JM LABS Cobalt 815 VS Polk 10b
erniejade
Posts: 6,321
Now before I start with my review, some of you might say it is not a fair competition. I think it is, and here is why. Polk 10b was 700$ in 1979 ish, the 815 were 17-1800 2000 ish. To me it is the same prince if the polks were produced that many years later. The 10B has 2 6.5" a 10 " passive and tweeter, the Cobalt 1 7" woofer 1 7" mid and a tweeter. To me, its a fair fight.
Equipment used, McIntosh 2105 amp, Jolida cd, carver c19 Rollanized, MIT avt2 IC's, audioquest type 4 speaker cable and for the JMLABS since it is bi wire only and the seller did not have the stock jumpers, Totem tress between the woofers to the tweeters for jumpers.
Music, Beatles Love. 10b bass is fantastic and shakes the room well but, at 1 , 2 or 3 feet from the wall, on the stock stands, it seemed to be a bit on the boomer or sloppy side of things next to the cobalts. Mids were solid and I find the highs on the harsher side at times. Soundstage is decent with ok deepness and they are easy speakers to place in a room. The sweet spot is also wide if you want to turn them on and walk around the room
Same cd, the 815's are believe it or not, a little more in your face! they just have more of a presence to them. I have them 7 feet between and 2.5 feet from the back wall in the middle of the room no corner on either of them. Both sets used the same spots or moved around in the same area.
The bass seems a bit more laid back, and some would think of it as a lack of bass but, on every deep part on the Love CD, it hit without strain, natural, sharp, clean. I might try placing them back another 5-6 inches. I am still playing around with the placement of them. They ARE picky on placement. the slightest change in placement has a impact on them.
Back to the bass, it is non fatiguing, very fast and tight. The mids are in your face more then the 10B but not in a bad way. In the sweet spot, they are just fantastic. Vocals were much more present and I heard way more detail out of the Love CD that I have missed with the 10B. The vocals just seem more present and up front without sounding fake. Again not fatiguing at all. The the speakers are bright but detailed. The highs are not liquid like the vandersteen's I had. Quite the opposite. Again direct, be extreamly detailed. More live sounding. While I loved the vandersteen 3A's I had, the top end at times was too airy where the 815 are more live sounding. The vandies though had them in bass LOL.
The JMLABS are a bit different then some other speakers I have had. the sharp bass attack I can see being as not was warm sounding as some others in the price range ( new on new not used) but, I like it! After 1 or 2 cd's you just notice more detail with them. Amazingly clear and easy to drive. 91 efficient. Sound stage is very deep but, the sweet spot is more narrow then the 10b. They are more of a sit and listen to speaker vs get up and walk around type speaker.
To me the clear winner is the JMLABS. BUT the sound is a bit different and not everyones taste. For me, I like them better then the 10b. Maybe it would be different if I had the peerless tweeters, don't know.
Anyone want a set of 10b's? LOL.
Ricki lee Jones Pirates, no contest JM labs hands down. Female vocals were just sooo clear and again with them being that in your face sound, not fatiguing at all. The 10B got raspy on female vocals to me but, again, the 10b had more of a bass presence.
Equipment used, McIntosh 2105 amp, Jolida cd, carver c19 Rollanized, MIT avt2 IC's, audioquest type 4 speaker cable and for the JMLABS since it is bi wire only and the seller did not have the stock jumpers, Totem tress between the woofers to the tweeters for jumpers.
Music, Beatles Love. 10b bass is fantastic and shakes the room well but, at 1 , 2 or 3 feet from the wall, on the stock stands, it seemed to be a bit on the boomer or sloppy side of things next to the cobalts. Mids were solid and I find the highs on the harsher side at times. Soundstage is decent with ok deepness and they are easy speakers to place in a room. The sweet spot is also wide if you want to turn them on and walk around the room
Same cd, the 815's are believe it or not, a little more in your face! they just have more of a presence to them. I have them 7 feet between and 2.5 feet from the back wall in the middle of the room no corner on either of them. Both sets used the same spots or moved around in the same area.
The bass seems a bit more laid back, and some would think of it as a lack of bass but, on every deep part on the Love CD, it hit without strain, natural, sharp, clean. I might try placing them back another 5-6 inches. I am still playing around with the placement of them. They ARE picky on placement. the slightest change in placement has a impact on them.
Back to the bass, it is non fatiguing, very fast and tight. The mids are in your face more then the 10B but not in a bad way. In the sweet spot, they are just fantastic. Vocals were much more present and I heard way more detail out of the Love CD that I have missed with the 10B. The vocals just seem more present and up front without sounding fake. Again not fatiguing at all. The the speakers are bright but detailed. The highs are not liquid like the vandersteen's I had. Quite the opposite. Again direct, be extreamly detailed. More live sounding. While I loved the vandersteen 3A's I had, the top end at times was too airy where the 815 are more live sounding. The vandies though had them in bass LOL.
The JMLABS are a bit different then some other speakers I have had. the sharp bass attack I can see being as not was warm sounding as some others in the price range ( new on new not used) but, I like it! After 1 or 2 cd's you just notice more detail with them. Amazingly clear and easy to drive. 91 efficient. Sound stage is very deep but, the sweet spot is more narrow then the 10b. They are more of a sit and listen to speaker vs get up and walk around type speaker.
To me the clear winner is the JMLABS. BUT the sound is a bit different and not everyones taste. For me, I like them better then the 10b. Maybe it would be different if I had the peerless tweeters, don't know.
Anyone want a set of 10b's? LOL.
Ricki lee Jones Pirates, no contest JM labs hands down. Female vocals were just sooo clear and again with them being that in your face sound, not fatiguing at all. The 10B got raspy on female vocals to me but, again, the 10b had more of a bass presence.
Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
Post edited by erniejade on
Comments
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Nice Review!Linn AV5140 fronts
Linn AV5120 Center
Linn AV5140 Rears
M&K MX-70 Sub for Music
Odyssey Mono-Blocs
SVS Ultra-13 Gloss Black:D -
I thought I would try something different then my standars and put in Primus sailing the sea of cheese.
Again, on the 815, crystal sharp, fast, but, on the polks, with that kind of rock, the polks had more bass to it but, the snap on the 815 and clairity, I heard things that I thought the 815;s were bad! on the fuzzy bass or whatever he uses got get that noise out of his bass, i heard a vibration on the 815's that I thought the woofer might have been bad, changed left to right and it followed so it is the recording. On the 10b's that was more hidden, not as pronounced.
I like the warmth of the 10b's a lot but, the 815's are just a cleaner sound. I can see where some people might want a sub on them though, for that deeper sound but, sometimes after a bit, too much bass to me gets fatiguing on my ears. Sometimes in my basement rig, I go back to the 1.2 sda instead of the 2.3. the 1.2 bass sometimes gets that way to me, just too much where the 2.3 has a bit quicker sharper attack to my ears or my room.Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's. -
Anyone want a set of 10b's? LOL.
Sure I'll take your leftovers. I could use another set of 10's.
2-ch System: Parasound P/LD 2000 pre, Parasound HCA-1000 amp, Parasound T/DQ Tuner, Phase Technology PC-100 Tower speakers, Technics SL-1600 Turntable, Denon 2910 SACD/CD player, Peachtree DAC iT and X1asynchorus USB converter, HSU VTF-3 subwoofer. -
I wish you lived closer to buy them!! I will be listing them here for a local sale. I dont have boxes to ship them.Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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how much?
