Pure Audio Project open baffle speakers

To the OP, I reviewed both the PAP Trio15 line (Tang Band, Voxativ, and Horn1), as well as the Tri-Art Audio Series B 5 Open for Dagogo.com 

Every OB speaker has its own design and build characteristics. "Better" is quite subjective. I can set up either of these quite different designs in systems that are captivating. You should familiarize yourself with the primary drivers available and try to gain understanding about how they would sound generally, apart from particular brand, i.e. horn, full range, concentric, etc. 

For your more sizable space I would look at the Quintet rather than the Trio. Due to the arc of the front baffle I wouldn't be concerned about the speaker's top being 1' from ceiling. The horn is exquisitely refined and when set up optimally is stunning in resolution and center image focus. My understanding is that the field coil driver is much better, but I haven't laid hands on it. 

Imo, it's not advantageous to lower the mid-bass as you will make the speaker sound smaller.  Try working with different resistors,  caps (I put in Mundorf oil filled for a beautiful i.provement) and the wiring. All of these are efficacious.  If you have lower end electronics you should not expect extravagance. Also, if speaker is sitting on floor, use some baffle tilt to change relative position of drivers to ear,  as this is a good way to adjust perception of balance of drivers. See my review at Dagogo.com 

dhl93449, I am aware of the crossover’s parameters not changing, and I have no interest in debating my recommendations. I have used all the recommendations I mentioned, and I think you are shortchanging your experience regardless if you do not try them. I don’t recommend insipid and ineffectual changes.

You have a very fine amp, yet there is no way to determine whether sonically it is an excellent match with the PAP-Horn1 aside from comparison to other amps. The speaker will change sound fundamentally, despite the crossover not being changed, also in the region you discuss, from the simple insertion of a different amp. I have used many amps on the PAP-Horn1, and this is a fundamental way of altering the speaker’s performance, simply by change of amp.

Again, I know that the crossover will not change, but for instance, an amp that causes the speaker to emphasize more the top end, most often by having shallower or "lighter" bass, may cause the speaker to sound more balanced to you, as the perception is that there is relatively less emphasis on the mid-bass. I also make such changes with other speakers, such as the Vapor Audio Joule White. You may agree or disagree, but that is simply another point I offer.

I also regularly adjust the holistic sound of speakers by swapping interconnects and speaker cables, as well as power cords. While these do not change the crossover, they change the speaker’s holistic sound, and the perception of an emphasis in one part of the spectrum can be addressed pretty well, though not always perfectly. If you disagree, then we’ll simply accept that the other is at odds and have to let that go.

Based on your reply, I suspect you believe that the only worthwhile solution would be to manipulate the crossover, and if so, then I strongly recommend you consider the PAP-C1 Active Crossover for the speakers. I reviewed it for Dagogo.com, and the bonus for you - as you are familiar with crossovers and filters, is that the PAP-C1 allows for adjustment of both level and filter slope for each driver. This, I suspect, would be a game changer for you and allow you to contour the drivers precisely as you wish. Take a look at the Low and High Pass filter curves on the website. I would put a link to it here, but the moderators seem to restrict my use of links because I am a reviewer. It’s easy enough to find at the website. Obviously, then, as a dummy board is used in place of the crossover, the recommendation of replacing caps or resisters would not be in play, but the "internal" wiring and speaker’s baffle slope would still be worthwhile changes. BTW, with the active X-over and four channels of amps the speaker had a very nice bump in dynamics. 

Now, if you don’t like any of these suggestions, you’re on your own! :)

dhl93449, you know precisely what you are after. You are right about this, "The C1 and the Leonides are night and day different in how they XO the drivers," as I have heard the difference and it is significant. 

Maybe discuss with Pass Labs whether an XLR version of the PAP C1 could be made for you. The other possibility is to get a digital x-over and do your own slopes. One industry member who does similar with his speakers is Chris VenHaus of VH Audio. He would be able to tell you what software he uses to build filters.   

Anyway, if you contact Chris, please respect his time, as he is quite busy with VH Audio. But, I'm sure he would be able to point you in a direction in terms of establishing a digital X-over.  

dhl93449, congratulations on advancing your system! It's obvious you had a goal and know how to achieve it. This supports once again the conclusion that an active x-over holds the potential to outperform a passive. The addition of two more amps completely changes the game with any speaker; properly, you have done upgrade to speaker and to amplification. The power delivery and crossovers have changed, and that is a radical upgrade to a system - as is evidenced by your obvious pleasure with the result.  

Just because the results are fantastic doesn't mean it can't get better. Why not try the horn to get it to the same, and perhaps higher level of sound quality? If you have the driver available, I strongly suggest you do. Try all permutations. If it were me, I would work to achieve the absolute best with both, then have the option of swapping them out for variety. Especially since you have put in a fair bit more money in buying two additional JC1's, I would want as much result/performance as possible.