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JBL vs. Klipsch!!


tommyboy

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I was telling a co-worker about my new rw10 at work today, when another co-worker over heard the conversation. He immidiately stated that his JBL system would destroy my Klipsch. I told him to think twice, but he was pretty confident. I only have synergy's (SF1's, a SC2 center, and ss1's as rears, with a RW10) I have never even seen his setup, but he works at BB part time, (which started this whole "battle") so I figure he at least has a little sumthin sumthin. I convinced him to come to my house after work, and "have a listen". We started w/ ht. I popped in Van helsing first. He was pretty amazed at the sound of the synergy's. I had it at decent volume levels, when he stated that his strongest speaker was only 200W peak. So I got a little caucky, and cranked it up, real loud. Then we moved to music. He immediately wanted to hear the RW 10 pound. I gave a little sample, and he was again amazed. Long story short, he admitted "defeat" in both HT and music. He said that his JBL's seriously lack mids. good bass and high's, but no mids. He said that the synergy's sound totally different at the store than in an actual ht setup. We're only talking synergy's here people, and they strongly stood their ground against JBL!!!

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I'd be very curious as to what reactions this post, or if reversed, would bring on the JBL Forum.

Since I have only worked with the Pro JBLs or Altecs, I would not be the best person to post it except for 30 + years of owning Klipsch.

If someone would let me know, I'd be interested.

dodger

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On 2/1/2005 6:58:49 AM tommyboy wrote:

I'll talk to him today, and see what he is running. I knowhe has towers and a 12 inch sub. I'll get ya the details!

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If his JBL's "lacked mid response" then I can guarantee you he's running Northridge. The Studio series stuff BB used to sell never had a problem pounding out the midrange - my S38's are living proof.

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hey, whats JBL pro stuff like compared to Klipsch pro, EV pro, and other pro speakers. today there was a live concert at my school(Navy Jazz Band-VERY VERY VERY impressive group) and they were using all jbl speakers. they had two monitors and two subs on each side. so there were 8 speakers total. the speakers sounded so tight and clean.

not sure if i should ask here but i ll anyway, can live sound be less loud than it seems. the tech guy said the peaks were 103 db on the c rateing on the spl meter(i think its c. its the setting that tells you what the human ear is actually hearing.) i could hardly talk to the person next to me. he showed me where the meter was placed- right center between the two sets of speakers(back about 40-50 feet away). the speakers werent even tappered really. i think the spl sitting in front of the speakers was actually quite louder than in the middle. sorry, dont mean to hijack the post.

scp53

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On 2/1/2005 5:11:53 PM Scp53 wrote:

hey, whats JBL pro stuff like compared to Klipsch pro, EV pro, and other pro speakers. today there was a live concert at my school(Navy Jazz Band-VERY VERY VERY impressive group) and they were using all jbl speakers. they had two monitors and two subs on each side. so there were 8 speakers total. the speakers sounded so tight and clean.

not sure if i should ask here but i ll anyway, can live sound be less loud than it seems. the tech guy said the peaks were 103 db on the c rateing on the spl meter(i think its c. its the setting that tells you what the human ear is actually hearing.) i could hardly talk to the person next to me. he showed me where the meter was placed- right center between the two sets of speakers(back about 40-50 feet away). the speakers werent even tappered really. i think the spl sitting in front of the speakers was actually quite louder than in the middle. sorry, dont mean to hijack the post.

scp53

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There can be a perception of less loud due to the width ot soundstage or if the P.A. is doing the brunt of the work, while the musicians use smaller amps. I f you stand behind the P.A., the SPL will be a little lower, especially if the drums have the surrounds to minmize leaking. That said, the SPL will be higher the closer to the speakers, similar to the level in a home, walk away, level goes down.

Sound will dissipate the longer the distance away. You also have all reflective surfaces, clothing the people are wearing, number of people. Then you figure the "throw of the spakers - how far away does it still stay the same.

So, without know the wattage, efficiency, height of speakers, a quick guess would be that if you were within 10 feet of the speakers, you were catching about 110 db + or - 3 db easily.

Just try elevating your volume levels on your home system, stand in the middle about 12' away, then slowly move toward your speaker and stand on a plane even with the centers and see the difference.

If there is disagreement on this point shall we start a spearate thread.

dodger

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I got the scoop for ya. I went to his house today, and had my "listening session". First and foremost, I must admit I was surprised how good it sounded. He made it sound like his sounded like crap compared to Klipsch. But it didn't. I agreed with him that he was missing out on mids both w/ ht & music. But his setup is...

E60 mains

EC35 center

E150p sub

E10 surrounds

A 6.1 Pioneer receiver (not sure which model, but not Elite.

p.s.

to all you jbl owners out there, let me say that they put out a hell of a product!!! Just not quite Klipch!! j/k

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I got the scoop for ya. I went to his house today, and had my "listening session". First and foremost, I must admit I was surprised how good it sounded. He made it sound like his sounded like crap compared to Klipsch. But it didn't. I agreed with him that he was missing out on mids both w/ ht & music. But his setup is...

E60 mains

EC35 center

E150p sub

E10 surrounds

A 6.1 Pioneer receiver (not sure which model, but not Elite.

p.s.

to all you jbl owners out there, let me say that they put out a hell of a product!!! Just not quite Klipch!! j/k

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I was at BB today and they had the JBLs and Klipsch's right next to each other. I compared just the Towers and I think the SF-3 sounded the best, but the E80 and E60 sounded pretty competitive to the S-2 and S-1. They didn't have a new S-3. or an E90 or E100 from JBL. The only thing I didn't like of the JBL line was the rear surround compared to the Klipschs, The JBL rear surround looks like it's supposed to be a rear surround, but their other little bookshelf I think the E20 sounds much better for around the same price. My brother has owned JBLs and I loved them and was ready to get some, until I heard Klipsch's and found out it's history and now I'm hooked on buying only Klipsch.

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Dodger, all i have to say is the bass was hitting me in the chest. pretty much the whole time. i dont think soundstage does that. however i can understand why a large sound stage may be preceived as loudness. hey, i actually learned something today.

i think his(tech person) reading was slightly off because it was not directly in front of the speakers. it was more to the side. maybe the meter wasnt calibrated. but it probably was. heck all the equipment was top notch why wouldnt the meter be. i forgot to ask what brand the meter was.

and can anyone tell me what jbl pro is like compared to klipsch pro, ev pro and other pro speaker brands. are jbl better for the money? worse?? the speakers these guys were using cost 1500 per pa cab(asked the tech person). so theres 4 and that be 6g's in speakers plus the subs. there must be a lot of markup

scp53

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Well, for one, pro sound does not have the awful markup like home audio gear.

The parts that are used (in the good stuff) are horendously expensive (woofers can be $3-400, tweeters the same, or more) and (again, good stuff) they are usually built well (they get bashed around), use good X-overs, etc. 4" throat horns full of expensive metals and precise engineering and construction are going to cost WAY more than the $5 tweeters in many (good) mainstrean speakers.

Expensive to build, more limited quantity, so you pay for it.

JBL has cheap stuff that is OK for wedding DJ's, and expensive stuff that is OK for world tours.

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On 2/1/2005 8:26:54 PM tommyboy wrote:

I got the scoop for ya. I went to his house today, and had my "listening session". First and foremost, I must admit I was surprised how good it sounded. He made it sound like his sounded like crap compared to Klipsch. But it didn't. I agreed with him that he was missing out on mids both w/ ht & music. But his setup is...

E60 mains

EC35 center

E150p sub

E10 surrounds

A 6.1 Pioneer receiver (not sure which model, but not Elite.

p.s.

to all you jbl owners out there, let me say that they put out a hell of a product!!! Just not quite Klipch!! j/k

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That list is all Northridge - the bottom of JBL's barrel, made just for Best Buy. I'm not surprised your Synergy system destroyed it.

When I worked at BB, we had JBL S-series vs. Klipsch Synergy, and it was a lot tighter race. I'd put my S38's against any bookshelf Klipsch had to offer, including the Heresies, with confidence. Only thing the Heresies would have on them is efficiency - the S38's are 93dB efficient, where the Heresies are up around 98dB. Soundwise, the 38's are much better balanced and less "throaty" (fuller midrange) than the Heresies.

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