4312A Opinions Needed...

[Steelman]

Hello all,

I am new to this forum.

But I figure if you want opinions on JBL...no better place to be, right?

I recently picked up a pair of 4312A's and a pair of L100's to add to my ever growing JBL collection. I already have a pair of L-40's.

My question is this:

When I got my pair of l-40's and hooked them up, I found them to be very pleasant and easy to listen to. Have had them playing for 10 hours at a time and loving every minute of them. Bass was tremendous even at low volumes. Mids are alittle behind. I expected that from a 2 way and highs are very pleasent

Yesterday, I hooked up my 4312A's.

After about 1 hour, I found them hard on my ears. The highs seemed to pierce through me. The HF level was set to 5

I turned down the HF level to 1 and still I find them harsh and unnatural.
Mids are incredible, but the bass seems non existent.

I am running them with my Pioneer SX-650 with the bass and treble set flat, loudness both on and off, high filter off and volume at 9 o clock.

I have always wanted a pair of 4312's and now that I have them...I am wondering if I made a mistake.

Any direction or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Vincent

[mike]

Some people don't like the sound of titanium tweeters. It sounds like you prefer the tweeter in the L40.
Mike

[KromeDome]

Some people don't like the sound of titanium tweeters. It sounds like you prefer the tweeter in the L40.
Mike

Agreed. The L40, both L110 versions, and the original L150 all shared the 033 phenolic/cloth tweeter. I happen to be one of the small group of die-hard 033 lovers, but they aren't for everyone.

[mike]

I was listening to a pair of L150's the other day at someone's house and was surprised at how good the 033 is. On the other hand I have heard some of the systems with the titanium dome sound tinny and unnatural. I think it has something to do with the electronics driving them also.

Mike

[Don C]

How do you have the level controls set? If they are at 0, as they usually are, I'd suggest turning down the midrange level. Try setting it to about 1/4 of a turn from the lowest setting.

[Serum]

I've got a set of the 4312A's; from every picture i see in the brochure and on the internet, the lpads are adjusted to 5 on both the mid and the tweeter. This is also the best ballance between the mid/high and woofer in my opinion. at that level the units are in good harmony, and play at about the same level.

The thing is that the mid-range filter is only a highpass. So it's only filtered with 6db/oct on the low end. if you put that on 10 and the tweeter on 5, it's still 'messing' in the regions the tweeter also covers.

Try setting both nobs (mid/high) to 5 - 5.25.


To be honest, i love them. they have got a VERY small sweetspot, which probably the result of a phase-issue, other than that i find them very pleasant to listen to. (as long as you can sit still) together with my subwoofer i can't get tired of them.

Also; your L100 uses a cone-tweeter. this is a way different tweeter than the titanium tweeter in your 4312's.

Here, look at these settings;
http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/jbl/specs/pro-speakers/1986-4312a/page1.jpg

@donC; the settings on these speakers are nog set in a db scale, but in a level; 0 is off, and 10 is full

[Mr. Widget]

I have always wanted a pair of 4312's and now that I have them...I am wondering if I made a mistake.There is also the possibility that this pair isn't exactly up to spec. The 4312A is not one of the world's ten best speakers, but it isn't a terrible speaker either. There are many who still enjoy them, especially while playing vintage rock.

I'd suggest you really work the L-pads to make sure the crud is ground down and try the settings suggested by these folks... if you still feel that there are problems, you may need to have them checked out.


Widget