adding second set of speakers


righto mates, feeling a bit saucy today. the mission if you choose to accept it..
...integrate a second set of speakers in my low-fi setup. i currently have AirPulse Model 1 powered monitors. My previous set of monitors are the mighty JBL LSR 305 Mkl.. now, how would I set up both sets of monitors at the same time? Set the JBL's upside down on top of the Model 1's? Tweeter to tweeter? or is there another setup worth exploring. I am running XLR cables so I have to make some Y cables to hook both sets of monitors...
canibefrank

Showing 10 responses by canibefrank

well now, that is interesting and i would have never thought of doing the disconnect the tweeter thing.... I do have two excellent corners on either side of my listening position...
@metman
i have been a bit libertine in my placement of the Model 1’s... getting them a bit to far apart and far away from me ears... how do you have them placed? Currently, my Model 1 placement has no back wall boundary.. they are floating in space ¡!

i cannot get into the amplifier game right now so whatever i listen to has to have amplification. if it all goes to hell i can always pick up some PA boxes with amp guts and run those from a great DAC and get the MP's on high alert
well, if i was drinkin or something
@millercarbon
  well, i went and done it. i wyred up the JBL’s and pointed them in corners directly beside my listening position as my couch is at the far wall with main monitors directly in front of me. now I have set the high pass sub woofer to 80Hz so the 4 monitors are getting everything 80Hz and up. with the JBL’s up about one-third, the soundstage is pretty wide. I am liking this. Now, I did not disconnect the tweeters. Do you feel this will be an added benefit? You mention using some pillows to control the sound... please elaborate. One thing I will try is wiring the JBL’s to the full range inputs and see what that sounds like...
@metman 
dude, I am an avowed horn guy, but I really like the Model 1 AirPulse. I was looking for an upgrade from the JBL LSR 305, and these Model 1's are exactly that... better drivers- the midrange is transparent and the ribbons are way extended, better timber and tone when adjusted correctly and you should hear electronic music on these ... WOW¡!¡! I think my next step up will probably be JBL LSR 708p and a swarm sub setup. I think that the Model 1 is probably the best you can do for $900 a pair new... the JBL LSR 705p would be the next step up in price-used
@metman 
how do you have the Model 1 hooked up to source? I am using MacBook Pro > Audirvana > PreSonus USB DAC > XLR to LSR 305 subwoofer > xlr to Model 1. I tried the AptX bluetooth and it works. I never really listened to the bluetooth connect enough to get real objective, I just noticed that it seemed inferior. On the other hand, the onboard TI DAC sounded better than the PreSonus but I cannot integrate a sub if I use the onboard DAC with the only available DAC connection, Optical input or digital Coax.
@millercarbon    one strange thing I noticed, my head feels a bit pressurized from adding he second set of speakers... i am not sure if it is a slight headache or just the room being more pressurized...         
I put a high tech sound treatment over the tweeters... a cut up t-shirt scrim folded over the front of the monitor.. black. seems to have done the trick.

i had some Y cables made so I could split the XLR cables at the subwoofer output which is post high pass filter for both sets of monitors. i will try using the XLR splitter at the subwoofer inputs which is pre-high pass and post DAC and see what I get with the LSR 305’s. My guess is that it won’t change much on a frequency response level as there isn’t alot of good response down below 80Hz for the 305’s but maybe the sound might take on a different clearer character which I would like... the JBL LSR 310 subwoofer is OK but I ask it to do alot using Tidal... sources and music changes alot all day, every day. I cannot run the subwoofer full range with no correction software... it sounds like butt
well now mate, I did try moving the speakers around. I had them setup L and L + R and R maybe more like this evil sketch:

L       R

L me R
lads, if wish to inform you that the second monitor experiment has unoffishally been terminated. the headache i was getting seemed to be related to the comb filtering happening from the JBL's positioned in the corners... last phase was with disconnected tweeters as millercarbon suggested... if I could somehow get a 100Hz and below signal this may be worth another go round... thanks to all for your support. unfortunately the crowdfunding budget has totally been expended on R&D... low orbit ion cannons are expensive, even to rent.
ok, based on this new information I called corporate and asked for a few quid to continue these R&D activities. Seems they have an endless bucket of money from a death ray started in the 80’s and its no problem to shuffle funding for really trivial stuff..
#1.. so I connected the JBL LSR 305’s arrayed exactly as previously but to the full range inputs... hmm, now that sounds better but I am still getting this weird feeling in me noggin, sorta like Bombay Sapphire gin tonics where you know you are gonna have a hangover but you are powerless to stop...

#2... still on the full range subwoofer inputs, i hooked the JBL L-R channels up out of phase along the common L-R boundry.. if ya can dig it 
L      R

R me L

in the end this was equally unsatisfying. Before I started this walk down the wylde side I would not have thought the LSR 305 sound quality would be detrimental to a swarm sub-woofer setup, but they most certainly are and detracted from the LSR 310 subwoofer. I guess the 310s is better than I thought...

thus endeth me trials of sonic grooviness