Hi
I am now officially intrigued. Frankly I never cared about JBL anything until that day in NYC which, I remind you,my biases quickly buried deep in my subconscious . I am on a search for a speaker-based system and this is getting more interesting by the day.
I checked out the price of the M2 package with the Crown ( warning NOT audiophile-rated ) amplifiers and it less than $20,000, complete 2 speakers, 2 amps... !! What gives? I sincerely would like to compare these in the same room with some audiophile speakers I like. I will set aside a budget to travel and listen to some horn-based systems both audiophile-approved and professional before pulling the trigger. I have the feeling that I will end up saving a substantial amount in this process. One of my first stop will be @Dallasjustice for sure...
Questions to those who know: Does the price include EQ in the package ? I suppose the amp have their own EQ features but what about the service? Who perform the EQ and how? If I were to go that route I will certainly use multiple subs as I am convinced it is the best way to obtain correct bass in most rooms thus would the EQ feature of the Crown amp needed. Can I use my favorite (audiophile-rated ) amplifiers in this case? One more question: I do find the rated sensitivyt quite modest 91 dB is nothing to write home about in my book? Was expecting more in that regard.
The EQ in the Crown package is the one inside of the amps so yes, that come with it. If you get the luxury version, you get amps without it and then a discrete EQ box (SDEC).Hi
I am now officially intrigued. Frankly I never cared about JBL anything until that day in NYC which, I remind you,my biases quickly buried deep in my subconscious . I am on a search for a speaker-based system and this is getting more interesting by the day.
I checked out the price of the M2 package with the Crown ( warning NOT audiophile-rated ) amplifiers and it less than $20,000, complete 2 speakers, 2 amps... !! What gives? I sincerely would like to compare these in the same room with some audiophile speakers I like. I will set aside a budget to travel and listen to some horn-based systems both audiophile-approved and professional before pulling the trigger. I have the feeling that I will end up saving a substantial amount in this process. One of my first stop will be @Dallasjustice for sure...
Questions to those who know: Does the price include EQ in the package ? I suppose the amp have their own EQ features but what about the service? Who perform the EQ and how? If I were to go that route I will certainly use multiple subs as I am convinced it is the best way to obtain correct bass in most rooms thus would the EQ feature of the Crown amp needed. Can I use my favorite (audiophile-rated ) amplifiers in this case? One more question: I do find the rated sensitivyt quite modest 91 dB is nothing to write home about in my book? Was expecting more in that regard.
Just installed the M2/Crown system in my living room. Had to upgrade the electrical circuit to true 20 amp to feed the Crowns, and had to remotely install the amps due to the fan noise. This effort was well worth it since the sound is sublime. Competitive with the most expensive Wilsons, Magicos, Rockports, MBLs, Focals, etc., in my opinion, and at a fraction of the cost. Just good science (Dr. Floyd Toole), years of experience (JBL), and deep pockets (Harman) geared toward industry professionals rather than wealthy audiophiles. Will keep using the Crowns since not sure the extra 30 to 40 thousand dollars for processor/Mark Levinson would result in significantly better sound.
Hi Ron. Good to hear from you. My impressions remain like my initial exposure: explosive dynamics and delicate highs. My high-dynamic range drum tracks play with insane fidelity. Yet the high-hats are that smooth Revel like sound. And I love the programmable sound. Makes it easy to dial out room resonances. It is really what would happen if you joined the best of JBL Pro and Revel line.
And this is in our reference theater that is pretty well treated. Most high-end speakers don't do well there. The M2s just don't care about that space. They produce superb sound regardless.
I hear a lot of expensive speakers at shows and such and while many sound different, this is the first time I hear a speaker advance what I consider to be great. It is not overdoing anything. Just bringing more performance in dynamic range while not losing excellent resolution.
Everytime I look at them I want to spend the money and upgrade my own theater's front Revel channels to them. I am of course full of bias here . But I hope see through that and realize that this is a speaker that has impressed me so much that I can't stop respecting what it does.
I should share that my anecdotal experience from the audio society was that a number of people didn't like it. Gary played a track and said the sax (?) didn't sound like a sax for example. It sounded like a sax to me . Others hated the notion of the horns anything. So perhaps I look for something else in speakers than others.
It is massive amount of work for us to retrofit the M2s into our theater but if all goes well, we will be doing it. It takes 6 people just to move the acoustically transparent speaker away from the front wall! And we have to take chainsaw to the structure in the front to cut an opening for them! But my designer and I are so blown over the performance of the speaker that we will likely perform the major surgery to make it happen. While we are at it, we will be using large array speakers for sides and surrounds (the sound drop off is less than traditional speakers making them ideal for side and surrounds).
In our case they are flush mounted in a false wall. In a room, from speaking to Harman, the more space behind them the better.Amir
How much space behind them do you need?
Hi Amir,
Have you heard, or what do you think about the new SCL 3's and 4's being used with the M2's?
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