JBL Olmpus speaker system

I have a homebuilt "Olympus" size cabinet using the 375 with potato masher, 075, LE15A, and PR15 passive radiator. I love the 375 and would highly recommend it. You must remember horn systems are ruthlessly revealing and will reflect any upstream imperfections. I have never found the sound hard, although, some amps or tubes have produced a fatiguing glare. This disappears if you match the system properly. I have no glare using system matched 6B4G push pull triodes, 845 and 300B amps. While tubes as small as 45 will run these speakers (I had), personnally I recommend slightly more power for better and more controlled bass. On the 075, I prefer the sound of this tweeter with the crossover on the lowest high frequency gain setting. The thing about this system and other horns I have had, they really shine if you crank up the volume.

For the room, I have an L shaped basement. The speakers are in the vertical part of the "L" which is about 12 x 20. I have the speakers about 3 feet out from the wall and about 3 feet from one of the side walls. The speakers are about 6 feet apart, image great and have good depth. People say horns are not supposed to image. But you wouldnt believe them if you heard this. Try putting the speakers at different toe in -- I found this can dramatically impact the sound. I also have the potato masher horn/lens. I prefer this combo to the lens plate arrangement. I listen to all types of music and think they are not music specific. Classical sounds excellent. The setting for my 075 depends on the amp and music. Sometimes, I think the high end is too much but most of the time not. I have never heard the 85 driver. Another issue is the woofer surrounds. Do you have the original surrounds? They get stiff after time. Mine had them and while they were good, I replaced the LE15s with a refoamed set. It made a huge difference in bass response, but more importantly, the sound was better balanced. This could be one of the reasons for imbalance. Are you anywhere near the chicago area? If so, you are welcome to come and listen. Send me an email through Audiogon with your email address and I will email you a picture of the setup.