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View Full Version : Rogers JR 149 speakers - are they worth it?



Neil McCauley
15-12-2008, 13:12
Glancing at eBay this morning shows 3 pairs for sale, all at over £300.Moreover one pair sold on December 5 for £280 and another pair sold for £399.99 on December 4. Interestingly in recent months, every working pair for sale on eBay UK has been sold.

I’ve had no direct personal experience of these. In a nutshell, are they a cult classic that deserve the asking price, or is it hype about nothing special? I remain open minded.

Regards

HP

Togil
15-12-2008, 18:20
They were the winners in a blind test carried out in the seventies by Martin Colloms for HiFi for Pleasure where different speakers were compared with live instruments behind a curtain

jandl100
16-12-2008, 08:12
I've owned the JR149 when the were selling for low £200s. A fine small speaker - I prefer its overall musical presentation to LS3/5a on which the design was based. Better dynamics and bass, if lacking a soupcon of the midrange magic.

Better by far, though (imo) are the JR150s. Sort of grown up 149s with an extra bass unit and extra cabinet volume - and a better braced cabinet, too, I think. A bigger sound all round. These are a pretty serious not-that-far-off full range speaker. If looking for a sensibly priced small monitor I'd give the JR150s serious consideration. A bit rare , though.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/JR1502.jpg


Here you can see a little 149 peeking out from behind my JR150 ! :) ......

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/JR150light.jpg

Yes, they sound better with the grilles off, sadly - they look a bit 'industrial' though!

An easy load - they worked wonderfully with my Chinese OTL monoblocks.

Neil McCauley
16-12-2008, 09:28
Better by far, though (imo) are the JR150s. Sort of grown up 149s with an extra bass unit and extra cabinet volume - and a better braced cabinet, too, I think. A bigger sound all round. These are a pretty serious not-that-far-off full range speaker. If looking for a sensibly priced small monitor I'd give the JR150s serious consideration. A bit rare , though.


Thanks for this. I was unaware that such a model existed. My ignorance is confounded, and not for the first time either.

greenhomeelectronics
16-12-2008, 09:36
They are decent little speakers but they have suffered a bit from the "ebay effect", this time last year they were regularly going for £400+ a pair, one pair did well over £600!!
What seems to happen every now and again is that something gains unusual traction and prices go crazy for a while before settling back down - examples are LS3/5A's Garrard grease bearing decks and JR149's. It happens in all categories, usually when people perceive something as being rare. It flies away, everybody else remebers they have one just the same in the loft, they list them, they sell for even more than the last one and so it goes on. Then all of a sudden people realise they are not that rare or not that good after all and prices settle down.
Another example outside of the hi fi world is the Robert Harrop Camberwick Green music box. Original price - £39.99 about 5-6 years ago, limited to about 1000 if my memory is correct. 2 Years ago they were selling on ebay at over £600, they have now settled at about £300.
Back to the 149's though, damn good little speakers, if I was buying for my own use I would be very happy at the £250-300 mark, where I would feel like I had got good value. And before anybody asks, I don't have any for sale so, no I am not talking them up. :-)
Dave.

sastusbulbas
19-12-2008, 10:44
Are the 149's worth such money? NO

Over priced and hyped up due to eBay YES.

As for the big brother, I always thought that was regarded as poorer, it did not utilise the Kef drivers that made the original so good did it not?

I am sure I have an article about them all somewhere, and maybe even the reviews?

jandl100
19-12-2008, 10:54
Artikel Shmartikel .... I've heard the fekkers side by side (as you can see in the photo).

I'd go for the 150 every time. You might not - and that's fair enough! ;)

sastusbulbas
19-12-2008, 11:07
Hey Jerry,

Have your got the original drivers? I don't remember seeing cork seals on the 150's mid/bass units before?

PS how you getting on with the Audio Physics? How did the final room positioning end up?

jandl100
19-12-2008, 11:17
Hi Sas

Dunno about the drivers - both 150s and 149s are long gone! :lol:

Yup, very happy with the AP Virgos* - I got them set up nicely in the end. The key was to forget all of the recommendations from the mags etc and keep an open mind! Not too far apart, 2 feet or so from the back wall, and pointed straight ahead - that's the ticket!

* Having said that - I am sorely tempted by a pair of ML Vantage on eBay at the mo'! :)

Mr. C
19-12-2008, 11:18
I personally have 2 pairs, one brand new unopened, the other with less than 20 hours on. Original looking and eye catching
My uncle going back nearly 30 years owned them all, thought they were superb.
Are they worth the money, like anything of desire to some yes, to others no.
Ebay prices, utter tosh (like most things on ebay lol)
What do they sound like, very simple Dad's radiogram special, all very nice and safe, and your auntie could happily listen to Rush '2112' with out reaching for her cotton wool buds or the volume control on the Quad's.
Classic English nostalgia heritage, but Emily loved em'

sastusbulbas
19-12-2008, 20:51
Hi Sas

Dunno about the drivers - both 150s and 149s are long gone! :lol:

Yup, very happy with the AP Virgos* - I got them set up nicely in the end. The key was to forget all of the recommendations from the mags etc and keep an open mind! Not too far apart, 2 feet or so from the back wall, and pointed straight ahead - that's the ticket!

* Having said that - I am sorely tempted by a pair of ML Vantage on eBay at the mo'! :)

One of my favourite speakers used to be the ML CLZII, the Vantages are nice too..

sastusbulbas
19-12-2008, 20:52
I personally have 2 pairs, one brand new unopened, the other with less than 20 hours on. Original looking and eye catching
My uncle going back nearly 30 years owned them all, thought they were superb.
Are they worth the money, like anything of desire to some yes, to others no.
Ebay prices, utter tosh (like most things on ebay lol)
What do they sound like, very simple Dad's radiogram special, all very nice and safe, and your auntie could happily listen to Rush '2112' with out reaching for her cotton wool buds or the volume control on the Quad's.
Classic English nostalgia heritage, but Emily loved em'

Hi Mr C,

What can you tell me about your PC computer audio set up? :)

Mr. C
20-12-2008, 13:32
Hello Sas,

Very simple, we have a new red book/multi channel reference set up which was a serious investment It sounds sublime and simply makes beautiful music.
Our own DDS system using the same dac on the equivalent FLAC (880kps to 1.411mps) files are marginally better, (we are using a dedicated Coherent built PC, bespoke psu, under clocked, fully shielded, *no sound card* optical drives, minimum OS, no Kernel streaming etc, etc) on the 600+ high resolution tracks I have (ranging from pile driving rock to the romantic composers) it is SIGNIFICANTLY better, enough to make a good number of customers this year invest into the high resolution ethic.
On the full 176.4 24bits (although these are close to 5 gig per album) it is simply better than anything we have heard to date including all vinyl by a very large margin.
In essence it combines the best bits of both CD & Vinyl to produce 'just music'
We are not concerned on which will win the so called format wars, people who take the time to listen to it, know instantly and make their own minds up.
CD's will be around for quite a while I am sure, I have nearly 3K of them, plenty of our clients have 5K+ discs.
I am not one for ripping them and archiving, we use the PC for purely 24/96khz+ recordings
Should be an interesting few years ahead.

sastusbulbas
20-12-2008, 19:15
Hi Mr C,

Can you be a little more specific on the components and build of the PC? PSU? Motherboard? Shielding? Under clocking and minimum OS for example?

I would be interested in how the project started, which components were chosen etc, I am sure others would also, could be a nice alternative to the Filterlab Mac thread?

DSJR
20-12-2008, 20:07
Back to JR149's. They imaged very well as I remember and the circular carcass was very "dead" in resonance terms. I thought at the time that a mid seventies LS3/5A had the edge due to it's characterful bass-mid balance, but as it would be genuinely difficult to acquire a perfect unmolested pair of 3/5A's from this period (mid eighties examples suffered the KEF B110 changes and this ruined them) as many may have had replacement drive units without the necessary re-calibration.

The 150 was very good too, with just a tiny "sting" in the upper treble as I recall, which may have been tamed with the years of use since I last heard them in the mid eighties (they were second hand then and not much money). My mate had the woofer with them too.

Mr. C
22-12-2008, 12:23
Hi Sas,

Would need to PM you to discuss, however you do not seem to have a PM ability!

Ali Tait
22-12-2008, 20:38
Is it a secret? I'd be interested too,considering as I am in going this route.

Marco
22-12-2008, 20:44
Hi Sas,

Would need to PM you to discuss, however you do not seem to have a PM ability!

Hi Tony,

Sastus has been 'suspended' for a week so his PM facility has been temporarily disabled. Incidentally, this has got nothing to do with me :)

Marco.

Mr. C
22-12-2008, 22:31
I did have a conversation with Filterlab this morning and he pointed out that Sas was 'away on business'. I had no idea how/what/why this was though I have just had a read through the thread in question, I am glad I am no longer a moderator!
Just for a smile, Sas did *suggest*(some time back) soom of our signal transfer devices looked extremely similar to Mapins shark items.
Anyway I smiled :-), I can see they do look vaguely similar in photo's. No malice was intented by Sas, I was justed a little miffed at the time LOL.


Ali,
In answer to your post and to that of Sas' question.
In essence it is purely about data transfer and the ability to close to no/very little corruption of the data being transfered, either by emi/ref/mechanical interference.
So it is does not entale dragging a rock around a piece of plastic, neither is it shinning a light on a silver spinning disc. It is about getting as close to the original recorded work as possible given the technology we currently have.

I started the project after hearing a client of our's little project they had been working on for another use of this style of techology they had been developing.

Just to give to a taster
A very expensive uber reference red book transport was compared to this method (which was crudely knocked up in a stock off the shelf Farnell project box)
It comprehensively outguned the transport at its own data rate, at further high sample/bit rates it was light years ahead.
That was around 12 months ago.
Since then we have taken this 'project' a little further down the road and it will be commerically available in 2009, so without wishing to be obscure or arkward. I will take the 5th on this.
However it is worth looking into this method of music reproduction, not to replace your collection by to run side by side with it.
They only problem is, when set up correctly you do realise how far behind the convential playbeack methods are, no matter how good we feel they sound.
Anyway, I am sure it will provoke some firm rebuttles.
Have fun Tony

Ali Tait
22-12-2008, 23:57
Ok fair nuffskie.I would be interested in a more complete explanation when you feel it commercially prudent to do so please.

Sorry,but I don't like this "People have taken a sudden holiday" syndrome.I remember reading similar of pre-war Germany."Nazis? Oh,nice people.What do they do? Oh,they make clocks.Nice people really".Sounds melodramatic perhaps,but is not freedom of speech a democratic right???

Marco
23-12-2008, 08:28
I think statics and SETs are pish - howzat for free speech :eyebrows:

;)

Marco.

jandl100
23-12-2008, 08:33
I think statics and SETs are pish - howzat for free speech :eyebrows:

;)

Marco.

Is that stats and SETs working together or are all stats pish, regardless?

Damn, and I've just gone and ordered a pair of ML CLSIIz full range stats :doh: If only I'd lnown. :lol:

Marco
23-12-2008, 08:49
See, you will recklessly go ahead and do these daft things, willy-nilly, without first consulting yer ol' audio guru :lolsign:

Marco.

jandl100
23-12-2008, 08:55
See, you will recklessly go ahead and do these daft things, willy-nilly, without first consulting yer ol' audio guru :lolsign:

Marco.

But I did.

I looked in the mirror ;) ... and it said, "go on, you know you want to!". So I did.

Should get them when KJ re-open in the NY. :smoking:

Marco
23-12-2008, 09:13
Nice one. Are you sure it wasn't 'KYJ'? Oops, wrong website! :eyebrows:

;)

Marco.

Ali Tait
23-12-2008, 13:27
Ah but you haven't heard my ESL III's being driven by the 813! Stats CAN do proper bass. :)

DSJR
23-12-2008, 13:38
But I did.

I looked in the mirror ;) ... and it said, "go on, you know you want to!". So I did.

Should get them when KJ re-open in the NY. :smoking:


Give my best to Arif & Richard when you visit them next...

sastusbulbas
02-01-2009, 17:27
Hi Sas,

Would need to PM you to discuss, however you do not seem to have a PM ability!

:scratch:

spendorman
02-12-2012, 23:18
They were the winners in a blind test carried out in the seventies by Martin Colloms for HiFi for Pleasure where different speakers were compared with live instruments behind a curtain

Yes, and the test included icons such as Quad ESL57, Spendor BC1, Tannoy HPD315's, LS3/5a, etc etc. Joint 2nd, in the test I seem to remember was the B&W DM5.

Wakefield Turntables
03-12-2012, 09:56
Nice to see the last post, even though the thread is old :wheniwasaboy: I'm really really tempted to get a pair of these :)