any suggestions 4 new l890 owner?

[ToneLoce]

Hey all!
I think I've got the classic problem of big speakers in a small room. First, these are awesome speakers that are a HUGE improvement for me. I'm pretty happy with them. I got the l890s with the idea that I'll be moving into a bigger place in the next year or 2 though. This was the 1st piece to upgrade my 20+ year old system.

Problems: very boomy base, mids recessed, highs are very bright

just as an experiment I put a piece of paper in the grill in front of the port. That actually helped some. I remember reading somewhere of speakers that came with some type of insert for the bass port, to help tune the sound for smaller rooms and you could remove it for bigger ones. Anyone know wth I'm talking about?

I've turned down the treble on my integrated amp

If anybody has suggestions on positioning or what to upgrade first, I'd appreciate it!

The rest of my setup:
Denon PMA-300V integrate amp (from '85, 55 watts per channel)
Monster Cable XPHP ($10 online)
Sony PS2 for cds
Creative Zen, Sansa Clip for mp3s

Thanks!

[Titanium Dome]

Congratulations on some very nice speakers. There's not a lot of discussion of current JBL consumer products on this site, though a few members do own some of them or have experience with them.

I can suggest another site where the Studio L Series is a daily topic and several owners have posted extensively on them. You're likely to get more responses there.

PM me and I'll provide you with the forum link.

[Mr. Widget]

Congratulations on some very nice speakers. There's not a lot of discussion of current JBL consumer products on this site...

That's true.

Since you posted here, I assumed that an L890 was a JBL so I Googled "JBL L890" to see what you were talking about.

I can suggest another site where the Studio L Series is a daily topic and several owners have posted extensively on them. You're likely to get more responses there.

PM me and I'll provide you with the forum link.

Why not post it here so we can all learn?


Widget

[Mr. Widget]

Problems: very boomy base, mids recessed, highs are very bright

I remember reading somewhere of speakers that came with some type of insert for the bass port, to help tune the sound for smaller rooms and you could remove it for bigger ones. Anyone know wth I'm talking about?

Boomy bass can be cleaned up by speaker placement... recessed mids and bright highs may be a real problem. (Did you audition these before buying them?)

As for port plugs, you can cram foam in the ports to create what Dynaudio called a "Variovent" for a type of aperiodic loading. (The results are well dampened though not quite the same as an acoustic suspension design.) If you fully seal the port you will create a -6dB per octave roll off based on the system's "Q". (Hard to say what that would be without knowing quite a bit more about these speakers.) This will potentially give you deeper bass extension but far less apparent bass.


Widget

[ToneLoce]

thanks for the replys!

I think I'll try the foam in the port, just to see what happens. MrWidget, any particular type of foam in mind?

Also, as I mentioned my Denon integrated amp is over 20 years old. Any thoughts on the difference a new one, maybe a Marantz, would make?

Thanks

[Mr. Widget]

Unless you spend quite a bit of money or stumble upon a really good deal on some separates I wouldn't go amp hopping. Your older Denon is a fine piece.

As to the foam, I'd look for some medium density flexible urethane foam. You can probably find some gray packing foam someplace or you could use the white/yellow upholstery foam.


Widget

[rockerxx69]

I SOLD MY 890 S----IN THE END I QUIT THE TWEAKING WORKS--I HAD MY NEW X OVER COMPONTENTS--300 usd---REFUNDED---I AM A BIT SORRY ABOUT SELLING THEM---I LIKED THE HIGHS-THE USUAL EASY JBL SOUND --THE 4 WAY--BUT AS I HAVE TOLD IN ANOTHER THREAD--ONCE OPENED THEY WERE VERY DISAPPOINTING--NO BRACING AT ALL AND A SILLY X OVER--THE INTERNAL CABLING WAS RATHER CHEAP--VERY CHEAP INFACT---HAD THOSE SPEAKERS BEEN HEAVILY DAMPENED AND BRACED--HAD THEY A BETTER AND SIMPLIER X OVER WITH POLY CAPS NOT 20 CENTS ELECTROLYTICS-THEY COULD HAVE BEEN
A TRULY AUDIOPHILE ITEM. BUT IF YOU LISTENED TO SERIOUS CRITICAL MUSIC-PIANO SOLOS--CLASSICAL---EVEN ROCK AND ROLL--AT A CERTAIN LEVEL EVERYTHING LOST FOCUS-THE BAFFLES VIBRATED HEAVILY INDUCTING
MORE DISTORTION---A REAL MESS---A PITY--I HAVE BEEN BETRAYED TWICE FROM JBL --WILL THERE BE ANOTHER TIME!!!????? MAYBE JBL LEAVES THE SERIOUS WORKS TO THEIR PARENT COMPANY REVEL AND INFINITY--(???)

[Audiobeer]

I have a pair for Home theater mains and some 2 channel listening. They are great for HT, I'd go as far as say fantastic. For 2 channel I have to use an EQ to dial in the sound I'm looking for. I wouldn't count on anything at JBL other than the High end stuff or the Pro line. This is the Heritage site that sings the praise of the older lines but you won't see many folks singing the praises of the Modern Era entry level vinyl veneer Bull&s%$!