EJ JORDAN MARLOW CE LOUDSPEAKERS REVIEW

EJ Jordan Marlow CE loudspeakers cost £2280 plus VAT a pair and are a single driver, front-ported loudspeaker housed in a cabinet a little larger than the classic BBC LS3/5A. Janine Elliot takes a listen for HiFi Pig.

A single wideband driver in a front ported cabinet just a smidgen bigger than the LS3/5A.

I was very excited to be offered the chance to test the Marlow CE from the well-established but less familiar today EJ Jordan. For a start, this was a company that began in my youth and which I followed over the years. Secondly, this loudspeaker uses a single driver to cover all frequencies which means a single point source and no crossover to hinder mid frequencies, and finally, its construction is based on cabinet making deployed in the iconic BBC LS3/5a and its intention is to sound at least as good. Coming in at £2,280 (ex VAT) it competes with today’s adaptations of the BBC marque.

It is easy to see how founder Edward James Jordan, better known as Ted, would have made a career in audio; his father was a skilled amateur radio builder who he admired, and Ted’s earlier career was at GEC as an assistant in the radio labs. In 1952 he joined Goodmans Industries, designing the Axiette 200mm driver, and then recreating the entire collection of Goodmans drive units and even a prototype electrostatic speaker.

Around 1963 Ted left with Lesley Watts to form Jordan-Watts, a company I knew well in my youth, creating the “Jordan Watts Module”, a full frequency alloy cone driver in an unusual plastic cabinet. In 1978 that company closed, and 1982 EJ Jordan Designs was formed in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, hence the name of the speaker up for review. Initially, a 50mm alloy cone mid/high driver was produced, as used by a number of manufacturers. Later the J125 driver was used on the Townshend Glastonbury. A number of loudspeakers were released over the years, including the VTL loudspeaker enclosure in the early 1990s using the Jordan JX92S full-range drive unit. Ted’s work also included writing the textbook “Loudspeakers” published by Focal Press and developing a class AB power-amp with its accompanying pre-amp, but his main love was always alloy cone full-range speakers. Whilst Ted may have died in 2016 the company lives on with the new Marlow and Marlow CE taking centre stage. The speaker’s single driver, the Eikona, now in its mk II form, and is assembled by Scan-Speak.

A closer look at the Marlow and it’s single driver.

CONSTRUCTION

This is a Controflex™ alloy foil 100mm cone weighing in at just a few grams, enabling it to accurately follow fast-moving musical signals and tackling frequencies from 44Hz to 18,000 (±6 dB) with a 86 dB/watt sensitivity. Remember, though, that this a small speaker and so the bass response should be limited, though it extended further than I thought would be possible from such a small driver. Think of the Marlow as a slightly enlarged BBC LS3/5a, coming in at around 1” taller and ½” wider than the aged monitor and with a driver 10mm smaller. Indeed, as present-day MD Colin Shelbourn told me; “The Marlow project began by putting an Eikona into an official 9mm LS3/5a cabinet and realising that there was considerable potential in the combination”. Finding the bass was too light they made a slightly larger cabinet and added a bass reflex system. Interestingly they, like in my review here, used LS3/5a and LS5/9 speakers as references. I have an early Chartwell LS3/5a to (initially) compare the sound for this review as well as a Graham Audio LS5/9.

The similarity with the BBC icon also extends to the construction; the Marlow uses 9mm Baltic birch ply, heavily damped and with internal pads, and lined with acoustic foam. Using cabinet making skills from the BBC, each element of construction is precise, like a musical instrument, since wood type, fixing, damping and placement is absolutely critical here. The speaker cabinet looks well-made though the matt Walnut veneer doesn’t look quite as posh as some wooden box speakers. A Rosewood version is available at an extra price of £160. This is a front-ported loudspeaker with no crossover to get in the way. Whereas the standard Marlow at £1,960 (ex VAT) uses Swiss-made Gold plated 4mm sockets and cabling provided by Kimber Kable, the more expensive CE (Copper Edition) uses pure-copper binding posts and internal cables from the UK amplifier designer Tom Evans.

GRILLES

In keeping with the BBC LS3/5a the speakers are intended to be used with their fabric grilles in situ, not only to protect the drivers from little hands or cats (in my case), but also for sound balance. Those drivers are really well manufactured and thus a shame that they are hidden from view, but in reviewing the Marlow CE I did not feel I was losing any of the top end by leaving the grilles on the speaker. Indeed, one thing immediately apparent was that the top end is excellent.

Showing the two available finishes. rosewood on the left and walnut on the right.

SOUND QUALITY

The clarity of that top end was excellent on The Eagles ‘Hotel California’, played both as my 192/24 FLAC and also from vinyl using my tangential arm Pre-Audio turntable. Both enabled me to carefully place the guitars in the soundstage with vocals equally well defined, showing the single driver allows for very accurate performance and positioning.

This was not the most efficient pair of speakers (just like the LS3/5a’s) but I only needed around 1W from my KT88’s to drive them well. What was apparent in all that I played was the good positioning of the music, particularly helped by that detailed and fast top end. Just the slightest movement of my head changed the sound, so careful positioning of your derrière was vital. These were as good as the LS3/5a’s at positioning the music for critical listening. The Allman Brothers “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” had an excellent sense of positioning in the soundstage, set just behind the speakers. For best results, the loudspeakers were toed in so that the drivers aimed at my ears. The speakers also worked well both close to a wall and 2m away, so positioning is not vital, for those with cluttered music rooms. I did need, however, to be dead centre to get an absolutely audiophile experience, just as you do with the LS3/5a.

The fact that it was a single driver was noted in all the listening. A pure, well-controlled performance at all frequencies, with particular note the top-end clarity and pure mid-range. Whilst the frequency range only hits 18kHz ±6dB, I never felt the top end was missing from cymbal sizzles or trumpet blasts. Only the bass end left me wanting at times, but nothing to be unexpected from such a small driver and box. The Helicopter from Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ was reasonably realistic, and very well controlled even at high listening levels, but deep bass from ‘Fly From Here’, Yes,  couldn’t be expected to vibrate the walls.

The Marlow is designed for solid-state amplifiers up to 100W and tube amps from 4.5W. My Synthesis tube amplifier can reach 90W if I’m angry. Listening to “We Can Fly” had plenty of vocal detail, just as I would hear from the LS3/5a, but that bass was the limiting factor, though improved at louder playing. If you want to play heavy rock, just remember it won’t sound as full as a full-size loudspeaker, but the Marlow was magnificent in terms of detail and speed.

An elegant looking loudspeaker on open stands.

Turning the wick down to Handel’s Organ Concerto op 4 (The Academy of Ancient Music) was lusciously performed with all the detail this digital recording could give. Violins were clear and cellos meaty. The organ was clear, including the mechanical noises from the valves, something missed by lesser speakers. Hence, this speaker could do well to be used in the small recording studio. Even the lowest notes were apparent, making for a very realistic rendition from such a small box. And remember the driver is 10mm smaller than the B110 bass unit in an LS3/5a!

I like the Miles Davies Quintet ‘Freedom Jazz Dance’ album as it includes talking, rehearsing including solo instrument practices, plus full renditions of pieces. The sound quality, particularly the piano and the cymbals, is of excellent quality and also has a realistic soundstage for the reviewer. I was not to be disappointed listening to the Marlow CE. The sound was very open, and the detail from all the musicians reminded me of my LS3/5a. Indeed, in some areas, especially the top end and mid-frequency clarity, it was superior. Cymbals were beautifully clear and bass went lower than I expected. The trumpet was clear and the saxophone sang, with each instrument in its own space. Turning to Patricia Barber’s Live: A Fortnight in France’ side “C” of the vinyl starts with the double bass exploring its foundations with Patricia singing on top a “Blue Prelude”. Performance was such fun, again with much detail as to the positioning of the musicians.

A look at the loudspeaker connectors on the Marlow CE.

Also sounding realistic was the violin from the excellent Pavlo Beznosiuk’s rendition of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue BWV565. Here the violin was crisp and clear. Whatever I played was precise and fast with excellent initial transients and extended end of notes. The 2-gram driver is so light that nothing gets past it. That bass was clearer from the Marlow CE than the Chartwell LS3/5a, though the latter sounded more extended. But let me explain; the LS3/5a was designed for speech and small mobile outside broadcast vans at the Beeb in 1972. It has a notable peak at around 160Hz making it actually sound like it goes deeper than it really does! To be honest, it was closer to the larger LS5/9 loudspeaker I also have at my disposal.

Testing the speaker for all its worth with Nirvana ‘Smells Like a Teen Spirit’ was really going to test the Marlow. Treble and mid was great but (carefully) set at high level this was nowhere as controlled as my larger Graham Audio LS5/9s. That said, playing it on the Marlow CE I could still experience the lower bass guitar and kick drum stabs without wondering where they were.

These are small speakers and work surprisingly well, though better suited to smaller rooms in order to get that fullness of sound, especially in the bass end.

CONCLUSION

I have to admit that the Marlow CE is closer to the LS3/5a than I expected, and in certain areas exceeds it, notably the top end and the fact that being a single driver negated the clumsy crossover of the LS3/5a.

This is a very able speaker and I was able to listen to the Marlow CE for long periods without fatigue and found it very musical even with the pin-sharp speed of the notes.

I certainly felt valve amplifiers work excellently with the loudspeaker and suggest that if you need a small loudspeaker, whatever your amplification, you should give the Marlow CE, or its cheaper sibling the Marlow, a listen.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality:

Good build quality with excellent solid copper plugs

Sound Quality:

A tight mid and extended top end

Value For Money:

At £2280+VAT there are competitors in this LS3/5a competition, but the excellent fast driver gives this some advantages

We Loved:

Excellent transients

Top-end clarity

Mid detail

No crossover so sounds come from one source making for excellent clarity and separation

We didn’t Love so much:

Quality of Walnut veneer didn’t make me go “wow”

Price: £2280 + VAT

Elevator Pitch Review: The £2280  plus VAT EJ Jordan Marlow is a single driver, wideband loudspeaker without a crossover, housed in a front-ported cabinet a fraction bigger than the classic BBC LS3/5A that delivers excellent top-end clarity and mid-band purity but, of course, has a restricted bass performance, though from such a small box the bass is commendable. As you would expect from a point source speaker, the positioning of instruments in the soundstage is very good and being such a small driver the speed of delivery is also excellent. This is an important speaker that in some respects sounds better than its iconic predecessor.

SUPPLIED BY EJ JORDAN

Janine Elliot

Review Equipment:

Synthesis Roma 98DC and Slee Proprius amplifiers, Music First Audio Baby Reference (pre-amp); Pre-Audio (turntable)/AT33sa (cartridge)/Manley Steelhead (Phono-stage); Krell KPS20i (CD), FLACs and DSD via Astell and Kern SE180 DAP/ iFi streamer; Chartwell LS3/5a and Graham Audio LS5/9 (speakers); Tellurium Q, Ecosse and Townshend (cables).