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JM Labs Electra 946 lack of high-end detail

I have a large open-plan home theater room that I could not fill with enough sound from my Boston VR-M90 mains. My (5th) sub, an SVS PB2 Plus, was up to the job, but overwhelmed the Bostons. So after reading the critiques in this forum I bought a used pair of Electra 946s. With a single Adcom 5802 they lack all high end detail. Bi-amping them with the Adcom 5802 bottom and 2 channels of an Adcom 5503 (a bright amp) brought out a lot of detail in the speakers, but they still lack the finesse and detail of the Bostons. (I like the Boston sound.) I use an Outlaw 970 pre/pro.

Any suggestions as to how to brighten up these speakers would be appreciated. My beef in partivular is with the single 5" midrange speaker and tweeter, which sound dead.

These speakers are the '80s speakers I couldn't afford back then: big stupid bass, as someone has pointed out, efficient, loud, but not refined.
lmhlaw
aball
1,994 posts
 
Lmhlaw - what size is your listening room?
lmhlaw OP
3 posts
 
Aball, the "main" line-of-sight area in which the HT/listening area is located is about 75x25' and there are another 1000 or so sq. ft. of rooms with doors branching off this center "nave".

Arnold, I have suspected the Adcoms and the pre/pro too. The Adcoms vary considerably according to model. I have had several, from the 565 monoblocks to the GFA 7000, which sounds the best to my ears but overheats easily even with bookshelf speakers (Bostom VR-M60s). Would I get more bang for the buck buying a different pre/pro first, say a Krell HTS 7.1, or changing the amps? (I currently have an Outlaw 970 pre/pro).

And Zaikesman and Undertow, thanks again for the helpful suggestions.
aball
1,994 posts
 
Well then yes, I think there is a problem with your speakers.

Arthur
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