I'm beginning to itch a little for the smell of sawdust and solder. I think you've compared the Theater 4's with Professional 4's w/ JBL's. Did the JBL system work with your Paramours? I'm looking for a bit more of everything, particularly in the resolution department but don't want to loose too much dynamics with the loss of efficiency. Any ideas? I need to keep the boxes no larger than the Theater 4's.

Thanks,

Garland

1. Professional Series seven π if you've got the corners, four π if not.

2. Stage Series seven π if you've got the corners, four π if not.

3. A pair of subwoofers, to smooth room modes.

Any of those would be a great next step: Each is sure to please!

The question to ask yourself at this point is are the speakers the weak link in the food chain?

What are you using as amp/amps, pre-amps, etc. I've found the Pi 7's I have change the sound RADICALLY depending on amp/ pre-amp/ crossover arrangement. What you may want is NOT more sawdust and solder. I've got this little 40 watt Luxman that defines bass notes like nothing else I've tried. If I hook up a similar wattage Harmon Kardon amp things go BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, and you really have to work at finding the music. Your more of everything is not likely to be speaker related if you have a nice set of 4 Pi's attached.

Good luck on what ever you try. I noticed your size restrictions. Pi 7's are probably bigger than you want to go.

Grant.

G.

My 13' 4" by 23 room says what a fine arrangement with the Pi 7s.

I have the Pi's on the short wall on one end, a pool table in the middle, and a couple chairs on the far end. I'm sure it's not acoustical heaven but it'll have to do.

There's a wood stove between the Pi's and I swear it sings the sweetest tunes late at night, lights out, with a nice fire going in the middle of winter.

Grant.

Is thermionic or theater 4pi better option for my use, or is 2226 better sonically even if no played loud, say at ~1W ?
TIA,
vladimir

Two π towers sound nice and full, and I really like them. Bass is more than adequate, but not overpowering. Mids and treble are clean and balanced. But the best listening spot is straight on-axis with both speakers, and while the off-axis response isn't bad, it isn't nearly as good as the four π or seven π loudspeakers. Those are designed for uniform directivity over a large 90x40 pattern.

A properly setup four π or seven π loudspeaker provides natural sound almost everywhere in the room. Not only is the tonal character balanced, but stereo imaging is too. This is not an easy feat, and requires a handful of conditions to be met. Speakers must provide uniforn directivity and must be positioned so their forward axis crosses in front opf the listener. This is the natural position of seven π cornerhorns, so the required conditions are met automatically for the owner of these loudspeakers.

No models of π Speakers require very much power, they're all very efficient. Some have less impedance fluxuations than others, so SET owners with outputs that are sensitive to load impedance might want to pay attention to Zmax. However, I think that the four π and seven π speakers with JBL 2226 are pretty easy for just about any SET amp to drive.

Kevin