Well people I made a BIG mistake today.
I foolishly went to Altronics Stereo 2000 - the only dealer I am aware of in Toronto that carries the JBL Array Series of loudspeakers. I was there to order my Array 1000's for one of my home setups and I made the mistake of auditioning the Array 1400.
After a short discussion with Ron and Rob (incredibly knowledgeable people on JBL) and the owners of Altronics I have decided to purchase the Array 1400's.
I will let you know my thoughts once there home - crap!... it will be about 4 weeks before I get them.
james
Tell us more about this trip to Alltronics and what you found out and why you went with the 1400's. I don't think we can wait four weeks to know more about your decision!
Thanks.
HI Bill,
OK first some background on JBL - they have 3 speakers in the Array Series - 800, 1000, and 1400. At the RMAF we had the 800's and the 1000's but not the 1400's. The differences are the 800 and the 1000 have the same mid/tweeter horn but different woofers. The 800 has an 8 inch woofer and the 1000 has a 10 inch woofer. The 1400 has a different midhorn (larger) and a different (14 inch) woofer.
I really liked the 1000's at the Denver Show and had arranged to purchase a pair at Altronics to experiment with in my soundroom at home. So off I go to Altronics to make the purchase and unknown to me Ron and Rob had conspired to setup a 4B, BP26 and BCD-1 to a set of 1400's. I arrived and had a listen.
I was hesitant at first to consider the 1400 Arrray. In most 3-way systems with a high crossover point I have heard in the past I have felt that the 'seemless' quality through the crossover point (especially voices) suffered in favour of 'powerhandling'. Anyway the 1000 at the show had the crossover between the woofer and mid at 900 Hz and the 1400 in fact has the crossover at 750Hz (a little lower).
So fortunately I had my 'show demo CD' in my car and I gave the 1400's a workout. The thing that surprised me was how seemless they were and also how smoooooth they sounded. I expected them to sound more like a traditional horn with a bit of "shoutyness". I have to wait 4 weeks for delievery as they are built to order. (I guess given the current economic times no one is stocking product anymore-not even JBL).
I will follow up with a more detailed review once I have had time to play with them in my own soundrooms at home. At this point I have high hopes and looking on-line I am a little surprised these speakers have not been reviewed by more of the influential magazines.
james
