JBL NOOB Question - surround speakers pairing for 4429?

[googleli]

Just got myself a pair of 4429s paired with my McIntosh MC602 - the sound is phenomenal. Maybe a bit less finesse than my previous Dynaudio C4s, but moving to a smaller room (around 20 sq.m.) as my main AV room, the JBL sound is very satisfying.

I previously read that people said even MC452 was not powerful enough to drive the 4429s to their full potential - well I guess MC602 is the answer (outside of monoblock amps) - not only does it have the extra 150W when compared with the MC452 - it also has the "old" McIntosh sound that seems to have a nice synergy with the "new" JBL sound. In this room size, the bass was more than enough, tight and deep (okay maybe not as deep as my previous C4) and much to my liking - I never felt it was out of control, so the extra 150W over the MC452 (total 600W per channel) provided by the MC602 may be at work here. To my surprise, woodwind instruments, trumpets and saxophones (even Louis Armstrong's ones) do not sound strident at all. Strident is the first thing I think of when I see the word "horn", but my friend asked me to tried it anyways - he was right. Not sure if it is the speaker's virtue or the old Mc's.

Anyway - my question. I am currently using 2 pairs of JBL Control X as ceiling speakers for Dolby Atmos / DTS:X, and the Array 880 is coming today as the center speaker. My surround and surround back speakers are Monitor Audio Silver Series, which I find to be quite weak now that I have switched to the 4429 as front. Those speakers matched my Dynaudio C4 quite well but they simply don't blend in with the JBL fronts.

Question 1: The McIntosh MC602 does not have a 6-ohm connection. Should I connect the 4429s to the 4ohm or 8ohm output?

Question 2: Would the 4312 series be a good match as surround speakers for the 4429s?

Question 3: Is there a good multichannel power amp that you would recommend to drive four 4312's and the Array 880?

Cheers,
Googleli

[Mctwins]

Originally Posted by googleli

Just got myself a pair of 4429s paired with my McIntosh MC602 - the sound is phenomenal. Maybe a bit less finesse than my previous Dynaudio C4s, but moving to a smaller room (around 20 sq.m.) as my main AV room, the JBL sound is very satisfying.

I previously read that people said even MC452 was not powerful enough to drive the 4429s to their full potential - well I guess MC602 is the answer (outside of monoblock amps) - not only does it have the extra 150W when compared with the MC452 - it also has the "old" McIntosh sound that seems to have a nice synergy with the "new" JBL sound. In this room size, the bass was more than enough, tight and deep (okay maybe not as deep as my previous C4) and much to my liking - I never felt it was out of control, so the extra 150W over the MC452 (total 600W per channel) provided by the MC602 may be at work here. To my surprise, woodwind instruments, trumpets and saxophones (even Louis Armstrong's ones) do not sound strident at all. Strident is the first thing I think of when I see the word "horn", but my friend asked me to tried it anyways - he was right. Not sure if it is the speaker's virtue or the old Mc's.

Anyway - my question. I am currently using 2 pairs of JBL Control X as ceiling speakers for Dolby Atmos / DTS:X, and the Array 880 is coming today as the center speaker. My surround and surround back speakers are Monitor Audio Silver Series, which I find to be quite weak now that I have switched to the 4429 as front. Those speakers matched my Dynaudio C4 quite well but they simply don't blend in with the JBL fronts.

Question 1: The McIntosh MC602 does not have a 6-ohm connection. Should I connect the 4429s to the 4ohm or 8ohm output?

Question 2: Would the 4312 series be a good match as surround speakers for the 4429s?

Question 3: Is there a good multichannel power amp that you would recommend to drive four 4312's and the Array 880?

Cheers,
Googleli

Hallo!

Gongrats on your 4429.

Question 1: 4 ohm tap. Read the manual of McIntosh MC602 and you will understand why.

Question 2: Yes, I think. I am not so into surround configuration setup myself. There are other surround speakers at JBL Synthesis menu to choose from.

Question 3: Crown DCi 4 to 8/300N or 4 to 8/600N. If you don't mind the fan noise. Don't have other options to give you.

The 4429 will open up and sound better as time goes by.

[Dsholl1]

I agree you will need a lot of time before the JBL settles in.

My K2S9900 took hundreds of hours before they sounded "whole". For months I wondered where all the bottom end was? They do have a beryllium super tweeter which can take a while.

I remember being really let down by their sound and then one day - their "balls dropped" and bam there it was.

I listened to mine with a mc452 and then the new mc152.

When we did a blind A/B in store no one could tell them apart.

I settled on the MC152.

My speakers don't dip below 7ohm and are very sensitive.

Before you shell out money for more "power" let them run in for a while.

[googleli]

Thanks folks! Can I still connect the speakers to the 8 ohm tab of the McIntosh? Apart from having to turn up the volume of my preamp, I find that the 4 ohm tab gives a more refined and tighter sound, with a bit more details, but the bass seems to be a tad shy. I prefer the dynamics and the depth of the 8 ohm tab - would I damage the amp or the speakers in the long run if I do it this way?

[Cohibaman]

Originally Posted by googleli

Thanks folks! Can I still connect the speakers to the 8 ohm tab of the McIntosh? Apart from having to turn up the volume of my preamp, I find that the 4 ohm tab gives a more refined and tighter sound, with a bit more details, but the bass seems to be a tad shy. I prefer the dynamics and the depth of the 8 ohm tab - would I damage the amp or the speakers in the long run if I do it this way?

You won't hurt the speakers or the amp with any of the tap selections. That's the beauty of the autoformer.

[Mctwins]

Hallo!

Cohibaman is right but the amp will run hotter if connecting at 8ohm tap.

The bass shy in your 4429 is due to it need some time to run.

On my Crown DCi 2/600N has load monitor where I can see in real time the load impedance and it is, depends how loud I play, is around 4 to 6 ohms.

Just connect it at 4 ohm tap on your MC602

[Mctwins]

When mine 4429 where new I did run it at moderate lavel the first couple of day's and then one day I played at very high volume, near clipping with my one singel MC252 for more than 8 hours continous. Now, it is broken in!!

And, the 4429 still sings