Question for Giskard

[Don McRitchie]

Speaking of monitors, have you heard the current LSR-32? This is the monitor used by John Eargle and Drew Daniels. Drew states it is the lowest distortion monitor (particularly the new 5" mid) that he has heard, and in his opinion, the best that JBL has ever made. I had a chance to listen to them for an extended period and was very impressed. However, he was running them through a Sigtech room correction device so I'm not sure how much of the impressive sound was due to the monitor or the Sigtech.

[4313B]

No I haven't. :(
I've seen them on eBay and thought of snagging a pair to try out but...
I definitely need to hear that whole series and G.T. thinks I should really AB the Performance Series against my L212's.

[Don McRitchie]

I haven't heard the 212's in years, so take this with a grain of salt. The Performance series is one of the most impressive 5.1 setup's I've ever heard. I listened to a multi-channel audio DVD of Lyle Lovett and was blown away. I would think that in dynamic response and overall neutrality, the Performance series would be significantly better. Certainly the restricted dynamics in the L212 sub would be greatly surpassed by two LE14 based Performance subs.

[4313B]

I recently got an old pair of L212's in. It had been about eight years since my last "upgrade" of a pair and I was anxious to AB them against my 4430's. These didn't have any bypass capacitors, just straight old L212's. They sounded pretty decent but the 4430's were "better" in every way. I installed polystyrene and polypropylene bypass capacitors and then compared them again. BIG difference and it was quite interesting to hear them give the 4430's a run. Obviously a bit smoother with their gentle filters and the 066 definitely goes out farther than the 2344A. The 8-inch midbass is snappy as all get out. Two things that really stood out though were the power compression in the L212 when driven like hell and the sheer SPL of the 4430's when driven to the same extreme (400W continuous). For everyday listening I would have to choose the "upgraded" L212 over the 4430 but fortunately I don't have to make such a choice :) G.T. and I recently swapped L212 "upgrade" stories. He tells me I would choose the Performance Series over either in a heartbeat. No comparison whatsoever :) And you know what he thinks of the 4430's :p

[Don McRitchie]

I think it would be truly interesting to hear a 5.1 setup of LSR32's vs the Performance series. The LSR32's have even lower levels of power compression than the Performance Series with their DCD drivers and are impeccably detailed. Drew has been trying to disuade readers from building the "High Efficiency" system he describes on our site in defernce to 5 LSR32's with a 2245 sub. He says the latter will blow away a custom pro driver system in every attribute you care to name.

[4313B]

Well, I haven't talked to Drew since he left JBL. If he says so then it must be so :)

[MJC]

Originally posted by Giskard
No I haven't. :(
I've seen them on eBay and thought of snagging a pair to try out but...
I definitely need to hear that whole series and Greg thinks I should really AB the Performance Series against my L212's.

That is something I've wanted to do since I read a review of the Performance Series last July. I was thinking of buying Jamesloudspeakers until I read about the Performance Series. And then I found out that there were no Dealers anywhere in Nevada or No. Cal.
So here it is nearly a year later and I still haven't heard the Performance Series, much less in an AB with my L212s. But I'm happy with my all L212 HT, thanks to you, Giskard. But I'd still love to do an AB between to 2 systems.
Its been only the last 2 issues of HT mag that there has even been an ad for the Performance Series. Stereophile Guide to HT rated the Performance Series second only to a $24,000 Snell HT setup of all the new speaker systems that came out last year. And the Performance is less than $7000, quite a difference in price!

[4313B]

I'm pretty happy with my L212's too. I understand their 25 year old limitations and can live with them. I'm not done playing with them either. I may want to installed charge coupled networks in them and see what happens. Ignorance is bliss, as long as I haven't AB'd them with the LSR Series or Performance Series all is good :p

[4313B]

It looks like a complete LSR32 5.1 would cost a bit less than the Performance Series?

I'd have to opt for dual or quad LE14H-1 or LE14H-3 subs over the 2245H though ;)

[10 Watt Street]

Take a listen to one of the other speakers in the LSR line, the LSR 28P. It is a 2-way 8" active biamp that does a tremendous job. They work well for nearfield and 5.1. I think they are a bargain.

http://www.jblpro.com/pages/recording/lsr28p.htm

[4313B]

Have you listened to these? They look pretty cool too. I like small packages that have a lot of punch.

Ever hear of this guy?
http://www.prorec.com/prorec/articles.nsf/articles/21CF0A52F09164E386256AE100128168

[10 Watt Street]

I own one pair, could use a bunch more! I'm not familiar with that reviewer.

[Don McRitchie]

Lorr Kramer, a former JBL product manager, toured us through the facilities of his current employer - DTS. As you can see below, they have a 5.1 sound room with 5 LSR28P's and a JBL 18" sub. I liked both the LSR32's and Performance series better. Lorr admitted they had problems with the room since it was an existing space that they had to retrofit with too near square dimensions. This was a factor in the bass response. However, I didn't think they had the resolution of the other systems. One of the cuts played was the same 5.1 recording of Lyle Lovett that I heard on the Performance series, and I preferred the latter. Nonetheless, they are a good speaker, and considering the built in amps, are good bang for the buck.

[4313B]

Kinda reminds me of the days of 18Ti's and B460's :)

[Mr. Widget]

Originally posted by Giskard


I'd have to opt for dual or quad LE14H-1 or LE14H-3 subs over the 2245H though ;)

Why would you go this way?


BTW I heard the LSR 32s a while back and was definitely impressed. I didn't have a chance to compare them to any benchmarks though.

[4313B]

"Why would you go this way?"

Primarily because of size. I really like the 3.5 cubic foot LE14H-1 subs.

[Tom Loizeaux]

I was impressed with the look and bio of the LSR 32s. My fantasy was to stack an LSR 32 on top of it's subwoofer and use one of these "towers" on each side. When I inquired about these, I was told by a number of people, recording studio mixers, JBL fans, etc. that they didn't sound that good! They haven't been selling well. Several stores lowered the prices on these to get them out of the store.
Unfortunatly, I haven't auditioned them myself. In the meantime I'll live with my 4312As with JBL subwoofer as my control monitors.

Tom