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Help me decide: Kali LP-6 vs JBL 306mkII

LightninBoy

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I was set on buying the Kali LP-6s, but I found some great deals on some used JBL 306mkII (note - not the 305) and can save $100 compared to the Kalis. Based on youtube vids (weak I know, but its all I got) it sounds like JBL improved the tweeter with the MKII version. In youtube side by side comparisons of LP6 vs 305, I slightly preferred the 305 but certainly within the youtube audio margin of error. In 305 vs 305 MKII youtube comparisons, I definitely preferred the MKII. I can't find much about the 306MKII.

Any thoughts?
 

rajapruk

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Maybe you can arrange a youtube blind-test, and be a little more scientific? Shut off the screen, and see which you like best!
But, if you want to do it by the book, then do it "double blind" with blindfold on your eyes as well (be careful to not cover ears).
This is the audio science forum after all, so let's try to be a little scientific here.
 
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D

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Application: casual listening, hobby mixing of original music.

I was set on buying the Kali LP-6s, but I found some great deals on some used JBL 306mkII (note - not the 305) and can save $100 compared to the Kalis. Based on youtube vids (weak I know, but its all I got) it sounds like JBL improved the tweeter with the MKII version. In youtube side by side comparisons of LP6 vs 305, I slightly preferred the 305 but certainly within the youtube audio margin of error. In 305 vs 305 MKII youtube comparisons, I definitely preferred the MKII. I can't find much about the 306MKII.

Any thoughts?
They're both pretty cheap. Why not purchase both and evaluate and sell the pair you like the least???

Dave.
 

andreasmaaan

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It’s hard to adequately emphasise how utterly pointless it is trying to base an opinion on how something sounds on a recording taken by a mic in a room and then played back via speakers from YouTube. I hope this is not what you’re basing your opinion on @LightninBoy.
 

Blumlein 88

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If the recording is made in a well damped area, well away from any walls and is done up close(2 meters or less), I've found on smaller speakers the basic tonal balance is close enough to what you'll hear live to get some useful idea. But yes, deciding on youtube vids about speakers is highly fraught with peril.

If the OP is in the USA, Guitar Centers have both the JBL and the Kali. You could go hear a pair of each and decide. Though they don't usually have the greatest area for listening it would be better than youtube.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/charles-sprinkles-kali-audio-lp-6.3625/

A thread about them from a few months ago. And someone from Kali responds. @SIY has had ears on some.

https://www.kaliaudio.com/lp6-technology-frequency-response

Seems Kali was started by ex-JBL employees who left after the Samsung acquisition and subsequent employee cut backs.
 
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LightninBoy

LightninBoy

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Can someone explain to me what a "YouTube" listening test is and make an argument regarding how this could possibly be useful?

Here's an example of one.


For me, test like this are a valid data point weighted far below measurements and personal auditions, but weighted slightly more that second hand accounts from strangers.
 
OP
LightninBoy

LightninBoy

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If the OP is in the USA, Guitar Centers have both the JBL and the Kali. You could go hear a pair of each and decide. Though they don't usually have the greatest area for listening it would be better than youtube.

Really? My neighborhood GC didn't have any Kalis setup. But its a small one - maybe one of the bigger stores in the area has them.
 

Blumlein 88

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Really? My neighborhood GC didn't have any Kalis setup. But its a small one - maybe one of the bigger stores in the area has them.
Yes, some do. If you go to the Guitar Center web site you can search for Kali. They have the LP8 on sale currently btw. In the upper left corner you can put in your zip code and a distance. They'll let you know which stores have them in stock.
 
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LightninBoy

LightninBoy

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I pulled the trigger on a pair of JBL 306mkii. The were $190 shipped (for the pair!) on ebay. Customer return.

They arrived today and they are in new condition. I set them up and started listening. Subjectively, they sounded fine, but I heard a thin veil over the music. But then I took off the plastic covering the drivers ...
speaker.jpg


And after that, they sounded great. :)
 

Ron Texas

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I pulled the trigger on a pair of JBL 306mkii. The were $190 shipped (for the pair!) on ebay. Customer return.

They arrived today and they are in new condition. I set them up and started listening. Subjectively, they sounded fine, but I heard a thin veil over the music. But then I took off the plastic covering the drivers ...


And after that, they sounded great. :)

Great deal. Congrats. Turn them up and rock out!
 

Biblob

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Cool, I hope you'll like them! Wish I could get them as cheap in Europe. Prices around here are $250 per speaker!
The 305 first generation can be picked up for $250 per pair though..
 

Reinhold

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I pulled the trigger on a pair of JBL 306mkii. The were $190 shipped (for the pair!) on ebay. Customer return.

They arrived today and they are in new condition. I set them up and started listening. Subjectively, they sounded fine, but I heard a thin veil over the music. But then I took off the plastic covering the drivers ...
View attachment 21502

And after that, they sounded great. :)
Nelson-Muntz-haha.jpeg
 
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