 

Gerrardasnails

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You will be surprised by the weight and quality of the speakers and the sound they produce with films for sure. The fact that they are £175 is ridiculous. As I've mentioned before the subwoofer is for sale online for £90 on it's own! That leaves £85 for five speakers - amazing.
 

rob_981

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I think you might be right!! Just looking at the pictures of them, I probably wouldn't have gone near them - they do look very cheap and tacky. Thank god for What Hifi - all the good reviews convinced me to go for them. Although I did spend £225 from hificonfidential.co.uk. At least they seem to have them in stock. Don't want to have to wait weeks for them. I really hope the quality of the music is adequate tho. Obviously I don't expect it to be earth shattering - I know I'm getting cheap speakers intended mainly for home cinema use, but I hope they are good enough.
 

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