L7 Heaven, Part the First
The L7 Owner's Manual Supplement spends a little ink on placement of the speakers, then goes on for three and a half pages on "Bi-Wiring and Bi-Amplification." This latter section really covers a lot more than just bi-wiring and bi-amping. Here in L7 Heaven, Part the First, I'll get into placement.
The placement instructions are simple and supported with two detailed drawings. Anyone who reads this and doesn't start with the speakers three feet from the front wall and three feet from the side wall on its respective side, with the side-mounted woofers facing inward, and the fronts angled 10-15 degrees (toe in) is asking for poor performance, and if he complains about it he's a dope. This is the simple, direct, straightforward, diagrammed, optimal placement recommended by the manufacturer. Then put the listener in the 60/60/60 triangle set up JBL recommends in the regular L Series Owner's Manual.
So to the complainers who jam L7s into the corners nearly flat against the side wall: you're idiots!
To the bellyachers who place L7s a foot from the rear wall and four feet from the side walls and three feet from each other with a TV stuck between them: you're morons!
To the whiners who put the woofers facing frontward and the other drivers facing inward: yo, stoopid!
To the gripers who put one next to the wall in the corner and the other two feet forward of the front wall next to an opening into the kitchen: hey, pinhead, get a clue!
The message here is this: PLACEMENT MATTERS.
If you've done any of the above and you're happy, then all I can say is 1) if you're happy, I'm not referring to you and don't mean to offend you, and 2) even if you are happy you could be getting so much more out of these speakers.
Especially on the L7s with their side firing woofers, getting them too close to the front wall increases coupling that results in uneven bass, and getting them too deep into the corners causes boominess. Think about how that side-firing woofer complicates things. :hmm: Placing physical objects between the two woofers, such as TVs, stands, equipment racks, etc., also interferes with the woofer's operation.
So, yes, it's a picky set up, more than the average consumer wants to bother with. He wants to pull 'em out of the cartons, stick 'em in the corner on either side of the TV, and watch Willy Wonka. Most speakers are arranged according to the needs of the room. With L7s, the room must be arranged according to the needs of the speakers. (That's a bit of an overstatement, but you get my point. ;) )
If the room is right and you've got the 60/60/60 triangle that JBL recommends, you're still not quite done, because every room is different. JBL advises that you can have some leeway of about a foot in fine tuning your sound with regard to soundstage, low bass extension, and treble dispersion and imaging. Again, the average consumer is going to say, "Screw this," turn up the tone controls, and think the problem is solved. By carefully adjusting proximity to room corners (closer/farther) and distance from the front wall (nearer/farther) while maintaining the 60/60/60 triangle if possible, you can really find the best environment that your room will provide for top notch L7 sound. Is this a PITA? Yes. Is it worth the trouble? Absolutely.
After keeping my L7s captive in my room in MI for a couple of years, I decided to do it right and changed the room to optimize the speakers. Holy crap! What a difference! :jawdrop: :jawdrop:
Who knows? I'm sure it was a conscious design choice to place the woofers on the side to keep the front baffle narrow and the L Series all looking similar. Maybe the marketing people beat out the engineers who wanted the woofers on the front. Can't really say.
What I can say is that this is a fairly unusual design for JBL, one that is not repeated. It makes the L7 fundamentally different from the other L Series speakers, even though driver complements and enclosure features are shared. It makes it harder to set up and less desirable for many consumer living rooms.
All of that being said, it has very good drivers, great crossovers, fine cabinetry, and a terrific sound. When properly set up and driven (see Part the Second) it's an amazing beast, and a bit unlike any other JBL. It will take a ton of power, and I've always chickened out before the speakers, especially since any amp I own will be driven to clip before the L7 is overpowered. :rockon1:
It's definitely one of my top five JBLs. :bouncy: