JPW Mini Monitor Speakers Review Bookshelf, how do they sound, Vintage Hifi audio stereo vinyl

A little review of a pair of 1993 British made in prison speakers.

[mrcrazyjonpresents]

I had a set of these back in the 90's i managed to get them out of a pub in Plymouth They were a great set of speakers can't remember what i did with them in the end sadly think i gave them away wish i had kept them now

[SixpennyFilms]

I have a secondhand pair of Mini Monitors. Build quality is mixed - the cabinets and grilles are fine but whoever fitted the speakers made a really bad job of it, the screws are all in p!ssed. Mine are hooked up to a Denon M37 CD receiver and sound great. They can produce a punchy sound with a remarkable amount of bass for something so small.

[jojoy]

I’ve got a pair of rubies and sonata’s. Best speakers ever! Although Joy and Peter wanstall (JPW) are my parents so I could be biased ❤

[TheMildperil]

Like a lot of teenagers in the 90s, the Mini Monitor was my first proper set of speakers, and they blew my mind and started an obsession with hifi. I have bought and sold hundreds of sets of speakers since then, but still love the Mini Monitor, it has a bit of magic. That cheap Peerless mid/bass driver was a peach and got used in lots of budget designs at the time. They can be upgraded by swapping the cheap electrolytic capacitor, in series with the tweeter, for a polypropylene one, with about 0.3-0.5 ohm resistor to make up for the lower ESR. Most modern budget speakers are just boring in comparison.

[teesrakinara]

I had a pair of JPW ML510. got very cheap and sold it cheap. I thought they weren't able to perform the hi frequencies very well.
I bought Polk signature S15.
and I now regret selling my JPWs. They were really good actually.

[aroakley]

I have JPW Mini Monitors from 1993 in the lounge on my main hi-fi system (Technics SU V500 mk2), I agree they are fabulous speakers. Recently my generic Richer Sounds Sherwood amp from 1990, in my study separates system, released its blue smoke, and took out one of my nice "okay" Optimus XTS24 speakers with it! I ended up replacing the Sherwood amp with a surprisingly good SMSL SA-36A class D amp and went with the Wharfdale Diamond 9.0 speakers, on the grounds that it was my secondary system, and couldn't justify paying more. Okay, so the JPW Mini Monitors are still better, but I was actually quite pleased with the cheapo Wharfdales in a small study. Worth noting that the JPWs have a 5 inch driver where the Wharfdales have only 4 inch, so we're not comparing like with like, and I think that accounts for a lot of difference. Certainly the JPWs are a fair bit bigger - I could fit the Diamond 9.0s in gaps on the study bookshelves where the Mini Monitors could never go. Very happy with both setups, but if I ever lost the JPW Mini Monitors, I'd be inconsolably distraught - whereas the Wharfdales, they're good enough to be happy with my second system, but I wouldn't cry over replacing them.

[thisisnev]

Thanks, Michael - I've been thinking about getting a pair for my desk. JPW used to be made here in Plymouth and yes, the cabinets were put together by prisoners from HMP Dartmoor!

[uksimonseye]

I was given some JPW speakers ( the bigger ones ) and i got the JPW subwoofer for only £16 and i must say i have been blown away by how good they sound with a Cambridge A1 amp. These speakers are the bargain of the century if you ask me.

[БояровАндрей]

Бас/СЧ — это Peerless SKO130, а твитер — Audax TW010F1, оба достойных драйвера, которые использовались во многих популярных конструкциях еще в 90-х.

[videocreation]

Got m10 and the jpw monitor speaks, found the m10 are great for sattlelite speaker's with a subwoofer, on there own very flat. The jpw speaker's are amazing for their size, considering the age of these speaker's they where ahead of the time's, can get some excellent low bass frequencies out of these. Was given these for free covered in dust, tried to clean the cones and the shiny coating came off but does look better as it now has a black satin finish that hasn't interfered with the sound quality

[ianpearson]

i got a pair of these off ebay for 25 quid.I didnt know about the improved tweeter on the gold.They were in reasonably condition.The cases were fine and i polished them up.The bass units were abit dirty with what looked like perhaps mould.I wiped them down.also the dust cap one was shiny and one was matt so not sure what is going on there.also one of the binding post covers the black one that you screw down onto the cable had lost its thread.i am plugging in banana plugs anyway.I Was surprised how musical they sound for little money.Quite bright yes but definetly musical and i enjoyed them.i might try the gold monitor or diamond 3 next perhaps.

[Radfordperson]

I am surprised that no one mentioned the JPW Gold Monitor, basically a Mini Monitor with a better tweeter (Peerless soft dome) and a slightly better crossover. The treble on the Gold is slightly smoother and better.

[peterlarkin]

I've just come home with a mint pair of 9.0's and jpw minim 2's for £50. Looking forward to hooking them up!

[gdwlaw]

What ever happened to my JPW Sonatas ? Cheap as chips new ….£125.😊

[TheMildperil]

Another model to look out for that can pick picked up very cheap, is the Gale Model 4 or 4i floorstander (The Revolver Purdey too). They were also made by JPW for Richer Sounds, and use a version of the Peerless SKO driver with a beefier motor, and a better tweeter too. They sound good as standard, but fill them with sand and upgrade the caps to polypropylene film, and you have a serious giant killer of a small room floorstander.

[girishkukadia]

Nice comparison. Read somewhere the JPW sounded a bit like LS35a, a bit hard to believe!

[robertbosson]

Just discovered your channel, great reviews! Got my JPW minis back in 1993 and I used them throughout the 90's until I upgraded in early 2000's. I still have them and will never part with them cos a) sentimental value and b) they're not worth anything. I know their sound signature well- a fun, lively, unpretentious presentation that work best with pop rock and [not too bass-heavy] electronic music. They're plucky little boxes with a tendency to sound a little brittle in the highs [as you noticed] and the lows are not really extended and too much volume and they exhibit distortion and mine start buzzing in complaint! But what do you expect for such a compact box? Up against the B&W 600 S3's they're not as refined through the mids -piano, vocal and acoustic instruments sound a touch coarse. They're most comfortable paired with a laid back smooth sounding budget amplifier like a 90's Rotel or a a vintage Sansui.

[hermanschneider]

Thx for great review. Got a pair of jpw mini. Do you have the name of the units. My tweeter needs a replacement.

[gino]

Hi ! i remember there was a more expensive version with nicer wood finish ? i remember a comparison in What HiFi magazine. They won the context Thanks and kind regards, gino