Re: Impressions and Recommendations - 3pi and 4pi variants [message #62048 is a reply to message #62046] |
Thu, 11 March 2010 13:42 |
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Wayne Parham
Messages: 18786 Registered: January 2001
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Illuminati (33rd Degree) |
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I think I sent you these links, but maybe not. It's probably good to have them in this thread anyway, so here they are:
These two threads talk about upgrades, and describe the differences between models and the upgrades available for each of them.
The crossover upgrade is actually pretty subtle, but then again, sometimes subtle differences are the most profound. Normally, I wouldn't say that because we all have heard differences that were night and day and others that were hard to even hear. Seems like audiophiles are sometimes influenced a lot by preconceived notions, and can sometimes think they hear something they don't. But in this case, the new crossover puts the forward lobe exactly where we want it, an improvement over the old crossover that was close, but not as good. The new crossover is slightly smoother in the crossover region too.
The biggest difference is going to be heard in the woofer swap, second in the tweeter swap. The crossover is probably third, but I don't think I would invest in the improved drivers until I knew the crossover was upgraded too. The crossover is not an expensive upgrade, and you can even buy the unstuffed crossover PCB and populate it with parts from your old crossover if you want, because many of the components are the same.
I think you're seeing the differences in the three π and four π loudspeakers very much the same way I do. They're much more alike than they are different, with the main difference being a slight sensitivity increase in the four π. Other than that, you're really choosing a component family. If you favor JBL, go with the four π, or if you'd rather have AE, choose the three π. Both are excellent, it's like choosing between a Corvette and a Porsche.
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