New vocabulary wanted

[pangea]

I'm thinking perhaps there should be a new word, for what it is, that many of us JBL fans are in to, using all that pro-stuff.

I mean, we have the PA crowd, the HiFi audiophiles and the HT buffs and I don't really feel quite comfortable with any of those tags.

It seems to me, the raw earth shattering power of a PA system, is rarely desirable, nor practical to put in a home, unless you've got plenty of room and don't give a rats *** about what any one else thinks.

The audiophile scene, seems to have been agreeing on a set of norms, far, far away from where I stand and which IMO still does not even come close to what we JBL fans are used to, even though, most of that audiophile crap, many times cost more than a Porsche, apart from being mediocre in some respect and not to forget,also coming with a lot of snake oil as well.

Then we have those HT folks, who build their sound-system around their TV, or projector, where it apparently is quite important to have a stack of subwoofers, capable of putting out plenty of SPL down to about 16Hz.

So, what is it I can and cannot have with the stuff I've got and could this be given a name that better describes what I'm into.

For instance, what is it, that a stack of subwoofers can give me, that a pair of 2235' could not give me, in a regular music room, playing at levels that won't upset the nabors too much, too often and if I mainly listen to music that already gives me all the punch I can take and already has got that explosive live feeling, from the snare drums and what ever?

So, whatshumacallit, that thing that we do?

BR
Roland

[pelly3s]

i dont know what i would like to be called, but i do know it takes a special person to get this crazy about audio. i go to other audio websites and none have the same feel as this one. I think the die hard JBL guys are a little nuts kind of like me I guess that comes with the territory. Also none of us are out to impress anyone with how much we spent, its all about making ourselves happy and doing research to help out others.

[louped garouv]

Also none of us are out to impress anyone with how much we spent, its all about making ourselves happy and doing research to help out others.

seems to be quite the opposite -- LHS members tend to applaud the 'deal' more than the unlimited budget... as well as the DIY effort.


***also noting that it is very true that high quality help does seem to flow from these pages -- heck even the manufacturer comes here for the library.

[Robh3606]

"I'm thinking perhaps there should be a new word, for what it is, that many of us JBL fans are in to, using all that pro-stuff."



So we don't fit the mold?? That's fine by me. I hear audiophile and I cringe but I guess I am one as are the rest of us. I think a retro-audiophile or just plain dinosaur is what I would use to describe me at least. Retro in the sense that I borrow a lot of Pro gear just like when the hobby started in the 50's. You have guy dragging home 604's and building cabinets and amp kits. You scale it as best you can and then go to town. I don't think we are all that different just more practical and committed to getting the sound we want. Not saying that a card caring audiophile isn't or shouldn't be committed just that we do things a bit different. Kind of reminds me of Paul Klipsh's famous quote "Ho Hum Another Break Through". We know what you need to get the basics done and are willing to do it. I want a fullrange speaker with an F3 of 30Hz with low distortion. What would Paul or Jim Lansing tell you??? Horns or 15's is the answer. You want great headroom and low distortion you use the best and largest drivers you can afford and live with. In many cases only Pro Drivers have an acceptable balance of high sensitivity and low distortion that are supported and readily available. The devils in the details with amp/preamp selection, EQ, CD player ect. but you simply can't change physics. I think many of these audiophile companies marketing is an attempt to do just that or say it doesn't matter cause of our new supper xyz widget. They ignore what you really need to do the job and then put it in a pretty "ground breaking" package. The whole system is important but if you don't have the actual working end right, meaning the speakers, your off on the wrong foot. I am sorry but some Mapingo disks are not going to turn a system around, good speakers will as will any other practical change up front that makes sense.



Flame suite on



Rob

[pelly3s]

seems to be quite the opposite -- LHS members tend to applaud the 'deal' more than the unlimited budget... as well as the DIY effort.


***also noting that it is very true that high quality help does seem to flow from these pages -- heck even the manufacturer comes here for the library.

maybe i worded that wrong. i meant none of us go out and brag that we spent $20,000 on our system. we all hunt for the best deals and salvage what we can from everything ever made. granted we have all spent more than we would care to discuss. Another thing I noticed is that we tend to always think there is room for improvement where other people on different sites feel they have the best stuff.

[Mr. Widget]

"...or say it doesn't matter cause of our new supper xyz widget"

Don't use that word in a disparaging way...

I'd say I have an interest in all of the camps that Roland spelled out. I hate the snake oil, but love some of the best audiophile stuff... I don't care for soggy booming Circuit City bass, but I do like quality HT, I certainly appreciate the best examples of quality pro audio, both at the studio level and in PA applications, and my primary passion is for over the top high quality 2 channel music reproduction in a residential environment.


Widget

[JuniorJBL]

Well said!!

"...or say it doesn't matter cause of our new supper xyz widget"

Don't use that word in a disparaging way...

I'd say I have an interest in all of the camps that Roland spelled out. I hate the snake oil, but love some of the best audiophile stuff... I don't care for soggy booming Circuit City bass, but I do like quality HT, I certainly appreciate the best examples of quality pro audio, both at the studio level and in PA applications, and my primary passion is for over the top high quality 2 channel music reproduction in a residential environment.


Widget

[pangea]

I agree with what you all are saying and yes I think we are a different kind of breed.

Those out there that are not in to the JBL thing, always seem to have something negative to say about JBL for one reason or another and I always find myself in the defending corner. Not that I have any problem in that respect, but still, I always have to clear a few things out, once in a while.
Most of them, haven't even heard a working system, with the parts they are bitching about.

And yes of course, there a few audiophile items, I wouldn't mind having, if I didn't have to pay what they're asking. So, I'm happy to have found substitutes that cost me a fraction and are still sounding just as good.

Don't get me wrong, If I had a very large music room, I would probably also have a few big PA subs lined up just for fun.
But I don't think I will ever go back to the multi channel amps like the HK AVR5000 I had before. I simply don't think they sound good enough, also the reliability wasn't the best either.

But all that, wasn't what I was fishing at.
I thought perhaps we could find a common word for using all that pro-stuff that look like "regular" loudspeakers but are capable of doing much more than most HiFi/HiEnd speakers will ever do.
I mean perhaps its time to create a new word, or invent a new league for this stuff we're using that is capable of delivering all that lively presence, dynamic punch and all those explosive transients.
As I said, it isn't PA, since we use it at home, it isn't HiFi, because it's much more than that and it isn't HT, because most of us use only two channels.
So what is it?

What the hell, perhaps we don't even need a new word to describe what it is I'm driving at. It should simply be enough to say that we're JBL'in, plain and simple.

BR
Roland

[edgewound]

How's this for a term? "Great Sound". If there was ever a way to reproduce what the recording engineer's intended, then the way to do that is use the same tools they do. There's only a handful of companies that make these tools that the studios use. In the movie theaters in the US, the majority is JBL...Edwards, Regal, AMC. Why not use the same at home? Great sound is great sound....period....and not everyone will agree. All of our ears hear differently based on what they've been subjected to.

[Zilch]

In the classic sense, what we do is "Monitors."

And it distinguishes us from those others.

[At least, that's what I TRY to do.... ]

[Tom Loizeaux]

How about "Pro/Home Audio"? That would make us Pro/Home Audio fans!
We like JBL Pro products in our home systems...that puts us in a differant group then most other audiophiles.

Tom

["Duke" Spinner]

GearHed ...??

[speakerdave]

The thing we do that is distinct is that we want both the power AND the refinement. There's already a name for it--the Lansing Heritage, represented best by JBL, but it also includes Western Electric, Altec Lansing, Stephens and TAD. There are others, too, but JBL has been doing it the most for the longest.

David

[analogbass]

-Gearheads nails it IMO; also, i don't think JBL guys value nuance the same way some audiophile and studio guys do.
Other possibilities:
-Vintage/Retro/Classic/Amercian gear enthusiasts
-Recording forum
-DIY
-Obsessives, esp. the many here absorbed with tech data far more than with music..

[P.Warner]

In the alchemy of folk-etymology it is most important simply to be understood by others. I looked over some 1950's sales literature and groped about for key words. There are many.
running with the "Pro/Home" idea I suggest Profidelity.