JBL 306P MK II Review (Studio Monitor)

[fieldcar]

I'm kind of confused about all of the scoffing remarks of "these aren't studio monitors". To be fair, yes, these are for a home studio. They are extremely linear, affordable, and from what I see on ASR and experience, they distort when they bounce off the limiter (no schnitzel sherlock). I'm not some sort of masterclass producer, but I've been extremely happy with the dual purpose nature of the 306P mkii's in my office/home studio where I can enjoy some critical listening as well as producing and mastering music. I score slightly above average on the kippel listening test, so it's not like I can't detect distortion, but I've never been disappointed with the capabilities of these fantastic little speakers.

 

[PeteL]

Certainly not. I have a bit of high frequency hearing loss. Not sure it was from all the live shows I enjoyed.... but if it was, I'm still glad I saw those performances.

I do not know your age and am not asking, but we will all at one point lose some of the highs, no matter how cautious.

 

[Xyrium]

I'm kind of confused about all of the scoffing remarks of "these aren't studio monitors". To be fair, yes, these are for a home studio. They are extremely linear, affordable, and from what I see on ASR and experience, they distort when they bounce off the limiter (no schnitzel sherlock). I'm not some sort of masterclass producer, but I've been extremely happy with the dual purpose nature of the 306P mkii's in my office/home studio where I can enjoy some critical listening as well as producing and mastering music. I score slightly above average on the kippel listening test, so it's not like I can't detect distortion, but I've never been disappointed with the capabilities of these fantastic little speakers.

I believe the concern is distortion. Flat response is one thing, however, if some of that response is distortion, even at 86dB, then we have a problem, Houston. However, the price....I suppose everything has it's compromise.

That said, some people enjoy distortion, they aren't looking for reverb tails and proper acoustic instrument timbre. They just want a wall of sound that doesn't hurt their ears, and provides a little foot tappin' fun.

 

[JohnBooty]

I do not know your age and am not asking, but we will all at one point lose some of the highs, no matter how cautious.

Yeah. Seems to run in my family a bit, regardless of irresponsible choices at live amplified music venues....

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

The notion of value is complex and highly subjective. I daresay that the LSR306 (along with the 35 and 308) represent extraordinarily good values. True, they don't have the lowest distortion (IMD and THD) but their prices and overall good objective measurements in other parameters, make them more than compelling.
My opinion is biased. I use three (3) 308 and two (2) 305 in my HT and I am blissfully satisfied. I don't see myself changing these (for HT) anytime soon. They do however left me wanting for more, in sighted auditions. They sound (308 and 305) less than "refined" for music. Perhaps it is purely subjective but I am looking for better for pure, focused, attentive music listening ...

 

[fieldcar]

I believe the concern is distortion. Flat response is one thing, however, if some of that response is distortion, even at 86dB, then we have a problem, Houston. However, the price....I suppose everything has it's compromise.

That said, some people enjoy distortion, they aren't looking for reverb tails and proper acoustic instrument timbre. They just want a wall of sound that doesn't hurt their ears, and provides a little foot tappin' fun.

Yeah. That's true. I only run these about 3/4 the volume before I hear saturation. If I felt like I needed more volume, I'd be itching to grab a pair of genelec's if the wife allows it
Maybe someday, but I'm pretty content since I got the 306P's for ~$170 for the pair during a black Friday sale a couple years back.

 

[PeteL]

I stopped long ago going to the cinema, tired of asking them to lower the volume every single time. Home, sweet home...

Interestingly, in Montreal they started capping the loudness of exterior events at 90 dB SPL. Me I since stopped going to festival style concert. It's 100% impossible to have a good musical experience with level that low over a big crowd. And it's not the mixing engineer's fault, simply not loud enough for the environment.

 

[Xyrium]

Yeah. That's true. I only run these about 3/4 the volume before I hear saturation. If I felt like I needed more volume, I'd be itching to grab a pair of genelec's if the wife allows it
Maybe someday, but I'm pretty content since I got the 306P's for ~$170 for the pair during a black Friday sale a couple years back.

Yeah, there's no beating it for the price, and even the little 305's can get the house jumping down low. Pretty good stuff!

Interestingly, in Montresl they started capping the loudness of exteriour even at 90 dB SPL. Me I since stopped going to festival style concert. It's 100% impossible to have a good musical experience with level that low over a big crowd. And it's not the mixing engineer's fault, simply not loud enough for the environment.

That seems like a flawed methodology. I can see them measuring SPL at the back and middle rows perhaps, but not the front. I would think 85dB is fairly acceptable at the outer perimeter.

 

[infinitesymphony]

The MR524 is another very popular option
EDIT: just saw that you've talked about them on another thread already. Sorry for the unnecessary comment.

I think the Mackie MRs and HRs are going to find a sweet spot between JBL/Adam and Neumann.

 

[Jarrett]

Not sure if this has ever been asked. Should speakers that measure about the same sound the same? (Since we hear this lesson about DACs all the time.)

 

[dfuller]

Perhaps it is purely subjective but I am looking for better for pure, focused, attentive music listening ...

Yeah, and considering their intended use case is, well... Focused, attentive music listening, one would hope they'd be better. HT is more forgiving on distortion, IMO.

Not sure if this has ever been asked. Should speakers that measure about the same sound the same? (Since we hear this lesson about DACs all the time.)

Theoretically, yes.

 

[Pio2001]

12500 Hz for me with HD600 headphones, headphone output with no clipping, no aliasing.
They say I'm "normal"

Not sure if this has ever been asked. Should speakers that measure about the same sound the same? (Since we hear this lesson about DACs all the time.)

No. To sound the same, they have to measure exactly the same. "About" the same is not enough. For speakers, small differences in the measurements can easily be audible.
For example, the ruler-flat frequency response of a Neumann KH-120 is not flat enough for our ears: it lacks 1 dB in treble. That's quite audible.

 

[F1308]

I do not know your age and am not asking, but we will all at one point lose some of the highs, no matter how cautious.

Those highs we all are going to lose are a matter of too much talk about nothing, since music ends much lower than 5000 Hz. With piano tuned at A4=440 Hz means C8, last 88 key, sounds at 4186.01 Hz. That age related hearing loss means you won't hear 15000, but only 12000. So wide latitude still given to enjoy the very last nuisances of music... including harmonics.

 

[waynel]

Those highs we all are going to lose are a matter of too much talk about nothing, since music ends much lower than 5000 Hz. With piano tuned at A4=440 Hz means C8, last 88 key, sounds at 4186.01 Hz. That age related hearing loss means you won't hear 15000, but only 12000. So wide latitude still given to enjoy the very last nuisances of music.

This is nonsense, you are completely ignoring harmonics which create the timbre of music not to mention percussion.

 

[beagleman]

Certainly not. I have a bit of high frequency hearing loss. Not sure it was from all the live shows I enjoyed.... but if it was, I'm still glad I saw those performances.

Two dogs. And I do recall reading that the barking of dogs can briefly hit 90+ dB at close range or something like that. Prolonged continuous exposure to that would surely not be a good thing for your hearing.

However, like most dogs, mine bark occasionally. They are not continuously barking directly into my ear for minutes, let alone hours, on end. So that's quite a different thing than exposing one's self to 80, 85, 90+ dB or whatever for long periods of time.

If your dogs are just barking and howling into your ears at max volume for hours at a time maybe things are not going so well. Or maybe Lassie is just trying to tell you something important...

Jokes aside, I don't understand your argument. Just because there are some unavoidable overly loud sounds in our lives, we shouldn't protect our hearing ever? I guess I should just skip the ear production next time I make it to a shooting range, then.

I think the dog bark can go well over 100 dbs. More like 105-110

 

[LightninBoy]

To all those questioning these as being real "studio monitors" - I kind of answered that question here in the JBL 308mkII thread ...

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-mkii-studio-monitor-review.17338/post-562536

Hobby music recording has exploded in popularity and these are perfectly designed for that use case given the cost constraint. If anything, these measurements make me less likely to recommend these for domestic uses such as close up desktop (where the hiss might be audible) or for a room system in anything but a very small room (because of the dynamic range limits).

 

[F1308]

Interestingly, in Montreal they started capping the loudness of exterior events at 90 dB SPL. Me I since stopped going to festival style concert. It's 100% impossible to have a good musical experience with level that low over a big crowd. And it's not the mixing engineer's fault, simply not loud enough for the environment.

I was told, when recruited by my company, that during my medical test my ears proved being the very best they, doctors, had ever met. They compared them to a CD.
At that time portable CDs were being released and I was gifted by my wife with a top notch Sony.
During a flight lasting some three good hours I enjoyed Haendel's Messiah. It was so great !!!!
Then I had to pick something from the overhead bin and, by chance, I saw the volume wheel showing 10 (out of 12).
When I got into the hotel and I unpacked, started playing it again and, to my surprise, I had to place the volume at 2 !!!! Yes, at 2 !!!! Otherwise I was tortured. Then I recalled the setting during the flight trip and desmayed.
I then realized the danger and am sure you know the many hearing issues that generation suffered.
The moral of the story is that the scenario should grant a safe performance. No way to ask them 135 dB just because the background is not committed and doesn't behave properly.

My latest test show I am still hearing from 20 up to 15200... where music does not reach, by the way. But nice to know, anyway.

 

[JohnBooty]

Serious question for folks who use monitors in a professional capacity.

While I sing the praises of these speakers, I do realize they are inferior to higher end monitors in a lot of measurable and audible ways.

What would your job be like if you had to use cheap monitors like these JBLs?

 

[F1308]

This is nonsense, you are completely ignoring harmonics which create the timbre of music not to mention percussion.

Most of the time music is kept well below A5, 880 Hz. The fourth harmonic will be 3520 Hz.
Making the tune reached A6, 1760, will place the fourth harmonic at 7040...

 

[LightninBoy]

I also have a dislike for dips in the 1kHz - 2kHz range for this reason, but also because it will unbalance the phantom center / stereo imaging for voices. Do you have your speakers toed-in towards the listening position or not?

Yes, but I don't notice a big change with toe-in. One the great things about these speakers is that your head can be in many different positions and the sound is pretty much the same.