NAD C370, JBL S312+S38, plain boring at parties
Damir Colak
my system goes like this:
AMP: NAD C370 (120W rms)
CD: NAD C541i
Speakers: pair of JBL S312II and a pair JBL S38II
To make a party you need plenty of bass. To get sufficient "thump" out
of S312's I have to turn up the volume so much that the highs start
cutting ears and even then the bass does not really hit as it should,
considering that I'm pushing two 12" (S312) drivers helped by two 8"
from S38.
Bass control on NAD does not help much, what I need is a loudness
control.
I do like how NAD represents music on S312, nice sound stage,
everything sounds linear etc, really fun to listen to (not so much fun
on S38's where everyting is so "exactly as recorded on CD" that it
gets boring with 90% of my CD collection).
Never the less I do have to fix the lack of loudness on NAD's amp.
Could an equalizer (preamp?) help? Can it "emulate" a loudness
control?
Regards,
Damir Colak
DGMarceau
Make sure all of your speakers are in phase. Double check all speaker
connections. its easier than most people think to reverse wires
accidentally.
Damir Colak
> > To make a party you need plenty of bass. To get sufficient "thump" out
> > of S312's I have to turn up the volume so much that the highs start
> > cutting ears and even then the bass does not really hit as it should,
> > considering that I'm pushing two 12" (S312) drivers helped by two 8"
> > from S38.
> >
> > Bass control on NAD does not help much, what I need is a loudness
> > control.
>
> connections. its easier than most people think to reverse wires
> accidentally.
I double checked the connections, they're fine. To be sure I
intentionally reversed the wires, immediately there was that "I don't
know where it is coming from" sound.
So, I'm really surprised, it's like as if something is holding back
the bass output of JBL S312's. It exists within 30-50 cms of the
speakers but if you move one step further from the speakers the bass
virtually disappears, no thump, just a constipated, weak bass. The
cones are moving and moving but the air is not being pushed more than
10 cms from the drivers.
Really strange, I've heard much cheaper speakers with better bass
output. Of course I did move the speakers all around the room but with
little results.
I'm now off to buy Yamaha EQ-70, I hope that S312's will at last start
pumping some bass with it's +12db augmentation.
Regards,
Damir Colak
Protovack
Get a sub?
tony
you will start getting the bass you want or add a powered sub woofer.
I went from a carver amp with 375watts per side clean power which
drove my speakers great to a yamaha amp reciever with only 80 watts
per side and it doesn't have the same punch. My carver amp got stolen
and i am not happy. If you have a good amp you don't need loudness
controls and you can keep treble and bass at flat level. If you got
money try a bryston amp or carver with your speakers.
Damir Colak
> Maybe I am missing something...but.
>
> Get a sub?
Hm, well, it did cross my mind, but I could never understand, how
could one 12" driver push more air than two 12" drivers when the
drivers are the same?
I used to have 2 15" drivers (passive woofers) as a part of a four way
system that were driven with vintage Pioneer SA 98000 amp (100W RMS,
19kg) - and they did provide more than enough bass.
So I went with the same logic, I bought two 12" passive drivers as a
part of 3 way system and pumped them with 120W (per channel) RMS NAD
C370 but the effect was missing ;-)
Anyway, maybe a subwoofer might help... I'm thinking of JBL S120P II
sub (400W RMS, the same 12" driver I have in S312's).
There is also another thought, NAD C370 can be converted to mono block
of 300W RMS, so, 300W per channel could do the trick also. All I need
is another NAD C370 :-))
Thanks for your thoughts.
Regards,
Damir Colak
Neil
> prot...@yahoo.com (Protovack) wrote in message news:<1eb9bf0e.03043...@posting.google.com>...
> > Maybe I am missing something...but.
> >
> > Get a sub?
>
> Hm, well, it did cross my mind, but I could never understand, how
> could one 12" driver push more air than two 12" drivers when the
> drivers are the same?
In a subwoofer (especially a powered subwoofer), everything is
designed to produce bass and only bass. In a full-range loudspeaker,
the woofer usually has to cover a wider and higher range of audio
sounds, including some of the midrange. A subwoofer is a very
specialized device, so it can be more successful at its task and fill
in bass that a full-range speaker may not be able to provide.
Also, a powered sub will have its own amp, crossover, and volume
control, all of which can be adjusted, and the sub can be placed
anywhere in the room where it sounds the best. For these reasons, a
sub can put out a lot more bass to supplement the bass produced by
your full-range speakers.
> I used to have 2 15" drivers (passive woofers) as a part of a four way
> system that were driven with vintage Pioneer SA 98000 amp (100W RMS,
> 19kg) - and they did provide more than enough bass.
Could be due to different room acoustics and/or loudspeaker design, or
just different recordings.
> So I went with the same logic, I bought two 12" passive drivers as a
> part of 3 way system and pumped them with 120W (per channel) RMS NAD
> C370 but the effect was missing ;-)
I think maybe your real problem is that you've bought NAD and JBL gear
that's designed to produce accurate and musical sound, while what you
really want is a big, bassy, booming sound, like what you'd hear in a
nightclub, where you can feel the bass physically through your body.
So it might make more sense to sell the NAD and JBL gear and get a
DJ-style system with a really big amp and PA speakers. A pro sound
dealer should have what you need. Pro sound gear can cost less than
home gear, so you might not be hurt financially either.
> Anyway, maybe a subwoofer might help... I'm thinking of JBL S120P II
> sub (400W RMS, the same 12" driver I have in S312's).
Given the sort of sound I think you really want, I suggest that if you
buy a sub, you get return privileges, in case the sub doesn't produce
the sound you want.
> There is also another thought, NAD C370 can be converted to mono block
> of 300W RMS, so, 300W per channel could do the trick also. All I need
> is another NAD C370 :-))
I think what maybe you need is a pro sound system that will produce
the sort of big, nightclub sound that you may want.
Also, are you powering both pairs of JBL speakers simultaneously from
your NAD C370? Is the C370 a stereo amp? Is it really designed to
simultaneously power two pairs of speakers?
That could be part of the problem. Try using only the larger pair of
JBL speakers. That might produce more bass than if you try to power
two pairs simultaneously.
Also, you've checked all your speaker wiring to make sure everything's
in phase, right?
Another issue is the room's acoustics. Depending on the size and
design of the room, and the placement of the speakers, it may be
difficult to produce much bass in your room.
Yet another thing to consider is that if you enjoy really loud sound
at home, you may have already done damage to your hearing, which is
irreversible and permanent. You could ask your physician for advice on
getting your hearing tested. Loud music and continued exposure to it
may mean you now can't hear the sort of sound you want.