What tweeter??

Been running a pair of L15's as computer speakers for quite some time now.. been impressed with the 034's, but they fail to have the energy that I'd like... there is a noticable lack of top end performance although they do upper mids fairly well with some coaxing via some crossover mods. Couldn't stand using so much EQ on them that I had to butcher those networks.. Well actually I still have the originals, just decided to build my own...

And now that I'm contemplating buying a pair of L86's soon (and perhaps even a pair of L96's, L112's, and maybe even some 4412's; I'll explian later..) was wondering if it would be a good idea to upgrade the L15/L86's 034 tweeters.

Also, been wanting to ask what the audible differences are between the 033/044/066 as they have all sounded similiar to me... Although I've seemed to like the 044 the best, any truth to this?

And what makes the 044Ti that much better than the 035Ti?? Any reason why the 044Tis sell for amazing amounts on Ebay.. I've always preferred the 035Ti.. and have swapped them out for dead LE20/LE25 variants with no complaints even with modest networks backing them up... in fact they have always sounded better to me this way...

So amoungst the 033/044/066, or 035Ti, which should I try in my L15's/L86's first?? Or would it not be worth the effort and should I just be content with my 034's? Am just looking for the "best" tweeter amoungst this group that I could work around..

Rest assured that I will be doing some crossover tweaking as I've never liked the way 80's JBL sounded, but the drivers were still superb and in many ways better than the drivers they built in the 70's (well not really, just can't afford the compression drivers/horns and those neat 075/077 tweeters). just never been anamored with the "warm" sounding JBL's of the 80's, which was never a driver issue, but a differnt school of thought at JBL in crossover design theory.. Some liked the more neutral flat response, others were not able to conform to this idea, me being one of them . Stubborn I guess.


For my den: small room, very live, the L36's were too overbearing... hence I've sold them...

Still wondering if a system like the L26 or L40 might be the way to go for me as you all have raved about how well JBL 2-ways perform..

Been contemplating a custom LE10H; 044/035Ti 2-way, but not sure how the LE10H's would perform given more upper bass/lower mid duty... Anyone tested them wide-open to see where their usable frequency range is.. The 10" round 125A's and 127A(H)'s have always tested good up to 2000 Hz, but I've preferred the bass of the LE10H's.. more articulate and less fatigue.

What you guys think??

My HT room: Medium and BIG...

Why all the speakers you ask, building a 7.1 set-up soon and I'd like all the speakers to come close to timbre matching one another... and I'd also like to set-up a "reference" speaker for my critical listening for 2 channel sources. Been out of the hobby for sometime with work/school etc.. and now have a large home and an accepting wife ... Don't ask about what amp/pre etc.. Haven't decided on that until I got my speakers set...

Before my hiatus I owned some SERIOUS audio gear, had a major surgery and had to sell everything off. Not enough room to list in my sig... just my recent speaker systems, but I've owned the best, and amazingly, I've always come back to JBL.. especially now...

I have 2 HSU HRSW12V(a) subs powered by 2 250 watt amps.. They will do the job just fine for what I am planning, and believe me will outperform any JBL sub at this price point (paid $499 each for them back in 96.) Actually, I've never been greatly impressed with any JBL home subwoofer for HT settings... Any truth to this??


My reference speakers:

I start with the best possible driver combo for what I need and then build a crossover to suit my needs from there.. As I said earlier, unfortunately my needs and what the designers at JBL had in mind as the public's need in the 80's aren't one in the same.. About the "best" sounding JBL I've heard is the L300.. And to those who have bashed the L100, try out the 4312... with the newer ferritte LE5-6/8/10/12 mids, if still too bright the 104H's will do the trick, and better yet, the newest version with the 035Ti tweeters, a few of you guys might wonder why JBL has spent so much time and effort designing and building such intricate networks... About the best "studio bookshelf monitor" that I've owned has been the 4312A...

My reference speakers are in the works, they'll be revolving around a pair of Altec 414-8C woofers.. I gotta have them... Wish I could go with bigger 15" woofers, or just a pick up a pair of Altec 19's (my favorite vintage speaker) and be done with it, but then where's the fun in that??

Audio gear to be named later, testing with a Nakamichi PA-7 and Phase Linear 2000 pre... Sony CDPC701ES CD player... Don't laugh guys, but this combo worked the best with my L300's (even after trying some big $$ gear) so I figured why not start with this set-up, can always upgrade when I get my speakers close to where I want them..

Have already built custom 4 cu. ft. (internal volume) speaker cabinets to work with, they still need to be veneered etc, Tried JBL 2213H's. 128H's etc... nothing "got me" until I ran across these 12" Altec's. They are as good as it can possibly get, at least for me, in the room I will be using them.... Reminds me of the Altec 19's I once had, and in a 12" woofer nonetheless. Am currently using 104H's and 035Ti's with makeshift networks and they are not too shabby... Now to timbre match via the crossover, this may take decades, lol... they are nowhere near where I'd like them... but as long as I'm making progress.

Sorry guys for being long-winded here, just can't wait to get all of this done... Can't wait to read your comments.. be sure to go easy on me..