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JBL 4429 vs 4349

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cany89

cany89

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Why would you want an analog crossover in 2021?

IMO if you’re looking for an SPL boost and don’t want to buy the right electronics for 7-series install then 708P is the logical progression. They ain’t pretty though.

Well, I have invested too much to change my HiFi chain... First I got RME Adi-2. I really love my DAC and not opting to put anything before or after it. Then I got my power amp after trading almost 20 amps in 2 years! (been in an audiophile cult where you swap gears lol). It's dead quiet with Adi-2 + SPL power amp. So I'm only looking for opportunities to improve my setup around those. Like room acoustics, room EQ, better subs and subs integration, etc. If I were asking to buy from zero I would listen to you about BSS and Crown :)
 
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cany89

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708p x 2 is less than $4,000. 705p x 2 is about $2,000.
A Crown DCi 4|300N is one of the JBL recommended amps for both 705i and 708i, and would get you the factory crossover, dsp and amp power for a stereo pair, and sells for about $3,100. Might be hard to find one available right now, though, and the amp has a fan, so they recommend placing in a different room.
So, looks like the cheapest option is to either replace your 705i with 705p (cheaper than buying Crown at $3,100), or replacing 705i with 708p (about double the first option, but less than 708i x 2 plus Crown amp).
The subs you may want no matter what you do. I know I would.
You know you’re happy with the 705’s. I assume you’ve never heard the vintage JBL’s. They may be fabulous, but the element of uncertainty is higher, and you might not be able to return them if you’re disappointed.

Definitely not thinking of P versions. And unfortunately, prices are around %30 higher here bc of import tax. But yeah I'm totally up to replacing my 705i with 708i and have 2x better subs.

I heard them at the shop, the room was perfect so I was puzzled. I'll get my mic and make some measurements to see how it holds up :D
I'm 99% confident highs are better on 708 though. We will see.
 
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cany89

cany89

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The JBL 44xx horns were very innovative for their time and also the woofers last long, except the common and easy to repair surround issues.

They are different calibre than the 705/708, more to be compared with the JBL M2 which can be seen as their modern successor.

Hmm... :D
 

aac

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Why? Are you confusing 3 and 7? I’m pretty sensitive to hiss and 708P was fine from both AES and XLR in. Never heard/seen 705P.
Too much hiss. Both 8 and 5. Not a problem for me with 2.5 meters distance and a noisier room, but I can see it being a problem in quiter room.
 
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Tom C

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Old school looks, yes. But drivers and horn are the latest. I’ve been having trouble trying to stop thinking about them.
 

changer

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I don’t understand your problem. With either rephase or Equalizer APO, you should easily get very close to the transfer function with a computer as source. Changing slopes should not be a problem. This is close enough for a beginning, have you really listened to this speakers til now without filters? If you want to cut computer as source, a higher grade minidsp will get you close, too. This will sound good and if you want to get endure everything is right, you can still measure things. And big woofers look nice, but I’d prefer free estate every time over huge oldschool midfield monitors from decades ago if I had 705s.
 
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cany89

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I don’t understand your problem. With either rephase or Equalizer APO, you should easily get very close to the transfer function with a computer as source. Changing slopes should not be a problem. This is close enough for a beginning, have you really listened to this speakers til now without filters? If you want to cut computer as source, a higher grade minidsp will get you close, too. This will sound good and if you want to get endure everything is right, you can still measure things. And big woofers look nice, but I’d prefer free estate every time over huge oldschool midfield monitors from decades ago if I had 705s.
I don’t know enough to get the correct settings. Still got a lot to learn to do these properly.

To your point, yes I’m very happy with my speakers even without any filter. Just try to upgrade either by DSP etc. or changing the speakers, subs, etc.
 

aac

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Why not use a convolution? Or match filters to the convolution if you are against fir filtering for some reason.
 
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cany89

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Why not use a convolution? Or match filters to the convolution if you are against fir filtering for some reason.
Oh I’m not against anything. Just need to read how to do these over weekend and see how it goes.
 

shal

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As very happy owner of JBL 4430 , I understand you :)

Theses speakers are easy . So found amplifier is simple. Bryston or good old Yamaha studio amplifier is very good (I use Yamaha PC2002)
But modern amplifier should be Ok also.

I am curious of your feedback after "JBL 705i paired with dual 8-inch subs" what is your feeling on listening this big JBL ?
 

jhaider

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A Crown DCi 4|300N is one of the JBL recommended amps for both 705i and 708i, and would get you the factory crossover, dsp and amp power for a stereo pair, and sells for about $3,100. Might be hard to find one available right now, though, and the amp has a fan, so they recommend placing in a different room.

We use a few of these amps at home (squirreled away in a remote rack), and IMO the fan noise is intolerable for use in the same room. Perhaps with some very thick specialized studio cabinetry designed for use of annoyingly loud electronics in the same room, they will be OK. But in free air or in standard furniture - no way.

I recommend BSS BLU-50 plus whatever amps to use 7-series install at home, plus BLU-BOB if you want to add more than 2 subs or biamp the speakers - consider that @amirm's review of my BLU-BIB/BOB set had both A/D and D/A conversion BLU-BIB A/D -> BLU-BOB D/A so presumably BLU-BOB is better than that on its own. At any rate fine for subs. BLU-100/160/806 do it all in one box but have noisy fans.
 
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cany89

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As very happy owner of JBL 4430 , I understand you :)

Theses speakers are easy . So found amplifier is simple. Bryston or good old Yamaha studio amplifier is very good (I use Yamaha PC2002)
But modern amplifier should be Ok also.

I am curious of your feedback after "JBL 705i paired with dual 8-inch subs" what is your feeling on listening this big JBL ?
My first impression on 4435 vs 705 with subs is, 4435 is playing very effortless. But the detail of 705/8 horn was missing. It’s still miles better than usual harsh horn, but 40 years of development paid of for 705/8 compression driver for sure. The mids and bass was sure bigger and amazing in 4435. But there is a catch for both: obviously, I would expect more from 4435’s horn as it’s almost bigger than the whole 705. So the highs are comfortable in my listening level, but I’m not sure if 705 can keep up when you crank up the volume. On mid region, there is no denying you need 708 to keep up with 4435. There is no way 5.5 inch (as mighty as it is…) driver can get as loud as an 15 inch. On bass though, my 8 inch woofers are very crap. Got only 150 watt continuous, with not much peak power. They are punchy around 80-120 Hz. Just what you would expect from cheap 8 inch. I will upgrade to at least something like SVS PB-2000. They have 500 watt continuous, and good FR. Then I’m not sure if 4435 can still perform better than 2x active sub. Bc you need 2x amp to drive 4x 15 inch and 2x horn. I cannot say how 4435 would sound with monos yet, bc I don’t have the amp :)

But I’ll do some measurements of 4435 next week. And listen to some of my usual albums. I’ll post here.

On one hand I like to give away the complexity of integrating subs with 705 or 8 and just go with simpler setup where JBL does the job and put in a package - a big one though. On the other hand I still think both 705 and 8 are engineering marvels and will outperform most top speakers when combined with good subs (I wrote it before, 2x side + 1x very low sub). We will see :)
 

changer

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To your point, yes I’m very happy with my speakers even without any filter. Just try to upgrade either by DSP etc. or changing the speakers, subs, etc.

Just to get you right: You are running JBL 705i single-wire with your power amp without DSP correction? Not only this would be bewildering, but the fact that you invest time to compare this faulty speaker with another, old school monitor does not add up. Here is what you hear without DSP correction on your 705w, w is for wrong:

705w(rong).png
 
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cany89

cany89

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Just to get you right: You are running JBL 705i single-wire with your power amp without DSP correction? Not only this would be bewildering, but the fact that you invest time to compare this faulty speaker with another, old school monitor does not add up. Here is what you hear without DSP correction on your 705w, w is for wrong:

View attachment 163623
:/ this looks horrible.
 
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cany89

cany89

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@changer ok I’ll measure my in room response asap and see how it looks.
 
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