Purchase Advice - JBL Studio S36II Speaker Pair

[wildjim]

I am planning to purchase JBL Studio S36II Speaker Pair(249.00).

Does anyone here use them or have any advice before I make this purchase.

Thank You,

Jim

[JohnG]

I've only heard good things about those JBL's. There very popular for Home Theater systems and are considered very acurate speakers.

Enjoy them!

[wildjim]

I've decided not to purchase the JBL S36II $249 pair as the S26II are recommended by many within the news groups.

I've listened to the JBL S26II $200 pair - Klipsch SB-1 $249 pair and none of them have full natural sound reproduction to my ears.

Also Sony makes a extended frequency response speaker for SACD MBH300 $90 pair which sounds ok but the bass seems somewhat unnatural or too far in the background.

The sound seems to become better with the Klipsh Reference Floor Standing Speakers. But with that comes much greater expense $849 pair

Please help as I am very open to new opinions concerning inexpensive book shelve size speakers.

Thank You,

[mcow1]

I'd consider B&W there's the DM600 starting at 350 list for a pair but figure about 20% off in a good store, up to the DM602 600 list but again 20% off.
B&W bookshelves (http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=products.speakertyp es&bracket=Low&keyword=Bookshelf&Submit=Continue)

[wildjim]

I have listened to the B&W 602.5($598) and they are my favorite this day.

Does anyone here own B&W 602.5 speakers and what do you think of them.

[mcow1]

I've only heard the 602's and will probably buy some. I did just buy a pair of the 604s and love 'em.

[Ian]

It's really hard to go wrong with the Paradigm Atoms



Especially at $190 a pair

[GoldenBoy]

No offense to anyone here who owns them and/or loves them, but I have a great disdain for JBL speakers. I used to use them as studio monitors, but none of them ever sounded 'right' to me. They always seemed a bit too boxy, boosted in the mids and harsh in the highs. I would recommend a pair of Tannoy, either a pair of Reveal or a pair of Mercury MX1-M. I have and use both and can attest to their flat, clean, natural sound and surprisingly wide range. I think the Reveal can be had for around US$350 -$399 a pair and the Mercury MX1-M for ± US$270 a pair.

[mcow1]

It may be a dumb question but what is the difference between a passive monitor and a speaker?

[mcow1]

Originally posted by mcow1
It may be a dumb question but what is the difference between a passive monitor and a speaker?
Anyone?

[wildjim]

Well the bedroom speaker search is over as I purchased the Sony SS-MB300H($90 pair)(BestBuy) - yes there are compromises - but they sound way above average for the price and the B&W 602s are lacking a lot for the price. Note money wasn't the issue as much as price/performance, value, I could have easily afforded the B&W 602s. I hope this may help others when searching for speakers. I am always open to suggestion and not easily offened; so fire away.

I listened to the B&W 602($550 pair) and 602.5($598 pair) and it's not all there, too many compromises in this price range. Listening to the B&W 802($8000) or 801($11000) it's all there and natural.

Someone asked about Passive speaker/port; the passive spk/port does not have active electronics and reacts to cabient/sound vibrations, it's resonate at some predetermined frequency and projects that frequency or sound. It can have a great effect if tuned, designed properly.

[GoldenBoy]

Originally posted by mcow1

Anyone?

I'm not sure I understand your question. When you refer to 'passive monitor' what exactly are you referring to?

I'll try to answer your question anyhow. Let's take the example of studio monitors, and to be more precise, Near Field Monitors or NFMs. There are what are called 'active' NFMs and 'passive' NFMs, commonly referred to simply as NFMs (or monitors or whatever). 'Active' monitors contain their own built-in amplifiers, therefore they are self-contained and do not require an external power amplifier, but can simply be connected directly to a pre-amp, let's say. This is the same concept as a 'powered' sub-woofer. 'Passive' monitors do not contain an amplifier, therefore they require an external power amplifier to be powered, or 'driven'. Besides the presence or absence of a built-in power amplifier, they are both theoretically the same and can both be referred to as 'speakers'.

I think the term 'speaker' itself can be applied to just about anything that is used to project sound, whether it contains drivers or some other means of reproducing and projecting sound waves. If I'm not mistaken, a driver itself can be referred to as a 'speaker'. I hope that helped.

[mcow1]

Thanks GoldenBoy,
That pretty much answers my question. I asked because I was looking up the Tannoy Reveals and they kept being advertised as passive monitors not speakers.

[GoldenBoy]

Originally posted by mcow1
Thanks GoldenBoy,
That pretty much answers my question. I asked because I was looking up the Tannoy Reveals and they kept being advertised as passive monitors not speakers.

I see. Actually, there are two different Reveals an active and a passive. The active ones are red and the passive ones are aqua blue or something like that. I've never heard the active ones myself, but I have heard it said that although they are still nice that the sound of the passive ones is better.

[wildjim]

The Tannoy speakers seem impressive as they have been in business for 70 years; but I haven't noticed any local shops in Maryland that have them on display.

Perhaps they are better known to the professional world.

I will make an effort to find them and listen as I wouldn't buy speakers without listening first.

[mcow1]

Originally posted by wildjim
The Tannoy speakers seem impressive as they have been in business for 70 years; but I haven't noticed any local shops in Maryland that have them on display.

Perhaps they are better known to the professional world.

I will make an effort to find them and listen as I wouldn't buy speakers without listening first.
Do you have Sam Ash music stores back there? They have the Reveals

[wildjim]

Originally posted by mcow1

Do you have Sam Ash music stores back there? They have the Reveals


There are no SAMASH stores here; but there is Guitar Center and maybe one Mars Music remains. It seems that Tannoy is marketed in Musical Instrument type stores rather than Highend Audio stores in this area. I've purchased many guitars from these stores yet never thought of buying home audio speakers there.

[GoldenBoy]

Originally posted by wildjim



There are no SAMASH stores here; but there is Guitar Center and maybe one Mars Music remains. It seems that Tannoy is marketed in Musical Instrument type stores rather than Highend Audio stores in this area. I've purchased many guitars from these stores yet never thought of buying home audio speakers there.

Either of those stores should have a full range of Tannoy professional speakers, not just the Reveals. Unfortunately, Tannoy consumer products are very difficult to track down in consumer/audiophile stores in the US (North America?). If you ge the chance to go to one of those stores, I would suggest you give a listen to the Tannoy System 6 or System 8, the ones with the dual-concentric drivers, in addition to the Reveals. They sound really nice too.

[GoldenBoy]

O, one other thing, I could tell you where to go online to get information on as well as purchase just about the full range of Tannoy consumer and professional speakers, but of course you'd still have to find a physical location to audition them. Let me know if you're interested.