You mentioned selling the DQ-20's originally to IIRC, I believe, What is
that?
I have been keeping up with foam rot on both the Dahlquist and the JBl's.
Didnt think much about the crossover capacitors changing value, hmmm, gotta
give that more thought. I doubt the magnets though lost anything.
Gave a good listen tonight to Both sets, with the JBL's using the sub, and
the Dahlquist standalone and switching back and forth with same material.
Dahlquists are definetly the more superior speaker in terms of flatness,
openess, and soundstage. Very similar to a Magnepan/Martin Logan sound,
without tinny transients. Very smooth, great respnose. What they do lack is
deep bass, and thats from the 10" woofer with no porting. The sub was
actually bought for them, as I believed, and still do, that they needed the
deep bass boost. The JBL sub is boomier than the bass from the Dahlquists,
so there is a mismatch there, that's why I ended up putting the sub with the
JBLs that are not only connected to main audio listening room, but to to TV
via Hafler stereo 280 watt amp. The Dahlquist I have placed correctly in
another room where there is more space, and I can go for serious listening.
Of course this can all change when I decide in my new master plan.
The Jbl's have a totally different sound, and with the sub attached, it is a
nice match, although (I guess this is good, when system is cranked up, the
bass with not only shake the floors and walls, it'll skip the disks. I don't
presently have them in a great location though, against wall, sitting on top
of 6 foot entertainment piers. They like to be away from walls and corners
to be at their best. I actually have been seeking Ebay for smaller vintage
JBLs for the rears, as they made some smaller 2 way bookshelfs with 8" wook
and same tweeter as mine. Cabinet matches as well, or at least close enough.
If I go that route, then the center speaker is the only problem.. DO the new
"good" JBL centers have same overall sound quality, or different. Hard to
tell going from my house, to a lousy Best buy or Tweeter place. I am not too
familiar with Theil speakers, but I'll check them out if the sound is of
similar presence as the Dahlquist.
Oh, and to whomever wrote, I can get away with a small amp, I doubt it as if
I use the Dahlquist, they will require some wattage. I also favor many
features of the upper AVR receivers as well. The Maratnz, Harman Kardons
have my eye now, but maybe that is my vintage background speaking there
also. They get good reviews, but they also place ads in the magazines that
review them, so I dont know the trustworthy aspect.


"Joseph Oberlander" wrote in message
k.net...


DMHenrie wrote:
I have been an Audio guy for years, but recently with the addition of a
Sony Grand Wega HDTV, I am turning to the home theater scene.
Unfortunately I do not have the budget I use to have, so I would like to
use some of the more quality components I already have in my possession,
and add to them to create a good 5.1, or 6.1 system. I have talked to
local audio/video stores and they just want to sell me everything new,
and tell me that my old equipment (primarily speakers that I want to
reuse) are just old technology and are poor. My conjecture is that
quality is quality, and if I liked the sound for the past 20 years, and
they are still in mint condition, what is wrong with re-useing them. In
additoon, since my budget is around $2000-$2500, either I reuse the
present and add a new receiver and rear/center speakers, OR I get a new
THIB, which I believe to be of poorer quality throughout. Problem is,
that I cannot get any recommendations as to which new speakers would
match my older speakers. The ones I want to reuse are "Either" Dahlquist
DQ-20's, or JBL 4311 Studio Monitors (Whichever I can match better). I
also have a JBL Pro 12" sub, that I will continue to use for time being.
Receiver will probably be a new Harman Kardon AVR 7300, or equivalent.

I have JBL 4400 series monitors myself. Three things to know about
old JBLs:
1:The foam surrounds rot out and need replacing every decade or so.
Pretty easy to see, though.
2:The crossovers in the older JBLs were low quality to begin with
and useless by today's standards when you factor in their age.
(Ie - you'd need to get them redone)
3:The alnico magnets loose charge over a dozen or more years
and the speakers drop into the 80-85db efficiency range or worse.
(especially if you like music with loud bass in it)

Add in age, oxidation, and wear... Sell them for what you can.

I'd drop the JBLs and try to get sound to match the DQ20s.

So what are your thoughts and recommendations as to which rear, and
center speakers would be a match for what I want. For those who dont know
about my current brands, The Dalhquist are large floor speakers, and
rather inefficient with a very flat response and good spatial quality,

Get smaller "bookshelf" surrounds and center to match the DQ20s.
You have a sub, so that's 3 good speakers, which $1000 should
easily be able to accomplish.