Well I was out again today to hear some more bookshelf speakers from another local dealer. This time I took my new Monitor Audio RS1's and compared them against the Focal.JMLab 707S's, 706V's and the Boston Acoustics VR-M50's. The dealer did not have any of the Focal.JMLab 806V or 807V's which I would have liked to hear. Well the first thing I noticed is that the 707S & 706V's are quite a bit larger than the RS1's. The design, finish, and build quality seemed to be better on the RS1's but it's all a matter of opinion. The VR-M50's were just plain ugly and cheap looking to me. The 707S & 706V's also had only one set of binding posts whereas the RS1's have 2 to allow for bi-wiring/amping. Now onto the sound. The 707S & 706's definately had the RS1's beat on the bass end. You could use either in a smaller room without a sub and get by. The RS1's just don't go deep enough on the bass but is tighter & faster than both the 707S & 706V's. I'd give the nod to the RS1's on the high's and mid's for clarity/transparency and overall sound. They do come off as bright but again my speakers are new and have less than 20 hours on them so they'll probably tame down a bit.
I tried different types of music from Metallica/U2/Sarah McGlaughlin and and acoustic piece from Godsmack. I did not get to hear the speakers in a HT setup, didn't have time. The VR-M50's did nothing for me. They were very harsh sounding and I just couldn't get past the look of them. Anyway I've now compared the RS1's to the Apmhion Helium 2's, Paradigm Studio 20's, Acoustic Energy Aleite 2's, Focal.JMLab 707S & 706V's, and the Boston Acoustic VR-M50's and I think I like the RS1's the best but the 706V's were a close 2nd. I wished i could have heard the 806 & 807V's. The dealer today had no problem knocking off $100 from the price of the 706V's(Reg $695CDN for $599) & $200 off the 707S as their his last pair (Reg $795CDN for $599CDN). I think for now I will keep the RS1's and give them 100-150 hours to break in. Also having a new cd player(NAD C542) and a/v receiver (Arcam AV300) with less than 20 hours on them will make a difference once their broken in.