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3-4 dB dip at crossover region: what should I listen for to hear it?

I haven’t posted here for about 10 years but thought I’d jump back in to ask about my new JBL 4349s. According to measurements on ASR and even JBLs own graphs, the 4349s have a 3-4 dB dip in the crossover region at about the 1.5 kHz mark. What should I listen for to hear this? I understand that music in this range will be quieter, but I’m not hearing any suckout compared to my Omegas or other speakers Ive had in my system. I’ve played some clarinet and violin concertos, two instruments that spend a lot of time in this frequency range, but I can’t hear an obvious difference. Am I listening for the wrong thing? I’d like to be able to hear this deficiency for leaning purposes if nothing else, so any pointers are appreciated.

 

Many thanks!

rischa

Showing 2 responses by jheppe815

jheppe815
59 posts
 

@rischa - I bought my JBL 4349’s two years ago. I read extensively about these speakers before I bought them as you are probably doing.

I’d recommend simply to just listen to them and put away all the reviews, graphs, etc. I very much enjoy my 4349’s. Yeah, probably not an "audiophile" grade speaker in many people’s minds (a good friend has asked me why I have a pro audio "PA in my living room"), but I’ve had two years of really enjoyable listening. They will play at whisper quiet levels with much detail yet play at very high volumes that can be great fun. I too wondered about the dip in response that was noted in reviews, but that has not been noticeable by me or others that have heard the system in detail.

 

 

jheppe815
59 posts
 

@rischa - I remember distinctly how good the 4349's sounded right out of the box.  However, the high frequency compression driver did smooth out in short order as the drivers broke in.  I didn't have a very long break in period where the cabinets sounded vastly different, though I put quite a few hours on right away.  I run JBL 2269H 18" drivers as subs, so low frequency extension or break in isn't something I could comment on.

As I work for an AV company, my business partner came to audition the system as well and we used a calibrated mic and software to see what was going on in the room.  Both of us were very aware of the various graphs that have been published showing that 1.5k dip and we wondered if we could hear that.  There is a slight (and very slight) downward curve in the 1800 to 2200 hertz area on the graphs as we measured the room / system, but of the various people that have heard the system (all of them musicians and all of them with very good systems better than mine), no one has stated "hey, what's with the dull / flat vocals" or anything like that.  I'm certainly not grabbing for my 1k or 2.5k eq knobs on my preamp and boosting those frequencies.  I find these cabinets very enjoyable and have no want to get rid of these for something else.

I have a second system with reasonable components and as I go back and forth between systems, I don't find the 4349's severely lacking in any way.

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