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View Full Version : Got to be happy



Regis
11-13-2006, 12:51 PM
Been awhile since I've been here. As you might remember, I almost got a pair of 4343's, but got some seriously cold feet about the deal. I actually had the money in hand, but was stretching the finances at that point. Even the girlfriend was highly supportive and was willing to have them in her living room. Getting them would've meant going short in other areas, like visitation with the kids (they're a 200 mile roundtrip just to pick them up) and with them in their formative teenage years, I just want to be there. Sure I lust after the biggest and the best, but owning three pairs of fine JBL speakers now, makes me happy with what I have.

The mint 4310's I scored for my woman for $50 the pair, sit on top of her entertainment center. They're powered by a regular-schmoe Technics integrated amp. Instead of TV last night, we spent three hours listening to Sirius 'Contemporary Jazz' off've the cable and you know what? They sounded beautiful.

The L-110's are coming home next weekend from my place in Acton and will possibly be paired against the 4310's in the opposite corners of the family/TV room. (I'd be curious as to how that'll work...).

The L-300's are smack dab in the middle of the living room/dining room area about halfway, facing the couch, which is against the front window of the house. No corner or wall loading, but I'm finding the lower end of the midbass is dominating and drowing out the midrange almost entirely, even with the presence turned up. Placement or movement is limited, but a temporary solution did bring itself into play.

Some may laugh long and loud, but I had to test a vintage Sansui 5500 reciever (circa 1968-1972) with a whole 45 watts RMS and yes, it's a heavy little piggy. Just got done being serviced and gone through, which cost me almost what it'd be worth. Couldn't get it to work on the family room system (4310's), so I tried it on the L-300's just to see if it worked. Mind you that I'm running a newer 200 wpc Perreaux amp, with a so-so Adcom pre (GTP-500.

That combo should still blow away the Sansui, but believe it or not, the Sansui ended up sounding better. The boomy, lower midbass domination is gone and I can definitely hear more midrange and even the highs come off a little better. It may be that the room placement or acoustics is not favorable to the specs on the more modern system, but I like what I'm listening to now and 45 watts through the Summits is still impressive.

With that in mind, the ESS Eclipse will be the next candidate, once it gets serviced for new push-button switches and VU meter replacement. Maybe the BJT technology is a better choice for the listening area, versus the MOSFET (overwarm?). Will keep experimenting, but as the JBL literature says, the 'trained' ear is the ultimate criterion (or even the 'opinion' for that matter). Thanks for reading.

Audiobeer
11-13-2006, 06:44 PM
That combo should still blow away the Sansui, but believe it or not, the Sansui ended up sounding better. The boomy, lower midbass domination is gone and I can definitely hear more midrange and even the highs come off a little better. It may be that the room placement or acoustics is not favorable to the specs on the more modern system, but I like what I'm listening to now and 45 watts through the Summits is still impressive.

Thanks for reading.

Regis, I am not questioning what you heard. But for coversation.....that just shocks the $%^& out of me. I've got to wander if the problem is in the preamp? About the speakers, I'd love to have a pair of 4343s. But unless someone wants to trade phonebooths, Restored 50s coke roundtops machines or neons signs it isn't going to happen. Part of enjoying the music is having the ability to listen to them without feeling guilty about spending the money on them. Someday is what I tell myself.

Regis
11-14-2006, 08:53 AM
Thanks AB! I agree about the pre-amp. That may just be the problem. The Adcom GTP-500 isn't exactly state-o'-the-art, that's for sure. I'll switch it with my other oldie, the GAS Thalia (the GAS Thoebe I tried out, was definitely better soundwise). A way nicer pre-amp is out there in the future.

bigstereo
11-14-2006, 12:56 PM
Regis, I experienced similar results. 4311 + Adcom GTP600 + Phase linear 400II or Onkyo M504 = :barf:

But, 4311 + either of same two amps using preamp section of Sansui 9090db = :rockon2: :rockon1: :dancin: :banana: :bouncy: :applaud:

Regis
11-15-2006, 09:13 AM
Regis, I experienced similar results. 4311 + Adcom GTP600 + Phase linear 400II or Onkyo M504...

But, 4311 + either of same two amps using preamp section of Sansui 9090db...

Thanks for the valuable feedback! I took your concept and applied it to my system at home. I switched the 5500 to 'seperate' and used the pre-amp output to the Perreaux. Instant magic! Man, did it sound good. Totally musical. Then the right channel died on the Sansui. It just got serviced after being dead for ten years, so stuff's gonna happen with something that's 35 years old.

You'd think a 90's Adcom would sound better than a 1968-1973 Sansui, but that's not the case :no: . I switched back to the Adcom and got that muddy sound out of the speaker. With respect to speaker sensitivity and size, it seems that the choice for an amp, is not nearly as critical to the listening experience as a good quality pre-amp (IMHO of course...!).

bigstereo
11-15-2006, 10:11 AM
I was expecting great things from my Adcom when I got it. (Used) Boy was I disappointed. I don't even have it hooked up anymore. The Sansui sounds great, nothing at all to complain about with that one.

Thom
11-15-2006, 11:44 AM
Just a word of caution: I think the 5500 is probably past the problem but Sansuis in that era had a problem of failing in such a way as to put DC to the speakers. Speakers didn't like it. It was common to put very large caps in series with the outputs. Essentially inaudible but wouldn't pass DC. I don't know if yours is one to be concerned about but it was built in the right time period.

Regis
11-15-2006, 12:15 PM
I believe the 5500 was past the era of the early 1000, 2000, 3000 and 5000 and 1000a, 2000a etc units. The production fix was the replacement of the driver board and the introduction of the x series (1000x, 2000x, etc). The 5000x's are well known for their good sounding qualities. I'm not sure how the 5500 stacks up against the 5000x, but it sounds pretty darn good on the L-300's with a surprising amount of clean, accurate sound (I am a picky listener and am ready to criticize what I don't like about my system). Thanks for the thoughts!