JBL Synthesis 10spkr frequency response

[LSUfan]

Hello all. Newbie, first post.

Long story short, my neighbor is a musician, and let me borrow his frequency analyzer. I immediately ran to the garage to check out the response of the JBL synthesis system. Note that it is an analog analyzer - the readings jump around a bit so its subject to human error. I hung the mic right where the drivers head would be. The measurement at 16Khz and at 20Khz was off the chart low - I punched in -6db for both but they are probably lower than that.

I was not shocked to see such a sharp drop off in the highs. I was shocked to see such a broad hump in the low end. I've noted that bass/kick drums stick out (probably around 50Hz or so), but that the rest of the bass / midbass range was terrible. Doesn't exactly correspond to what I measured.

Comments?

 

[Guest]

This may be an obvious question, but did you make sure to have all of the gains on the head unit set to the middle setting?

If not, that may explain the jump in bass.

Also... did you use an actual frequency testing CD? If not then that chart is nearly 100% useless unless you wanted to compare it to another vehicle using the same track.

If you had the gains set to neutral and a good test CD, then those results are pretty terrible.

Not that even an aftermarket system would be much better in terms of flat response unless somebody with a very high budget and a lot of patience and skills went to work.

 

[LSUfan]

Bass, midrange, treble, fader, balance were all set to zero. Surrround was off, and volume was set to 40. I used a 20hz-20khz pink noise track from a home theater setup disc .

But......road noise....human error......equipment that could be out of cal......its far from a perfect setup. Take it for what it is. I'll use it as a good excuse to spend alot of money on my new system.

 

[Cliff s]

Your freq response plot is confirmed by my
uncalibrated ears. Seems as though the
stock system is sadly lacking in highs.
The mid-range lows are boosted which
rather colors the music.

I was rather disappointed with the JBL system for
$750, it could sound better than a regular cheap radio.

It would appear as though a good equalizer would
make a great improvement in the sound quality.

As far as the FM stations, forget it, they
do all sorts of tricks to make their station
sound louder, roll off the lows attenuate
the highs and etc. The more compression the better.
Most of the stations sound worse than the 1950's AM'rs.

Cliff s

 

[Guest]

Your freq response plot is confirmed by my
uncalibrated ears. Seems as though the
stock system is sadly lacking in highs.
The mid-range lows are boosted which
rather colors the music.

I was rather disappointed with the JBL system for
$750, it could sound better than a regular cheap radio.

It would appear as though a good equalizer would
make a great improvement in the sound quality.

As far as the FM stations, forget it, they
do all sorts of tricks to make their station
sound louder, roll off the lows attenuate
the highs and etc. The more compression the better.
Most of the stations sound worse than the 1950's AM'rs.

Cliff s

Wow you must really be an old school audiophile to feel that 1950s AM radio sounded better than modern day FM radio just because they play with the EQs at the station.

BTW... the JBL stereo is only like 300-350 bucks. The extra money (if you paid it) was for a 6-disc changer instead of just a single dish... no difference in sound quality.

For 300 bucks, I think it's a worthwhile upgrade over the base system for sure... but only if you plan to listen to music often and have no plans for an aftermarket system.

I'd like to run a spectrum analyzer on the Nakamichi in my car some day. That'd be pretty fun to see. I bet the curve still looks terrible. Cars are just very bad environments for accurate sound reproduction. You really just have to focus more on what sounds good to you, and not so much on what sounds truest to the original recording,

 

[Cleric]

I'd like to run a spectrum analyzer on the Nakamichi in my car some day. That'd be pretty fun to see. I bet the curve still looks terrible. Cars are just very bad environments for accurate sound reproduction. You really just have to focus more on what sounds good to you, and not so much on what sounds truest to the original recording,

Well said, Threxx.

 

[Cliff s]

I checked my MSRP sheet that came with the 4runner and the JBL was $625,
with the 6 disk changer it is about $750. To me that is a lot of money to pay
for a system that doesn't sound any better than the cheap radio in my old Jeep.

You missed the point of the AM'rs of the 50's, they had no lows, no highs and
plenty of distortion. They really didn't sound very good. I spent 40 years in
broadcasting so I have some first hand knowledge of what goes on.

I have been presently going over the diagrams and looking for a place to add a
good 11 band equalizer, then with the replacing of the small(cheap) speakers
in the upper part of the front doors with some decent ones,
the sound should improve. Maybe add some decent cross-overs in the front doors.

Cliff s

 

[Guest]

I checked my MSRP sheet that came with the 4runner and the JBL was $625,
with the 6 disk changer it is about $750. To me that is a lot of money to pay
for a system that doesn't sound any better than the cheap radio in my old Jeep.

You missed the point of the AM'rs of the 50's, they had no lows, no highs and
plenty of distortion. They really didn't sound very good. I spent 40 years in
broadcasting so I have some first hand knowledge of what goes on.

I have been presently going over the diagrams and looking for a place to add a
good 11 band equalizer, then with the replacing of the small(cheap) speakers
in the upper part of the front doors with some decent ones,
the sound should improve. Maybe add some decent cross-overs in the front doors.

Cliff s

As per Toyota themselves, as well as edmunds.com , carpoint.com , and anywhere else you look, the JBL system is exactly $475 sticker price, and exactly $356 at invoice (which is what most those who negotiate should be paying at or about)

The JBL stereo with the 6-disc changer, is $725 sticker with a $544 invoice. It's one or the other, these two options do not combine.

I agree with you that AM radio has no highs, no lows, and plenty of distortion. It's really only suitable for voice. But you said I missed your point... which was what? You said FM radio sounds worse than 1950s AM radio because of all the adjustments they make to their EQs at the station- probably to focus more on mid bass rather than sub bass and such due to most cars having such weak factory stereo systems. So what am I missing?

 

[Cliff s]

The factory sticker that was on the 04 4runner that I bought listed the JBL as
$625(no CD changer). I could scan it if you don't believe me.

The Fm'rs today use extensive audio processing, with a large amount of frequency sensitive
compression. By doing this they can make their station sound louder than the next. The program
director dictates what his(or her) station sounds like.

Cliff s