They had a party on the lawn here at work last week using a pair of JBL MR series speakers with the 2370 horns. There was some clipping, and the horn was set for +2db of boost, which didn't help, and the overall effect was of nasty, harsh, spitty sound. Then I went to a wedding Saturday and at the reception the DJ had some JBL Eon speakers. Much smoother, but fat on the bottom and edgy on top.So, I grabbed my Diana Krall CD and went to the local JBL dealer and listened to the JBL SR 4722x which uses the 2206 lf and the new OASR horn for the highs. Probably better highs than either of the others, but still gritty sounding, and with a kind of hooty low mid that left the sound vague and indistinct. Tried the SRX 4733 which I expected to sound terrific. This has the 2" throat horn with a 2447 driver and two 2226 lf transducers. A huge open sound that was nice, but boomy on the bottom, a bit of grit on the top, and something I can only describe as an ack sound on the mids. Maybe this is the "quack" DJK has mentioned as an attribute of the 2380 horns. So, then on to the MP 410, 412, and 415. These all use a variant of the OASR conical horn. The 12 sounded thin, the 15 was overly warm with some boom, the 10 actually sound fairly accurate. However, the sound still seemed hard edged in a way I don't recall the Klipsch speakers I have heard sounding. Certainly not the best amps for hi fi, but I don't think they "ruined" the sound that much, the speaker predominating. I went over to the local Klipsch dealer and listened to the largest Klipsch reference speaker they had, the RF 5, which has the 2 8" drivers and the 8" tractrix horn. These were sweet and detailed with no edge whatsoever. Maybe not even up-front enough. Sounded like they had a little dip to soften the sound. [ What really stinks is the dealer is dropping the line after 20 years. Klipsch is selling to the local audio supermart mass merchandiser now, and that kills it for the serious audio retailer. What a shame.]
Anyhow, is there anyone around Omaha that has 3pi or 4pi speakers they would be willing to let me here, either with the Emminence or JBL driver? I'm really like to get a better handle on the sound. Thanks!
Dan
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