Intro
Contents
French speaker manufacturer Jean-Marie Reynaud has something to celebrate. Or rather, they keep on celebrating. In 2017 they blew out 50 candles. And therefore an anniversary edition is made of each speaker. The last metamorphosis was done by the Bliss Silver who was transformed into the JM Reynaud Bliss Jubilé. And no, this is no ‘old wine in new bags’ but a completely new speaker. The appearance and shape were largely retained but the tweeter and driver are brand new.
JMR has been around for half a century and has become a fixture in the hi-fi landscape. In the meantime, son Jean-Claude has taken over most of the torch so that the company’s know-how seems assured for the next 50 years. With a wide range of monitors, floorstanders and home cinema applications, there is something for everyone. Everything is made in the Saint-Hilaire factory by craftsmen who have worked in the business for decades.
Construction and appearance
The JMR Bliss Jubilé, in the matte black (Black Satin) version that we are testing, is very sensitive to fingerprints. But once polished we see a beautiful speaker that is very solid made. Both the front and back of the cabinet are slightly rounded to avoid standing waves. At the top the tweeter and woofer sit together in an oval piece of felt. At the bottom we see an elongated bass port with the logo above it. At first glance this seems a rather inconspicuous speaker but the small details are very tastefully executed and after a few weeks it is striking how well the speaker fits in our modern room. In addition to the satin black version that we are testing, there are 3 other versions: pearl white, anthracite grey and cherry for those who want a rather classic look.
Sectio Aurea
The dimensions of the Bliss Jubilé have been developed on the basis of the proportions in the golden section. This gives us a rather narrow monitor with a height of 42cm double the width. Add to that a depth of 29cm and you get a pretty awesome monitor. The Bliss Jubilé in its current version is in fact the small version of the Euterpe Jubilé floorstander (same tweeter and driver) with some minor adjustments here and there. A specially developed Magic Stand II is the icing on the cake and is not only visually a perfect match but would also significantly improve the display. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to test them together.
The 28mm silkdome tweeter is specially treated to promote linear imaging. And the driver gets its own developed charging mechanism to eliminate signal delay. This monitor is full of smart applications that have been developed over the last 50 years. Rigid damping, handmade crossovers, homemade cables (JMR HP1132) and so on. Years of expertise is incorporated in every part of this anniversary version and you will notice that in everything. The fact that many elements from the more expensive series are now also included in this affordable Bliss Jubilé makes it a particularly well-equipped monitor.
With a sensitivity of 88db and an impedance that never dives below 4ohm, this loudspeaker is relatively easy to drive. Perhaps a tube amp can create some more magic, although it can become too soft for some people. At least we had no problems with our modest Keces E40 which, with its 40 watts, had enough volume and grip on the Bliss Jubilé. This combination even went remarkably well because he brought some extra body in the low end.
