Pylon Jasper Monitor 18 Bookshelf Speakers Review – Musica Romantica Forever
Pylon Jasper Monitor 18 is a $2950 USD / 2950 Euro pair of Bookshelf speakers with a driver combo of Scan-speak Tweeter and 18 Cm Woofer also from Scan Speak, designed to offer the state-of-the-art characteristics of the bigger models but in a compact size. Today we review the Jasper Monitor 18 and also will explore comparison with other high-end speakers including Audience ClairAudient 1+1 V5 (3900 USD), Pylon Audio Diamond 30 mkii (3000 USD), and Amphion Argon3s (3000 USD).
Introduction
Pylon Audio is a personal favorite brand for speakers as so far they have decorated my room with beautiful speakers and my time with excellent music, and their Diamond 30 mkii model has beaten all of the competition considerably for my ears, so today we check out more advanced models with the Jasper Monitor 18 being a smaller, but just as impressive pair of speakers.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/48unR50
Official Link – https://pylon.pl/en/jasper-series/jasper-monitor-18/
Build Quality – Design
Pylon Audio always makes beautiful and interesting speakers, with Jasper Monitor 18 having a cutting-edge design and sound, and being capable of delivering the state-of-the-art characteristic sound of the Jasper series, but in a compact size. This is achieved through a carefully selected driver setup with two drivers from Danish Scap-Speak carefully selected for their technical performance and consistency. The 18cm Revelator will be delivering the midrange and the bass, and its characteristic notches visible in our photos will reduce distortion and dissipate standing waves, resulting in excellent control and and power for the bass.
To match the bass, we have a silk dome tweeter with one of the lightest vibrating systems, the dome weighting only 0.18 grams. This tweeter delivers extreme speed and crisp details, and both drivers are housed in a rigid body crafted from high-grade MDF boards with the front and back made in sandwich technology. Pylon also applies additional reinforcements to keep the enclosure free of resonance and we see the characteristic curved front and back that prevent the formation of standing waves in the enclosure and equalize the acoustic centers of the speakers in the mid-high range sections.
Technically, Jasper 18 is a pair of monitors with a 4 OHM impedance, and a frequency response between 35 Hz and 20 kHz. The nominal power is rated at 80W, max power at 160W and efficiency or SPL at 88 dB. The Woofer is a Sca-Speak 18W/4531G01 and the Tweeter is a Scan-Speak D2608/913000 driver. Each speaker has a weight of 13.5 kG, and they’re designed for a dedicated room between 15 m2 and 32 m2. You will receive an set of magnetic speaker grilles, and Jasper 18 can be bought in multiple finishes including American Walnut, Morocco Ebony, White High Gloss, White Matt, Black High Gloss, Black Matte, and you can actually select a custom option for the finish with a Gloss Lacquer or Matte Lacquer. Pylon Audio also sells Optional stands which raise the speakers, and which have a weight of 7.8 kG.
Subjective Usage And Placement
Pylon Audio Jasper Monitor 18 is a really easy to position pair of speakers and although they look fairly ordinary, the mastery is in the angling of the drivers, how the face is curved, and how this delivers the sound right to your ears. Positioning is not sensitive to vertical or horizontal alignment and the sound cone is very wide, at around 120 degrees laterally and vertically. Both Scan-Speak drivers deliver outstanding reach and as long as you’re mildly within reach of the drivers, and as long as you’re in between the speakers.
Speaking of which, it is best to have a properly acoustically treated room to really take advantage of the Jasper Monitor 18, they sound best in a proper room, but I was able to enjoy them in both smaller and larger rooms, both in HIFI Settings and Studio Monitor settings. If anything, I found that Monitor 18 sounds best when listening in a distance of 1.5 meters to around 4 meters, with a sweet spot being if you sit a bit farther away from them physically. The ideal distance between the speakers seems to be between 1.5 and 4.5 meters, and this would scale with the room. The sound is more direct, and has more low-end gain in a smaller room, and at around 30 m2 the sound reaches a sweet spot actually, becoming rather balanced.
Jasper Monitor 18 is not very hard to drive and while I love their performance with heavy duty amplifiers like Keces S300+, I was able to get by just fine using a set of Topping B100 Monoblock AMPs. At the back we have poles for Bi-Wirinig the Jasper Monitor 18 speakers, and a connective setup for the setup, but I mostly have tested them standard, as I don’t have a good AMP that would take advantage of Bi-wiring. I was quite happy being able to take one speaker outdoors, I can confirm that they are rather heavy, but they do not scratch easily and the finish on the Jasper Monitor 18 is of an excellent quality. They are quite sensitive to DAC resolution and quality as the sound is very revealing. They like being seated at least 30 cm away from the wall, with 50 cm being more ideal for a perfect sound. I found that wooden acoustic panels offer some of the best acoustic treatment you can desire for your speakers.
Sound Quality
Pairings – To test the Pylon Audio Jasper Monitor 18, I have paired them with a combination of DAC and AMPs, including the ECDesigns PowerDAC-SX, but also a set of Fosi Audio ZA3 driven by a Fosi Audio ZD3, Topping B100 Monoblock Amplifiers driven by a FiiO K17 DAC, Keces S300+ Power Amplifier driven by a Keces S3+ DAC / Preamp. Overall, you’re best off feeding the Jasper Monitor 18 just the right amount of power, they are not ultra hard to drive, but they can eat some current, have a moderately low impedance and not the highest SPL, so they need a powerful, but controlled and detailed amplifier. While the Jasper 18 Monitor is easier to drive than the Pylon Audio Jasper 23 and Diamond 30 mkii, it needs detail and power, so I would stay with amplifiers that can reliably deliver at least 100W of power with low THD.
Overall Signature – Pylon Audio Jasper 18 Monitor sounds quite detailed, has a warm bass, but a balanced overall sound with a long decay for the bass, very musical, revealing and detailed midrange, and a crisp, clear treble with excellent resolution. They handle both Metal and EDM equally well, but they’re designed as a versatile pair of speakers, so Classical, Jazz and basically all styles will sound sublime when played through the Monitor 18. The most obvious characteristics are the wide, holographic soundstage combined with an outstanding instrument separation, warm, big bass, and a very musical, organic sounding midrange that gives music sweetness despite the high resolution.
With speakers, Burn-In is not something to debate and it will change the sound DRASTICALLY. I initially was debating between Jasper 18 and Jasper 23, because I find both charming, but I originally liked the presentation of Jasper 23 much more, but after burn-in, Jasper 18 Monitor opened up a lot, bass became much deeper and it reaches the promised 35 Hz, while treble extends beautifully to 20 kHz. Right Out of the box, the sound is compressed and a larger driver, as seen in Jasper 18 requires more play, at louder volumes to open up, with around 250 hours being the mark where the sound reaches ideal performance, deep, dynamic, playful, revealing and crisp. The more you use the Jasper 18 Monitors, the better they get, although you’re likely to notice most changes up to 250 hours, after which they settle on a highly engaging, dynamic and revealing signature.
Bass – Starting from the bottom end, Jasper 18 has a really powerful sound, with a beautiful bass, a long, big and slow decay, and reach to actual 35 Hz within 3dB of deviation. This is actually better than some floorstanding speakers can deliver, and you hear depth, thunder and impact from Jasper 18, but the bass is mostly a big, bloomy and slow bass, similar to what you hear from huge bass guitar cabinets at rock concerts, it is flexible and can deliver thump and kick for house and EDM music, but for the most part Jasper 18 delivers a really big bass. It can be counter intuitive but after proper burn-in of both, Jasper Monitor 18 delivers a bigger, deeper bass than Jasper 23, although not quite as tight and fast as J23, J18 has more size, more volume to each instrument and a deeper presentation. There’s a clear tendency for J18 to move volumes, to give voices, guitars and synths body and warmth. Bass has a mostly L shaped to the response, it starts quite strong in the sub, at 35 Hz, with most energy being below 80 Hz and no boominess above. In fact, J18 seems to compete against room gain, so they will sound better in rooms with a boom point, being able to cancel the standing waves better than any pair of speakers I reviewed to date, having the least boomy sound in a poorly treated room, they just produce a deep thump with no extra distortion in the lows even if your room can’t quite support it. Even if the speakers are almost glued to the wall, the bass still has excellent quality and quantity.
Midrange – When analysing the sound of Jasper 18, you will notice that they are vocal, and the midrange is actually the central element of their sound, but only by a very slight margin relative to the bass and treble, so they’re overall balanced – natural, not mid forward. This means that voices and lead instruments are never pushed in the back and instead they’re slightly forward, always present and at the center of the soundstage, just as the singer intended. Of course, songs without a central element like atmospheric rock will sound as such, but most music has a well-defined central element and Jasper 18 does an excellent job at highlighting it. It emphasizes emotion, and sweetness in music, female voices are brilliantly emotional and sweet, while male voices are direct, vocal, and powerful, if a bit happy instead of gloomy for most songs, including rock and metal. J18 is exceptional at separating the lead instrument and voices from the background while playing both in ultra high definition, you hear background instruments really well, and especially guitars and multiple layers of guitars sound delicious, vivid, and lively. Just the guitar sound reproducing in general makes me go for hours with no end when turning on Jasper 18. Bands like The coffinshakers sound superb, acoustic guitars and electric guitars both sound excellent, crisp and juicy.
Treble – I actually had a feeling that Jasper 18 was tuned and designed with acoustic and classical music in mind, as it is generally the hardest to replicate well and has the highest number of instruments so the easiest to mess up, but I only could confirm this when listening to symphonic metal bands like Haggard, where the way Jasper 18 handles acoustic instruments can only be compared to the best pair of headphones I ever heard, the HIFIMAN susvara Original, but with a much wider soundstage for Jasper 18, a more open sound. The treble they produce is brilliant, but aids the entire sound instead of playing against it. Basically, they extend to 20 kHz easily, likely even above, but the way Jasper Monitor 18 renders music is airy, separated and the treble extends in the entire soundstage, reproducing a wide, holographic scene instead of focusing that treble energy onto the listener. They produce an SQ comparable to the largest theater hall I attended.
Dynamics And Textures – Pylon Audio Jasper 18 Monitor has one of the highest dynamic range and most dynamic presentations I ever heard from a pair of speakers regardless of the size and shape. I was just analysing the song Sonata Arctica – My Dream’s But A Drop Of Fuel For A Nightmare, where certain cymbal hits are meant to accompany the lead guitar and rhythm of the song, but most speakers and even headphones compress those to sound glaring and aggressive, while J18 relaxes the whole sound, allowing cymbal crashes to accompany the rest of the song, creating a truly expanded and dynamic presentation. Textures are juicy and organic, Jasper 18 reveals far more information than Diamond 30 mkii, Argon3s or even ClairAudient 1+1, but in a non-aggressive, slightly relaxed way that allows you to taste and enjoy, find delight in textures and micro details. Generally, Jasper 18 produces the most realistic texture and dynamic range out of all the speakers I reviewed to date. The secret lies in how songs like La Dispute – Shall Never Lose Its Power can still sound musical and enjoyable during the screamo chorus as J18 renders guitars instead of raw noise, and musicality in the singer’s voice instead of pure harshness, which this song is famous for. Basically, this is a pair of speakers that makes sense of even the harshest most distorted metal tracks.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – Pylon Audio speakers always get better the louder you go and Monitor 18 is no exception, this is a pair of speakers that is pure sweetness, dynamic range and detail / resolution at both high and low volumes, the THD is incredibly low regardless of the volume, and they just sound beautiful across all volume levels. I personally found a sweet spot at medium volumes where they play at around 65 dB to 90 dB. Above 90 dB, the sound becomes harder and tighter, but also more aggro, while below 60 dB, the sound is more atmospheric and dreamy, less tight. Those vary quite a bit with the amplification, but across all AMPs this is how the sweet spot handles and moves. Jasper M18 can reliably produce music up to 110 dB with proper amplification and still incredibly low THD.
Soundstage – The wide and holographic soundstage of Jasper 18 is one of its most evident characteristics, they just sound HUGE, with excellent lateral and depth projection. They have an exceptionally natural instrument separation, you notice every single sound, but with more blend and musicality than Diamond 30 mkii, and a far more spatiality than all of the other bookshelf speakers I reviewed to date including Argon3s. J18 is pretty much the biggest sounding bookshelf I heard so far, including comparing them with other speakers at high-End Munich and with studio monitors available for listening in Romania. The bigger body also helps create this grand sound effect for Jasper Monitor 18, it gives them volumes, and they can move a room, not just project music, but project actual instruments in precise spaces. It is quite a magical effect, where I heard nothing that comes quite as close to attending a small scale concert, almost giving me flashbacks to all the early concerts I was attending as a teenager, drinking, having the fun of my life.
Comparisons
Pylon Audio Jasper Monitor 18 vs Amphion Argon3s – (2950 USD vs 3000 USD) – From a constructive standpoint, Argon 3s looks more simple, although the velour finish is quite nice. Argon3s require far more power to even move, but they sound more compressed, dry and narrow, creating a small image. Although Argon 3s can be considered fairly revealing, Jasper Monitor 18 is far more detailed, but more musical and more organic too, Jasper monitor 18 pushes forward voices and brings music to life, creating a far wider, deeper image with far better instrument separation.
Considering that the two are at about the same price, Jasper Monitor 18 is a far better buy, with a far better sound, and they just sound more complete and warmer, with more body but also better coherency for music.
Pylon Audio Jasper Monitor 18 vs Pylon Audio Diamond 30 mkii – (2950 USD vs 3000 USD) – Diamond 30 mkii is a floorstanding pair of speakers, but a lot of people asked me to compare the two, so besides the obvious difference in physical size, drivers and style, I want to mention that Jasper Monitor 18 is actually slightly more sensitive to placement and room acoustics, while Diamond 30 mkii is less sensitive to room quality and placement. This being said, Diamond 30 mkii is harder to drive and requires more power to really play well, although they can work with more affordable DACs and AMPs while providing a fun sound, whereas Jasper 18 is a bit more revealing and they need a better DAC and a better AMP to truly shine. Sonically, the presentation is different, Diamond 30 mkii is tighter, more punchy, but more controlled, has a slightly smaller soundstage and more precise separation with a less romantic and more precise sound. In contrast, Jasper 18 sounds wider, more holographic, warmer in the bass with more body, a more musical sound for female and male voices, it can extract a different set of details from music and J18 is better for acoustic music, rock, and classica, while Diamond 30 mkii creates more speed and thump for EDM, Dubstep, Pop and electronic music. Both are brilliant and versatile, but J18 is a more audiophile sounding pair of speakers, while D30 is a more technical, studio, but more tight sounding pair of speakers.
Pylon Audio Jasper Monitor 18 vs Audience ClairAudient 1+1 V4 – (2950 USD vs 3900 USD) – The biggest difference here will be in size, and I was able to take both 1+1 with me for photos, while for Jasper 18 I could only bring one in my car, so J18 is at least double if not a couple of times larger than the ClairAudient. Both speakers have an excellent sound, both are easy to drive, but 1+1 is a bit easier to drive, less sensitive to placement laterally, but more sensitive to vertical placement. 1+1 is more sensitive and needs you to be right in the center of them for music to sound best. Sonically, 1+1 rolls off earlier, and has less bass depth, less body, but more thump, it sounds more technical, faster, more linear and less colored, while J18 sounds warmer, bigger, with a far larger soundstage in both width and depth, J18 has a more holographic image, and more colorful midrange, and J18 has a better impact for all music as the bass can climb lower in the deep registers. 1+1 has the perfect cohesiveness that it is known for but J18 is not far off, especially as they use well-matched Scan-Speak drivers that work well with the enclosure that keeps them in phase, so although 1+1 will always have the tightest cohesiveness as it has just one smaller driver, you will not notice the multi driver sound with J18 thanks to the smart geometry and perfect driver matching.
Value and Conclusion
With a price tag of 2950 USD, Pylon Audio Jasper 18 barely scratches the budget surface for HIFI Stereo Setups, but delivers a performance comparable to the bigger floorstanding Jasper Speakers, but in a compact shape, the size and weight, bass decay and soundstage size of a full-sized speaker in your bookshelf. The package includes grille protectors that attach to the speakers via magnets, you can customize the finish, and they are very well made, resulting in a high price performance ratio, the performance is comparable to the kind of sound I’ve heard up to speakers at around 7K USD back at high-end munich, which may be why Pylon Audio always has such a popular booth at audio shows.
Award – I pondered quite a bit about giving Jasper 18 a place in our Hall Of Fame, because I immediately knew that J23 deserves a place, but J18 was not direct, it was something I discovered about them the more I listened, those speakers produce a sound that re-constructs an entire band playing live for your, in your living or work room. They are ultra capable, but their natural, more relaxed sound actually doesn’t jump right at you the way the signature of Diamond 30 mkii and Jasper 23 prances you from behind, and instead with Jasper 18, the more you listen, the more you understand. The way J18 makes the bass guitar and bass effects audible in every single metal, rock and even Pop song gives them more than enough reason to be in our Hall Of Fame, but when you add in the resolution, compact shape and beautiful design, they win my heart multiple times over.
At the end of the day, Reviewing the Pylon Audio Jasper Monitor 18 has been quite an adventure where they’ve taken me out of my comfort zone, expanded my horizons on what a good sound is, and through their musicality, engaging sound and high level of dynamics, rekindled my love for many music styles including Emo, Classical and Symphonic metal. I gave them my attention and they rewarded me many times over, if you have the choice, go for Pylon Audio Jasper 18 Monitors, they will impress and deliver a highly engaging, wide, airy and warm sound with a powerful bass, but also highly musical midrange and refined treble.
PROs
- Modern, cool design that is acoustically motivated to look this way
- Perfect Phase that allows J18 to have an incredibly low distortion and high dynamic level
- Highly engaging sound
- Really easy to place within a room, not needy with low or large spaces
- Does not require a properly treated room to sound good, but will improve if you have even basic acoustic treatment like acoustic paneling
- Sonic quality is insanely good, most bookshelf speakers costing up to 9000 USD I heard at high-end munich did not surpass or even match the Jasper Monitor 18, so it has a huge value advantage over those
- Matte finish is beautiful and they don’t scratch easily
- Option for Biwiring
- Magnetic protection is very convenient
Cons
- Not quite as tight and technical as Jasper 23 or Diamond 30 mkii
- Needs far more power than you’d expect from a bookshelf speaker to sound good, also depends a lot on the DAC and AMP quality to sound good
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/48unR50
Official Link – https://pylon.pl/en/jasper-series/jasper-monitor-18/
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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