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Focus 160 w/2 JL f113s vs. Focus 380 or C2 II

I've had my Dyanudio Focus 160's & 2 JL f113's for about three weeks now. No matter what I try, short of spending thousands of more dollars, I cannot get the subs to integrate, let alone not sound boomy. It's evidenced by the fact that the Dyn's are at their best sound when the subs are completely turned off. The problem is further compounded by the fact that i have an integrated amp from Simaudio (340i) that makes it exceedingly difficult to introduce any sort of room correction & or external crossover. So in order to try to get the subs to work I would I have to at minimum spend an extra ~$8000 (separate pre-amp & power amp of equal or higher quality & the mcintosh men220 [adjusted for trade-in value of 340i]).

I could try to go this route, and maybe they integrate, maybe they don't. Or, I could cut my losses now, & trade-in for the 380 or C2 sans the subs. My only major issue is that I primarily listen to various flavors of Electronic music, and a little Jazz. Electronic music uses the very low end of the audible frequency spectrum so often that it's absolutely necessary for any system to accurately go down to the bottom, other wise certain tracks will sound a bit anemic.

So, what would you fine fellows recommend? Go with a full range without subs, or stick with what i've got and try to integrate (am i giving up too soon)?

For what it's worth I will be auditioning the C2's and 380's later this week. And from a financial standpoint I would essentially be even if I took the 380's and would need to toss in an extra $3500 for the C2's [not accounting for the need for a more powerful pre-amp/amp set up].

Any input would be greatly appreciated!
coloneltushfinger

Showing 2 responses by doggiehowser

doggiehowser
672 posts
 
I've always maintained that subs are just incredibly fiddly to integrate with the mains. There's never a Goldilocks level: too hot or too cold, depending on the track I am listening to.

That is until I used Thiel's S1 Integrator and their Smartsub SS2. They work really well to augment the low frequencies without mucking about with the main speakers. They have phased the S1 out now which is a real shame cos it works very very well and I have used it with other brands of speakers and they work just as seamlessly, floor stander or bookshelves.

For music, you might be better off with the C2 or 380 as long as you have enough space around the speakers from the nearest walls.

That said, I thought the ARO for JL was supposed to help alleviate this problem? I use the f113 but only for home theatre so the AVP does the bass management.
doggiehowser
672 posts
 
My personal preference is never to run another crossover in front of the main speakers and prefer to run them in full range.

The S1 works by telling the sub integrator where the main speakers fall off. What frequency does the speaker drop off in reproducing. Is the slope based on a ported or sealed speaker design, and also your power amp gain/speaker sensitivity. It then calculates what the sub needs to reproduce to fill in the gap. The Thiel is unique in that it doesn't need a mic to calibrate. The subs need to have 2 numbers dialed in. How far they are from the nearest wall. That's it. And the S1, you just key in the data from the speaker/amp manual.

I thought the ARO does the same thing but using a mic so it can be a bit harder to dial in? I think the Velodyne SMS-1 can do something similar.
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