Metregon modification

[roads31]

Hello all-
A question to throw out to the community; any chance of success to combine a 2226J woofer with an LE85 and 075 in a Metregon?

I've had the Metregon for some years now, it currently has 2226j woofers with LE85 compression drivers and rebuilt LX5 crossovers. I've never loved the sound and always felt it could sound better and do acknowledge it will never sound "modern". I have a pair of 075's and the ability to build whatever crossover needed. I'm pretty sure the LE85 is the wrong driver to attempt this with but with plenty of quarantine time on my hands I thought I'd ask the question.

Thanks,
Gary

[roads31]

After some more digging I did find that JBL was used the LE15A/LE85/075 combo before with the LX5 and N8000 crossovers in the EN5 enclosure. The question then becomes about the 2226j and the Metregon enclosure which was chimed in on by Mr. Widget when I posed the 2226j question in 2012.

"The Metregon isn't a particularly sophisticated design. By that I mean the networks are very basic and should work with a variety of JBL woofers. That said, you'll likely find the 2226 is too sensitive and puts out too much midbass and midrange energy."

After having installed the 2226j woofers, I tend to somewhat agree with that.

[Mr. Widget]

I have never actually seen or heard a JBL Metregon, but one of the better driver compliments that it was offered with was with a pair of LE15As and LE85s with the bent horns. Not sure where the 075s go, but they can't hurt. It sounds like you are most of the way there.

Now that said, while I like the LE85, I do not think it should be run below about 800Hz. I am not a fan of the 2226 as a home music reproducer, though many seem fond of them... I think there is much room to tweak your system, or maybe add a DSP and work on it that way.


Widget

[roads31]

Widget-

I had refoamed LE15A's and actually preferred the 2226j after I did a test swap, for the Metregon. At that time I also had a pair of L200's and did the same thing, the LE15's prevailed.
Of all the JBL 2-way systems I've had I always felt there was room for improvement, the midrange always pleasing but missing subtleties in the high end.
Time to learn more about crossovers and play around with what I have and build what I don't.
Thanks

[Mr. Widget]

Are you in love with the look of the Metregon? I’m confident that if your goal is superlative audio performance the design of the Metregon with its required bent mid horns and bass cabinet design, you’ll never achieve performance equaling that of many other designs.

So, if the aesthetic design of this speaker is a driver, I would add DSP at a minimum and going tri-amped with DSP will allow you the ability to get the most from this speaker.


Widget

[bedrock602]

So, if the aesthetic design of this speaker is a driver, I would add DSP at a minimum and going tri-amped with DSP will allow you the ability to get the most from this speaker.


Widget

My apologies for my ignorance, but what is a "DSP" and how is it used?

[roads31]

Are you in love with the look of the Metregon? I’m confident that if your goal is superlative audio performance the design of the Metregon with its required bent mid horns and bass cabinet design, you’ll never achieve performance equaling that of many other designs.

So, if the aesthetic design of this speaker is a driver, I would add DSP at a minimum and going tri-amped with DSP will allow you the ability to get the most from this speaker.


Widget

Ok, hate is a little harsh. I do love the aesthetics of the Metregon which I lovingly refer to as a manatee at times, impressively large but not too elegant (at most things).
In my last post about it I was seeking opinions about solving problems by our previous house, large vaulted ceilings, windows and cement slab foundation. At the time I played with an ADC SS-525 X sound shaper EQ which I had on hand which improved the low end but sucked the life out of the midrange. I've never used any "smarter" processing units but I would guess they might be thrown into a tailspin when analyzing the effects of the front refractor panel when assessing the system. I fear doing to much to where I lose where the Metregon shines, vintage jazz.
I appreciate the input. I'll likely play around with components I currently have and experiment with crossovers.