Hey Guys,
My first post here. It looks like a great forum that thanks to Google, I stumbled on...
I’m an M2/Crown owner. First a little history of what I’ve owned and where I’ve come to this point in my audio travels. Martin Logans, Apogees, Wilson Audio WATTs, Infinity Betas, Linkwitz Orion and LX521s. Yes, my wife is very tolerant. I now own the M2s and a pair of Sub18s with a pair of Crown DCI|1250n amps. I’m a music lover and a lover of environmentally produced sounds like crowds, traffic (cars), trains, etc.
Let me say, I don’t know what post it was, but someone was spot on about setting these up without help. The M2s are not for the easily inhibited audiophile. The 4367s are a much safer choice for those not wanting to roll up their sleeves and get dirty or if you don’t have a place to hide the noisy fans based amps. Loading the files for the DSPs takes work to set up and nobody is there to hold your hand. I have since found wonderful guys at Crown to help with the software, files & DSP and guys at JBL to help with the speakers. This has made the learning curve much easier but it still takes work and ultimately you’re the judge of the sound because they aren’t coming to your home to help. You’ll need a PC and you’ll need to become familiar with Audio Architect software to load the files on the Crown amps. Interestingly, the M2 files are locked. So although you can find online the filters they used (and there is a lot of correction filters used), you can’t change them once loaded into the amp. They are locked. This is not so with the Sub18, but then there are nearly as many filters in these files. I can provide more detail on that if desired.
The M2 has 2 files: one for full range and one for use with the Sub18. For a year, I used the M2s full range and they are fantastic but the midrange on these is so intoxicating that I wanted more and so I set out to see if adding the Sub18 (and installing the other file on the amp) cleaned up the 15” woofer’s midrange. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t do it again as the improvement was very slight, but it is an improvement. Probably not a great cost/benefit tradeoff.
The imaging and dynamic capability (don’t confuse this with loudness) of these speakers makes the experience of listening to music, and remember my love for naturally occurring sounds, more live than any other system I’ve ever listened to. The dynamics of the blat of the horn or the rim shot of the drum, oh horns. Oh my god you’d think they are really in the room. Or, for real dynamics, the weight and power of a diesel locomotive at real levels. That potential power is expressed very well through this system. The capability to produce instant dynamics and return to near silence is astounding. I’ve had other systems that audiophiles would drool over, but they always fell short of recreating a live experience.
Anyway, it is a great to see a reasonably well controlled discussion on these speakers. I haven’t been able to find that elsewhere in the audiophile world. There are too many preconceived notions about JBL/Crown and I wish people would learn to trust their own ears.
I look forward to exploring more of this great forum!
Paul
