JBL - N38II Questions -- Usage and Height?b (1 Viewer)

[Mark_H]

Just received two N38II refurb's from Harman Audio to upgrade my N24 mains. One of them was pretty rough on the cabinet but I have sent an email to Harman to fix this.

The N24's were obviously set to small so initially I turned off my Dayton Sub, and set the N38II's the same way to do some A-B comparisons. The N38's were much fuller and made the N24's (sans sub) sound very small by comparison.

Since the N38II's have an 8" driver I thought I would try them as large and was really surprised at the amount of bass they can produce. Even at loud volumes they sounded great.

1. I'm wondering if the N38's are large enough to be fed the full range of bass on an everyday basis or if this is too much to expect from them??

My Dayton Sub sets in the back corner under my right rear surround (not enough room on the front wall with some of my wifes toys). It sounds good there but when I have it turned up to my liking, the seats closest to it get more bass than from my position. With the N38's set to Large I could perhaps back the Dayton down a bit.

2. Also though the N38's are floor standers, they are shorter than I figured and the tweeters are well below ear level. What's the best height for them to be?? Tweeters at ear level, midrange at ear level or what??

3. Anyone with N38II's who has raised them, please let me know what you used and what height your stands or blocks are??

Thanks for any/all advice.

 

[Gary Shipley]

Your tweeters should be at ear level from what I've read. As for setting them at large, I don't think so. You should set them at normal,or small, whichever option your receiver gives you and use the sub. I have the ND310's for my mains, and although the are towers with 2 10" woofers, they are still set at small, with my sub carrying the bottom end.

 

[francisco-a]

Hi, I have the N38, and I made myself some things to lift them up. They are now 11 cm higher than before. The sound is much better, i guess becasue of being the tweeter and midrange nearer to my ears.

It was pretty cheap to make them, like 8 bucks

good luck,
Francisco

 

[Angelo.M]

Deciding whether to set a speaker as "small" or "large" or something else is not always a black and white issue; mileage will vary.

I have a pair of N38IIs in a home theater in my second house, sans sub, and have them set to "large". I find them more than capable of that configuration.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Without a sub I would definitely run them large since you need all the low end output you can get. With a capable sub I would run them as small... with a not so capable sub i would probably run them in a "plus" mode if your receiver offers (sends frequencies below the crossover to both the sub AND the front speakers).

Hope this helps