How many JBL owners?

[Dave_72]

Originally Posted by smooth dancer

Well, it's not Tuesday yet, but I have come to an conclusion about the Mc 452. Remember, this is in my room and on my setup. 452 was turned on late Wednesday and have been running continously day and night since then. I couldn't hear any change in SQ from the amp since it was turned on.

Mc 452 is well balanced from bottom to top and the sound is warm without any "edginess".
In fact it's too warm for my taste. I feel there is a thin curtain in the soundstage that put a blur over the sound. This again leads to a kind of absence of microdetails, not total absence, but enough to let some of the 'magic' in the music suffer. First I couldn't put my finger on this, but after a shootout against my ATI amps it was easy to hear the difference. Don't get me wrong, Mc452 is a good amp I'm sure many will like very much. It never get analytical and sharp. Listening fatigue is never a theme here.

I consider to try out Mc 1.2 kw, but wonder if it't a point if the sound signature from Mc 452 is familiar. It's very important for me to have a clear and dynamic sound, but not over analytic and sharp so it leads to listening fatigue.

If someone is so lucky to own a pair of 1.2kw's and are willing to share some useable info about these beauty beast, I would be grateful.

Best
"The dancer"

Cool. Thanks for the review, and good luck on your amp search!

[smooth dancer]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

The MC1.2KW's may just be your cup of tea!

I was afraid you would say exactly that. Afraid for the health of my wallet.

I better try out Mc 1.2kw. If not, I will never stop think about how they will perform in my setup.

[smooth dancer]

Originally Posted by Dave_72

Cool. Thanks for the review, and good luck on your amp search!

Well, I'm in no hurry. Those I have now is very good. But when the blue meters has caught my attention, it's not easy to let them out of mind.

[Dave_72]

Originally Posted by smooth dancer

Well, I'm in no hurry. Those I have now is very good. But when the blue meters has caught my attention, it's not easy to let them out of mind.

I see, and I agree; never be in a hurry with this stuff. You can get burned real fast and be out a lot of money. Oh yes, those meters are very seductive...

[Dsholl1]

Originally Posted by smooth dancer

Well, it's not Tuesday yet, but I have come to an conclusion about the Mc 452. Remember, this is in my room and on my setup. 452 was turned on late Wednesday and have been running continously day and night since then. I couldn't hear any change in SQ from the amp since it was turned on.

Mc 452 is well balanced from bottom to top and the sound is warm without any "edginess".
In fact it's too warm for my taste. I feel there is a thin curtain in the soundstage that put a blur over the sound. This again leads to a kind of absence of microdetails, not total absence, but enough to let some of the 'magic' in the music suffer. First I couldn't put my finger on this, but after a shootout against my ATI amps it was easy to hear the difference. Don't get me wrong, Mc452 is a good amp I'm sure many will like very much. It never get analytical and sharp. Listening fatigue is never a theme here.

I consider to try out Mc 1.2 kw, but wonder if it't a point if the sound signature from Mc 452 is familiar. It's very important for me to have a clear and dynamic sound, but not over analytic and sharp so it leads to listening fatigue.

If someone is so lucky to own a pair of 1.2kw's and are willing to share some useable info about these beauty beast, I would be grateful.

Best
"The dancer"

How many hours has the Mc452 had in overall playing time (excluding your use)?

I have heard they need 200hrs before you get a true sense of their sound.

I heard the 4365 powered by a MC302 and it sounded great. My K2S9900 were being played thru the 302 as well and sounded fantastic.

I really liked the 4365 and nearly bought them. They just soundede a bit slow and boxy compared to the K2. I think the alnico magnet in the 15inch driver of the K2 was a major factor. The recovery speed and stop start of the K2 is like nothing I have ever experienced from a loudspeaker.

[smooth dancer]

My dealer told me that the amp has been around for demo for some months, so I am pretty sure it's fullly broken in. I was not able to hear any change in SQ after the amp reached it's operating temperature.

A comment to your description of 4365; yes, it's no problem to let them sound slow and boxy. Just put one undersized amp on them, and they will sound exactly as you describe them. K2 is a fantastic speaker. Fast and has good resolution and punch. It doesnt go so low in the bass as 4365, but for most of the music I think it's low enough.

K2 was on my shortlist, but since the 4365 costs less than half and is sharing the same midrange drivers, and that I have a dedicated music rom, was the choice easy for me.
If I had to have those in our living rom, my wife would not accepted anything else than the K2's.

I struggled for a long time until I realized that the 4365's was not been given the power they really needed to show what they could do. Amps with a lot of power often seems to be underestimated. The first amps I tried out was Mc 275 x2. These amps was very musical engaging, and I enjoyed playing with them for a long time.

One day I decided to try out transistor monoblocks (400 watt). Jeezz...I was completely put out of the way the bass came to life with enough power.

Next now is to get the big boys 1.2kw in house and see if audio nirvana is coming closer.

[Dave_72]

Originally Posted by smooth dancer

My dealer told me that the amp has been around for demo for some months, so I am pretty sure it's fullly broken in. I was not able to hear any change in SQ after the amp reached it's operating temperature.

A comment to your description of 4365; yes, it's no problem to let them sound slow and boxy. Just put one undersized amp on them, and they will sound exactly as you describe them. K2 is a fantastic speaker. Fast and has good resolution and punch. It doesnt go so low in the bass as 4365, but for most of the music I think it's low enough.

K2 was on my shortlist, but since the 4365 costs less than half and is sharing the same midrange drivers, and that I have a dedicated music rom, was the choice easy for me.
If I had to have those in our living rom, my wife would not accepted anything else than the K2's.

I struggled for a long time until I realized that the 4365's was not been given the power they really needed to show what they could do. Amps with a lot of power often seems to be underestimated. The first amps I tried out was Mc 275 x2. These amps was very musical engaging, and I enjoyed playing with them for a long time.

One day I decided to try out transistor monoblocks (400 watt). Jeezz...I was completely put out of the way the bass came to life with enough power.

Next now is to get the big boys 1.2kw in house and see if audio nirvana is coming closer.

What's interesting about these JBLs (4365, K2, 1400 Array etc.) is why such efficient speakers thrive on huge power. You would think you wouldn't need more than 100 Wpc, really. Anyway, I don't have the answer to this question, do you? Anyone else?

Personally, I'm looking into Class A solid state amps. Imo, they sound better. However, they are lower powered overall. They put out a lot of heat, draw a lot of power from the wall, and blah blah blah.

[smooth dancer]

If you want to play at realistic levels on my speakers rated 93db. Lets say 115db. You will need 1200 watt minimum ( In my listening rom). I don't play so loud, only for short time demo's when I want to show what JBL really can do. The punch and drive in the middle bass, it's almost only jbl which manages to do. You don't drive your Porche 150 mph daily, but you know you can if you want to. Maybe Pass xa 200.5 class A is capable for the job ?

[Dave_72]

Originally Posted by smooth dancer

If you want to play at realistic levels on my speakers rated 93db. Lets say 115db. You will need 1200 watt minimum ( In my listening rom). I don't play so loud, only for short time demo's when I want to show what JBL really can do. The punch and drive in the middle bass, it's almost only jbl which manages to do. You don't drive your Porche 150 mph daily, but you know you can if you want to. Maybe Pass xa 200.5 class A is capable for the job ?

Oh, I see. I don't play that loud either. No more than 90db. Yeah, maybe. I have my sights set on the Accuphase Class A A-70 amp. Here's the catalog.

http://accuphase.com/cat/a-70_e.pdf

It is conservatively rated at 60 Wpc into 8 Ohms. The real output is double that. Also, the damping factor is 800. I was shocked to see that on a Class A amp.

At the 2015 CES, it drove a pair of power hungry Magicos very well as far as I could tell.

Pricewise, the Pass Lass XA200.5 is $7000 more than the Accuphase here in the US if we're talking about retail price.

[tom1120s]

Originally Posted by Dave_72

What's interesting about these JBLs (4365, K2, 1400 Array etc.) is why such efficient speakers thrive on huge power. You would think you wouldn't need more than 100 Wpc, really. Anyway, I don't have the answer to this question, do you? Anyone else?

I am unsure if this quote from a reviewer of Marantz MA9-S2 mono-blocks provides the total answer, but I think it is something along these lines:


While developing the MA-9S2, Marantz looked at the internals of modern speakers and realized that the large magnetic circuits along with sophisticated crossover networks can, at times, present large back EMF conditions as well as introduce complex reactive loads that the output of power amplifiers have to handle. These conditions place exceptionally large transient current capability demands on the power amplifier. In consideration of these conditions, the MA9-S2 is capable of supplying more than150 Amps of Peak Current in short but adequate bursts, from a power supply that features a choke input and a double-shielded, low noise toroidal transformer.