Understanding loudspeaker spec's?

[jeffvee]

I am in the market to upgrade my main fronts.
I have assembled a fairly inexpensive H/T with Harman Products.
The Power:H/K AVR 630 7.1 surround receiver
The Fronts :
JBL E 100'S
Center:JBL EC 35
Rear surrounds:
JBL Studio L series L810
The Punch:
Studio series L 8400 600 Watts

I am pleased with the performance of the system overall, except my main fronts. The speakers have dual 10" woofers, along with a 4" mid and a 3/4" tweeter. Impressive looking, just not impressive sounding. When playing music, the sound is bass heavy,kind of a boomy sound.I like it tight. I want it to sound good at low volumn levels. I want something that will really let you know what bass should sound like, coupled with nice mid's and highs. I listen mostly to Jazz (Diana Krall Live in Paris) fast jazz. Hard rock will be Joe Satriani, the Who, Ozzy.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Budget: Not to exceed 1500.00 pair.

Footnote: Cinema sound for this set up is outstanding.

 

[edwelly]

Man, if I had that to spend right now, this is what I would order - http://www.av123.com/specials.php#ref15ht - It's the Ref 1.5 HT Special - you get a pair of Ref 1.5s, Ref 100, Ref 0.5 and if you want to add a sub, you can add a UFW-10 for only $149... I have never heard the speakers but I have only read postive reviews about them.
Good luck!

 

[zumbo]

http://www.yawaonline.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=YO&Product_Code=MBQ_QLS830&Category_Code=MBQ

Perfection.

Those little speakers in the previous post are too small for what you are looking for.

 

[Takeereasy]

If I had that budget (you lucky son of a gun) I'd consider the following:

If you are willing to replace your entire setup for the same price you are willing to spend on one pair of towers then I'd suggest the following: 4 7Pts and a 9c from https://dmc-electronics.com/Default.htm for $1539 plus shipping. A pair of 7pt's used to retail for $1500 by themselves, and were considered a bargin at that price. You'd be getting about $3400 worth of speakers for your <$2000 budget. To save $100 you coould use 6T's for rears. This would allow you to sell your entire package and buy a house destroying sub. I like your JBL one but you could do better with your new budget you'd get from selling off your system . Or you could keep the money you get and recoup most of your expenditure right away.

If you really only want one pair of towers then:

PSB Stratus Silveri for around $1500 or
Axiom M80 for $1249
http://www.axiomaudio.com/m80ti_main.html

 

[nova]

How are your fronts set up? Maybe too close to a wall? Try pulling them away from the wall, so the back of the speakers is at least 18" - 24" from the wall, and 2' - 3' away from the side walls.

 

[Sheep]

Simple solution. Don't run bass to your mains. Let you sub handle everything for 70Hz down.

You'll save your amps power for the highs and mids. You will also be able to go louder with you amp before things start gettings harsh.

SheepStar

 

[zumbo]

He has them crossed @ 60Hz. I think the problem is the size. Can you imagine two 10's playing 60Hz and above? His JBL's may be decent for 2-channel, but not HT.

 

[MacManNM]

I am in the market to upgrade my main fronts.
I have assembled a fairly inexpensive H/T with Harman Products.
The Power:H/K AVR 630 7.1 surround receiver
The Fronts :
JBL E 100'S
Center:JBL EC 35
Rear surrounds:
JBL Studio L series L810
The Punch:
Studio series L 8400 600 Watts

I am pleased with the performance of the system overall, except my main fronts. The speakers have dual 10" woofers, along with a mid and a tweeter. Inpressive looking, just not impressive sounding. When playing music, the sound is bass heavy,kind of a drowning sound.I like it tight. I want something that will really let you know what bass should sound like, coupled with nice mid's and highs. I listen mostly to Jazz.
How can I narrow down my choices for loudspeakers just by looking at some spec's? I don't want to start shopping for speakers without knowing what I want, spec wise.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Budget: Not to exceed 1500.00 pair.

Footnote: Cinema sound for this set up is outstanding.

I don't think specs are really going to help you. Each unit is going to have it's own character, and you cant see that in specs. There are a bunch of units that sound good, and would do well for you. NHT makes some nice units in your price range, as does paradigm. I personally like the Klipsch RF-7's they are an outstanding speaker (this from someone who hates horns), They are a little more than your budget, but worth the extra money.

 

[zumbo]

RF-7's. He would be right back in the same boat. There is NO need for two 10" woofers in the mains for HT. The RF-25's & RF-15's are decent at best.

 

[Sheep]

RF-7's. He would be right back in the same boat. There is NO need for two 10" woofers in the mains for HT.

Agree.

All he needs is a nice clean bookshelf with decent bass response (say to 60Hz).

SheepStar

 

[MacManNM]

Pay attention kids, the man likes Jazz. This is not about HT. The Klipsch are a very good option. And please, if you haven't gone and listened to these speakers in a real enviorment, don't try and describe what you "think" they sound like.

 

[MacManNM]

The real problem here is that his current towers have a 3/4" tweeter, a 4" mid, and 2 10's.

those are really bad speakers.
3/4" tweeter= distorted highs
4" mid= muddy midrange
Those 10's are stamped steel made in china bottom of the line drivers, no wonder why they sound bad. JBL should be sued for marketing those towers. And they should be ashamed that they did.

 

[jeffvee]

Main Fronts

Thanks everybody,

Nova - I really don't have much room to pull them out away from the wall, without them looking out of place. I'll try to pull them out 8" or so.

Sheep- If I don't run bass to the mains, then I'm sure they will sound like tin cans. I mean what's left? A 4" mid, and a 3/4 tweeter.

Zumbo - Are you suggesting bookshelfs to sit on the floor? 2-way, 3-way? MB Quart? .....

 

[jeffvee]

Yes I did say Jazz. I also like hard rock. Jazz just covers most of the instruments. I am not a horn person, too high pitched for my ears.

I do watch a lot of movies, and the sound is pretty darn good. Really no issues here.

Just need to get the main fronts right.

Thanks to all.

 

[RanjeetRain]

Those 2 front are okay

For music I would just use the fronts leaving everythign aside. Those 2 fronts alone are enough bang. If you do need more SPL, consider pro series. Or, set the cross-over down to like 50 if your sub allows. I guess you can't modify the crossover built-into the fronts.

 

[nova]

Thanks everybody,

Nova - I really don't have much room to pull them out away from the wall, without them looking out of place. I'll try to pull them out 8" or so.

Even if you do not have room,... pull them out 18"-24" for a test and listen to them. If it cleans up the bass then you may want to look into room treatments and keep them, or look at speakers designed to be placed in close to walls.

 

[jeffvee]

For music I would just use the fronts leaving everythign aside. Those 2 fronts alone are enough bang. If you do need more SPL, consider pro series. Or, set the cross-over down to like 50 if your sub allows. I guess you can't modify the crossover built-into the fronts.

My sub crossover frequencies are 50 Hz - 150 Hz, continuously adjustable. I am using the LFE signal, and my manual says that when the switch is in the LFE position, the crossover switch is not used. So, if I put the LFE switch in the normal position(which is where it would be if I use speaker wire connections), what will that do? What if I ran 2 speaker wires to the sub and turn off LFE so I can adjust the crossover ?

 

[Sheep]

My sub crossover frequencies are 50 Hz - 150 Hz, continuously adjustable. I am using the LFE signal, and my manual says that when the switch is in the LFE position, the crossover switch is not used. So, if I put the LFE switch in the normal position(which is where it would be if I use speaker wire connections), what will that do?

Jeff,

When you don't run bass to your mains, the 10inch drivers still work. They just play from 80Hz up, rather then 35Hz or whatever they're rated to.

Try it, I bet its the problem.

EDIT: BTW, when I say don't run bass, I mean run them small out of the receiver and make the crossover in the receiver 80Hz. Then turn the Crossover knob on your sub all the way up.

SheepStar

 

[jeffvee]

Jeff,

When you don't run bass to your mains, the 10inch drivers still work. They just play from 80Hz up, rather then 35Hz or whatever they're rated to.

Try it, I bet its the problem.

EDIT: BTW, when I say don't run bass, I mean run them small out of the receiver and make the crossover in the receiver 80Hz. Then turn the Crossover knob on your sub all the way up.

SheepStar

Sheep , BTW, I left you a PM.

Ok, I am understanding all of this. I do have my main speakers set to small.The crossover is set to 80 Hz. I have 2 settings for my sub. LFE & Normal. The problem is that according to my manual, when I am using an LFE signal, the switch must be set to LFE, not normal in order to use the crossover adjustable switch.

Straight from my manual: If you are using smaller bookshelf speakers that do not extend to the lower frequencies, set the low pass crossover to a higher setting, betwen 120 Hz, and 150 Hz.This control is not used when the LFE switch is in the "LFE" position.So turning the knob all the way up won't do anything.

 

[Sheep]

Sheep , BTW, I left you a PM.

Ok, I am understanding all of this. I do have my main speakers set to small.The crossover is set to 80 Hz. I have 2 settings for my sub. LFE & Normal. The problem is that according to my manual, when I am using an LFE signal, the switch must be set to LFE, not normal in order to use the crossover adjustable switch.

Straight from my manual: If you are using smaller bookshelf speakers that do not extend to the lower frequencies, set the low pass crossover to a higher setting, betwen 120 Hz, and 150 Hz.This control is not used when the LFE switch is in the "LFE" position.So turning the knob all the way up won't do anything.

When its in the LFE position its the sub will play what is being sent to it by the receiver. My sub does the same thing, but only when I plug it into the "direct in" on the sub. Basically, its bypassing the subwoofers crossover and using the one in your receiver. Use your subwoofer in this setting.

SheepStar