Official JTR speaker thread - Page 41

Cheapest thing I know that has good SPL is the JBL 8320, but even those are around $300 - $350 a pair.

I guess, especially for movies, I am not concerned about the slight differences in tone (I know speakers all have their sound) - just that with these speakers, they would just not resolve the detail that 'home' speakers would be able to.

from everyone elses rave reviews...absolutely, especially for HT. Just becuase you may be the biggest, doesn't mean your the best. Seaton products are another that is a step up and beyond those big companies. If anything, you will get more...with the owner often answering questions...now thats service!

Have any magazines done a test, or a shootout with these speakers?

Again, I WANT to like them, just want to know how good they really are. I love the idea of these products.

I do not have not done a direct AB comparison, but I listened to high end Paradigms at a dealer and compared them with my 2010 JTR triple 8's using the same material. Like people above had said they are very similar at low volumes, but the JTR's blow them away once you approach reference levels. You have to experience distortion free reference level sound to understand what is missing from consumer brands.

Some people have described it as loud without sounding loud. My wife let's me watch movies about 7 db louder than she let me before.

Like what was said above, as impressive as they are for movies, I think the gap between these speakers and consumer speakers is even bigger for music. I like it loud and these speakers sound great with just about everthing. I find myself enjoying music that I would not have taken the time to listen to with my old speakers.

I heard a high-end Genelec system in a dedicated, professionally-done HT system ($150k+). What stood out most was even at very loud levels...it was not loud. There was just no distortion or anything unpleasantness. Made it so you could watch a movie with the full impact of the sound without it becoming fatiguing. This is what I want - totally effortless sound.

Exactly. I now watch at full reference level when I use to use -8 or -5 maaaax and I find myself feeling like reference is not as loud as -5 was with the paradigms, I just find my ears don't hurt or make me want to turn it down at peaks. More volume just feels better and better

That has been my experience as well. Now I have to get some Captivators so the subs can keep up with the mains.

Oh yes the JTR's can really rock out for music. The start of the "Watchmen" movie with the montage scene set to Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin'" at reference level put a big smile on my face.

If you can stomach or enjoy harder music try NIN beside you in time on blu ray.

WOW - they do something no other speaker I have heard can do and play it with detail and ease at high volumes when you KNOW it should be killing them

Basically they are great for HT and a lot of music, I think if I was a 2 channel accoustic or audiophile type I might keep another set of speakers for that but for people who just enjoy music that is accuarate, loud and dynamic and not freaking out about holographic depth the jtr's are great.

One negative for 2 channel but positive for HT is I find the sound stage is much wider but possible less deep than the paradigms I had. It is slight and not worth the downgrade in every other major area but it does make me wonder how they would compare to the high end signature series.

I do enjoy NIN and Metallica as well, just don't have the blu-rays. So I fire up Rock Band instead to rock out.


Soundstage is difficult to assess in my opinion because so much comes down to speaker positioning, moving by say even 1/4" the speakers changes the imaging.

I also agree on it as not being a defining characteristic and its not on the top of my list but if you even want to legitimize it with speaking about it then I feel like I gave both speakers fair assessments within my abilities (limited)

The width I get from these is scary sometimes. I found myself snapping my head around the room a couple times and was actually afraid that something had happened within the room because it was so realistically wide and I didn't have any surround speaker.

This should come in the transition kit from standard speakers to jtr pro speakers:

http://www.amazon.com/Nine-Inch-Nail...4398294&sr=8-2

Yes, of course they are not the perfect speaker. For example for mainly soft background level jazz music someone would be better served by for example a B&W speaker. Also if someone is looking for the speaker to warmly paper-over poor recording quality and make silk out of a pig's ear, the JTR's are not for you as they accurately present the material.


Yes the palpable realism they give to gunshots, thunderstorms, telephone calls etc in the film track is downright scary at times.

Well, it seems people are a bit mixed for these speakers on music (at least more mellow stuff). However, it seems for movies, the jury is pretty much sold on these.

Most people who will even consider something like JTRs will do so for HT or harder music. The general mindset of someone who is looking to spend the kind of coin you need for JTRs and who listens to "mellow" stuff will never really allow them to consider the JTRs, that is not to say they are horrible for it but the jury is out. For the rest though (judging by reviews of course)

I don't think anyone who has bought any JTR speaker uses it for the "mellow" stuff.

Maybe some current JTR owners would like to put it through its paces on things like Mozart

I think the music vs. HT aspect is being over analyzed. A good speaker is capable of reproducing all types of music and my T-12’s are certainly capable of reproducing orchestral music. They may lack the fine detail of my Revels but any performance delta is insignificant to me. In fact, they are better equipped to handle big symphony pieces than many “audiophile” speakers I have heard. Movie soundtracks include beautifully recorded music of all genres and the JTR’s handle these with ease. A films closing credits is a place for a films music director to do his (or her) thing and my Revels (Ultima Studios and Voice) were so good at that, I would usually sit through the credits just to listen. That behavior has not changed with the JTR’s.

BTW, we watched Pandorum last night and the Dolby True HD track is one of the most dynamic I have ever heard. The bass was incredible as well and the film is one of the better tests of your systems dynamic capability.

Oh and kenratboy, if you want to hear a full JTR system, just make the drive over the hill and I'll give you a listen. PM me if this is of interest.

I wished that I lived near you, so that I could hear your system, but Kentucky is a long way from California. You have a beautiful looking room also.

Some good points made by others in response to this question - adding my 2cents to the discussion.

I was using Aerial 7b and CC3 for HT & Music and moved to 2009 JTR T8s with approx 60/40 movies/music. Music was classic rock + electronic + classical. Movies were -5 or higher and my previous HT had absorption and bass traps.

The not so subtle differences between T8 and Aerial 7b/CC3 were in the midrange and below. Dialog was much cleaner at similar volume levels and what i understand to be upper bass was much improved (my sub didnt change - SVS Ultra13). The weak link in my earlier system was CC3 center channel - it sounded strained at higher volume levels and T8 just sailed thru. I have a harder time comparing the tweeter in Aerial to T8 - as the Aerials were rolled off in high frequency and JTR seems to be neutral to my ears. Also Aerial 7bs did a better job of imaging in 2 channel compared to the T8s.

Personally I didnt find anything lacking for HT when I moved to T8s - in fact the HT experience improved quite a bit. I sold by Aerial CC3 and moved 7b to my family room for music only use.

How can a small company design better speakers? The design parameters are different for both companies and so are the business models. One is a small company with close to zero marketing expense and no middlemen. JTR is designing speakers with "pro" looks - rugged and big while Paradigm is designing speakers that go into a living room with smaller profile and smaller size drivers.

Thank you for the offer! I did not even see you were in Sacramento. Your system looks great, by the way.

Is Pandorum more of a horror flick or a thriller? The IMDB page leaves me in doubt...

Think Alien meets Dawn of the Dead ... not a great movie but the Bluray's Dolby True HD sound is the most dynamic I have heard and the video looked good as well. Really pushed my speakers and subs and had me jumping out of my chair much to the amusement of my SO who had never seen that type of reaction from me .

Other than bass response and output, do the new T-8's sound better than the T-12's? In earlier posts I thought I read that the T-8's had a little bit better resolution. Anyone running a phantom center with JTR's? Anyone anywhere near detroit have any JTR speakers?

I will be running the JTRs "phantom" once I get my pair. It will be primarily music though.

I should have gone phantom too. 3 quints packed in under 6 feet space it too much, I get no channel separation.

I think I have seen a pic before, but can you provide another pic of your front stage?

So your LCR is all packed into 6 feet?

Maybe try running it without the center and see how you like it? Just disconnect the center.

I'm assuming you can't increase the distance.

You could always keep the extra Q8 and then later buy another one then run 4.1 or 4.2 without a center.

Ok it is a mess without subs and not really honed in.

Whoah!

Is it possible for you to spread it out more?

nope...