Help - new house - new setup?

I'm not as convinced as some of the others that the high ceiling is a main contributor to the problem. If the relevant specs of the speaker (89 db/1W/1m efficiency; 6 ohm average impedance; 300W max "music power" capability) are reasonably accurate, they should be able to generate peak SPL's of around 105 db at a listening distance of say 4 meters (about 13 feet), even in an infinitely large space. And I wouldn't expect reflections off of the ceiling to be major factors either at most frequencies, given the lengthy delay in the arrival of those reflections relative to the direct sound arrivals, and also the attenuation that would occur along the way. Certainly wall reflections could be significant factors, though.

Some questions:

1)When you refer to having both A51 and JC1 amplifiers, are you biamping the VR4Jrs with them?

2)If so, what outputs of the 8802 are you connecting to each of them? If you are by any chance connecting RCA outputs of the 8802 to one and XLR outputs of the 8802 to the other, that might result in a 6 db volume differential between the two sections of the speaker, even though the two amps have identical gain specs.

3)When you say "I have 400wpc running at 70%+ at the moment," how do you know that the amp is running at 70%+?

4)Can you describe the positions of the speakers relative to the nearest walls, and the location of the listening position relative to the speakers and to the nearest walls.

Regards,
-- Al

MusicalAl, thanks for the additional info.

Based on info provided in the 8802 manual, especially on pages 192, 142, and 335, and on the specs for the JC1, it appears that with the "channel level adjust" settings of the 8802 at their default value of 0 db, and assuming you are using the DAC function of the 8802, it can be calculated that at the 75% setting of the volume control you referred to the amp would be driven to just a bit more than 30% of its power capability on the peaks of recordings which are mastered to reach "full scale" (the maximum possible digital value), and somewhat less than that on recordings which are mastered at lower levels.

So it seems to me that you can get significantly higher SPLs simply by turning up the volume control, and/or increasing the "channel level adjust" settings, which can go as high as +12 db as described on page 142 of the manual. Raising the channel level adjust settings would of course give you added volume for a given setting of the main volume control. Obviously, though, don't turn things up to the point where distortion becomes apparent.

Regarding sound quality, it sounds like the listening position is probably only about 2 feet from the wall behind it, which will result in a substantial suckout (reduction) in frequency response in the vicinity of 140 Hz, in the bass region. Using a room treatment product at that location would seem to be in order, and of course quite possibly elsewhere as well.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

06-04-15: Onhwy61
Almarg makes a point about reflected sound possibly not being a problem, but I think a controlled directivity loudspeaker would lessen the problem even further.

To be sure it's clear, my point about reflected sound possibly not being a problem pertained ONLY to reflections from the ceiling.

Best regards,
-- Al