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    Description and Reviews 

Reviews

« HAUTE FIDELITE » September 1999

« Hi-Fi system of the month »

With the TWIN MK2 Jean-Marie Reynaud puts within everybody's reach the qualities that built his reputation : timbres' refinement, spacial reproduction and the marvellous naturalness of the musical breathing. Extremely balanced, these small speakers enrapture the listener by recreating the atmosphere of the recording sessions : the room characteristics, the spreading out of the musicians, the colors of instruments and voices. Even if the bass region is not abyssal, the TWIN MK2 can reproduce with realism the size of a grand piano without frustrating the listener. Listening to solo instruments is truly enchanting : timbres, phrasing, volume, dynamics, nothing is missing. With bigger orchestras, the results are as enjoyable : polyphony stays clear, performers don't mix up. A remarkable tonal balance and a very good opened sound stage make this speaker a first-class choice.

« LE MONDE DE LA MUSIQUE » January 2000

The MK2 indicates a new version of a well-known speaker. The bass/medium transducer has been modified, maybe even replaced. Most obvious innovation : the tweeter, a 25mm soft dome model. Listening impressions One immediatly recognizes, with this speaker, the signature of its designer : sensitive, full of nuances, capable of recreating vast spaces, delicately colored sounds. The TWIN MK2 is, on several accounts, a wonderful achievement. Its imaging is beautiful, large but focused. Performers are breathing without constrainsts. The treble, refined and sweet without being over-analytical, draws precisely the contours and the volume of the instruments. The bass transducer doesn't try to mimick the low-end of a bigger speaker, and won't set foot in dangerous places...Thanks to its general balance, its refusal to show off, the delicacy of its colors and the naturalness of its expression, the TWIN MK2 is a new achievement to add to Jean-Marie Reynaud's record.

U.S « LISTENER » MAGAZINE

sept/oct 2000

« HOUSE SPEAKERS »

How to buy true happiness for $500.750

Tag team survey by Bruce Kennett and Steve Lefkowicz

Loudspeakers in test

ALON « Li'l Rascal »: B.W « DM602 S2 »: KIRKSAETER « silverline »: KRIX « Equinoxe »

POLK AUDIO « RT 55 I »: ROYD « Ministrel »: TOTEM « Mite »: JM.REYNAUD « Twin MK2 »

Results

Twin Bruce comments

Reynaud is one of the four big speaker makers in France and has been in business since 1967. The company is well-known in Europe, but new to the North American market. The Twin is the smallest of reynaud's line, which extends up to speakers costing $ 12.000/pair. As is the case with many of the JMR models, this is a two way system mechanically, but three way electrically- the mid/bass driver has a dual voice coil and is fed from two separate crossover sections. The drivers are made by Audax to JMR spec. The cabinet is designed as a triangular transmission line, which ends in a slot at the base of the baffle. This slot is foam-filled and seems turbulence free. The triangular profile means no standing waves can occur inside the line, thereby reducing the need for damping materials inside, and keeping the music lighter on its feet. The cabinet is made from Medite (harder than MDF) veneered with beech: beautifull to look at, exibiting superd craftsmanship for a speaker at this price level.

The TWIN were my clear favorites of the bunch. To paraphrase Michael Flanders, they are a transport of delight. I don't know what Reynaud does to voice his speakers, but it hits me right in the gut: I have now lived with three speakers from his line, and every one of them had the same ability to carry me right away into the musical performance. The Twins didn't have quite as much low-end whomp as some of the others speakers in the survey, but they were so supremely musical that this never mattered, and they always remained articulate- vhere others that played deeper were not so intelligible. Orchestral music was satisfyingly « big » and quick in all the right ways. Chamber music and smaller-format things had just the right scale and intimacy. At one point when I was listening to Beetheven's Op. 5 sonatas for cello and piano, I was unable to reconcile how great these speakers sounded given their price: The piano lacked the weight that large speakers can give, but the essence and soul of both instruments were fully present. These little speakers had the same ability of their more expensive siblings, not to play mere notes, but to transmit the very feelings and intentions of the people creating the music.

Minuses? Their refined character made them less suited to raw-edge music (Susan Tedeschi, Led Zeppelin1), although they still sounded mighty fine while Owen played pop Cds from groups like Smashmouth and Eiffel 65. The grilles (not used in listening) were annoyingly difficult to put on and off.

While the TWINS were in our system I couldn't wait to go in and listen to music, and stayed up far into the night repeatedly. This never happened to the same degree with any of the others speakers. I could live with these indefinitely and never tire of them.

Bruce conclusion

Of the eight speakers assembled here,I found one design to be head and shoulders above all the others in musical satisfaction: the Reynaud Twin. If you saw the last issue you already know about my enthusiasm for Reynaud's more expensive   « signature » model; here, I am simply awestruck by his ability to deliver such musical quality at this sub-$1000 price point, and with such a high level of physical beauty in the product, too. This is the only speaker of the eight that I could live with indefinitely, and free of qualms. Until you get to experience these Twin first hand, all I can pass along is the sort of observation that we all make when we're in the presence of a true master of his/her art- whether it's Tommy Flanagan on piano, Ken Rosewall playing tennis, Robert Duvall acting, Ella Fitzgerald belting out a tune- you feel and see a confidence and sureness, an apparent ease in every act, a poetry in motion. This mastery of the situation is what the Twins brought to our room; their ease and refinement make music soul-satisfaying and effortless.

Steve comments

These were certainly the best looking speakers in the bunch. Virtually identical in size to the Alon (but heavier) their natural wood cabinets looked so much classier. I found them to be easy to drive, power-wise, but definitely asking for good quality input. I mean, although the Kenwood could make them play as loud as I cared, it just was not so good enough to make these puppies, sing. I'll start by saying that whatever natural beauty the Alon's had in portraying vocals (and instruments that fell within that range) the Reynauds matched, and generally exceeded. But what the Reynauds did for me was to extend that range at least an octave in both directions.And they do this without masking anuthing over or prettying things up by lacking details. These unraveled complex music as well as I've heard anywhere. They also seemed to dig the music out even on less-well-recorded albums, such as Stravinsky's own recording of the 1945 Firebird suite on Columbia. The Reynauds not only handled the music wonderfully, but they seemed to make the performances more important than the recordings.

In spite of their size the Reynauds can produce a satisfying amount of real bass (like many people, I still tend to fall for the stereotype of big-equals-bass, even through I really do know better). On the generally overabundant bass of Erykah Badu's Baduism, these almost rival the Polks for the amount of bass output, but with substantially more detail and tunefulness. What's mor, when played back at a reasonable level, this bass output seems to have non influence on the wonderful reproduction of Badu's voice.

They don't have quite the depth or power of my Sound Dynamics in the bass, but then, they are more transparent and slightly better detailed. They image better, too, throwing out a hug soundstage with amazingly specific location. ...

All told, a superb speaker, one I could easily live with. Since the Twins are Reynaud's lowest priced speaker, they definitely make me want tyo hear their more expensive models.

Steve conclusion

For me, the winner was easy to pick: The Reynaud Twins were simply more refined, and did more things « right », than any other speaker in this group. They are a speaker I could live with an enjoy for a very long time....