JBL N and S series: can I mix 'em up? (1 Viewer)

[Micah]

Anyone here have experience with running N series and S series JBL speakers in the same system? Are they fairly well matched?
I have a pair of ND310's, and a big room (20'x30') and don't have a lot of confidence that the smaller N series (N26 specifically) can keep up with the ND310's. I got an N-center, and it certainly couldn't keep up with the ND310s, they made it sound flat and weak by comparison.
So, am I making a mistake if I buy four s26IIs as my four surround speakers? Should I stick with the N26's that match my mains even though I am not sure they will be up to the job? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Should I stick with the N26's that match my mains even though I am not sure they will be up to the job?

The N26's should work fine also. What exactly do you mean ... "I am not sure they will be up to the job?"

Phil

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Micah, do you have to have the S26II's? Or would it be ok to have the S26's? Because you can get the S26's, with the gold cones for $159.88 plus free shipping per pair from JandR.com. That'll save you quite a bit of money!
Here's the link!

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I just picked up some used S312s, but they don't seem very well timbre-matched to my S-Center at all; there's a definite change in quality when something moves from mains to center. My Center is about 6 months old, so it ought to be pretty well broken in by now. Any suggestions?

I do love the sound from the S312s though; I like the bright quality (I also much prefer brighter pianos to dull, muddy sounding things like the overrated Yamahas). Very nice definition to things in the treble register. But the best move I made was shifting my old mains to surround duty. I didn't realize how much I was losing using a bookshelf for surrounds instead of a full-size speaker. The differences after calibration are enormous.

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

I think the S312s adds lower notes making noises sound deeper and fuller while the smaller S-center produces those same noises but without the lower portion of the sound range.

If you set up your S312s to small do the fronts match up more?

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I have the S312s set to small.