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JBL 4367 shoutiness remedies?

Hello all, I am a first time post-er, so pardon me if I am clumsy with this venue. 
I live in a small town on an island in SE Alaska, and do not have immediate access to anywhere locally that sells hifi equipment besides Walmart. So after reading complimentary reviews, I ordered from USA Tube Audio a pair of JBL 4367 speakers, ..a two way design  with a woofer and a horn. I have about 20 hours on the speakers, driving them with a Primare I35 Integrated Amplifier and a perceived higher end Primare CD player., and for an alternate music source, I use Music Choice from my cable box. I also have a 10 band graphic EQ to tailor the  sound to my liking. The issue I bought when I paid for the speakers is a  loudly blaring shoutiness in the range of frequencies of the human voice. It can be loud and overpowering even with EQ attenuating the frequencies between 500 and 4khz. I called the dealer who I bought them from for advice..he told me the amp and cd player are junk, ($6000 junk) and the only way to fix the shoutiness was to buy tube equipment.  On some recordings, the speakers sound wonderful, but on some, it makes me question whether or not they're worth keeping. The room in the apt I have them in is about 15x18 with low ceilings. Does anyone have any practical suggestions or ideas on how to remedy or at least partially correct this issue? Thank you for reading.
deckhand
larry5729's avatar
larry5729
1,009 posts
 
You are at a disadvantage living where you live.  It is important to audition speakers before you purchase them.  You will not believe the sound difference.  Your ears will tell you what you like.  I would imagine this group might have some more suggestions for you to pursue.  It is unfortunate you didn't reach out to this group before you purchased them because they could have helped you purchased the right matching gear.

I think we have all made some mistakes at the beginning so don't beat yourself up.  You are a beginner and I know you will enjoy the audiophile journey.  I don't know as much as the group and it is always interesting to read the discussions.
audiokinesis
2,753 posts
 
Deckhand, you might try listening from fairly far off-axis, like 20-25 degrees. I suggest moving the speakers a bit further apart than normal and toeing them in severely, like 45 degrees and maybe even more, such that their axes criss-cross well in front of the listening position. This will reduce the relative loudness of the horns in the first-arrival sound, increase the sweet spot width, and may increase the sense of immersion in the acoustic space of the recording.

The unusually well-behaved off-axis response of the 4367’s big horn makes this cross-firing configuration feasible. Its pattern width is just right, and I'm pretty sure it’s a constant-directivity horn (or darn close thereto) in which case the off-axis response is very similar to the on-axis response, but not as loud.

Duke
horn speaker designer
audiorusty
287 posts
 
Listen to Duke, he knows what he is talking about.

Also, don't overlook room acoustics as others have said, they make a far larger impact on your sound than you might think.

Here is a company that I believe Duke has recommended in the past that may be able to get you started down the right acoustical path.

http://www.hdacoustics.net

As others have also said, there is unfortunately a huge variation in the quality of recordings, but a well tuned room along with your eq. should help mitigate that to some extent
mr_gray
62 posts
 
1st things first - beautiful speaker - good choice!

2nd - 20 hours is nothing.  these speakers are notoriously difficult to loosen up.  500 hours of use before they settle down for ever.  Some have said they don't even sound that great til they've worn in a bit.  20 hours is effectively brand new so don't judge them yet.

3rd - I have a SPEC Class D amp running JBLs (4344) (highs only).  Beautiful.  So don't listen to people including your dealer re: that.  I haven't heard Primare Amp but I doubt that is the issue.

4th - people mentioned acoustics.  listen to those people.

good luck with it!
trudat
60 posts
 
You own one of the smoother horn speakers out there.   You have a 10 band EQ.  You have good electronics.

You many simply not like horns.

You can piss away money on a power conditioner, but that isn't going to do anything.

You can do SOME room treatments, but horns do take some of the room out of it as they are more directional.  Maybe consider some absorption panels behind you, or at the 2nd reflection point actually.

But... you may just not like horns.  
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