Question about S38

[FredEmmerich]

Does the S38 need to be set in any particular orientation? Would laying horizontal vs. vertical make any difference in sound?

thanks
Fred

[brutal]

AFAIK, they're designed for either orientation. They have such a small footprint, I run mine horizontal on bookshelves. They drivers are clustered tightly enough that it shouldn't matter.

[Rusnzha]

They are also mirror imaged so they will most definitely work either way. The one thing that might change a little is the tweeter. The EOS waveguide gives more horizontal dispersion when the box is horizontal and more vertical dispersion when the box is vertical. I play mine vertical and keep them well aimed.

[hjames]

I've got a chance to grab a set of S38 speakers, actually to choose between 2 sets ...
Both are in that darned black ash finish, and both feature a set of stands, which are also black.
Both claim to be in excellent condition, tho I haven't seen them yet.


One set is a matched pair of S38 II, and one is a pair of S38 including a center (as yet unseen).

Thoughts, comments?

I thought they might be an upgrade for my existing L20Ts in the rear/surround position, perhaps be a better match for the LC2 Center I just got.

[bigyank]

I owned a pair of S38II's for about 2 years. I used them for 2 channel stereo and had them on sand filled stands (26" off the ground).

They reproduced well but no real bass IMO, to speak of. :)

Yank

[hjames]

I owned a pair of S38II's for about 2 years. I used them for 2 channel stereo and had them on sand filled stands (26" off the ground).

They reproduced well but no real bass IMO, to speak of. :)

Yank
Cool - so I'll assume for $100 they are probably fine for rears/surrounds, assuming Bass goes to subs and fronts.

Thanks for the info!

[Rusnzha]

They make nice surround speakers with the S412s up front. It's hard to say how they will mate up with your front speakers, but they are sure worth a try. They have decent bass for their size, maybe not quite as much as an L46 due to the smaller box, but close to that. The center that was made to go with them is the S-Center, which I can't recommend, but you can get a few bucks for them on E-Pay.

[Titanium Dome]

I know it seems counter-intuitive, but I'd buy the S38 over the S38II. The S38II (and other S Series II units) is the result of litigation brought by Bose against the design of the S38.

[Rusnzha]

Bose sucks! :barf: I know that the series 2 drivers cost a lot less, what else was changed?

[BMWCCA]

There was quite a bit of discussion of this model here a year or so ago, as I recall. I remember reading this impressive review at that time.

http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/365/

[Titanium Dome]

The biggest bone of contention was the port architecture. JBL and Infinity had to change the shape of the tube and pay royalties and damages to Bose of $8.3 million.

JBL also changed out the tweeter, redesigned the plastic baffle plate/waveguide assembly, and modified minor elements of the other drivers, such as cone color.

[Titanium Dome]

I guess I should add that IMO the changes resulted in a somewhat less impressive speaker.

[JBobL]

I had 2 pair of S38II and an S centerII for a 5.1 rig setup mostly for gaming with HT as 2nd objective. They worked very well for HT though now that I have heard better the S center had an uncomfortable sound with deep voices even with 80 crossover. Always thought it was the DJs mic to close to his mouth but that changed when I bought an LC2. Much better. I used the S38IIs for surrounds and back surrounds later after getting L890s for mains and the S38II worked excellent as surrounds for HT! Eventually replaced them with L820s (only because I gotta good deal on them!) and now the S38IIs and ScenterII are back to a gaming rig. :) I think they sound pretty good though I've never heard the original S38s and would rather keep the IIs than sell them.

[hjames]

Local Craigslist ads - turned out the first seller had S38IIs also, with the S center and (2) stands. But they sounded good for the money and play well as surrounds. The S-center? Maybe I can sell/trade that, tho I haven't had any interest in the EC25 was trying tell sell ...

I had been watching L830 prices on the bay but just couldn't justify $200+ for a pair plus shipping when these were half that.

Anyway, thanks for the info everybody!

[JBobL]

I have the L830s also, I wouldn't use them (as mains) with anything but the L810 and LC1. They sound slightly horny or something compared to the 4way L (from lacking a mid range speaker?). They may work great as surrounds, I preferred the S38IIs though as surrounds. :) Spent the spring experimenting with many combos of S seriesII, 3 and 4way L. :)

[hjames]

My Bad, I meant the L-820s - I had been bidding on 820s but once they passed $160 it was more than I wanted to go for rear surrounds. Sorry - L series numbering scheme is ... odd 830 is a 3 way (looks kind of like the S38s), 820 is wall mounted 4 way ...
Anyway, the S38 IIs have a bass punch lacking in the L20Ts - really sounds like a step up!


I have the L830s also, I wouldn't use them (as mains) with anything but the L810 and LC1. They sound slightly horny or something compared to the 4way L (from lacking a mid range speaker?). They may work great as surrounds, I preferred the S38IIs though as surrounds. :) Spent the spring experimenting with many combos of S seriesII, 3 and 4way L. :)

[brutal]

IMHO, the S38's will spank the L20T's ... Much tighter and less boomy bass. Much less roll off on the high end. Great for a surround setup. Good for a modest 2-channel in a small/spare room.

[bone215]

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with my S38's. I thought for the money spent they were very good speakers. I combined them with 2 S120II subs, one under each, they were very good.

I thought they loaded better into my room horizontally placed, with the tweeters and midrange speakers facing in rather than out.

Good Luck.

[hjames]

IMHO, the S38's will spank the L20T's ... Much tighter and less boomy bass. Much less roll off on the high end. Great for a surround setup. Good for a modest 2-channel in a small/spare room.

I agree - they are working great as rear-surrounds - (using the L60Ts as pedestals) I was very impressed with them while doing the SACD and DVD-A discs off the Oppo - very nice speakers!

[BMWCCA]

IMHO, the S38's will spank the L20T's.I would be shocked, shocked I say, if a JBL 8" 3-way in a much larger box didn't produce better sound than a tiny JBL 6.5" 2-way. Go pick on someone your own size! ;) I like the little L20Ts.

Let's compare the L5 to the S38-II now. :applaud:

[hjames]

I would be shocked, shocked I say, if a JBL 8" 3-way in a much larger box didn't produce better sound than a tiny JBL 6.5" 2-way. Go pick on someone your own size! ;) I like the little L20Ts.

Let's compare the L5 to the S38-II now. :applaud:

Yeah, but I have to remind you - the S38 IIs are a bit heavy to hang from the ceiling, tho the li'l L20s do that job fine ...
We haven't decided which are gonna do back surround duty - the L20ts are neat and out of the way, the S38s sound way better, the L5? - dunno, don't have any of them yet ... got spares?? ;)

besides, you'd like this deal - I saw the S38s on Craigslist last week, with stands (pedestals) and the matched center speaker for $## ... and I didn't really need yet another center (black ash too).

So on Sunday, the ebay sale for my old EC25 was an hour from ending so almost as an afterthought I snapped some pictures of the S II Center and posted it $19.95 or $# BIN. When I check back an hour later, both had sold! I was quite happy with the BIN price!

Plus, I got $## for my old Beech EC25, so that made the Cherry LC2 I ebayed recently for $1## a good deal too!

Can't complain - not quite free but certainly a reasonable upgrade price!

Now I just need to sell those L60Ts, and keep the L20ts for spares ...eh?

[BMWCCA]

Whew! I'm gonna have to sell my kids, quit my job, move to the land of the traffic snarl, and hang out on Craig's List and Ebay all day long! The fuel-savings alone will be just like an income. You go, Heather! The land of opportunity, fer sure. Us bottom feeders got to hang together.
:nutz:

[BMWCCA]

Heather, I just ran across this old thread while looking for one of mine. So, have you tried your S38s naked?

No, no; the SPEAKERS! ;)

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=9337

[hjames]

Heather, I just ran across this old thread while looking for one of mine. So, have you tried your S38s naked?

No, no; the SPEAKERS! ;)

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=9337

Not yet, guess i can try that tonight when Emma goes to speaker with her nun ... I'll be home alone and I can run the system up to 11 !!!!!!!!!!!

he he he -
Well, they are connected as rear surrounds and i need to take them upstairs to really give them a shake down on the old yamaha receiver. We currently have Emma's old speakers (Optimus STS-1000s) hooked up in the living room system instead of the L200 'customs" - they sound much better than I thought!

[hjames]

Heather, I just ran across this old thread while looking for one of mine. So, have you tried your S38s naked?

No, no; the SPEAKERS! ;)

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=9337

Vanity pictures showing them in the media room, but, I did bring them upstairs and had them set up on the Yamaha CR-1020 receiver - they were awesome!
We rolled the L200 3ways into a back room and put the S38s on the L60Ts, used them as pedestals.
Tried some Alabama 3, Van Morrison, Dire Straits, Boz Scaggs (Dig) -
Nice sound, unbelieveable bass for such small boxes!
That was the first time I'd run them as Mains ... Highly recommended!

I had posted the L60Ts in Craigslist on Sunday and I did a quick ad for them almost as an afterthought - trying to clear some room -
after a few emails this week first guy that came and listened. They were perfect (no dented domes!) - after a few tunes he just offered me $10 under my asking price and bought them with the pedestals ... everybody was happy!

When I bought them a month or so back I got a 3 way set - and I'd sold the S-Center (and my old EC-35) on ebay about 3 weeks ago
... that paid for the LC2 I got back then.
Tonight's sale paid for the Cherry L820s I just got! :D

Now if I can just sell the L60Ts ...

[Titanium Dome]

Those S38IIs look really nice. They were the next-to-last JBL 8" traditional three-way bookshelf (woofer, midrange, tweeter). The E50s (see mine below) were the last, but the S38 had a superior 1" Ti tweeter compared to the E50's 3/4" Ti laminate. :biting:

The Performance Series PT800 is an 8" three-way as well, but hardly traditional and not even intended to be a standalone bookshelf. It's meant to be supplemented with a subwoofer.

The S38/E50 cabinet design is a good one, and provides an excellent foundation for a very nice three-way sound.

[brutal]

Some old pics of my S38's.

When I first got these, I auditioned them first with a Judas Priest LP. Almost made my ears bleed...

Up until last week, when I swapped in a new HT receiver, they had been performing the lowly duty of front "presence" speakers for some Yamaha DSP modes rarely used. Those duties are now relegated to my 18Ti's (I know, what a waste.) Now if I can just get setup with a JBL center to match the 250Ti's and 18Ti's, I'd have consistent vintage JBL voicing across the front.

I'm considering pulling out the L80t's I'm using in the bedroom HT setup and putting these in place, just for the space saving. With a recent sub addition, I don't think I'd miss the L80t's.

[hjames]

Those S38IIs look really nice. They were the next-to-last JBL 8" traditional three-way bookshelf (woofer, midrange, tweeter). The E50s (see mine below) were the last, but the S38 had a superior 1" Ti tweeter compared to the E50's 3/4" Ti laminate. :biting:

The Performance Series PT800 is an 8" three-way as well, but hardly traditional and not even intended to be a standalone bookshelf. It's meant to be supplemented with a subwoofer.

The S38/E50 cabinet design is a good one, and provides an excellent foundation for a very nice three-way sound.

Well, I'll be honest - I got the L820s in on Thursday - and last night I hooked them up to the Yamaha upstairs as standalone speakers.
Tried the same tracks I'd played for the buyer the other night -
Big anticlimax!
I suppose the high end is fine and I'm sure they're fine for surrounds - but I miss the bottom and just all around good sound of those S38 IIs.

Next time there is a pair for sale I'm going to buy them and sell off the L820s for what I paid for them ...

I'd go for the coppery coloured S38 version Is - but no one is selling them locally

[doucanoe]

Here are a couple pics of my S38BE's. I think that these are one of those speakers that you either realy like or really dislike from an asthetic standpoint.

I happen to like their look and am very pleased with the sound of them. I am not always a fan of reasonably inexpensive three ways, but these impress.

RC

[JBobL]

Yeah, I think the L820s, with the 6" woofer, was intended for use as a surround speaker instead of bookshelf that might see use as mains. I used S38IIs for mains in a HT/gaming rig with S38IIs as surrounds in 5.1. Replaced it all with L890s and L820s. Kept the S38II 5.1 rig for gaming/ music.

[Titanium Dome]

Here are a couple pics of my S38BE's. I think that these are one of those speakers that you either realy like or really dislike from an asthetic standpoint.

I happen to like their look and am very pleased with the sound of them. I am not always a fan of reasonably inexpensive three ways, but these impress.

RC

I think the coppery cones go better in the light cabinets, while the silvery ones go better in the black.

[hjames]

So - I sold off those L820s on ebay for basically what I paid for them, and tonight Emma and I drove to Manassas and picked up a pair of S38 IIs in "Cherry" - no pedestals, but they look nice and have that fantastic sound the last set (black ash) had ... kinda late now, but I'll crank the Yamaha tomorrow and give them a workout!
Got them sitting on some L60t speakers as pedestals right now in the upstairs room -
but my plan is they'll be the rear surrounds in the TV room - and very good all around spares when I need something else.

Thanks again for the tips, y'all!



Well, I'll be honest - I got the L820s and didn't care for them. I suppose the high end is fine and I'm sure they're fine for surrounds - but I miss the bottom and just all around good sound of those S38 IIs.