Going from JBL NSP-1's to 2.1 Divas........ (1 Viewer)

[ReggieW]

Will there be a night and day diffeence you think? I now have my Denon 1802 for sale in the hardware section, and am awaiting the purchase of a 3802. I figured that I might as well upgrade the speakers as well. I live in a single apartment, so towers are out of the question for now. When I move into a house next year, I can then look at the Diva 6.1's as mains. I plan on getting two pairs of Diva 2.1's and a C-3 center along with a HSU VTF sub for now. I will keep my JBL NSP1 package, as I believe that it is a great speaker package for the money, and will place them in the bedroom when I move. Your input would be welcomed.

Thanks,

Reg

 

[Jeffrey Forner]

Will it be a night and day difference? You better believe it will. I can't see you being disappointed with the Divas coming up from a JBL NSP-1 package.

 

[ReggieW]

Thanks Jeff. I figured that much. I also am considering the fact that I'm going from a Denon 1802 to 3802 as well. I definitely expect to have a much better HT experience. I was considering going for the 4802, but it is currently out of my price range, and besides, I hear that the 3802 would make a great pre/pro when I decide to add an amp later. I've heard nothing but praise for the Divas, with many reviewers and owners saying that they sound BETTER than some speakers costing FOUR times as much. It seems like the Divas are very much the over-achievers for the mid-end crowd, much like the NSP-1 is for the low end.

Reg

 

[Brett DiMichele]

[ACTION] Kicks back in the corner and waits for Phil to
come in and show you specs on why the NSP-1 is a better
speaker[/ACTION]
Heh Phil is really going to start to dislike me if I keep
this up!

 

[David King]

While I can't answer your question about the divas being better, I applaud you for keeping the JBL NSP1 for your bedroom.
Since you are getting the denon 3802 I imagine you are looking into a eventual 7.1 setup with the divas. I have yet to hear 7.1, but if it sounds as good as everyone says it does, you may also want this setup for your bedroom. In which case you may want to keep an eye on the those clearance prices on the JBL N38 and N310 as they make way for the NII line, you might find them dirt cheap. It may be hard to find the original line after they sell out and you might not want the NII line if they are not timber matched.
Sorry if this is slightly off topic, I just love spending other people's money .

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Will there be a night and day diffeence you think?

Tough to say, depends on your own priorities. I've heard lots of more expensive brands that didn't have the midrange quality of the N24's, which I consider to be the heart of it all.

 

[DonnyD]

I hope I don't disappoint you when I also add that "NO", there is not gonna be a night and day difference and as the above post added, you may only see a difference in the midrange but it will be the JBL that will be the more pronounced. Less expensive does not mean less sound especially when it comes to the N series JBL.

Yes, I've heard the Divas along with Norh, Monitor Audio, Energy, Paradigm - among others. None performed any better than the JBL N series especially for HT. I have no problem suggesting (and using) the N's to those getting into HT around here, even if they do have more money to spend......

That doesn't take anything away from what the Divas are; I'm just saying that there are others that are just as good that are less expensive. I've purchased the speakers I mentioned above and auditioned them at length in my own home and none of them are still here except for the JBL. My GF always laughs at me when I go on one of these buying sprees and the boxes begin to arrive. Yes, I lose some money in the process but this is a fun (yet expensive) hobby.

 

[James Bergeron]

Those little N24's are pretty damn nice sounding. I have seen them now for $99 CDN so they are being phased out. I have not heard the diva's but I would also be surprised if it is a quantum leap. I went from the N24's to B&W 303's the B&W's are sweet but not a quantum leap. The N24's perform VERY well and if you have a sub to round them out well they are amazing. They do look skimpy though

 

[ReggieW]

Thanks for your replies.
As stated, I love the JBL N-series package (I have N-26's as my mains), but find it hard to believe that the N series can match the Divas for music applications - on movies however, I agree, the improvement will probably be slight as I am VERY VERY impressed with the NSP-1 for HT applications. I was watching "The Castle" last week, and the copter crash sequence in DTS was amazing coming from those little N-24's - simply incredible. One thing is certain, the build quality and parts used in the Divas are MUCH better than that of the JBL's. Personally, I have never been impressed with the musicality of the NSP-1, and primarily want the Divas for this reason. I have no plans of getting rid of the JBL's as stated, as the price of packing and shipping wouldn't even make it worth my time. I would never want to part with these speakers for a paltry sum. The JBL's were my first pair of speakers and I still swear by them! It makes me cringe just to think I almost bought a Bose acoustimass as my first system!!! :
Jeff or Brett:
I went to AV123.com and something confuses me. The 2.1 Divas are 399.99 plus 249.00 if you require the stands!!! Wouldn't it be more feasible to simply step up to the 4.1's (699.00) which are better floorstanding units and don't require stands? If I read it correctly, 249.00 is the price for ONE STAND, meaning a pair of 2.1's with the stands would cost 900.00!!! You can actually get in 5.1's (899.00) for the price of the 2.1's with stands. I would personally rather put my money on better speakers like the 4.1's or 5.1's than lesser/smaller speakers with nice stands.
Reg

 

[DonnyD]

Looks like you are down to "buy and see for yourself".

I too was and will certainly be wowed again by the "reviews" stating "better than speakers 4 times the price" or something to that effect...

Been there, done that..... several times...... it is all about perception and those who write the ads or reviews very well know that.

In my above post, I forgot to mention that all the auditions I gave to all those speakers included 2 channel music as well as HT. With a good sub to take care of the lows, the JBLs were still as good if not better in 2 channel but were more even with the others for HT. Several friends participated and Marantz mono-blocks as well as my RX-V1 were used as the feed.

Personally what I found with the N series JBLs was a strength in the mids that seem to be missing with most of the others. The Paradigm and Energy RVS were the closest but required a little more wattage to "wake up". The Diva 2.1, Norh 4.0, and the Monitor Audio 5i were broader imaging but too laid back.

Now that being said, this was a comparison of those speakers against the N Series JBL.... but when I compared them to my old 24 year old JBL L-100.... nothing came close....... especially for music........

 

[Walt N]

The stand prices for the 2.1's are for one pair. It's not clearly spelled out but you can tell by the shipping weight once you put them in the "shopping basket".

 

[ReggieW]

Yes Donny, it is about perception, and I can tell you that I have been less than thrilled with the JBL's performance when it comes to two-channel music. Sorry. HT, as I stated, is another matter. I have heard Boston Acoustics VRM-60's & 50's, and a few others from M & K (I forgot the model numbers) and they were both MUCH better than the JBL's to MY EARS for music - better detail, depth, warmth, etc; As far as the Divas are concerned, I have heard praise from all sectors for these speakers, and it isn't just PR rhetoric. There are obviously many happy owners of Divas on this forum who are more than critical when it comes to speaker listening. I would DEFINITELY in a hearbeat recommend the NSP-1 package when it comes to bang for your buck, but by no means believe they are the best speakers available overall. I have simply heard better speakers (for HT as well), but they do cost considerably more. In the end run, you are absolutely correct, that I need to get out and sample the Divas before I make the call. If anyone knows where they can be auditioned in the Los Angeles area, please let me know.

Reg

 

[Juan_R]

ReggieW,
If you can wait a little bit my 2.1's should be arriving sometime in mid April, right now I have the C3 and 6.1's. You can also go here http://www.audioenvy.com to see if there is anybody else in the area that will let you audition the speakers. I would definitely go with iether the 4.1 package or call and get a 5.1 package. I know you live in an apartment but you dont have to turn the volume up high to appreciate the Divas, trust me I know, I have two kids one 3 and the other 1 so I can't always listen in high volumes.

 

[Jeffrey Forner]

I hope I don't disappoint you when I also add that "NO", there is not gonna be a night and day difference and as the above post added

Okay, maybe I was a bit over zealous with that comment. I'm just incredibly happy with these speakers after having used them for two months. Please forgive me if it sounded like I was trying to diss the JBLs in any way. I've heard them and I know that they're great speakers. Still, I think that Reggie will notice a marked improvement when he switches to the Diva line. Should I save the night and day references for the Divas and anything from Bose?
As for the stands, Reggie, you can find cheaper stands elsewhere. I have my 2.1s sitting on a pair of stands I originally purchased for my Home Theater Direct speakers. They only cost $80/pair and work perfectly fine. There's nothing that requires you to get the ones AV123 offers.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Impressive discussion when all this brew-ha-ha is from comparing a speaker that
MSRP = N24 $199.99 Pair
vs.
B&W DM303 - $399.00 Pair
Diva 2.1 - $399.00 Pair
Boston Acoustics VRM-60 - $1000.00 Pair
Boston VRM-50 - $700.00 Pair
Makes the comments by Jack Gilvey, DonnyD and even James Bergeron honest opinion vs. his new B&W 303 seem interesting, if not revealing, to say the least!
By the way, don't you think that auditioning JBL Studio Series vs. the above mentioned speakers would make the auditioning field a bit more equal, if not fair? CEA has recognized JBL's technologies and design innovations efforts (based on JBL TEC Award winning LSR Recording Studio Monitors), by bestowing its coveted Innovations 2000 Design and Engineering Award to JBL's Studio Series S38 and S412P loudspeakers.
JBL "N" Series shares some of that design innovations with the "S" Series, specifically it's Titanium High Frequency Drivers and unique Elliptical Oblate Spheroidal™ (EOS) waveguide that delivers the same response off-axis as it does on-axis and directs sound toward the listening area, not off the side walls, for a wider sound field with more precise imaging and localization - documented by independent Professional Speaker Reviewers in PRO and Consumer arena.
Last thought, fad designs / companies comes and goes, and JBL has been designing Academy Award winning speakers for 60 years for the PRO field, and Consumer Award winning / recognized speakers for the last 30 years (starting w/DonnyD JBL L-100, a consumer version of the 4300 Series, one of the best-selling speakers of the 70's decade) since they entered that market.
Phil

 

[Brett DiMichele]

See I told ya Phil would be here!

 

[DonnyD]

Whoops... my brother has reminded me that it was the JBL S38 that we were auditioning with the speakers I mentioned in my earlier post. We also had a pair of N26 that we checked out for rear action. Us older folks just seem to forget details I guess.

Anyway, my brother ended up with the S38, my son got the Energy RVS and I am still using those old L100 as mains with the N26 as rears. I do specifically remember the N26 keeping up with the Monitor Audio 3i and was quite a bit better in the mids.

Yes, as Phil stated quite well, the JBL line in the 70's were very good and to this day a pair of the 4300 series or the L100, L110, etc are prize posessions to those who are lucky enough to have them. I bought my L100 new in 1978 and cared for them well over the years and they are still simply stunning. A friend of mine came to see me late in '78 right after I bought the L100 and upon his return to his home, went out and bought 2 pair of the 4311. Still has them on an old Marantz amp and they too are still sounding good.

 

[Jeffrey Forner]

Phil;

I can understand why you don't think it's a good idea to compare speakers that cost more than twice as much as the JBL N24s. However, I think you're perhaps going a little overboard in suggesting that the those other brands are "fad designs / companies"? Those are some highly respected names in home audio. Sure the Diva line may be relatively new, but they do sound very good and will, in my opinion, sound better than the JBL N24s. Perhaps they won't be the stunning dramatic difference of going from TV speakers to a set of decent bookshelves, but but it should be a difference worth the cost of the upgrade, in my opinion.

 

[Russell _T]

You can definitely get stands for the 2.1's for less than the $165.00 that AV123 is charging for theirs, but I have my 2.1's sitting on them and they are not only very sturdy, but complement the Divas perfectly. You can however get a pair of 4.1 floorstanding Divas for less than the cost of the 2.1's + stands, and I would nudge you in that direction if you have the room.