How Much Is Too Much???

[Doc Mark]

Greetings, Friends,

Well, now..... hanging out with you Lads is bad business, that's for certain! Got me thinking all kinds of stuff that hasn't crossed my mind in years!

With my options open before me, I've begun thinking about using both 2235H's, AND the one 2242HPL in my "dream" system!! But, how much is too much, when it comes to bass? What I've been contemplating is this:

Each side will have one 2235H, one 10" driver, which for now is an LE10A, one 2420 compression driver and 2397 lense assembly, which would be crossed at 10KHZ to a 2405 slot tweeter. Now, would anything be gained by adding my one 18" 2242HPL???? Or, is that just "too much"??? What are your thoughts, Friends? Thanks, very much, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc (who's off to bed to dream of JBL's, and "dream systems"!!!!:D:D:bouncy::bouncy:

[pos]

you could turn your 2235H into 2234H by removing the mass ring under the dust cap. You would gain 3db of efficiency at the price of some bass response extension loss, and this would make the 2242H mandatory :D

[Doc Mark]

you could turn your 2235H into 2234H by removing the mass ring under the dust cap. You would gain 3db of efficiency at the price of some bass response extension loss, and this would make the 2242H mandatory :D

Greetings, Pos,

Thanks for the thought, but I believe I'll leave my 2235H's the way they are, and use them that way. I had wanted those drivers for many, many years before I came across them. I buddy sold them to me for $125 apiece, and I was glad to have them! Got them refoamed at Orange County Sound, and they've been "waiting patiently", for me to get time to house them in proper enclosures, ever since! ;):(:) Though I will very probably build proper boxes for each system, I'm not sure the extra "OOMPH" from the 2242HPL will make it worthwhile to use it with my system. Still........:bouncy::bouncy: Thanks, again, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

[JBLnsince1959]

With my options open before me, I've begun thinking about using both 2235H's, AND the one 2242HPL in my "dream" system!! But, how much is too much, when it comes to bass?

Just a hair pass the point where it's just right:p

seriously tho, we would need more information as to what the crossover points are and what are you using it for ( stereo, HT etc)

By the book, the 2235 can go deeper than the 2242, BUT the 2242 is a newer ( Better? Bigger) design. it really depends on a lot.

more info would be helpful. personally, it you're listening to mostly stereo I wouldn't think the 2242 would gain you much besides being able to move your house off it's foundation a few inches. If you're wanting to add a little bottom-end punch to HT then maybe ( not to worry, it'll still move the house)

let us know more about exactly what you are seeing in your mind.

all the best to you

[Doc Mark]

Just a hair pass the point where it's just right:p

seriously tho, we would need more information as to what the crossover points are and what are you using it for ( stereo, HT etc)

By the book, the 2235 can go deeper than the 2242, BUT the 2242 is a newer ( Better? Bigger) design. it really depends on a lot.

more info would be helpful. personally, it you're listening to mostly stereo I wouldn't think the 2242 would gain you much besides being able to move your house off it's foundation a few inches. If you're wanting to add a little bottom-end punch to HT then maybe ( not to worry, it'll still move the house)

let us know more about exactly what you are seeing in your mind.

all the best to you

Greetings, Sir!

Many thanks for your insightful comments, and suggestions! Truthfully, I am pretty sure the system I originally planned on building will be plenty good enough. But, having found the 18" driver sort of whetted my appetite for something "bigger"! ;):D

Back in the '80's, I decided that I wanted to have an all-JBL speaker system for my home stereo. But, at that time, I had little extra coin for buying the drivers, and such. Over the years, one by one, the drivers I have in mind did come my way, and now I have all of them. My original design idea was to separate the woofers from the other components, in their own subwoofer cabinets. I was thinking of running the 2235's as subwoofers, crossed electronically to the satellite speakers. Part of my reason for this was to cut down on diffraction problems in the high end, possibly caused by the large baffle of, say a 4343B cabinet. I reasoned that my stereo imaging should be better if the compression driver and slot tweeter had a smaller baffle on which to be mounted.

This system will be used, mainly, for stereo music, and we also run our DVD movies through the system, too. I want a system that can handle the wide dynamic range of movies, and good, solid, honest bass from classical, jazz, funk, and Latin music. When a movie has cannon fire, I want my system to be able to handle such things with ease!! But, I also want it to realistically reproduce the soft, subtle tones of an oboe, accurately showcase a grand piano, sweet violins, bowed upright bass, and the female voice, with no stridency, or coloring.

Our listening room, which is our front room, is about 30' x 30', and has a high, peaked 22' ceiling. The room has maple paneling on three walls, painted drywall on the fourth wall, with pine tongue-and-groove ceiling material. The right wall contains a river rock fireplace, with hearth, and behind the stereo, and behind the listening area (our couch), are large windows. We have two Turkish rugs in that room, too.

My "dream" plan is to tri-amp the system, at the least, and maybe even go with four amps. But, so far, it's been doing well in a simple bi-amp mode. My electronics are from Harman Kardon, but I also now have two Crown amps, one an old DC-300, and the other I got a few days ago, a Crown DC-300A. Pre-amp is my Harman Kardon, as is the DVD player.

So, that's kind of an over-view of what we have, and what I'm seeking. I may well "hide" the two subwoofers, just as I do now, and have the satellite speakers, containing the LE10A's, 2420/2307 horn/lenses, and 2405 slot tweeters, on stands, again, same as I do now.

Thanks, very much, for your comments, and I look forward to hearing what you might suggest as I finally get my dream system together!! This project will finally come to fruition, after about 20 YEARS of dreaming, planning, gathering, and drooling!!! :bouncy::bouncy::D:D Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

[Don Mascali]

Too much is just right!

For my music room I use B380 clones and L100t3's Bi Amped For the HT room, I have 2-2245's and 2-2242's In use as subs with 2-2226 per side from 100 to 250hz.
There is nothing like the slam of a 2242 for the effects channel. :D

[Doc Mark]

Hi, Don,

Ohhhh, you're going to get me into deep trouble with Sweet Bride, aren't you!!?? ;):D:applaud: I believe that, when I do get time to mess with this, I'll build three cabinets, two five cubic foot enclosures for the 2235H's, and one eight cubic foot enclosure for the 2242HPL. Then, I'll "play", and see how things turn out!! Sounds good to me, anyway!!:):D

I have one other question, though. Today, I've been thinking about my original plan, which called for electronically crossing over from the 2235H's, to the LE10A's. After perusing old JBL catalogs, back to 1978, I see that most of the time, 10" drivers were crossed over at 300HZ, or slightly below that, say around 290HZ. I wonder if I should do the same with the LE10A's?

One other thought is that I have a spare pair of K120's, and a spare pair of 2130's, which could probably be reconed into something more suitable for a mid-bass speaker. Any thoughts on that? Thanks, very much, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

[4313B]

I have one other question, though. Today, I've been thinking about my original plan, which called for electronically crossing over from the 2235H's, to the LE10A's. After perusing old JBL catalogs, back to 1978, I see that most of the time, 10" drivers were crossed over at 300HZ, or slightly below that, say around 290HZ. I wonder if I should do the same with the LE10A's?You are really going to need to play around with your system to determine what you like best. The LE10A is really designed to extend down into the lowest octaves whereas the 10-inch drivers you are referring to (2121, 2122, 2123) with the 300 Hz crossover points are designed for increased efficiency at the expense of low frequency extension. They have lighter cones and voice coils.

[Don Mascali]

That's why I like active X-overs. I don't have the skill or the time to work on the passives.

It takes great expertise to select the best frequencies. Many here have it and are very free with their expert advice.