What can you tell me about jm reynaude.

The weakness of the speakers are the cabinets, they literally fall apart, a friend of mine had the cabinets replaced 3 times during his ownership of the speakers. Every time it was done he was told they have "improved" the cabinets and it won't happen again, when he sold them they were starting to seperate again.

My friends speakers were the Trente's, and they were ok for monitor's, if you like monitor's that is. I tend not to like monitors so they never really moved me.

Wow Tireguy,

I had mine for 5 years and never had any problem. I live near the beach in Southern California resulting in dampness and fog at least 4 months of the year, you'd think that would lead to problems, but no ever. A lot of wood and metals do not fair well around here due to the salty air. The workmanship and veneer on them was absolutely first rate.

Tmoon,

Reynaud speakers, like everything else in this hobby, are a mater of personal tastes. They have a rich, engaging, quality that - to me- is intoxicating. Some would call this warm, I don't see it that way. Reynaud speakers are spectacular when mated with the proper tube components, but don't necessarily shy away from solid state.

Most of the speaker line is extremely easy to drive at ~90dB and a stable 4 ohm load. I drove mine with everything from 5 watt SET's to 40 watt push-pull and 250wpc solid state amps.

Let us know a little more about your personal tastes inmusic, the types of audio components you've listened to and liked/hated, and the room you'll be setting them up in.

I have J-M Reynaud Evolution 3's.
I love them.
I auditioned everything available here in New Zealand up to $10,000. I preferred these to Thiel, Maggie, Proac, Von Schweikert and all the English stuff we get here.
They are a little soft/warm but very musical - to me they sound emotional, immediate and so inviting - I do not notice any lack of detail or accuracy. They are easy to drive with both my Cairn 4808A (30 watts) and my Bryston B100.
I preferred their overall balance and integrity to the Sonus Faber Cremona's - which were uneven, though the Cremona's had a more extended treble and tighter bass.
JM-Reynaud is now designing and delivering a new speaker range while his son Claude runs the business operations.
They respond personally overnight to any emails I send them.
I suggest you contact Bob Neill at Amherst Audio - he is the U.S. importer and seems very straight-up and helpful to me, even though he knows he will never get a sale as I am so far away.
http://www.amherstaudio.com/

Good luck.

Sorry Tireguy I am with the guys on this one. I never had any trouble with my Trent cabinets (when I still owned them) and they are among the most delicious speakers I have ever heard. Immediate, forward, holographic, balanced and easy to drive to boot. they are missing some at the extremes and are not thin or 'accurate' just lovely. I sold mine because they like to be in the middle of the room and my Audio Note kit 3 can be near the corners but has its hand full keeping up with the Trentes midrange. Also try something like a Stingray or Soro SE to drive them I bet you will be happy too.