Please critique my plans for a HT with Jordan JX92S

[noob for now]

First of all, let me say this forum is a wealth of information contributed by many knowledgable people. Thank you for your insight.

I am planning a system for 50% HT and 50% music in an average sized room (big apartment). This is my first DIY and will be done in stages. I was thinking of using the Jordan JX92S throughout. I love the full range concept (lack of crossovers) and the Jordans get good reviews. I am looking for some locally to go listen to.

For front speakers I read good things about the Essence design.

The rear I'm not sure about. I want to avoid bookshelf designs with stands. I'm not sure what bass level HT demands from the rear channels. I like the Sentinel Surround look from http://www.t-linespeakers.org/projects/keith/index.html

For good HT center channel do I need to double up the Jordan JX92S due to their low efficiency? Center channel on top of tv.

Sub woofer in music mode will be XO @ 100 HZ and in HT mode will be driven from the .1 channel of the receiver (3 - 120 HZ according to Dolby web site). I read good things about the NHT 1259 in a sealed enclosure for a setup such as this.

I plan to use individual amp channel for each driver in the system and use an active 2-Way Linkwitz Riley Crossover for the fronts/sub. This will be kit built for now. Maybe add ribbon tweters but that is a long way out. For HT, the sub will be driven on the .1 channel so do I still want to XO the front speakers at 100 HZ or let the Jordans keep it?

I was thinking 65 W/ch and give the sub 100+. Being an apartment dweller, loud volumes and thunderous bass will get me evicted but a little headroom is good. Music I listen to is mostly Rock (Peter Gabriel, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, etc.) with a light dose of blues, country, folk.

I think I'm on the right track but please set me strait if I'm not.

[Colin]

The JX92 will be fine in a HT set up. There are a couple of examples at

Jordan Shelf

and

Jordan Home Theatre

where the units are built into the wall.

The Essence-style enclosure should work well as it's very shallow and can be put back against a wall when not in use.

Rather than a full centre channel set up, there is an alternative arrangement which might work, dating from a paper of Ted Jordan's from the 1970s. In that he used a 4" driver per cabinet and placed two cabinets back to back, in the centre of the listening area. He then placed two reflectors where the speakers would notmally be placed, ie out at the corners of the triangle (with the listen at the apex, as usual). The reflectors were made of glass or formica-covered board and angled in 30 degrees.

I tried this a few years ago with a pair of non-Jordan single drivers and it worked really well, with a broad and stable stereo image.

(A bit off the subject but just a thought ...)

Colin

[morbo]

I think if you can align those speakers all in the same vertical plane, the sound will be excellent.

Re: the 1259 - it is a nice woofer, that does perform well in a 2.5-3 cubic foot sealed box. However, it is a fairly old driver, and has been surpassed in price/performance ratio IMO. Especially for us Canadians, there are better alternatives that don't require shipping from the US, such as the Adire DPL12 or Shiva that Creative Sound Solutions sells. Both are excellent sealed box woofers that work in boxes roughly the same size as the 1259, but with higher output and for the DPL12, less distortion to boot.

[Ken L]

Originally posted by morbo
the 1259 - it is a nice woofer, that does perform well in a 2.5-3 cubic foot sealed box. However, it is a fairly old driver, and has been surpassed in price/performance ratio IMO. Especially for us Canadians, there are better alternatives that don't require shipping from the US, such as the Adire DPL12

I'll agree with what you're saying here generally, but not for all applications - and will say that I prefer the sound of the NHT1259 in the Madisound cabinets to the DPL12 in the Rava cabinet-

I own a pair of 1259's in the madisound cabinets - the Madisound description of them as " lean and tight" is as good a description as any -

I recommended to my son that he buy a RAVA with the upgraded woofer to use for his HT - He likes the RAVA a lot ( he does mainly HT) - and he only uses the one sub. In all honesty, the RAVA sounds very, very good and like it costs a lot more than it does.

However, the NHT1259's sound more _musical_ to me. This is _not_ apples to apples because the cabinets are different sizes - however, it is the cabinet sizes that are most commonly used with the drivers.

The NHT 1259 also has a flatter curve higher up if you want to crossover higher than normal - something hard to find if you happen to need it _grin_

Our friends in Canada need to keep their Looines in mind though, I imagine that in addition to shipping there would also be duty to pay.

Regards

Ken L

[planet10]

Originally posted by Ken L
Our friends in Canada need to keep their Looines in mind though, I imagine that in addition to shipping there would also be duty to pay.

No duties... just GST (and broker fee) + potential customs hassles.

dave

[planet10]

Originally posted by noob for now
For front speakers I read good things about the Essence design.... Sub woofer in music mode will be XO @ 100 HZ

used like that a sealed or aperiodic enclosure would likely work better... getting a 7-10 litre box to reach the floor without stands requires some creativity thou ... a filled subchamber below the box to make it a floor stander should work well. The stand could also be the subs (i recommend 2 -- just set your fronts to large and redirect the 0.1 channel to the mains)

dave

[RobWells]

Just maybe a note about spl levels for home theater - my 3-ways I had to move the xo point of the mids (scanspeak revelator 5 1/2") up to 250Hz to stop the mid amp clipping at -5dB reference...(60 watts into 85.5 sens speaker) and keep the x-max in line.

Do you want to listen at home theater levels ? 1 of the reasons I'd never go full range single driver without thinking of horns.


Cheers,

Rob

(now considering mtm with phl's for mid range / good output - never ends does it? )

[morbo]

recommended to my son that he buy a RAVA with the upgraded woofer to use for his HT - He likes the RAVA a lot ( he does mainly HT) - and he only uses the one sub. In all honesty, the RAVA sounds very, very good and like it costs a lot more than it does.

However, the NHT1259's sound more _musical_ to me. This is _not_ apples to apples because the cabinets are different sizes - however, it is the cabinet sizes that are most commonly used with the drivers.

Frankly I would be surprised if the 1259 outperformed the DPL12 in the same Q (not volume) enclosure in any way outside of high end extension, a very relevant attribute which you rightly mentioned.

However, having never heard the Rava w/ DPL12 (I have one with the Shiva) or the 1259, I'll have to take your word for it.

[Ken L]

Originally posted by morbo
Frankly I would be surprised if the 1259 outperformed the DPL12 ............. Rava w/ DPL12 (I have one with the Shiva) or the 1259, I'll have to take your word for it.

Well, you know "outperform" is a word that can mean a lot of things _grin_ and might mean different things to different people.

I don't care about measurements and specs, I just care how it sounds _bigger grin_ Ummm, how do you measure "tone'? My recollection is that the NHT1259's have better transient response and are tighter. Some might even call that "lean" and might not prefer that sound - while I might think the sub they prefer is "boomy"

Actually, I have heard the DP12 in several instances, both times in Adire boxes that were smaller than the Madisound cabinets for the NHT1259, so box size very likely plays a considerable role here.. Without question the DP12's sounded very, very good and well worth the money.

Another apples to oranges consideration is that I'm using dual subs - so that is another difference in addition to the cabinets.

Still, the NHT1259 configuration I am using sounds better than in my setup than the dp12's did in the other configurations. I'm crossing at 134 hz and the high end extension helps somewhat with the integration, although the plate amps drop off so quickly that I have an e-bay Crown amp pushing them.

I really have excellent integration, a good bit better than I had hoped. Now if they were just horns _grin_

Regards

Ken l