Active monitors as hifi speakers

[Tks]

I'm really happy with these :]

T1 Encore by Vanatoo
https://www.stereophile.com/content/vanatoo-transparent-one-encore-powered-loudspeaker-system

But then again, I haven't tried more than a handful of speakers in my home as I'm mostly a headphone guy. These just have all the modern comforts of mainstream speakers (like various inputs, a sub-out, a remote, etc...) in great package for my use-case.

My memory of audio changes by the hour of what I heard and trying to discern appreciable differences. Unless I hear hiss and things of that nature, the only differences I hear are FR differences. So to me the only thing I really cared about is getting speakers from a decent company, with great features more-so than absolute performance or something like that (though they do perform very good from the measurements on Stereophile). Also a bonus is that they're closed-baffle. The bass is awesome when bumbed up

 

[Jaysz]

Eve sub is £715
Have a dac and vanatoo has no xlr or removable power cord
Just looking for or a sub for now
Probably use xlr for
monitors and rca for sub if can
So doesnt use sub filters to monitors

 

[LDKTA]

The JBL 308Ps are excellent. I ran them in my stereo setup (replacing a pair of B&W 805 D3s). Proper placement goes along way. At its price point, they're extremely difficult to beat and will rival far more costly stereo setups. The 308s made me realize that I could never purchase another consumer audio (Hi-Fi) loudspeaker again (unless they were coming from a select few companies -- or they're DIY, which doesn't exactly fit into either category).

 

[Jaysz]

Has anyone listened to the hs7's and the JBL 306P MkII jbl308p mk11
I can get them for the same price £350 a pair
How do they compare

 

[maty]

https://www.thomann.de/gb/yamaha_hs_7.htm class AB x2, 8.2 Kg x2

https://www.thomann.de/gb/jbl_306p_mkii.htm class D x2 -> tweeter with cheap class D amp -> hiss -> they must be at least > 1 m to your ears, 6.1 Kg x2

 

[q3cpma]

I'd say they're comparable. The JBL has probably a cleaner FR and directivity, but the Yamaha is better made, with a cleaner amplification (no hiss) and no slouch either when it comes to FR and directivity (it has a waveguide, at least). I'd say the HS7 is more "well rounded" (and looks better than a monitor so glossy it's wearing a gimp suit). Should add that the HS7 has no (annoying for a lot) automatic sleep mode.

I'm a bit biaised since I use a pair of HS7 myself, though; until I get a pair of KH310, in a few months.

 

[q3cpma]

By the way, I just looked at soundandrecording.de for measurements and stumbled on the 705P (the LSR 305/8 isn't free to see):
https://www.soundandrecording.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/JBL-705P-FRE.jpg
https://www.soundandrecording.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/JBL-705P-SPC.jpg
https://www.soundandrecording.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/JBL-705P-NAH.jpg

I wouldn't trust a manufacturer who can't get a simple port right on their 1000€ model with their 150€ model. Reminds me of the stock photos on Thomann (https://bdbo2.thomann.de/thumb/bdb1200/pics/bdbo/13103176.jpg) showing their amazing fit and finish.

 

[FrantzM]

By the way, I just looked at soundandrecording.de for measurements and stumbled on the 705P (the LSR 305/8 isn't free to see):
https://www.soundandrecording.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/JBL-705P-FRE.jpg
https://www.soundandrecording.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/JBL-705P-SPC.jpg
https://www.soundandrecording.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/JBL-705P-NAH.jpg

I wouldn't trust a manufacturer who can't get a simple port right on their 1000€ model with their 150€ model. Reminds me of the stock photos on Thomann (https://bdbo2.thomann.de/thumb/bdb1200/pics/bdbo/13103176.jpg) showing their amazing fit and finish.

Aside from the drop at a narrow band around 800 Hz, I can't see much wrong with the measurements.. Can you point us to where the measurements show the port issue?

 

[BDWoody]

I wouldn't trust a manufacturer who can't get a simple port right on their 1000€ model...

That seems like a pretty casual dismissal of JBL...

 

[q3cpma]

Aside from the drop at a narrow band around 800 Hz, I can't see much wrong with the measurements.. Can you point us to where the measurements show the port issue?

The cumulative spectral decay graph shows a quite bad resonance at that exact frequency. Seeing the per driver measurement graph coincide with the FR and CSD ones makes it pretty clear to me that the port is the culprit here.

That seems like a pretty casual dismissal of JBL...

Almost as casual as the constant religious adoration we can find here.

 

[majingotan]

Eve sub is £715
Have a dac and vanatoo has no xlr or removable power cord
Just looking for or a sub for now
Probably use xlr for
monitors and rca for sub if can
So doesnt use sub filters to monitors

IMO this setup would always need some parametric EQing to prevent response bleed from mid bass to sub bass. I always prefer sub filters with phase switch/knob to minimize this bleed and have a much better response transition from subwoofer to near field monitors.

 

[Jaysz]

I have them
Surprised how good these sound

They don't sound as did in the shop
Much more more neutral and nice to listen to

 

[BDWoody]

I have them
Surprised how good these sound

They don't sound as did in the shop
Much more more neutral and nice to listen to

Outstanding! New stuff is always fun...especially when it will actually make a difference in the sound!

 

[Sprint]

The JBL 308Ps are excellent. I ran them in my stereo setup (replacing a pair of B&W 805 D3s). Proper placement goes along way. At its price point, they're extremely difficult to beat and will rival far more costly stereo setups. The 308s made me realize that I could never purchase another consumer audio (Hi-Fi) loudspeaker again (unless they were coming from a select few companies -- or they're DIY, which doesn't exactly fit into either category).

How does the JBL 308Ps perform compared to 6000 Euro pair BW 805 D3 in sound quality? the tweeter and mid/bass of 805 has amazing reviews.

 

[MSNWatch]

How does the JBL 308Ps perform compared to 6000 Euro pair BW 805 D3 in sound quality? the tweeter and mid/bass of 805 has amazing reviews.

The 805 d3s have poor measurements:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/bowers-wilkins-805-d3-loudspeaker-measurements

 

[LeftCoastTim]

What's interesting (or sad) about this thread is that this forum is supposed to be full of knowledgeable people who have experience with wide range of good and bad equipment who could give some good advice about what to buy.

But audio just don't work like that. Compared to vision, human hearing is pretty terrible.

If this was a video forum, and someone wanted some advice on TVs, there will be clear rankings. LG OLED are better than Samsung QLED, but at a higher price. One can match a product to price/performance goals. Or they could go to a TV store and see the difference themselves. LG OLEDs are obviously better.

Instead, most audio forums are full of people who've been watching TV with a yellow, or green, or pink tint for years or even decades. They have never seen a clear picture, yet they have lots of opinions, and would rather dismiss peer reviewed scientific research (and the company that funded them), telling people their green tinted TV is great.

Personally, I think price/performance ratio of JBL Pro products are incredible. Everyone should own a pair of 3 series monitors. The 3 series are not "exciting". They are not tinted yellow or green. But spend some time with them and experience what neutral actually sounds like across all the variety of music out there. They are cheap, don't need special room treatments, and simple to setup. The only reasonable step up from the JBL Pro 3 series are Neumanns and Genelecs, and those cost more. A lot more.

I would never again buy another set of speakers without measurements similar to CEA 2034 (aka spinorama), and would never recommend any speakers without such measurements. I don't care if it costs $100k per speaker, or if the company has been selling speakers for 100 years. Just like DACs and Amps: Show Me The Data.

 

[LeftCoastTim]

I'd say the HS7 is more "well rounded"

Any data to back that up?

 

[q3cpma]

Any data to back that up?

No hard data, since I didn't find any measurements from someone who did both (soundandrecording has the HS7 for free, but not the LSRs). But as I said, I found some worrying stuff about the 7 serie, so I'm a little wary.
I actually don't think that the LSR are bad, JBL making full use of their horn/waveguide patents bring something incredible to the table, but it does seem to me that the money went primarly to the drivers while the amplification and enclosure got the cheap end of the stick. If you look at SAR's measurements of the HS7 (https://www.soundandrecording.de/equipment/yamaha-hs7-nahfeldmonitor-im-test/), there's simply nothing lacking (for the price range), be it FR, directivity or decay. All of those could be better, but it's only a 190€ monitor.

tl;dr the HS7 is a known good item with no outstanding weakness while I can't find good and exhaustive measurements for the LSR (and that 705p thing is worrying).

 

[q3cpma]

I have them
Surprised how good these sound

They don't sound as did in the shop
Much more more neutral and nice to listen to

Is that a metal duck on the ground?

 

[Erik]

No hard data, since I didn't find any measurements from someone who did both (soundandrecording has the HS7 for free, but not the LSRs). But as I said, I found some worrying stuff about the 7 serie, so I'm a little wary.
I actually don't think that the LSR are bad, JBL making full use of their horn/waveguide patents bring something incredible to the table, but it does seem to me that the money went primarly to the drivers while the amplification and enclosure got the cheap end of the stick. If you look at SAR's measurements of the HS7 (https://www.soundandrecording.de/equipment/yamaha-hs7-nahfeldmonitor-im-test/), there's simply nothing lacking (for the price range), be it FR, directivity or decay. All of those could be better, but it's only a 190€ monitor.

tl;dr the HS7 is a known good item with no outstanding weakness while I can't find good and exhaustive measurements for the LSR (and that 705p thing is worrying).

The JBLs have significantly better dispersion characteristics.

https://web.archive.org/web/2016092...5/JBL-LSR-305-308-Nahfeldmonitore-Testbericht