For the right listener, with the right space and system, the Greenwich will be hard to beat. it will be equally at home as a compact speaker in your main system, or on the end of a smaller, secondary system (although that might be a high-risk strategy with unintended consequences). It’s ability to cut straight to the heart and point of the music, once experienced is hard to forget and, if this speaker is the size or close to the size of the speakers you can accommodate, or if you want to use a modestly powered tube or solid-state (Class A) amp, it’s a speaker you really need to hear. It’s not all things to all men. Nor is it a perfect match for every system out there (what is?)… But it might just deliver exactly the musical solution you’ve been searching for. Can you really afford to ignore it?
For the rest of us, its lesson is simple: Music is pattern and pattern is all about phase coherence. The indignities imposed in the space and time domains by poorly executed or heavy-handed crossovers are grievous in their impact on musical communication and expressive range. Steps taken to minimise their impact, both in terms of system topology and speaker design should be high priorities in any musically competent set up. Or you could eliminate the issue altogether, live with the Greenwich and simply accept that its compromises are less destructive to your musical enjoyment than the alternative. It’s a radical (and affordable) solution. Even if you don’t use and aren’t in the market for a compact speaker system, it’s definitely worth experiencing. You might be surprised; you might be dismayed (at least when you get back to your own system); I’d be surprised if it doesn’t make you think. Ted Jordan challenged conventional wisdom and established practice. His influence and ideas live on in the unassuming and deceptively simple shape of the Greenwich, a speaker that challenges and entertains in equal part. The EJ Jordan Greenwich (and the smaller, even more minimalist Marlow) may not have all of the answers, but it certainly asks some important questions.
Price and availability
EJ Jordan products are available direct from the manufacturer in the UK and Europe. In the US they are available through Robyatt Audio (www.robyattaudio.com).
UK Prices:
EJ Jordan Greenwich Loudspeaker
Walnut – £5,940 (pr, inc sales tax)
Tamo Ash – £6,180 (pr, inc sales tax)
Greenwich Stands – £504 (pr, inc sales tax)
Manufacturer:
EJ Jordan
t. +44 (0) 1539 44 20 52
