JansZen Valentina P8 Hybrid Electrostatic Loudspeaker Reviewed

In the 10 years since I designed our basement audio room, the space has seen numerous components come and go, including stereo preamps, audiophile power amps, music streamers, DACs, equalizers, and subwoofers. What came and didn’t go is a pair of JansZen loudspeakers. Originally designated the zA2.1, the speakers were upgraded by JansZen in 2020, with larger woofers and an improved crossover, and renamed Valentina P8. They have proved an outstanding match for my listening preferences and my room, where visitors (audiophiles and non-audiophiles alike) have praised their sonic disappearing act and their detailed yet natural sound.

The JansZen Valentina P8 is a compact floorstanding loudspeaker, specified by JansZen at 87 dB sensitivity and nominal impedance of six ohms. The speaker can also can be had, in essentially the same cabinetry, as an active speaker, the Valentina A8. The Valentina’s front baffle features two eight-inch woofers near the top and bottom, with an electrostatic midrange-tweeter (two panels mounted together) between them. A side-firing tweeter, run at low level, can be used to supplement ambience. In my moderately-sized room (20.1 feet long by 12.5 feet wide by seven feet high), the Valentinas can play louder than I ever need or want. JansZen recommends using an amplifier rated between 40 and 400 watts at eight ohms, with 240 watts per channel said to provide headroom for transients, even when the speaker is driven hard. Let’s take a close look at what makes this speaker remarkable, and remarkably different from most others in the audiophile space today …

What Makes the JansZen Valentina P8 Loudspeakers Special? 

• As expected from any JansZen model, the Valentina P8 uses electrostatic drivers for the critical midrange and treble. Electrostatic drivers generate sound by vibrating an extremely thin, light membrane through electrostatic force (electrical charge). Because the membrane is so thin, and is driven over its entire surface, its output typically is low in distortion and free of audible resonances – important qualities if a loudspeaker is to sound natural.
• Unlike most other planar speakers, the JansZen Valentina P8 uses its electrostatic panels as monopoles, not dipoles. With the panels’ rear-firing sound being absorbed inside the cabinet, placement is more flexible, needing less physical space behind the speakers for optimal placement. JansZen states that monopole operation also sharpens imaging and reduces response irregularities from comb filtering.
• Its two eight-inch cone woofers make this a nearly full-range speaker, with more bass extension and energy than many/most planar speakers. JansZen specifies the on-axis, in-room frequency response as 30 Hz to 20 kHz ±3 dB, which encompasses the lowest notes of the five-string bass guitar. In my room, I have measured the Valentinas producing clean bass down to 20 Hz, though the bass gains in weight and extension with subwoofers added.
• The Janszen Valentina P8 is adjustable to suit your environment and taste. As with most speakers, closer proximity to the front wall increases bass output. More toe-in boosts the highest octave. Adding to the flexibility, three rear-panel level controls adjust the woofers, electrostatic panels, and side-firing tweeters. 
• Like other planar speakers, the JansZen Valentina P8 bounces very little sound off the side walls and ceiling. The controlled dispersion reduces unpleasant room interactions, leading to cleaner sound, especially in the treble.
• The Valentina P8 has a smooth frequency response with few measured anomalies. I measured a slight dip around 1,600 Hz and experimented with equalizing it away, but any audible difference was minimal. Subjectively, I often preferred the sound without that adjustment, and I doubt most listeners would notice. More importantly, the speakers sound neutral, and the transition between cone woofers and electrostatic drivers is extremely well-executed, with no audible clue that two driver technologies are involved.
• The JansZen Valentina P8 is compact (approximately 40 × 10.5 × 13 inches, including its plinth) and relatively light (about 50 pounds), making it easy to unpack and position. What’s more, it doesn’t resemble some alien technology, tower over the listener, or dominate the room.

Why Should You Care About the JansZen Valentina P8 Loudspeaker?

• The JansZen Valentina P8 excels in the signature virtues of electrostatic speakers: outstanding transparency, pinpoint imaging, exceptional transient reproduction, and accurate timbre reproduction, even of challenging instruments like cymbal, snare drum, violin, and voice. While the speaker sounds great on most recordings, its virtues are most obvious on high-quality recordings of voice and in acoustic genres like jazz, classical music, and bluegrass. That said, I’ve turned up the volume on many rock and reggae tracks and had a fine time, a testament to the speaker’s excellent dynamics. The Valentina won’t pressurize a large room like some big dynamic speakers can, and it’s probably not the best choice for a party speaker, but it will rock all night in a typical home listening area. That is a rare combination of virtues in a speaker costing a little more than $10,000.

• What’s more, the Valentina P8 will reveal every change you make to your upstream components, and unless your gear is subpar, your room has issues, or a recording itself is harsh, the Valentina will not sound harsh.

• The audiophile seeking a compact full-range speaker that emphasizes clarity, natural detail, timbre, and smoothness will find the JansZen Valentina P8 an outstanding choice. For that listener, the Valentina P8 can be a companion for years of musical exploration, bringing pleasure and a deep sense of music’s beauty.

Some Things You Might Not Like About the JansZen Valentina P8 Loudspeaker

• Like most planar speakers, the Valentina P8 has a limited sweet spot. The presentation is hardly “head in a vise,” but the best sound goes to one seated listener. With a seat on either side, the sound is still nicely balanced, but not as focused as in the sweet spot. When you get up to dance, the sound might seem a little treble-shy, though you’re probably having so much fun that you don’t care. To put this into perspective, the limited sweet spot is caused largely by the controlled dispersion, which tends to minimize ugly-sounding first reflections. Every speaker has trade-offs, and I think this is a good one.
• The JansZen Valentina P8 doesn’t bring the musicians into your room. Instead, it leans towards a “you are there” spatial presentation, in which you seemingly hear the musicians in the performing venue. Given a good recording, made in a natural acoustic environment, the Valentinas all but transport you there. When a recording falls flat, though, they won’t generate a large soundstage. That’s fine with me – I prefer to hear what’s on the recording. Audiophiles who crave a large, spacious soundstage every time (which I admit can be fun) may not be among the Valentina’s biggest fans. Still, the Valentina’s side-firing tweeters do add spaciousness to otherwise flat recordings. A frequent visitor said, “What I always enjoy about [your] JansZens is the sense of depth. I get that concert hall sensation with blooming dynamics that feel like I’m in the audience looking down towards the stage.”

Listening to the JansZen Valentina P8 Hybrid Electrostatic Loudspeaker… 

Over the years, I’ve heard nearly 100,000 tracks through Valentinas, spanning a wide range of genres, and including my own recordings of musician friends. To revisit a few tracks here, I disconnected my subwoofers and ran the Valentinas full range. Source components were the Auralic Aries G1 streamer and Anthem STR Preamp in my reference setup. Amplifiers were a pair of Benchmark AHB2 power amps, sometimes swapped out for a pair of Orchard Audio Mono Ultra Premium power amps.

First up was Norah Jones, singing “You Are So Beautiful” on Charles Lloyd’s album I Long to See You (24/96, QoBuz). The track begins with delicate guitar work on the left that, through the Valentinas, was lifelike and unmistakably Bill Frisell. Shortly after, Lloyd’s tenor sax enters, with the rich, expressive tone that I know from club dates, concerts, and other recordings. The Valentinas did full justice to Lloyd’s sound, in all its gentleness, emotion, and individuality. At about 2:35, Jones comes in, and I’ve never heard her voice sound more natural and entrancing than it did on this track played through the Valentinas. All in all, the Valentinas brought out the artistry and sonic beauty of the track, while faithfully presenting the shadings of style and timbre of each artist. Even very subtle details were preserved yet not overemphasized.  

Solo piano music is a great test of a loudspeaker’s consistency of tone and frequency response. I listened to Erik Satie’s “Gymnopédie No. 1” from Denis Pascal’s album Gymnopédies, Gnossiennes (24/96, QoBuz). This is music subliminally familiar to most of us from its frequent use in TV and film scores. The Valentinas excelled at presenting the subtle dynamic shadings of this performance, and they handled the larger dynamics shifts in other tracks with impressive realism. As hard as I tried, I could not detect any discontinuity between the Valentina’s electrostatic panels and its woofers. I got the strong sense of a superior recording: with a slightly removed perspective, the piano was naturally sized, and its tonality was brilliant but not hard (as it can become on close-up piano recordings). The piano’s percussive quality was there, but that didn’t overwhelm the sustain. Based on this and many other recordings, I’d say the Valentinas pass the solo piano test superbly. 

The verve and humanity of Stevie Wonder’s album Songs in the Key of Life (24/192, QoBuz) hit me like a hammer when it came out. (Not just me; the album won a Grammy.) In “I Wish,” a bass-heavy, up-tempo anthem of childhood joy, the Valentinas projected the opening bass line with excellent weight and convincing slaps of the bass’s strings on the fingerboard. Drums and cymbals were impressively clean, free of tizz and grit. The lyrics were clear as can be, in Wonder’s warm voice, and images were stable and focused. Through the Valentinas, the song’s joyous, bouncy vibe came through like a freight train, making this favorite track more infectious than ever. 

Will the JansZen Valentina P8 Loudspeakers Hold Its Value?

Although JansZen currently sells direct, without a dealer network to spread the word, the brand is well known among experienced audiophiles. In the mid-1950s, Arthur A. Janszen patented the first practical electrostatic elements for audio and went on to design the renowned KLH Nine electrostatic speaker, long discontinued but still in strong demand. The current company, JansZen Loudspeaker, Ltd., was founded in 2005 by David A. Janszen (son of A. A. Janszen), who designed the current products. JansZen designs, manufactures, and services their speakers in the United States, which helps the speakers maintain their value on the North American used market.

Compared to many other planar speakers, a pair of Valentinas will be far easier to ship, on account of their compact size and the sturdiness of their cabinets. (JansZen says they use “heirloom quality materials and finishes … for lifetime operation.”) I expect they will retain good value over time, in line with the typical audiophile used market for high-quality products from smaller elite manufacturers.

What is the Competition for the JansZen Valentina P8 Loudspeaker?

I haven’t found any competing panel speakers designed as monopoles. JansZen’s own line includes the stand-mounted JansZen Carmelita P7 ($5,850) and its active twin, the Carmelita A7 ($9.490). Either would suit those attracted by the JansZen sound, but who prefer a stand-mounted speaker or just a lower price.

In JansZen’s Valentina series, I’ve already mentioned the active JansZen Valentina A8 ($15,540), which combines the functions of DAC, preamp, power amp, and speaker. At extra cost, it is available with an SE (for “sound everywhere”) option, using additional dynamic drivers (toggled on and off by remote control) to give an immersive perspective. JansZen’s active speakers all provide remote control and several selectable analog and digital inputs.

Not long ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing the Magnepan MG2.7i ($5,995 – read the review).At around the price of the JansZen Valentina P8, Magnepan offers its MG3.7i ($8,995) and MG2.7X ($10,000). As dipoles, Magnepans deliver very spacious sound. A robust amplifier is recommended for optimal performance, and to achieve good bass, they typically require subwoofers. They are large speakers that may not suit every room.

England’s QUAD is another pioneering maker of electrostatic speakers for home use. The QUAD electrostatic line remains in production, with both new and used models appreciated by audiophiles. Their current ESL-2812 ($9,995), which like all QUAD electrostatics is a dipole, requires subwoofers to play as low as the Valentina P8.

MartinLogan is known for its curved electrostatic transducers, usually mated to dynamic powered woofers. The audiophile looking for a full-range dipole electrostatic hybrid can check out the MartinLogan Masterpiece Impression ESL 11A at $11,999.98 (buy at Crutchfield). With its two eight-inch powered woofers per side, it has a specified frequency response of 29 to 23,000 Hz. The speaker is compatible with Anthem Room Correction software, used to smooth bass peaks caused by the unavoidable standing waves in most rooms.

Final Thoughts on the Janszen Valentina P8 Loudspeakers …

It may seem self-evident that when audiophiles buy speakers, we are responding to the speakers’ obvious strengths. For example, speakers might have great dynamics and imaging. Then, years after a purchase, we begin to hear their more subtle flaws. Sonically, something begins to grate on us, and eventually the speakers are sold and replaced with another model.

I would guess that what often becomes irritating are bumps in frequency response or changes in timbre at certain frequencies, perhaps originating in cabinet or driver resonances. Even small resonant colorations can become irritating over time. They are the other shoe waiting to drop, the neighbor’s dog that won’t stop barking.

In my 10 years of listening, the JansZen Valentina P8 has not revealed any intolerable flaws. Yes, from time to time, I wonder what a kickass dynamic speaker or a smaller, stand-mounted model would be like in my setup. But never have the JansZens caused me listening fatigue or prompted me to reach for headphones or impressed me as dull. A friend who admires my system (and has a great setup himself) says every time he visits, “There’s no harshness!” In truth, some music is harsh by nature, but as far as I can tell, the Valentinas add no harshness of their own. Refreshingly in the audiophile world, they sound great, even when playing at lower volumes.

If you are a music enthusiast in search of new speakers for focused listening – speakers you can enjoy for years without wanting to change – the JansZen Valentina P8 (or A8, if you prefer) could be your holy grail. These speakers excel in timbre reproduction and musical dynamics, with a design that minimizes room interactions, making placement relatively straightforward. Who knows? The Valentinas might even provide a long respite from that itch for new speakers that so often afflicts audiophiles.