Official JTR speaker thread - Page 146

Right ON ADTG!
Most KEF Speakers are quite decent, even the older ones. The British are ANAL about the reproduction of speech.
If he is using the KEF Center Channel Speakers with the Uni Q Drivers, the radiation patterns will be quite similar to the coaxial driver of the JTR speakers.
He can also try aiming the Center Channel up if it is below the screen, to minimize the floor reflection.

This whole thread reads like one big Infomercial for JTR Speakers ADTG.
I too was surprised no one else told him to simply increase level in his center speaker.
It seems that selling an audiophile who came here for advice an unnecessary new set of JTR speakers is more important then giving him the correct advice ?

Exactly why I always set my center channel by EAR, and vary it, according to what Movie I am watching.
My fronts, and center are perfectly efficiency matched, but I seldom leave the center the same or lower then the fronts.
But I am "weird" I guess ?
To me, what people are saying is far more important then noises from helicopters or Bombs.

Some might argue that the Linkwitz Orions you own are THE Best speakers in many ways that money can buy!
I was unaware that Siegfried made a center channel speaker for them, since they are dipoles.
What do you use for a center with them ?
I BET you just love them

If you use EQ to correct the voice frequencies of the center speaker, you change it's tonal match to the other speakers.
The human voice frequencies span nearly the entire midrange.
The answer really is controlled directivity, as THX speakers attempt to do by using D'Appolito speaker alignments like Midrange tweeter midrange.
These types of speaker alignments control the vertical pattern, and try to take the room out of the equation.

LOL, we all know that buying NEW speakers is More fun.
But before I would use any EQ on the fronts to increase center channel speaker dialogue intelligibility, I would simply turn up the volume a bit.

IMHO, the things needed for good home theatre in a speaker are very different then what is wanted for good Stereo.
In a good home theater speaker, you want to control the speakers directivity as much as possible, to take the room OUT of the sound.
Horn Speakers have what is called "Throw". This means they focus the sound at some distance from the horn.
Speaker Waveguides, and D'Appolito (THX) alignments can do nearly the same thing.

Look at this crap http://jtrspeakers.com/2010/07/growler-duo-and-triple-8/
It appears to be posted by the admin of the JTR Speakers Blog!
It hardly makes me want to part with MY money for some JTR Speakers.
There are some really great small high end speaker manufacturers. But most of them have honest to God gifted engineers like Siegfried Linkwitz, Bill Fitzmaurice, Tom Danley, etc, etc.
What are these JTR guys academic credentials, and where is their test equipment, and frequency response graphs at least ?
I am sorry, but some horn loaded boom boxes with what appear to be off the shelf Eminence drivers playing Techno Music outside in a field is not enough to make me want to pull out my wallet.
Maybe I am missing something, but WHY the excitement for these speakers ?

How Big is your room, what amp do you have, and is music or home theater more important to you ?

I have no "agenda", other then to try my best to help a person with less audio and home theater experience then myself make a good buying decision.

Yep, the assassin of Shills, so thank you very much for the compliment, EH ?

I agree about the sound treatments. it is always better to use passive eq (sound treatments) I think. I have a ceramic tile, and an area rug really helped the sound.

JTR are using the Eminence Coaxial Drivers, nothing "revolutionary". Here on this forum, they are using these drivers, but for surround speakers only. http://www.avsforum.com/t/1353658/budget-eminence-coaxial-surround-build
If you look at post 16 in the above thread, they do not consider this driver good enough for Music reproduction, but it is fine, for surround speaker use.
I disagree. The Eminence Coaxial Driver, if used properly, is an excellent, high efficiency driver. It is a real bargain, considering it's relatively low cost.
it is also used by Hawthorn Audio, in a well regarded commercial stereo speaker.
The problem with coaxial drivers using a horn (read the linked thread) is diffraction effects between the cone and the horn.
JTR was wise enough to mate this driver to a pair of woofers. This relieves it of the responsibility of making bass, and eliminates this potential problem.
It is very well regarded in the DIY community. The DIY community are the pickiest audiophiles of us all. The fact that they are quite fond of this driver tells me that any speaker using it is going to sound quite good.
A set of 3 of these JTR Speakers is over 3 grand. There is a lot of competition at this price point. However, there is always a market for a good sounding speaker of high efficiency.
The coaxial design almost guarantees great stereo imaging, since all sounds are emanating at the same point in space.
I own a pair of Tannoy's, and have also owned KEF Uni Q Speakers, as well as Altec 604's. All of the 3 speakers I just mentioned use a coaxial driver. There most certainly is a "Magic" to a coaxial driver that is addictive.
Doing some Google searching, it seems the Eminence Coaxial Drivers are the "poor mans Altec of today" A pair of Altec 604's will set you back nearly 1500.00!
I remember way back when, we used to use the Altec 604's with Mastering Lab Crossovers designed by Doug Sax. It was hard for some audio snobs to accept that a pair of Altec 604's in the right box would blow away many well regarded high end speakers of their day.

I would still be concerned about the resale value of these speakers, because I change gear a lot to feed my audio addiction. But everyone is not like me. Many just want a kick ass set of speakers, buy it once and be done with it.
From talking recently with my audiophile friends, and contacts in the DIY speaker building community, these should be an excellent sounding speaker of very high efficiency.
I would certainly try to hear a pair, if I were in the market for a set of 3 front speakers, I intended to keep for years.

I see you have the Mitsu DLP.
Me too, I have the 73 inch Mitsu
I just put a bulb in it, after 3 years (my kid falls asleep with the Mitsu on Brilliant)
I have Electro Voice Sentry III's or Infinity IL 60's for my mains that I go back and forth with, and a pair of 10 cu ft home brew corner mounted subs (they look like Klipschorn bass cabinets) using Cadence 15 inch Wild Beast Kevlar Drivers. The Subs have a Crown K2 on them (many many watts into 4 ohms)
My Onkyo HT RC 180 bit the bullet recently. I was not nuts about it. I want to get a Denon 3312 because it offers subwoofer control right from the remote, no OSD needed!
My Subs are flat down to 18 hz, and the big EV Sentry 3's will go down to 30 hz with very high efficiency.
Really, I was more a 2 channel guy, into tube amplifiers, and Horns.
But I have found my big horns and monster Subwoofers will make many unsuspecting visitors pizz their pants, or jump off the couch.
I am sure you understand:)
I need to work on my surround speakers a bit. Even with a lot of power, they just can't keep up with the Electro Voice Sentry III's.
LOL, my subwoofers, even with a Crown K2 on them, barely keep up.
Thats a killer looking home theater setup you have!