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

OP: To be clear, your speakers don’t exhibit what I'd normally call horn colorations.  While not perfect, the overall response in the horn region is pretty smooth compared to say an old-school Altec. The complaint ASR makes is that the two drivers don’t blend perfectly at the crossover.

Horn colorations are the peaks and dips in the usable range of the horn, not how they mesh with the other drivers.

Any speaker or combinations of them will have their own peaks & dips, it's own response to an input....it's 'voicing' can either be a 'love it' or eq it to 'make it sound OK' in ones' space....

...and the graphs will reflect hat.....not that the unit will sound 'better' or 'worse', it just shifts the perception to the listener v. the means of measuring of such.

I've messed about with various 'n sundry....and you can only 'tweak' so much before the basic 'characteristics' of a speaker in a very subtle fashion until it turns to muck....mho, of course....

@erik_squires, thanks, that makes sense.

Funny you mention Altecs -- I don’t have much experience with horn speakers other than some old Altec Lancings my friend runs with a pair of MC30s. The 4349s remind me of those speakers more than any others I’ve heard. My friend’s system was my first exposure to hifi beyond the Bose 301s and Sony Receiver I had at the time, so its sound is engrained in my memory.

@james633, yeah, I think I'll start a thread for the 4367s and 4349s -- I'd  be interested in reading about both models.

What's an example of a currently produced speaker in the 4349's price range (give or take) that has similar dynamics and sound quality but measure better? 

OP:  I dont' know about better, but I heard the Klipsch Heresy's with a Rogue integrated and really liked them.