It’s always good when customers send positive comments about a product. It’s even more gratifying when they choose to post them on a forum so that others can read about their discoveries.
Karl, based in the UK, bought a pair of Jordan Greenwich speakers after hearing them at last year’s North-West Audio Show in Cranage. We despatched them and once we’d been notified that they had arrived, we prepared to wait the 30-day return period to see how he liked them.
We didn’t need to wait. Within two weeks we had a very enthusiastic email, pointing us towards a thread on the WigWam audio forum. Here is Karl’s post:
I’ve done a few threads in relation to my recent speaker search, looking for a pair of speakers for my living room system. I didn’t quite try everything on the shortlist, but these are the ones that I did get a proper listen to before making my decision:
– Graham Audio LS5/9
– Living Voice IBX-R4
– QLN One and Prestige One
– EJ Jordan Greenwich
First thing to say is that I could happily have lived with any of these speakers and I would have had very little to complain about. All fabulous speakers in their own right. In the end though, it came down to a choice between the Graham LS5/9s and the EJ Jordan Greenwich.
A similar design in some aspects, both employing the BBC thin-walled birch ply cabinets, however where the Grahams are a traditional BBC design in terms of drivers, the Jordans employ a pair of Jordan Eikona full range drivers.
And the winner is…the EJ Jordan Greenwich. Absolutely stonking speakers and well pleased with them.
I first heard a pair of the Jordans at the NW Audio Show back in June last year and was more than a little impressed by them. I was a bit hesitant though as the only music being played on them while I was there was small scale jazz/classical, so I wasn’t sure if they could do scale and dynamics too. They can!
I’d not come across the concept of using two full-range drivers before, but the idea is to improve power handling and dynamics. They still have no crossover, which is one of the big appeals for me in my ongoing ‘less is more’ approach to hifi.
There is still a small part of me that misses the Grahams, with the way they portray instruments and voices within the midrange, but where the Jordans really outshine the Grahams is two, no actually three-fold.
Firstly, the imaging is off the charts. The Grahams are still seriously good on this front, as were the Living Voice (actually come to think of it, the QLNs were good there too) but there is a definition and convince-ability with the stereo image that the Jordans throw up that is seriously impressive.
Secondly, the Greenwichs have a coherence from top to bottom (and back up again!) that just can’t be matched by speakers with separate drivers and crossovers, no matter how well implemented.
Finally, the Jordans have a transparency and smoothness that is utterly beguiling. They are one of those speakers that are just so darn easy to listen to. No hint of grain or harshness, just smooth, natural, delicate music. Gorgeous.
The bit that really surprised me though is that they seem to be able to rock out too. They have a bass reach which is very similar to the Grahams (which is more than enough for me) but due to that top to bottom coherence and ability to go loud without any sense of strain, they can literally bring the house down. Black Sabbath test well and truly passed!!
Another more practical advantage they have is that, although of very similar sensitivity to the Grahams at 86dB, they have a 16 ohm impedance, so an easier load for most amps and also opens the possibility to play with valves etc if I choose to at a later date (although for now, my 30W of Pass Labs Aleph 3 is doing a fabulous job with them).
Only other thing to mention about them that has really been a lot of fun, is how unbelievably versatile they are with positioning. Because of their uncanny ability to throw up a coherent image, it seems you can position them however you like and you just get a different soundstage. Put them toed-in just in front of the listening position (which is where I have them) and the image is centrally tight and focussed. Put them wider out and facing more forward, or even toed-out, and the image is no less coherent, it just throws the soundstage wider. But everything is still well and truly in place, without any smearing, just bigger.
Whichever way you position them, the speakers do that wonderful disappearing trick, with the sound coming from space, not boxes. Dare I say it, they almost sound like open-baffle or omni-directional speakers with the way the cabinets just disappear. Really very clever indeed.
So there you have it, one happy EJ Jordan Greenwich owner and absolutely chuffed I am too!
Felt I should write a bit about them as there still aren’t any reviews of them online and they absolutely deserve to be shouted about. Definitely one to put on your shortlist if you’re in the market for some speakers at this kind of price (£6k), especially if you’re into that BBC kind of sound, but with a twist!
A little update: Went ahead and bought the matching stands for these which arrived yesterday. Like their BBC style thin-walled brethren, the Greenwich definitely seem to really sing on top of open-frame stands.
The new stands have without doubt improved the speed and openness of the sound through these wonderful speakers.
I know it’s still honeymoon period here, but I am in music heaven right now!
Our thanks to Karl for the glowing testimonial and for permission to use it here. The HiFi Wigwam forum is a very friendly place and you can find their home page here.
Please see our Greenwich page for further information and, as ever, if you have any questions we are always happy to answer them by email – you can contact us here.