jbl S312 as fronts? (1 Viewer)

[Talal]

I've decided to hold off on my full HT buy for a couple of months so I can afford better equipment.

Right, now, I'm going to buy a pair of JBL S312s, and wanted to know if they would match well with a set of JBL S38s as surounds. I'm probably going to get four S38s(if it's a good idea) so I can get some nice 6.1 sound.

WIll this sound good, or will the S312s overpower the S38s?

 

[Hank_P]

I have a set of S312's up front and S36's for surrounds and they sound wonderful together. I have calibrated them so the fronts don't over power everything else because those huge towers could easily do that. I think the S38's would match well with them.
I've got everything set to "large" until my subwoofer arrives. I think if you calibrate everything correctly, you won't have to worry about over-powering the other speakers. Good luck!!

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Hank_P is correct ,

. . . if you calibrate everything correctly, you won't have to worry about over-powering the other speakers.

The reason why, is when you Calibrate your Speakers to a REFERENCE Level (75 dB using Video Essentials or your AV Receiver internal test tones / 85 dB using AVIA) @ your 'sweet spot', . . . you balance the SPL (Sound Pressure Level) equally between all the HT Speakers, just like the Master Mixing DD/DTS 5.1 / 6.1 Sound Engineer. So, you've removed the possiblility of any speaker from 'overpowering' within the HT 5.1 / 6.1 Speaker Monitor chain.
FYI: Read my REFERENCE Calibration process webpage CALIBRATION TECHNIQUES using Video Essentials DVD. I also have AVIA (another Audio/Video Calibration DVD) but use VE for speed and the LFE Test Signal.
This process is the same for your AV Receiver's Test Tones, which will serve you well until you decide to get a Audio/Video Calibration DVD.
JBL has 'timbre-matched' their "N" & "S" Series, so using the S312 & S38 is A-OK!! You can mix and match within each "N" & "S" Series respectively, . . . the key is the high frequency driver (Titanium tweeter) which is identical within each Series from the lowest model to it's flagship speaker respectively.
NOTE: Because my website is 'free', hosted by GeoCities, if too many HT enthusiasts visit, GeoCities will shut it down for an hour or so because it exceeded the specified 'freebie' Data Transfer Rate. Sorry about that, just bookmark it and visit my site an hour later or when everyone has gone to bed!
Phil

 

[Talal]

so calibration is the key.. thanks a bunch.