My Impression.

[gjpham]

Quick question, there's a lacking of voice/mid in JBL. What will happen if I buy/ebay one matched JBL mid driver, use the JBL's X-over and tap it next to the JBL's Mid driver. Will this concept helps support a little more "voice" mid, instead.? They use this concept, 2 mid bass, 1 tweeter, for all center speakers.
The Thiel's voice and bass are extremely nice. It feel the room nicely but I'm still not used to the high.
Thanks all, so much to read, so much to learn, so much to think.

[basite]

Quick question, there's a lacking of voice/mid in JBL. What will happen if I buy/ebay one matched JBL mid driver, use the JBL's X-over and tap it next to the JBL's Mid driver. Will this concept helps support a little more "voice" mid, instead.? They use this concept, 2 mid bass, 1 tweeter, for all center speakers.
The Thiel's voice and bass are extremely nice. It feel the room nicely but I lacking of high.
Thanks all, so much to read, so much to learn, so much to think.

this will sound extremely cliche, but you should definately try different cables. can you get cables in consignation from your dealer or so? try Crystal Cable, or Nordost. I'm thinking of going with Siltech, but I like the softer, warmer sound. I found the Kimber cable Hero's sounding really laid back, and quite hollow in the mids.

anyhow, adding an extra JBL speaker...

that would probably make it a frankenspeaker. I don't recommend it at all. you'd mess up the original design, including the sensetivity, mids will become disturbing, and you'll feel like the rest of the speaker is gone, and only the mid is left. besides that, you'd probably have to rebuild the entire crossover, and the resale value will drop instantly to a very low point.

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[Mr Peabody]

I agree with Bassite, adding to or rebuilding the JBL is probably not your best option.

[Woochifer]

Geez, Wooch, Klipsch? I thought his purpose was to upgrade

Actually, the K-horns are among my all-time favorite speakers. For someone who like the L100s, they're obviously looking for something different than the more neutral sounding options out there.

[Woochifer]

If ev1 agrees with his statement then my case is closed. I think this is the best answer/ solution so far for my "problem". Woochifer, I've listened plus audition many diff speakers from mid to "high end" (Florian, I haven't listened to yours yet), and you are right, none of them sounds like my JBL L100 t3. I agreed with you that newer and more expensive speakers seem to play flatter, more mellow. They don't seem to open up at all though the spec may show 25hz to 40Khz (I maybe lying but I once was told that some tweeters can reach up as high as 80Khz. Would y'all believe that? Only cats and dogs can hear that.)

I think the preference for JBL would also need to take into account the type of music you're listening to. If you're a classic rock fan, and primarily listen using vinyl, then JBLs are a very appealing option. The blazing highs and midbass punch work very well with the more forgiving vinyl sound and music from the 70s and early-80s. But, it seems that with newer recordings or with 1st gen CDs, the vintage JBL sound is less than optimal. When I got my first CD player and hooked it up to my parents' Marantz/JBL system, the highs were painfully piercing.

Your preference for the vintage JBL sound is why I recommend trying the Def Techs and Klipsch's lineup. Among the Paradigms, you might wind up liking their more aggressive sounding Monitor series, which has more of a midbass emphasis and more untamed highs compared to the Studio and Signature series.

The effectiveness of these so-called supertweeters is a long-argued point of contention. Proponents would argue that there are high frequency harmonics that extend beyond the upper limit of typical tweeters, and in addition, high res audio formats can now extend well beyond the 20kHz limit set by the CD format.

[gjpham]

I have to disagree with your assessmetof the thiel cs3.6. These are great speakers. Very accurate, detailed with great transparency and imaging. The problem with them is that they are very revealing of poor recordings and poor signal sources as most high end speakers are. You are correct about the treble in that it is laid back somewhat. I was actually very impressed when I heard them with a $2500 CDP and about $6000 of amp and preamp.

It just goes to show that every one hears things differently!

Alrighty Gents,
There must be something wrong with the pair (Thiel) that I auditioned last time at my house. Last week, one of my new audio buddy invited me to his house to check out his new arrival Blue-ray Denon DVD 3800. Since I already auditioned the Thiel, I wasn't impressed when he told me he had the same Thiel 3.6. But OH MY FREAKING L@&$, how much I was wrong. It is no doubt that it would sound much better than what I experienced with the Thiel before. I have never heard any set-up beter than this. Its high (tweeter) was crystal clear with very high depth (not sure I'm using the right term). And the voice, of course, was warm and full. Its bass was magnificient. I thought 1 or both of his Servo12 woofers were on but after ran around to verify, he had it on 2-ch with no sub and all Bass and Treble were on flat.
HIS:
- Pre/pro Anthem D2
- Krell Amp (125w x3)
- DVD Denon Blue-Ray
- From A-Z; a complete of all AudioQuest cable.

MINE:
- Pre-pro Anthem AVM30
- Anthem A5 Amp
- DVD Pioneer Elite-79
- All mixed of lower end cables.

So, to all of you with Thiel speakers, enjoy it. You are one of the lucky *****$s.

[Mr Peabody]

Anthem is pretty good, I like the preamps better than the power amps but what you had is a Krell experience. The Thiels are a good speaker but you heard what a top notch amp can do for them.

[filecat13]

I'd suggest that the major disconnect here is trying to compare Thiels from 1993 that retailed for $3900 a pair to JBLs from 1989 that retailed for $1400 a pair. Probably the JBL 250Ti at $3900 a pair would be a better comparison.

It's reasonable to expect--even demand--that a speaker pair that retails for nearly three times the price of the older L100t3 be a much better speaker. Attempting to make direct comparisons is problematic for a number of reasons, and characterizing a speaker line as having a particular sound signature when it contains 32 models in a given year that range from $140 a pair to $8900 a pair is gross over-generalization.

It's true that some of the more popular JBLs from the 70s and 80s had what some characterized as a West Coast sound, but I suppose they were popular because people enjoyed the sound. Other JBL models available at the same time had different sonic characteristics, and sold well too, but not as well as the popular JBL "rock" signature models. We tend to forget about those models or perhaps some of us never experienced them.

I have in my JBL Peristyle some four-way L5, L7, XPL200, L250, and Performance Series models; some three-way L100, XPL160, 240Ti and E50 models; some two-way L60T and L3 models; and some two-way S/2600, SVA2100, SVA1800, and 4430 horn-based models (among others). They come from different eras and different design goals; they all have different sounds.

It seems to me the Thiels are too much speaker for the room, as has been correctly noted. Placement is important, and if they cannot be placed correctly, even the best electronics will not make the room sound better. In fact, they may make the room sound worse.

The JBLs in this case are more forgiving in these tight confines, though they too would improve with better placement. The JBLs likely sound better at lower levels in this situation, but I suspect they can be driven to ear-piercing levels without much effort. The LC2 you bought will likely match up okay, but it will not be a perfect timbre match. Be sure to balance its output with the L100T3s with an SPL meter.

I'd say your first goal should be to think more about your room and what you can do there to improve it. Then it will be a venue that allows you to really hear the best from the speakers you audition.