JBL SDP-55 Audio/Video Processor Review

[valerianf]

Once again we have a very complicated audio equipment with performance that is not at the level of the price tag.
Even if I like the JBL front panel design there is no way to excuse the fact that a multiple hours update end result is a bricked unit.
My guess is that this product is too much complicated in comparison to the design team size/resources.
Let us see how the next generation of Yamaha AVR is behaving (they are next in the new products pipe).

 

[HTNut1975]

The feature set (high channel count, balanced outputs, dante networking), and the pricing, suggest that it's aimed at AV installations in corporate environment, not really for home use. I don't see rack ears tough, which is weird.

Rack ears are forthcoming, from what I understand. The channel count, along with the free Dirac upgrades adds a significant amount of value to it. Also, for others asking about value, keep in mind that when comparing the competing Emotiva or Monoprice products, the MSRP of the JBL isn’t comensorate to the internet direct pricing. Harman dealers will often sell their products with significant price discounts. The trick is to shop around and be patient. They’ll even have seasonal sales with dealer incentives to move products, etc.

 

[Noah Katz]

IMO the discussion ensuing after my below way is way overcomplicated.

It's very simple - only a tiny minority will hear a difference between the best and close to worst scorers on SINAD, or need more output voltage than these processors provide.

I understand the engineers' (I am one) aesthetic of good design and bench measurements, but I think most people who are throwing their arms up and saying "oh, no, no way I can buy that after Amor showed what a piece of crap that is!" are doing themselves a disservice.

As for the bugs, those are inexcusable.

IMO people are missing the forest for the trees.

The *measured* performance may be disappointing, but pretty much everyone who has the Monoprice and JBL/Arcam processors are extremely happy with the sound quality.

 

[Noah Katz]

The feature set (high channel count, balanced outputs, dante networking), and the pricing, suggest that it's aimed at AV installations in corporate environment, not really for home use. I don't see rack ears tough, which is weird.

Except for the film industry, why would 16 ch be needed in a corporate environment?

The obvious market is HT enthusiasts and custom installers.

 

[audioBliss]

I think this is a key point that are often forgotten. Just curious, what would consider "low noise floor", what is yours if you don't mind sharing. I posted mine (REW FR 20-20000 Hz) a couple of time.

I'm not sure what I consider low but as low as you can get it But sitting in a moving car or in a living room with a busy street outside I would not consider low. I've not seriously measured my current rooms noise floor but with an SPL meter it's 32dBA which is probably not that impressive because I've had another room that actually felt really quiet...but I did quite a lot to that room.

 

[PeteL]

Except for the film industry, why would 16 ch be needed in a corporate environment?

The obvious market is HT enthusiasts and custom installers.

I would assume that each channel have it's own room correction and that you don't need 16 channels at the input to have 16 channels at the output, but I didn't read the manual, One use case I coud think of would be to have this in the equipment room, or the control room of a theater, maybe have the same video with sound in different location of the building, all with their own amplification system, or yes, maybe some theater which are not typical movie theaters, but show Blue Ray movies and the sound reinforcement system would be complex and on the Dante Network. This would allow an employee to just go and press play, without the need to operate a mixing console. In any case, Dante is a professional thing, no one have a Dante network at home.

 

[Luminous White]

So now there is just Audio Control and Trinnov left. Anybody want to set up a go fund me to get these tested? Just two left. Let’s get to the bottom of the AVR rabbit hole, and hope we find a winner.

 

[Dj7675]

So now there is just Audio Control and Trinnov left. Anybody want to set up a go fund me to get these tested? Just two left. Let’s get to the bottom of the AVR rabbit hole, and hope we find a winner.

Isn’t Audio Control based on the Arcam as well? We also need a Lyngdorf MP50 or MP60 tested as well (Or McInotsh MX170)

 

[amirm]

Let us see how the next generation of Yamaha AVR is behaving (they are next in the new products pipe).

FYI I have ordered the new Yamaha RX-V6A. Expected delivery is in "September/October."

 

[Krobar]

Isn’t Audio Control based on the Arcam as well? We also need a Lyngdorf MP50 or MP60 tested as well (Or McInotsh MX170)

Yes, X7 appears to have the same DAC as the AV40. The only interesting one is the X9 as that seems to be the only Harman DAC section without single ended to balanced conversion (Although they only claim 3dB better). This is why I think seeing some basic single ended results for the SDP-55 would be interesting.

Add the Storm Audio Mk2 to that list as well.

 

[amirm]

OK, many Dante devices are bidirectional but I see from the "feature" pages that they talk about "routing AV signal over the network" I missed that, I think you are right, for some reason, I tought this was a "dante DAC"

Oh, I thought you were asking for the main scenario or having a remote outboard Dante DAC. If you just want to stream to it, I can try to get that to work but I am not sure of that utility versus using standard networking.

 

[PeteL]

Oh, I thought you were asking for the main scenario or having a remote outboard Dante DAC. If you just want to stream to it, I can try to get that to work but I am not sure of that utility versus using standard networking.

For the average user, no utility, I was interested in seing the jitter difference with hdmi. At least theoritically jitter is very very good with Dante, it should be also better than standard networking, but I agree the use cases are a not so obvious

 

[Francis Vaughan]

Interesting how people can have such different opinions. The only thing I agree with is the relatively poor audio quality in movie theaters in the theaters I have watched a movie in (Usually to loud for my taste)

I should probably have been more clear. I’m not saying that movie sound is poor. I’m saying that it has no need of ultimate resolution and that the performance of modern AVRs is adequate for purpose. I would be very surprised if even the best movie sound tracks consistently had useful information below the 14th bit. That is still way better than LP and all bar the most extreme magnetic tape capability.
We have generations of movies distributed with optical sound tracks.

 

[Francis Vaughan]

In practice, most AVR/Ps will actually provide a higher quality musical experience from a given program than most elite 2-channel electronics. The reasons are bass management and room correction.

Absolutely, but this is a problem for the golden eared audiophools. There is no reason why a top end two channel system cannot use appropriate bass management and room correction. An AVR is a cost effective way of buying that, but that is all. There are plenty of 2 channel solutions, but the usual purist approach rejects anything that isn’t bit perfect. Which is just plain ignorance. But there it is.

 

[SimpleTheater]

IMO nothing matters more than a product simply working and for that alone the JBL deserves the headless panther.

If someone wants 16 channels, the Monoprice HTP-1 coupled with two NAD M27 + NAD M22 is the best way to go. The NAD’s voltage matches the Monoprice and the Monoprice not only measures better than JBL/Arcam & has Dirac but actually works. Because I am planning to upgrade from an 11 channel to a 13 channel system next year and I’m not a believer that Dirac is better than Audyssey, Denon X8500 is on my short list followed by absolutely no other product. Only a good ASR review can add competition to the Denon.

 

[Dj7675]

I should probably have been more clear. I’m not saying that movie sound is poor. I’m saying that it has no need of ultimate resolution and that the performance of modern AVRs is adequate for purpose. I would be very surprised if even the best movie sound tracks consistently had useful information below the 14th bit. That is still way better than LP and all bar the most extreme magnetic tape capability.
We have generations of movies distributed with optical sound tracks.

DTSHD
The format supports a maximum of 192 kHz sampling frequency and 24-bit depth samples from 2 to 5.1 channels, and 96 kHz/24bit resolution up to 7.1 channels. DTS-HD Master Audio is capable of virtually any number of discrete channels but is limited by storage media.
Dolby TrueHD
Dolby TrueHD supports up to 24-bit audio and sampling rates from 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz. Dolby TrueHD supports up to 7.1 audio channels as well as Dolby Atmos immersive audio. As Dolby TrueHD is a lossless audio codec, the data rate is variable.
Are you saying these 2 lossless 24bit standards are only providing 14 bit audio?
From my experience, DTSHD (weather 5.1/7.1 or 11.1) and Dolby TrueHD (5.1>11.1 atmos) provides some of the best audio I have experienced in the home. To say that movies movies don't have a need "of ultimate resolution" is the exact opposite of what is needed. There needs to be transparent options for home theater... whether AVRs or A/V Processors and there doesn't appear to be any. My goal for movie playback in the home is to get playback on my system as close to the content produced and after getting some external amplification going on my Denon x8500, I believe it will be good enough for my needs. The video and audio content available on Bluray and 4K is absolutely terrific. Your comments make it sound like it is low resolution garbage and any of the AVRs are adequate and match the poor content. This just doesn't match my experience at all. Just as many pursue as much transparency in their audio system as they can, so to do many who enjoy the excellent audio quality in movies as well. I certainly understand if you don't agree but let's not let AVR and A/V Processor manufacturers off the hook for making some very expensive devices -some which don't measure well, some that are broken, others that aren't stable, others that just updating the firmware even is a difficult process.

 

[Francis Vaughan]

Are you saying these 2 lossless 24bit standards are only providing 14 bit audio?

No. I’m saying that the final mixed down multichannel information stream probably has no information lower than the 14th bit. Probably not even that. Given you won’t have a power amplifier this linear you almost certainly won’t notice.
Dynamic range in terms of content production as opposed to the engineering meaning of the term may call for very wide level changes, but the resolution of even the loudest signals may well have quite low intrinsic signal to noise.

 

[KMN]

Never mind that there is no mains frequency peak that would indicate a ground loop. The noise is broadband and encompasses a range up to a few hundred hertz.

Loop antennas are efficient in a passband based on their physical layout. If the loop is detuned to 60Hz and/or the fields present aren't strong in 60Hz, it might not show up while other frequencies may still be there.

This sure seems a sign of a less than optimal design. It seems like they'd want it to be a bigger secret when they practically admit the quoted specs are only possible under ideal lab conditions and not as users would typically be using the device.

You'd think there would be someone within an organization such as JBL capable of overseeing the design to prevent what presumably would have been a fairly simple thing to design around, when considering some new products architecture from the ground up, especially within the budget $6k retail must allow for.

This is why I read these reviews like some kind of crackhead. Still waiting for that giant killer pre/pro review to emerge. Have you any plans to do any Onkyo/Integra pre/pros? Not that I think they will necessarily fare any better than the current field of contenders.

 

[audioBliss]

To be frank you can forget about about Onkyo/Integra. There is nothing else to test. The HTP-1 is where it's at or Denon if the room correction fits your needs or HDMI 2.1 is important to you. I think I can say with confidence that this is the case.

 

[Dj7675]

To be frank you can forget about about Onkyo/Integra. There is nothing else to test. The HTP-1 is where it's at or Denon if the room correction fits your needs or HDMI 2.1 is important to you. I think I can say with confidence that this is the case.

I still think it would be worth while to test a Lyngdorf MP50/MP60 or McIntosh MX170. It addition the new a new Marantz line as well.