Floor standing Speakers - not using all speakers

aindriu80

hi,

i have 2 JBL L890 4-Way, High Performance 8-inch Dual Floorstanding Loudspeaker and a NAD stereo. The sound has always been good but it seems as though the bottom two speakers in the unit are never used when putting your ear right close to them. Is it a problem of the receiver ?

Slaphead07

aindriu80 wrote: »

hi,

i have 2 JBL L890 4-Way, High Performance 8-inch Dual Floorstanding Loudspeaker and a NAD stereo. The sound has always been good but it seems as though the bottom two speakers in the unit are never used when putting your ear right close to them. Is it a problem of the receiver ?

I think those speakers are bi-wirable so.... on the speaker connections you'll see two lefts and two rights..... If brass jumpers were not supplied then use a few inches of decent speaker cable to connect the left to the left and right to the right. Be neat with this fix as stray strands of cable can cause the speakers to short out. No biggie but best avoided.

Hope that works...

to explain.... speaker manufacturers have been selling bi-wirable speakers for years but largely it's just marketing. Unless you're using two separate dedicated amps to drive high and low frequencies in parallel it's pointless. By connecting the "" and "-" inputs you ensure even signal to both paths.

I found a pic.... as you see the brass "jumpers" are in place here... you you don't have them use speaker cable as described.

Luck100

Slaphead07 is right. You've been just listening to the tweeters, no bass drivers. Should sound quite a bit better when you have the bottom connectors wired in.

aindriu80

Yes, I only have the top wired in. I somehow over looked it. I'm just using kinda old copper wire but it makes a big difference thanks.

I only have one of those brass jumpers, the other must have fell off some how.

I have a large sub woofer but there is a big difference with the speakers not connected.

Slaphead07

aindriu80 wrote: »

I only have one of those brass jumpers, the other must have fell off some how.

I have a large sub woofer but there is a big difference with the speakers not connected.

You should have 4 jumpers, 2 for each speaker. You shouldn't need a sub at all really, especially not for music.
BTW if the bass is now too much (too wooly) try a small coin under each floor spike. Assuming you're using the floor spikes. It will tighten up the bass significantly.

aindriu80

I only have 2 jumpers on one speaker. I must try and get 2.

I probably don't need a sub but I got a JBL ES150PBK/230 Subwoofer. I like it. It doesn't have the floor spikes.

Slaphead07

aindriu80 wrote: »

It doesn't have the floor spikes.

Ah I see from pics there have their own 'feet'. I'd still try and tighten up the bass a bit. A lot of the energy can go into the floor and get very boomy. Small marble chopping boards (cheap in Tesco) underneath them would be a worthwhile tweak. Check the size first.

aindriu80

Slaphead07 wrote: »

Ah I see from pics there have their own 'feet'. I'd still try and tighten up the bass a bit. A lot of the energy can go into the floor and get very boomy. Small marble chopping boards (cheap in Tesco) underneath them would be a worthwhile tweak. Check the size first.

Cool. I will chase it up. Are those brass jumpers hard to get ?

Slaphead07

aindriu80 wrote: »

Are those brass jumpers hard to get ?

It might be hard to get the exact ones but, as I say, a few inches of decent speaker cable or even mains cable (copper) will do the job. Just loosen off the connectors, pop the wire in and tighten up. Job done.

If you want a proper job done I suppose you could simply buy pre made jumpers such as

http://www.ebay.ie/sch/TV-Home-Audio-Accessories-/14961/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=jumper+cables&rt=nc

aindriu80

Slaphead07 wrote: »

It might be hard to get the exact ones but, as I say, a few inches of decent speaker cable or even mains cable (copper) will do the job. Just loosen off the connectors, pop the wire in and tighten up. Job done.

If you want a proper job done I suppose you could simply buy pre made jumpers such as

http://www.ebay.ie/sch/TV-Home-Audio-Accessories-/14961/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=jumper+cables&rt=nc

They look expensive but if copper wire does the same job I will stick with that. Base is a bit off even if I turn it down. Its great for some music and shows but other times its like an echo (but with base).

Slaphead07

aindriu80 wrote: »

Its great for some music and shows but other times its like an echo (but with base).

That's what I mean by "wooly" - not clearly defined. Try moving them around a little, out of corners etc. Try adjusting the sub and its position. Are they on wooden floors? That can cause boominess as the floor acts like a resonator (think guitar body)

aindriu80

Slaphead07 wrote: »

That's what I mean by "wooly" - not clearly defined. Try moving them around a little, out of corners etc. Try adjusting the sub and its position. Are they on wooden floors? That can cause boominess as the floor acts like a resonator (think guitar body)

Yes its on a wooden floor. I guess I could put something under the legs.

Slaphead07

aindriu80 wrote: »

Yes its on a wooden floor. I guess I could put something under the legs.

see my comment about Tesco marble chopping boards above. Check they're big enough first.

ZENER

Surprised you haven't mentioned the 8 cent upgrade Slaphead

Ken

Slaphead07

ZENER wrote: »

Surprised you haven't mentioned the 8 cent upgrade Slaphead

Ken

I would have but his speakers have feet not spikes.:P

aindriu80

I have some problems with the sub woofer. Sometimes its all very wooo wooo where the noise coming out of it is not really what I am seeing on screen. Other times I get the setting right (two dials on the back) but then the sub often cuts out completely (to save power) and I feel that some of the sound could go through the sub even though it hasn't turned itself back on .

I'm not sure if the Tesco marble chopping boards are big enough. The sub is quite big.

Slaphead07

aindriu80 wrote: »

I'm not sure if the Tesco marble chopping boards are big enough. The sub is quite big.

I was suggesting those for the speakers. maybe floor tile for the sub? But first maybe have a look at the manual again?

aindriu80

Slaphead07 wrote: »

I was suggesting those for the speakers. maybe floor tile for the sub? But first maybe have a look at the manual again?

The floor standing speakers are ok. With Sky the volume is quite low but with Digital T.V its quite loud. Other than that no problem with base sounds.

Maybe a floor tile might be a good option. The manual doesn't say much about putting something underneath the sub but there is stuff about setting phase control where the sub copies the speakers in sync or out of sync.

I put the cross over down to 50hz so the sub will specialise in only the lower tones coming from the HiFi. Problem is so many people on T.V speak in quite low tones that they sound terrible when I'm watching it and I have to do something with the wooo wooo effect.

Luck100

you really shouldn't be hearing anything out of the sub with voices. Your crossover is set at 50hz, and an operatic bass singer can only go down to 65hz. So definitely shouldn't be anything from the sub with normal voices.

aindriu80

It takes a while to see if the settings made a difference but I think having the crossover down at 50hz might have done it.

ZENER

There may also be a PHASE switch which will make a significant difference. In the wrong position it will create a "hole" in the sound around the crossover frequency. May also be called POLARITY.



Ken

aindriu80

Would that be phase ? you can select either 0 or 180. It seems to create sound opposite to the floor standing speakers (or out of sync). I think it is designed for those in mind who want to put the sub at the opposite side of the room to the floor standing speakers.