JBL HDI-3800 Floor-Standing Speaker Review

[TLS Guy]

Here is the frequency response of the 3-way speaker I built several years ago (Taken at 1 meter distance). The impedance and phase angle curves are shown in previous post just above this one.View attachment 36859

That is actually pretty good, but you can see that baffle step compensation is inadequate.

 

[Verdinut]

No, the box is tuned to 70 Hz. The nadir of the saddle tells you Fb.

What you say is inexact. The box is really tuned to 22 Hz, the dip at 70 Hz is the second impedance dip. Look carefully, the curve goes up below 22 Hz toward the lower impedance peak. That represents the tuning of the Dayton RSS315-HF8 subwoofer.

I will try to find a copy of the full curve down to 10 Hz.

 

[Verdinut]

That is actually pretty good, but you can see that baffle step compensation is inadequate.

The baffle has a 15° slant backward.

 

[ski2xblack]

The baffle has a 15° slant backward.

?? I think he was referring to that broad peak just shy of 1khz.

 

[Beave]

Keep in mind those are in-room response curves, not anechoic or quasi-anechoic measurements of the speaker.

There is a 10dB rise from about 150Hz to about 800Hz. That's what TLS Guy is probably referring to as the inadequate baffle step compensation.

 

[Verdinut]

What you say is inexact. The box is really tuned to 22 Hz, the dip at 70 Hz is the second impedance dip. Look carefully, the curve goes up below 22 Hz toward the lower impedance peak. That represents the tuning of the Dayton RSS315-HF8 subwoofer.

I will try to find a copy of the full curve down to 10 Hz.

Here is the full impedance curve down to 10 Hz:

 

[Beave]

Question for those of you who have/have used DATS: Is there a way to change the range on the impedance curves - particularly the phase - so that it's not +180 to -180? I don't know of any speakers that go beyond about 60-80 degrees in either direction. With the full range of 360 degrees shown, it's hard to see what's really going on.
Can DATS change the plot range to, say, something like +80 to -80?

 

[Verdinut]

Question for those of you who have/have used DATS: Is there a way to change the range on the impedance curves - particularly the phase - so that it's not +180 to -180? I don't know of any speakers that go beyond about 60-80 degrees in either direction. With the full range of 360 degrees shown, it's hard to see what's really going on.
Can DATS change the plot range to, say, something like +80 to -80?

I don't think so. The grid would be fixed. You could write to Dayton Audio or Parts-Express to get a more precise answer.

 

[Beave]

Can the magnitude range be changed? Or is it also fixed (at 0 to 30 Ohms)?

 

[Verdinut]

Can the magnitude range be changed? Or is it also fixed (at 0 to 30 Ohms)?

The impedance value range can be changed to a higher or lower limit. The frequency range can also be changed from both ends.

 

[Beave]

Thanks for the info! I've never used DATS.

 

[Verdinut]

Thanks for the info! I've never used DATS.

It's a very good testing tool. A new version has recently been released. I'm thinking of getting it eventually. Parts-Express and Dayton Audio are owned by the same people.
At $119 or so and for what it does with precision, it's a real bargain. If you build speakers, this product and the Omni Mic acoustic tester are musts.

 

[TLS Guy]

What you say is inexact. The box is really tuned to 22 Hz, the dip at 70 Hz is the second impedance dip. Look carefully, the curve goes up below 22 Hz toward the lower impedance peak. That represents the tuning of the Dayton RSS315-HF8 subwoofer.

I will try to find a copy of the full curve down to 10 Hz.

Sorry, I did read the first dip. You are correct box tuning is 22 Hz.

I would tweek the crossover a little though to take care of that downward slope below 400 Hz. That would improve the quality of the lower strings especially.

 

[Verdinut]

Sorry, I did read the first dip. You are correct box tuning is 22 Hz.

I would tweek the crossover a little though to take care of that downward slope below 400 Hz. That would improve the quality of the lower strings especially.

Your suggestion of slightly tweeking the crossover is interesting, but I sold those speakers 2 years ago. Most people who listened to them liked their performance.

 

[utopianemo]

I was really excited to see this review, and it sounds like they're some pretty fantastic speakers. Is there any chance you folks will review the bookshelf model in the lineup? I'm very interested to see how they navigate the size/extension/dynamic range quandary you mention in the conclusion.

 

[Danzilla31]

I was really excited to see this review, and it sounds like they're some pretty fantastic speakers. Is there any chance you folks will review the bookshelf model in the lineup? I'm very interested to see how they navigate the size/extension/dynamic range quandary you mention in the conclusion.

Amir already did a review of them over at audiosciencereview.com

You should check it out it was a good review

 

[shadyJ]

I was really excited to see this review, and it sounds like they're some pretty fantastic speakers. Is there any chance you folks will review the bookshelf model in the lineup? I'm very interested to see how they navigate the size/extension/dynamic range quandary you mention in the conclusion.

No plans to review the HDI-1600s at the moment, sorry.

 

[pcosmic]

It's interesting how the JBLs match up against Revel's Performa3:

Large towers at $5k msrp
Medium towers around $3500 msrp
Bookshelfs around $1800-2000 msrp

JBL competing against Revel even though they're owned by the same company.

My sibling just got these 3800s in (have heard em only on his gear)...It was more forgiving of his relatively lousy room and poor quality recordings. It appears that Timbers may have considered the average listener's plight a bit more. Performa's a bit fatiguing over longer listening sessions (not the case with the 3800s) and will rip your ears off with poor recordings.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

My sibling just got these 3800s in (have heard em only on his gear)...It was more forgiving of his relatively lousy room and poor quality recordings. It appears that Timbers may have considered the average listener's plight a bit more. Performa's a bit fatiguing over longer listening sessions (not the case with the 3800s) and will rip your ears off with poor recordings.

I thought timbers last project was the outgoing studio 5series?
Also, I’m not sure the HDI series qualifies as “averages listeners hear.

 

[pcosmic]

I thought timbers last project was the outgoing studio 5series?
Also, I’m not sure the HDI series qualifies as “averages listeners hear.

No, Timbers worked on these before they laid him off....I was referring to the "average listener" blessed with a less than ideal room and poor quality recordings for his speakers...and that these speakers are more forgiving in such scenarios. How did you completely misunderstand my last comment man?