[JDUBS]

Hey Everyone

I'm finally nearing completion on my Oris horn system.  The horns themselves use AER BD-3 drivers (~109db / 1 watt).  I'm using a pair of JBL theater bass bins (4648's) for sub 160hz duty.  I have a passive preamp with dual outputs.  One pair of outputs goes to a Redwine Audio Clari-T which then goes to the Oris horns, allowing them to run full-range.

The other set goes to a custom built bass filter set at 160hz with a 12db slope (for the bass cabinets).  My bass cabinets are 100db efficient so there's an issue with matching them up with the much more efficient Oris horns.

I'm thinking that I should use something like a digital receiver (JVC or Panasonic, maybe?) with a volume control and sufficient gain to allow me to match the horns.

Another option is to add some gain to the bass filter.  The builder said he could add 4 or 6db of gain and that he could add a volume control.  I have a TEAC 30-watt tripath that I could then use.

Does either of these options seem viable / reasonable?  Is there anything that I'm missing?

The horns themselves sound absolutely fantastic....I just need to fill in the lower frequencies with something !  

[konut]

The set up looks viable but I think the Teac, as good as it is, is just not going to be sufficient for the JBLs. You're gonna need more juice.

[JDUBS]

Konut

That's what I'm thinking as well.  What do you think about the idea of using one of the popular digital receivers for the bass side?  The XR-55 from Panasonic is particularly intriguing.

I "think" that that preamp / amp side of a receiver should provide enough gain to allow me to pair the bass bins up with the horns.

-Jim

[konut]

This is one of those situations where it's hard to predict ahead of time what will be acceptable. In theory the Teac 'should' be enough. I have no experience with digital amps. From reading on these fora, though, they seem to punch way above their weight especially if modded with Black Gate output caps. I'm really not qualified to answer the question. I DO like your setup though. I'm a fan of overkill when it comes to wattage. I believe that a well designed solid state amp with a high signal to noise ratio that is only called upon to produce half its rated output would provide an absolutely sanitary solution to your problem. I'd be really curious to see weather a 100 watt digital amp A/B double blind would be distinguishable from  a good 100 watt SS amp in your situation. A SS amp with a reasonably high damping factor would be called for considering the loading of the JBLs. I'm surprised you haven't gotten more comments.

[JDUBS]

konut

I sincerely appreciate the advice!  Not sure why no feedback from anyone else  

I'll probably give the digital amp thing a go....couldn't hurt to try and its not a huge investment.

Thank you again!!

-Jim

[Russell Dawkins]

Knowing how expensive and reportedly special the AER BD-3s are, I think something a little special would be appropriate to drive the JBLs.

It seems that, whatever disagreements there may be about the sound of the Nuforce amps, there is none about the performance in the bass regions. I would also think it appropriate to have some muscle down there (damping factor 4000) to make that big JBL sound light-footed in an attempt to match the character of the mid horn with that very light cone.


I guess you will need a minimum of 50W and preferably 100W to match not only what you propose to use for the wide range amp but also what you may want to experiment with in the future.
I would say the Nuforce integrated might be a good choice, since it has its own volume control and would seem to offer enough power and an appropriate level of quality.

I'd like to hear that set up!

Russell

[JDUBS]

Knowing how expensive and reportedly special the AER BD-3s are, I think something a little special would be appropriate to drive the JBLs.

It seems that, whatever disagreements there may be about the sound of the Nuforce amps, there is none about the performance in the bass regions. I would also think it appropriate to have some muscle down there (damping factor 4000) to make that big JBL sound light-footed in an attempt to match the character of the mid horn with that very light cone.


I guess you w ...

Russell

Thank you very much for the feedback!  You are entirely right about doing something nicer for the JBL's.  Going Nuforce or Hypex is where I'd like to go eventually.  Unfortunately, my money is pretty limited for completing this system.  

It was a post like this that made me think that one of the Panasonic's would fare well:

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=amp&n=70555&highlight=panasonic+damping&r=&session=

Also, being an integrated with a preamp section, I should be able to use the Panasonic's volume control to match the output of the JBLs to the much higher efficiency AERs.

Btw, my preamp is a custom autoformer job....looks like this one:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/bo05/steve.html

Thank you for your feedback!!

-Jim