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I should have stated up front that over the years I've personally experienced both live and recorded music played through a variety of PA speakers in small venues. The best small venue pro sound I ever heard led me to walk up and ask the sound engineer what the tiny speakers were that were creating such a huge soundstage. He showed me that they were 8" active EV ZXA1-90 speakers and said they were his personal favorites. They had a clean, clear unstrained quality that I've never experienced with any of my home audio speakers.
That makes more sense now. You're set on buying PA speakers. I can understand that (I very much like, and used to design, PA speakers, and one thing I like about the 308P is that it has similar radiation to a classic PA speaker with a CD horn like the CP8, but also has the accuracy of a studio monitor, which is rare in budget PA gear).
I would be perfectly comfortable with EV ZXA1-90 speakers in my home. However, they cost $100 each more than the QSC CP8 and are an older design. Those who've compared the CP8 to the ZXA1-90 mostly agree that they are at least comparable in overall performance.
They are very similar. On the basis of the limited info we have, CP8 appears in fact to be a slightly better speaker
As for in room performance potentially extending the distance at which 85 dB continuously with 20 dB headroom can be achieved I had not previously seen this mentioned in any of my extensive reading so it doesn't seem to be a widely acknowledged feature.
It's not a "feature". It's just physics Once you've passed the critical distance (the point at which the level of direct sound is equal to the level of reflections), the SPL doesn't really change much no matter how far from the speakers you go (except in corners, where bass will on average be louder).
What I have seen documented on other AV forums is measured real world performance that LP-8/308P class 8" active studio monitors fall short of achieving THX reference beyond 10 feet and sound strained and compressed trying to achieve it whereas active PA speakers in the same environments have achieved measured THX reference beyond 10 feet with no sign of strain or compression.
The max. SPL specs provided by companies like JBL or QSC (indeed, especially QSC, IME) are not necessarily accurate. My comments earlier are based on the assumption that JBL's specs are accurate, which may not be true.
Anyway, I'd be really interested in reading these AV forum links you mentioned. Would you mind sharing them?
So while I think I could be satisfied with something like the Kali or JBL 8" active studio monitors I believe the CP8 would come closer to capturing that special experience I had listening to the EV ZXA1-90 active PA speakers. My priority is effortlessly reaching THX reference at part throttle to use an automotive term. In either case I would be crossing at 80 Hz to a sub so bass performance is not an issue.
This goes to my previous question, actually. When you say people on AV forums have reported the 308P struggling to reach THX ref levels, was that with or without a + sub? (Again, I ask merely out of personal curiosity here.)