JBL 4319 Studio Monitor Review

[anmpr1]

It looks as if the speaker is designed to be used with a small stand such as the one for L100 Classic so that the bass is boosted by floor reflection.

That would be a far cry from the original 4310/11 which was designed to sit on a console, ear level, often with woofer up to reduce bass. Of course the 4319 is likely geared to consumers who just want that 'JBL monitor' look. Note: ashtrays optional.

 

[GXAlan]

Interestingly, the JBL M2 has the same rising response starting about 5kHz. It's much cleaner across the at 3X the MSRP of the 4319.

For comparison, here is the 708

 

[Frank Dernie]

Great thanks spoils us here myself was happy have a pair of TI 120 for a couple of decades in past and IIRC TI series was the first series using titanium tweeter and then came XPL with dual drivers using titanium, look forward see the Klippel haircut.

What appealed to you about titanium for a tweeter material?

 

[BYRTT]

What appealed to you about titanium for a tweeter material?

Honestly nothing had mine TI 120 for at least one year before i noticed that feature in a HiFi magazine review and then later down the road noticed how advertising material told for the new XPL series titanium was adapted for its mid dome too.

 

[BYRTT]

Interestingly, the JBL M2 has the same rising response starting about 5kHz. It's much cleaner across the at 3X the MSRP of the 4319.....

Look at the smooth listening window for that M2 plot, based on the anechoic analyze of yours it can also be so smoothed there but directivity index is not in same class as that expensive M2.

 

[GXAlan]

Look at the smooth listening window for that M2 plot, based on the anechoic analyze of yours it can also be so smoothed there but directivity index is not in same class as that expensive M2.

Oh, I wasn’t suggesting that it was in the same class, just that both had a hot treble. The only area that may be similar is the woofer, which makes sense. The midrange and tweeter are probably worth 1/10th the cost of the woofers.

 

[skyfly]

In these Russian reviews, the bump at 600Hz is not present.

all-hi-fi.ru

hi-fi.ru/magazine

 

[jhaider]

In these Russian reviews, the bump at 600Hz is not present.

all-hi-fi.ru

hi-fi.ru/magazine

Did the bump fall out of a window?

 

[GXAlan]

The 4319's came back to me. In-my-room response is better with the tweeter truly set to zero. My room is just a normal family room with a sectional sofa, some rugs, 8 foot ceilng. I agree that the L-Pads are a bad design choice. If you turn the dial down all the way, it cuts out the tweeter completely so small changes to the dial result in big changes to the sound. There are micro-clicks maybe every half degree of turn and there are positions "in between" the clicks since it's an analog L-pad. Setting it to neutral is easiest by making the slot vertical. I have not tweaked the midrange dials.

The three settings did have some slight variances in positioning of the mic but I think the measurements give you a good general perspective.

And in the flat position again

Tested w/UMIK-1 at 90 degrees. Both speakers playing. Topping D50s straight to an Accuphase P-266.


Subjective Test #1: Girl from Ipanema (Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, 24/192)
- Very sensitive to position.
- At my listening position (where I measured it), the sound stage was almost monaural somehow. It's not a track that I normally listen to, so I am not sure what it's supposed to sound like.
- Sitting in the equilateral triangle position improved stereo imaging.
- Agree with @amirm in that listening to this track isn't very pleasant.

Subjective Test #2: Another Day of Sun from La La Land Soundtrack
- The Pro Tools recording session for this is maxed out at 768 voices, most being vocal tracks.
- I do a pre-check in first 30 seconds of making sure the jazz band and vocals are matched. A speaker that is too lean will push the jazz band to the background while a speaker that is too "relaxed" will have the band overpowering the singer. There is some middle ground for slightly forward and slightly relaxed. I think the JBL 4319 is in the middle ground but slightly lean.
- At the 1 minute mark, you have the most complexity of the entire song. The test is to listen for the clarity of the voices during this period. The JBL 4319 does really well here in that you can "just listen and enjoy" or you can individual pick out each of the elements and easily follow it. Among the very best speakers I've heard for this test.

(I highly recommend this test for everyone. It's a quick, repeatable test.)

Subjective Test #3: Echo Game from House of Flying Daggers Soundtrack
- really clean/taut bass. One of the most articulate setups where I can "just enjoy" or "isolate" the individual drums. There is a portion that I thought was always just noise or a poor recording (0:45 to 0:50 seconds), but the JBL 4319 is super precise here.
- at normal listening volumes, I'd probably want more bass.

Subjective Test #4. Spanish Harlem, Rebecca Pidgeon
- super clean, the trio of bass notes is very balanced without the "hump" that can be heard on most speakers.

Subjective Test #5. Magnificent Seven, Erich Kunzel & Cincinnati Pops; Round-Up SACD
- the opening drum hit at 0:04 is subdued at low volumes.
- The 0:17-0:23 section is super clean and you can hear each of the instruments clearly.

Subjective Test #6. Drum Improvisation, Sheffield Lab Drum & Track Disc (xrcd24)
- super clean at all volumes. No visceral "kick" although each hit of the drum is unique.

Subjective Test #7. John Mayer, Neon from the Where the Light is (Live in LA)
- really highlights the resolution of the 4319. It's better than AKG K3003 IEMs with deeper bass and the sound staging of proper speakers.

Compared to S/2600: Soundstage is wider on the JBL S/2600 (which is a 2-way DD55000) with asymmetrical horns. The JBL 4319 is leaner, but noticeably more detailed. For critical listening, the JBL 4319 may actually be better thanks to the resolution. For relaxed listening or group listening, the S/2600 is better. Center image for the phantom vocal is more focused for the 4319. The bass on the S/2600 digs deeper.

Compared to Studio 590: The 4319 is much clearer and more balanced in terms of frequency response. The 590's were too lean with a weak mid-bass even though it had great bass. This was noticeable on the La La Land Soundtrack. An EQ'd Studio 590 is still probably an amazing deal given the price as long as you can deal with it being top-heavy and not toddler friendly.

Compared to AKG 3003 IEMs: The 4319 is more detailed, has a wider frequency response and has the benefit of soundstage as opposed to being headphones.

Summary: In my room, I think it worked out better than expected from Amir's measurements. The L-pads for the tweeter adjustment are extra-sensitive, when it probably would have been better to just have +/- 2-3 dB, so I feel as if the range is really only a few degrees in each direction. This is clearly a design choice for aesthetics/vintage-ness rather than performance. The speaker is definitely Japanese-market-style lean in that the bass is probably one of the cleanest I've heard, but I don't get the visceral impact I expect from a 12" woofer. (My reference for bass is the Revel B15). I guess I should not be surprised since the Everest DD67000 with DUAL 15" woofers only goes to 47Hz anechoic.

Even though these are classified as the spiritual successor of the 4310/4312 type Control Monitor, once the dials are set, In-room performance is flat (less down titling) rather than the rising midrange and "impact" of the old L100's. Measurements suggest that in-room performance probably feels closer to listening in an anechoic chamber. Compared to premium IEMs (the AKG K3003), I think the 4319 offers even more detail. While there may be even better IEMs/headphones, the fact that detail across the bass/midrange/treble is better with the 4319 is saying a lot.

AKG K3003:
https://www.cnet.com/news/akg-k3003i-can-a-headphone-sound-too-accurate/
https://www.whathifi.com/akg/k3003i/review
https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AKGK3003ReferenceFilter.pdf

I can see why @amirm wasn't happy. The strength of the 4319 is its resolution, but I imagine the Revel Ultima Studio2 matches that resolution with all of the other benefits of a downward tilt for the in-room response and better imaging and deeper bass. There is definitely a tradeoff with the 4319. Resolution is among the very best, but you'd still benefit from adding a sub with the JBL 4319.

 

[skyfly]

"the tweeter adjustment are extra-sensitive "

I had similar experience with Bose 901 VI EQ. There was a position where a small movement of the slider made noticeable change. The distance from the center position of the slider and the change in signal voltage in decibel were not linear.

 

[GXAlan]

Those measurements are reported like Amir's with the 47 to 96 dB scale. If you "cheat" with the 0 to 100 db Y-axis, you would get this in-room response.

 

[skyfly]

It seems that S/2600 would be good in many living rooms where one of left or right sides is glass, and the other side is open.

 

[skyfly]

Those measurements are reported like Amir's with the 47 to 96 dB scale. If you "cheat" with the 0 to 100 db Y-axis, you would get this in-room response.

View attachment 62563

Almost flat to 30Hz. The drop at 20Hz is small for a speaker of that size.

 

[GXAlan]

It seems that S/2600 would be good in many living rooms where one of left or right sides is glass, and the other side is open.

The S/2600 is a relic that is both brilliant and dated. The phantom center image is solid but not razor sharp. But you can sit almost anywhere across a 2m sofa and STILL get a proper stereo image thanks to the asymmetric horns if the speakers are 2.5-3m apart.

A true center channel will be similar but not as good. A center channel below or above is noticeably worse.

For solitary, single seat listening, modern speakers can provide a sharper phantom center but it disappears even after sliding your seat a little to the left or right. Even though the dispersion is great, the balanced SPL cannot be achieved otherwise. Main criticism is that you also get some phase error because of the different distances, but again the goal of asymmetrical horns is to share the music with others.

Last, the S/2600 rolls off above 16khz quickly.

If I quantify center imaging with traditional speakers as 10/10 and the seat left/right as 5/10and two seats over as 1/10, the S2600 is like 9/10 in the center, 8/10 one person over and 7/10 two people over. So in a row of 5 people, the outside person gets a better stereo experience than even two people sitting side by side with a traditional setup. But for one person, it never reaches the same peak perfection.

Almost flat to 30Hz. The drop at 20Hz is small for a speaker of that size.

Yup. And the bass is clean so it makes you want to crank it up!

 

[GXAlan]

I ran the 4319 through REW measurements to assess it's capabilities with EQ for my own room.

I'm impressed. It's not too complicated whether you're using fancy EQ filters or if you just have access to a simple 10-band EQ. This is in-room, so my 100 Hz dip is hard to fix. (1/6 Octave smoothing)

 

[tuga]

I ran the 4319 through REW measurements to assess it's capabilities with EQ for my own room.

I'm impressed. It's not too complicated whether you're using fancy EQ filters or if you just have access to a simple 10-band EQ. This is in-room, so my 100 Hz dip is hard to fix. (1/6 Octave smoothing)

View attachment 62737




View attachment 62738View attachment 62739View attachment 62740View attachment 62741

Your amplitude scale (Y/vertical) is too wide, will make any speaker look flat and mask significant issues.
Click on Limits (top upper-right) and select SPL 110dB to 60dB, Range 20Hz to 20,000Hz.

Which smoothing filter did you apply? If room EQ'ing use maybe Variable, 1/12 or 1/24 octave.

 

[QMuse]

The 4319's came back to me. In-my-room response is better with the tweeter truly set to zero. My room is just a normal family room with a sectional sofa, some rugs, 8 foot ceilng. I agree that the L-Pads are a bad design choice. If you turn the dial down all the way, it cuts out the tweeter completely so small changes to the dial result in big changes to the sound. There are micro-clicks maybe every half degree of turn and there are positions "in between" the clicks since it's an analog L-pad. Setting it to neutral is easiest by making the slot vertical. I have not tweaked the midrange dials.

The three settings did have some slight variances in positioning of the mic but I think the measurements give you a good general perspective.


View attachment 62552

View attachment 62553



View attachment 62556

And in the flat position again
View attachment 62559
View attachment 62560


Tested w/UMIK-1 at 90 degrees. Both speakers playing. Topping D50s straight to an Accuphase P-266.


Subjective Test #1: Girl from Ipanema (Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, 24/192)
- Very sensitive to position.
- At my listening position (where I measured it), the sound stage was almost monaural somehow. It's not a track that I normally listen to, so I am not sure what it's supposed to sound like.
- Sitting in the equilateral triangle position improved stereo imaging.
- Agree with @amirm in that listening to this track isn't very pleasant.

Subjective Test #2: Another Day of Sun from La La Land Soundtrack
- The Pro Tools recording session for this is maxed out at 768 voices, most being vocal tracks.
- I do a pre-check in first 30 seconds of making sure the jazz band and vocals are matched. A speaker that is too lean will push the jazz band to the background while a speaker that is too "relaxed" will have the band overpowering the singer. There is some middle ground for slightly forward and slightly relaxed. I think the JBL 4319 is in the middle ground but slightly lean.
- At the 1 minute mark, you have the most complexity of the entire song. The test is to listen for the clarity of the voices during this period. The JBL 4319 does really well here in that you can "just listen and enjoy" or you can individual pick out each of the elements and easily follow it. Among the very best speakers I've heard for this test.

(I highly recommend this test for everyone. It's a quick, repeatable test.)

Subjective Test #3: Echo Game from House of Flying Daggers Soundtrack
- really clean/taut bass. One of the most articulate setups where I can "just enjoy" or "isolate" the individual drums. There is a portion that I thought was always just noise or a poor recording (0:45 to 0:50 seconds), but the JBL 4319 is super precise here.
- at normal listening volumes, I'd probably want more bass.

Subjective Test #4. Spanish Harlem, Rebecca Pidgeon
- super clean, the trio of bass notes is very balanced without the "hump" that can be heard on most speakers.

Subjective Test #5. Magnificent Seven, Erich Kunzel & Cincinnati Pops; Round-Up SACD
- the opening drum hit at 0:04 is subdued at low volumes.
- The 0:17-0:23 section is super clean and you can hear each of the instruments clearly.

Subjective Test #6. Drum Improvisation, Sheffield Lab Drum & Track Disc (xrcd24)
- super clean at all volumes. No visceral "kick" although each hit of the drum is unique.

Subjective Test #7. John Mayer, Neon from the Where the Light is (Live in LA)
- really highlights the resolution of the 4319. It's better than AKG K3003 IEMs with deeper bass and the sound staging of proper speakers.

Compared to S/2600: Soundstage is wider on the JBL S/2600 (which is a 2-way DD55000) with asymmetrical horns. The JBL 4319 is leaner, but noticeably more detailed. For critical listening, the JBL 4319 may actually be better thanks to the resolution. For relaxed listening or group listening, the S/2600 is better. Center image for the phantom vocal is more focused for the 4319. The bass on the S/2600 digs deeper.

Compared to Studio 590: The 4319 is much clearer and more balanced in terms of frequency response. The 590's were too lean with a weak mid-bass even though it had great bass. This was noticeable on the La La Land Soundtrack. An EQ'd Studio 590 is still probably an amazing deal given the price as long as you can deal with it being top-heavy and not toddler friendly.

Compared to AKG 3003 IEMs: The 4319 is more detailed, has a wider frequency response and has the benefit of soundstage as opposed to being headphones.

Summary: In my room, I think it worked out better than expected from Amir's measurements. The L-pads for the tweeter adjustment are extra-sensitive, when it probably would have been better to just have +/- 2-3 dB, so I feel as if the range is really only a few degrees in each direction. This is clearly a design choice for aesthetics/vintage-ness rather than performance. The speaker is definitely Japanese-market-style lean in that the bass is probably one of the cleanest I've heard, but I don't get the visceral impact I expect from a 12" woofer. (My reference for bass is the Revel B15). I guess I should not be surprised since the Everest DD67000 with DUAL 15" woofers only goes to 47Hz anechoic.

Even though these are classified as the spiritual successor of the 4310/4312 type Control Monitor, once the dials are set, In-room performance is flat (less down titling) rather than the rising midrange and "impact" of the old L100's. Measurements suggest that in-room performance probably feels closer to listening in an anechoic chamber. Compared to premium IEMs (the AKG K3003), I think the 4319 offers even more detail. While there may be even better IEMs/headphones, the fact that detail across the bass/midrange/treble is better with the 4319 is saying a lot.

AKG K3003:
https://www.cnet.com/news/akg-k3003i-can-a-headphone-sound-too-accurate/
https://www.whathifi.com/akg/k3003i/review
https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AKGK3003ReferenceFilter.pdf

I can see why @amirm wasn't happy. The strength of the 4319 is its resolution, but I imagine the Revel Ultima Studio2 matches that resolution with all of the other benefits of a downward tilt for the in-room response and better imaging and deeper bass. There is definitely a tradeoff with the 4319. Resolution is among the very best, but you'd still benefit from adding a sub with the JBL 4319.

Based on your measurements I would also try 1 click to the left.

Do you have room EQ in place?

 

[QMuse]

I ran the 4319 through REW measurements to assess it's capabilities with EQ for my own room.

I'm impressed. It's not too complicated whether you're using fancy EQ filters or if you just have access to a simple 10-band EQ. This is in-room, so my 100 Hz dip is hard to fix. (1/6 Octave smoothing)

View attachment 62737




View attachment 62738View attachment 62739View attachment 62740View attachment 62741

Uf, 10dB gain filters are a big no-no, especially at LF range. Last graph looks pretty good but again has 8dB gain at 32Hz.

I'd be happy to assist with EQ if you post your REW measurement file.

 

[GXAlan]

I did use the tall vertical scale to make it look like all the marketing demos and I mentioned in the post that it was 1/6 . (The measurement curves with minimal smoothing are listed above)

I have not implemented the EQ yet. The JBLs are efficient (They perform like they advertise) and the woofer itself can handle a lot (although this generation of the 2213Nd did not have the low TCR wire). The sweep was done with just about 1W of power.

I will probably run Dirac Live Studio when all is said and done. I just wanted to update the thread with extra data points since I have the luxury of more time to play with the speakers.

 

[LuckyLuke575]

I've seen too many top end Japanese audio videos on YouTube with these (and far larger) JBL Studio Monitor speakers to be convinced by the results. If I had the opportunity I'd buy these in a heartbeat.