Never thought I would hear the day (slightly ot)

**martyh45** · May 14th, 2009, 06:17 PM

I had some bad things to say about JBL cinema speaks and digital amps a few years ago. So I thought it only fair to say that the latest and greatest is unbelievably good. We just finished a new house addition to an existing theatre building. The screen is 70 foot wide so it is a big house by modern standards. Mains are JBL cinema array, they have 4 ea. 6-1/2? mids in wave guides, double 15 bottoms and a single horn tweeter. The subs are JBL pro dual 18s in a vented box and the amps are crown I-tech. The latest trend is toward fewer surrounds for less comb filtering but I didn?t bother getting details on them.

Anyway, this stuff sounds great. The amps have 24/96 digital front ends with a great interface and piles of flexibility, variable Q parametric eq?s, built in crossovers, delay etc. I got to hear music while the system was set flat and it was awesome, watched a few action scenes from the new star trek after the x curve was set and it blew me away. Hands down the best I have ever heard period.

I went a few days later to watch star trek at another theatre (early 90s dolby with EV speaks and QSC amps) It was like watching an entirely different film and it sucked to sit through it being disappointed the whole time.

Digital has arrived?finally. In 50 years when the home stuff is this good I might even buy me one of those new fangled CD players.

**analog addict** · May 14th, 2009, 06:34 PM

I have to admit, I saw the Star Trek movie in an IMAX theater, and I really enjoyed it also. The sound system is quite acceptable there....

**Panomaniac** · May 14th, 2009, 06:40 PM

Cool report - thanks!

He-he, digital amps. I love 'em. I even have a few eval DDX eval boards that take only digital in, no analog. They are quite marvelous. And no background noise - none. They also have EQ or x-overs right on the chip (bi-quad filters) if you choose to used them. It is, indeed, the wave of the future.

**LICORNE** · May 14th, 2009, 08:56 PM

Here is an opinion on screen array 3 way JBL.

Steve Gutagg sound contractor taken from FT forum.

Quote:

Ok...here is an indirect opinion....
A good 2-way beats a middle of the road 3-way...at least all I've heard, without exception. If you want a JBL 3-way, think 5000 series. If they seem too pricey, then stick with the JBL 4675...it is a VERY tough speaker to beat. I have had good results with the 3632 (Screen Array) but I'd take a 4675 over it unless the room was too reverberent. Horn loading down to 350Hz helps with control.

**martyh45** · May 15th, 2009, 08:04 AM

Originally Posted by Panomaniac

Cool report - thanks!

He-he, digital amps. I love 'em. I even have a few eval DDX eval boards that take only digital in, no analog. They are quite marvelous. And no background noise - none. They also have EQ or x-overs right on the chip (bi-quad filters) if you choose to used them. It is, indeed, the wave of the future.

Cool, one of these days I?m going to try a behringer dcx 2496 at home. I have read that the analog stages are less than stellar but pretty easy to fix.

**martyh45** · May 15th, 2009, 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by LICORNE

Here is an opinion on screen array 3 way JBL.

Steve Gutagg sound contractor taken from FT forum.

Quote:

Ok...here is an indirect opinion....
A good 2-way beats a middle of the road 3-way...at least all I've heard, without exception. If you want a JBL 3-way, think 5000 series. If they seem too pricey, then stick with the JBL 4675...it is a VERY tough speaker to beat. I have had good results with the 3632 (Screen Array) but I'd take a 4675 over it unless the room was too reverberent. Horn loading down to 350Hz helps with control.

Well I?m a luddite who listens to vinyl and has a house full of antiquated equipment so anything I say should be taken with a large grain of salt.

**Panomaniac** · May 15th, 2009, 09:19 AM

Originally Posted by martyh45

Cool, one of these days I’m going to try a behringer dcx 2496 at home. I have read that the analog stages are less than stellar but pretty easy to fix.

The analog sections ain't pretty. But they are not hard to replace. I use transformers for the outputs - my favorite - but better active circuits work well, too. Same goes for the DEQ2496.

**martyh45** · May 15th, 2009, 10:47 AM

Originally Posted by Panomaniac

The analog sections ain't pretty. But they are not hard to replace. I use transformers for the outputs - my favorite - but better active circuits work well, too. Same goes for the DEQ2496.

I will probably end up doing the same thing if I ever get one. I?ve been hoarding transformers for years and have a few that might do nicely.

**drummerwill** · May 15th, 2009, 03:30 PM

A Behringer DEQ 2496 is what I use on my A5 system and the same for my 604's in MLTL boxes.

The A5's benefit the most from the DEQ in my basement it gives them a more refined sound. Sometimes I even disconnect the supertweeter and run them 2-way.

For the 604-8K's I like the same EQ setting on the Behringer for a deep funk sound, like Party Time !! Other times I just turn off the Behringer and just let the 604's work on it.

Needles to say I really like my Behringer DEQ 2496.
I now don't use any preamp other than my phono pre, everything goes into the Behringer and out to my amps ( all DIY ) and Altec's.

I did buy another Behringer to use on my second system and keep as a spare.

Have Fun!
Willie

**whitebroncoii** · May 15th, 2009, 06:09 PM

Originally Posted by martyh45

I had some bad things to say about JBL cinema speaks and digital amps a few years ago. So I thought it only fair to say that the latest and greatest is unbelievably good. We just finished a new house addition to an existing theatre building. The screen is 70 foot wide so it is a big house by modern standards. Mains are JBL cinema array, they have 4 ea. 6-1/2? mids in wave guides, double 15 bottoms and a single horn tweeter. The subs are JBL pro dual 18s in a vented box and the amps are crown I-tech. The latest trend is toward fewer surrounds for less comb filtering but I didn?t bother getting details on them.

Anyway, this stuff sounds great. The amps have 24/96 digital front ends with a great interface and piles of flexibility, variable Q parametric eq?s, built in crossovers, delay etc. I got to hear music while the system was set flat and it was awesome, watched a few action scenes from the new star trek after the x curve was set and it blew me away. Hands down the best I have ever heard period.

I went a few days later to watch star trek at another theatre (early 90s dolby with EV speaks and QSC amps) It was like watching an entirely different film and it sucked to sit through it being disappointed the whole time.

Digital has arrived?finally. In 50 years when the home stuff is this good I might even buy me one of those new fangled CD players.

I have been working with professional digital sound products since they started appearing on the market. For this review you are probably giving way too much credit to the digital processors. I visited with a theater operator a few years ago. He had one THX screen and one non-THX screen. He told me he had to spend most of a day making various adjustments before each new movie could be opened to the public. I find myself doing the same thing for most of the DVDs that I view at home.

IMHO the differences you heard was probably "set-up". I find that most screens in my area are harsh and brittle to my ears. This is a classic JBL large-format HF driver sound (4" voice-coil). The new 3" JBL drivers are much better. I just do not know if the 3" driver is in the new cinema systems.