LSR 305 and 308 discontinued.............read below

[vert]

Do those come with a remote? It seems not, and the only ones in that price range with a remote seem to be The Audioengines A5+. But those haven't been updated in a long time.

 

[JustIntonation]

About sounding a bit off, could it be because of LR4 xo and the phase shift/step response it makes. I have had experience from lr2 vs. lr4 equalized to same, and lr2 sounds much more natural with ac. piano, guitar and violin.

I can say for sure that when it comes to woofer-tweeter crossover the phase shift / step response effect of lr4 or even lr12 (96dB/oct) is completely totally inaudible on-axis.
Off-axis there are audible differences with the lower order crossovers having a wider frequency band over which they have phasing effects and the higher order crossovers having more ringing (which doesn't seem to be as audible as phasing). But in a perfectly executed crossover filter there is no phasing or ringing on-axis.
However, there is almost never a truly perfect crossover done in the real world, especially not passive ones. And the drivers are not perfect as well. So in the real world with real drivers a lr2 will sound different from a lr4 on-axis, and this can be because of many different reasons. But overall phase shift/step response introduced by the crossover slope is not one of them. And linear phase crossovers are not at all needed atleast not for this reason.

 

[twsecrest]

I'm thinking of replacing my Monoprice 5" studio monitors with JBL LSR305 studio monitors, anyone ever compare them?

 

[al2002]

In case anyone still wants the original 305s, the 30X variant is once again available from Massdrop.

 

[twsecrest]

In case anyone still wants the original 305s, the 30X variant is once again available from Massdrop.

Where can I find the reviews that say the LSR30X is based on the older LSR305?

 

[al2002]

The Massdrop 30X came out beforethe305 Mk II was released. Have a look at their site.

 

[hvbias]

How happy are people with these now that you've had them a while? I think they can be a bit brutal and maybe even too revealing with mainstream music and can make some horns sound a bit too in your face. These (306 MK2) are the first studio monitors I've owned. For the remaining 80% of my music they are excellent.

I'm just using them stock, no target curve, EQ or subwoofers. Knowing how we hear I imagine if I extended the bass they would sound smoother in the upper mids up.

 

[ripvw]

How happy are people with these now that you've had them a while?

first impressions of the 308P MKII here:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...8-inch-2-way-monitors-first-impressions.7977/

I love them on rock, pop vocals, jazz and classical piano but they will let you know IMMEDIATELY if the recording quality is not high enough. First 8" two-way I've ever heard that I like after over 40 years in the music business...

 

[Sal1950]

think they can be a bit brutal and maybe even too revealing with mainstream music and can make some horns sound a bit too in your face.

I would only comment that IMO no speaker (or component) can be "too revealing". I would prefer they be as accurate as possible to the source. Then if I found the result to be unpleasant in some way, eq or some other mod can be applied to make the music more appealing.

 

[hvbias]

I would only comment that IMO no speaker (or component) can be "too revealing". I would prefer they be as accurate as possible to the source. Then if I found the result to be unpleasant in some way, eq or some other mod can be applied to make the music more appealing.

My gut feeling is if the bass were extended it would make the upper end sound more balanced.

I have heard essentially objectively perfectly designed speakers if Toole's book is a guide that sounded more balanced, but this brings me back to my point that these were more or less full range with multi sub setups.

 

[Wombat]

How happy are people with these now that you've had them a while? I think they can be a bit brutal and maybe even too revealing with mainstream music and can make some horns sound a bit too in your face. These (306 MK2) are the first studio monitors I've owned. For the remaining 80% of my music they are excellent.

I'm just using them stock, no target curve, EQ or subwoofers. Knowing how we hear I imagine if I extended the bass they would sound smoother in the upper mids up.

Horns are like that in real life.

 

[daftcombo]

If the measurements shown are true anechoic, you will end up with boomy bass.

If the measurements are quasianechoic (unlikely IMO), they should be about right.

Hi,
Can you explain why, please?

 

[Jungstar]

This is exactly how I felt when I got the JBL LSR 30X. To be honest I wasn't expecting them to sound so great cause I come from using Sennheiser HD 800 the entire time and this speaker was only $300 shipped. But, I was so impressed with them and blown away on first listen and it opened my curiosity to more expensive speakers and how they must sound. They are so clear and play with so much detail and the phantom center feels so strong and real. Unfortunately, I have tested a lot more expensive speakers ($1-2.5k) and none of them so far give me a tangible enough feeling that they are vastly superior to the JBL LSR 30X (hell I don't even feel like any of them are a true step up yet, they just feel like side grades). But the idle static noise it produces is unsuitable for nearfield use as it is a bit too loud for me (it is negligible when music is playing). So continues my hunt for the ultimate nearfield speaker :-(

My 308 mk II has no noticeable noise, but the 306 mk II bought at the same time has noticeable white noise. I actually turn the volume down because otherwise they become too loud to adjust. But that also lowers the white noise. They 306 are also just connected to an echo dot where I have the echo Link with the 308 and through the LSR310S sub Not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[HammerSandwich]

Can you explain why, please?

Putting a speaker close to a wall increases lower frequencies, because the long wavelengths are in phase with the direct sound. (So, closer placement causes the effect at higher frequencies.) Measurements taken anechoically (either in a proper chamber or on a tall pole in free space) lack such gain, obviously, because there is no wall to reflect.

Because the posted graphs are flat, placing the JBLs close to a wall will cause too much bass, IF the graphs are anechoic.

 

[Juhazi]

LSR30x active speakers have trim adjustment that helps in this situation.

 

[JustIntonation]

Putting a speaker close to a wall increases lower frequencies, because the long wavelengths are in phase with the direct sound. (So, closer placement causes the effect at higher frequencies.) Measurements taken anechoically (either in a proper chamber or on a tall pole in free space) lack such gain, obviously, because there is no wall to reflect.

Because the posted graphs are flat, placing the JBLs close to a wall will cause too much bass, IF the graphs are anechoic.

Just a word of caution on this.
While what you're saying is technically correct, most often in practice it doesn't really apply much to get a fr curve that is subjectively most pleasant.
In practice most people are in non-anechoical rooms and the averaged curve is far from flat but sloping instead. How much it is sloped depends on the room and on the off-axis fr of the speakers. In addition the bass is almost always an extra mess with massive dips and peaks due to room modes and first reflections and indeed boundary effects.
How it'll work out in any partical room on average is more influential than the theory of boundary effect alone and in addition many people subjectively prefer a boosted bass in normal listening conditions (often by up to 9dB research has shown).
And also, the LS305 has a fairly high -3dB point (I think above 60Hz?), Doesn't hurt boosting that a bit.. Will still be missing out on 50-40Hz with them which is important with most music so won't be balanced even with some boost.

As for the LS305. It's waveguide and low XO causes a particularly dark off-axis sound (though more even than is often the case with many other speakers). This is probably the main reason why it works so well for so many people. It's like having some free room treatment in the treble / high mids. (though it can sound a bit dark in some other roomd because of this).
But otherwise I found it's not that great a speaker. If you listen to it in a well treated room it will sound distorted quite early, and it has a pretty lousy cabinet without any bracing or damping which contributes to the sound I think. The mkII is a small improvement but still bad when compared to more expensive speakers. Though one may not notice this as much in a non-treated room.

 

[snowsurfer]

I'll soon be adding the matching sub (JBL LSR 310s) to my 305s, really looking forward to it. Waiting for Black Friday though!

 

[daftcombo]

Just a word of caution on this.
While what you're saying is technically correct, most often in practice it doesn't really apply much to get a fr curve that is subjectively most pleasant.
In practice most people are in non-anechoical rooms and the averaged curve is far from flat but sloping instead. How much it is sloped depends on the room and on the off-axis fr of the speakers. In addition the bass is almost always an extra mess with massive dips and peaks due to room modes and first reflections and indeed boundary effects.
How it'll work out in any partical room on average is more influential than the theory of boundary effect alone and in addition many people subjectively prefer a boosted bass in normal listening conditions (often by up to 9dB research has shown).
And also, the LS305 has a fairly high -3dB point (I think above 60Hz?), Doesn't hurt boosting that a bit.. Will still be missing out on 50-40Hz with them which is important with most music so won't be balanced even with some boost.

As for the LS305. It's waveguide and low XO causes a particularly dark off-axis sound (though more even than is often the case with many other speakers). This is probably the main reason why it works so well for so many people. It's like having some free room treatment in the treble / high mids. (though it can sound a bit dark in some other roomd because of this).
But otherwise I found it's not that great a speaker. If you listen to it in a well treated room it will sound distorted quite early, and it has a pretty lousy cabinet without any bracing or damping which contributes to the sound I think. The mkII is a small improvement but still bad when compared to more expensive speakers. Though one may not notice this as much in a non-treated room.

Not sure why you mention room treatment about a pair of near-field monitors.

 

[JustIntonation]

Not sure why you mention room treatment about a pair of near-field monitors.

I read this that you think that room doesn't play an important role when monitoring nearfield?
This is not the case. Room still matter a very great deal also when monitoring nearfield (1m listening distance for instance).
Even when listening nearfield (1m) the room plays a bigger part than differences between nearfield speakers, not just in my opinion but in the opinion of experienced studio owners as well (read for instance Gearslutz room acoustics forum). And not just subjectively but objectively as well, one can easily see the room effects as the by far dominant colouration when measuring speakers at 1m distance. I can assure you speakers at 1m listening distance in small or big rooms don't measure anything like flat. If the speaker is placed free standing in a big room on a high stand one can calculate the time it takes for the first reflection to arrive at the mic and do a gated measurement starting at a certain freq (though this won't work for bass) and one can argue that our ears can also use this first reflection free period to some degree, but this is still very limited and in reality even in such an "ideal" setup in a real room would still colour the sound a lot also in the mids and treble.
For proper nearfield monitoring one still needs a very well treated room and careful placement.

 

[Krunok]

I read this that you think that room doesn't play an important role when monitoring nearfield?
This is not the case. Room still matter a very great deal also when monitoring nearfield (1m listening distance for instance).
Even when listening nearfield (1m) the room plays a bigger part than differences between nearfield speakers, not just in my opinion but in the opinion of experienced studio owners as well (read for instance Gearslutz room acoustics forum). And not just subjectively but objectively as well, one can easily see the room effects as the by far dominant colouration when measuring speakers at 1m distance. I can assure you speakers at 1m listening distance in small or big rooms don't measure anything like flat. If the speaker is placed free standing in a big room on a high stand one can calculate the time it takes for the first reflection to arrive at the mic and do a gated measurement starting at a certain freq (though this won't work for bass) and one can argue that our ears can also use this first reflection free period to some degree, but this is still very limited and in reality even in such an "ideal" setup in a real room would still colour the sound a lot also in the mids and treble.
For proper nearfield monitoring one still needs a very well treated room and careful placement.

Here.. the same measurement taken from 1m on-axis, blue is gated to 5ms and red is non gated.

Btw, I wouldn't really use the term "colour the sound" as it implies adding harmonics, which is not rue in this case. This is about adding linear distortion and not non-linear.