Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Joseph Audio RM25si Speakers by carbonman

The Joseph Audio RM25si is a 46" tall, 8.5" wide, one foot deep floorstanding, advanced design, full range beauty of a loudspeaker. There is a cavity in the bottom of each cabinet designed to be filled with sand by the user. This mass loads the cabinet to improve bass response and imageing, as well as damping what little panel vibration may exist. After filling the cavities with about 22lbs/cabinet, the holes must be taped over and the plinth fastened in place with the 4 very sharp drywall screws provided. This bottom panel also is fitted with 4 metal sockets threaded to accept the solid brass cone feet provided. Thank you, Mr. Joseph, for the nicely radiused apex on the cones. The cones are adjustable to permit the speakers to be properly leveled.
My speakers came in a very well finished natural cherry veneer, with the grain on the left speaker having been laid to mirror the pattern on the right speaker. A very nice touch! I wasn't really happy with the unstained finish. It looked similar to light oak. Then an amazing change occurred. With exposure to daylight and room light, the wood darkened and became richer, and the grain really began to show. It takes about 2 weeks for the change to become obvious. By 4 weeks you won't believe your eyes.
The drivers are installed vertically, with the 2 6.5" aluminum woofers flanking the 1" silk dome tweeter. The top woofer operates in the bass region only, while the bottom woofer operates all the way into the midrange. Both woofers have black painted solid brass phase plugs. Attractive brass screws are used to fasten all the drivers in place, an additional incentive to leave the long black grilles stored away.
Internally, the cabinet is solidly braced. Inside is the Modafferi Labs "Infinite Slope" 120dB/octave crossover.
Placement seems to be pretty non-critical. Don't toe the speakers in more than a few degrees, if at all. In my system, the speakers are only a couple of feet out from the front wall, canted in about 5 degrees. the room is narrow, so there is only about 2 1/2 feet of clearance on either side of the sound stage. My room is irregularly shaped, with a fireplace, window seat and bookshelves providing some disruptions to standing waves.
The first thing I noticed with the RM25si's was the bright top end. After a few minutes, my brain figured out that it wasn't excessive treble; it was detail like I'd never previously heard in my own home system. The other thing I noticed was the deep, very tight bass. You won't need a sub with these ported cabinets. It didn't take long to run these speakers in because I leave the stereo on during the day to mask outside sounds from the dog. He lays down right in front of the speakers and goes to sleep. I can't say there is a huge difference in the sound now, but I know that I can't get enough of our music through these speakers.
My preamp had to be serviced, so a 23 year old Akai receiver was pressed into service. There were no pre-outs sockets, so it was old tech for a week. I had to slightly trim the treble and slightly boost the bass, but the sound was still unmistakably Joseph Audio.
When we turn the music up, it just gets louder. No harshness, no strain, just more clean sound. Very dangerous to relations with the neighbors.
The speakers that were replaced by the RM25si duo were B&W 805 Matrix minimonitor with custom stands. The Josephs easily best them in detail, imageing and tonal balance. These characteristics were why I purchased the 805s in the first place! The RM25si's image incredibly solidly, and impart a "shimmer" to the treble. They are fairly forgiving of average source material.
The sound stage extends from about a foot in front of the speaker pair, to 3 feet behind. On really good source material, the stage extends over a foot outside the speakers. If I stand up at my favorite listening position, the stage doesn't rise with me. Spooky. I haven't heard another speaker as good at less than 3 or 4 times the price. I doubt that we will ever feel the need to upgrade beyond what is now proudly placed in our living room.

REVIEW: Joseph Audio RM25si Speakers Review by carbonman at Audio Asylum