JBL 306P MK II Review (Studio Monitor)

[Ziltoe]

Not sure what you want to archive [stereo only, movies, just a bit of music in the room...]? I do not prefer the 305 over the 306 or vice verse, both are fine for your room, however, your intended listening distance of ~ 3m rises some concerns. Both are not designed for such a distance being considered near-field-speaker. Ideally they should be placed closer to your listening position. Presently I'm having the 306 at a 1,8m distance to where I sit and that's for me maximum, with some sort of room treatment and DSP. You can go further than that but that would need some significant room treatment and perhaps the involvement of a subwoofer, depending on the sound pressure you want to archive.

 

[Ziltoe]

Forget to mention, all the above is to get the best out of the JBL speaker.

 

[walter-]

Not sure what you want to archive [stereo only, movies, just a bit of music in the room...]?

Enjoying to listen to music (stereo) in the described room (46 m³, 1600 ft3).

I do not prefer the 305 over the 306 or vice verse, both are fine for your room, however, your intended listening distance of ~ 3m rises some concerns. Both are not designed for such a distance being considered near-field-speaker. Ideally they should be placed closer to your listening position. Presently I'm having the 306 at a 1,8m distance to where I sit and that's for me maximum, with some sort of room treatment and DSP. You can go further than that but that would need some significant room treatment and perhaps the involvement of a subwoofer, depending on the sound pressure you want to archive.

How can I identify if a speaker is recommendable for music listening from a distance of about 3m (9.8 ft) without room treatment and without a subwoofer?
I think all these speakers would do, but it would be nice to know some general criteria.

 

[monkeyboy]

Regarding hiss, I picked up a 306P for kitchen listening and there is just a very slight hiss...audible from 2" or so, but very slight...

 

[Buckster]

Regarding hiss, I picked up a 306P for kitchen listening and there is just a very slight hiss...audible from 2" or so, but very slight...

That's impressive I can hear my 308 II in living room from distance of >3m

 

[monkeyboy]

Hmmm, I might try and measure the frequency content...maybe my hearing is poor...could be a QC issue...

 

[Buckster]

Hmmm, I might try and measure the frequency content...maybe my hearing is poor...could be a QC issue...

I also have 305 MkI too that I use for music "production" (playing) and I have to really really concentrate to hear them from 30cm away

 

[Walter]

It is really hard to guess how much self-noise various speakers really have from reading reviews or forum posts. The comments for the same speakers can be all over the place, but only rarely does anyone specify gain settings or upstream equipment.

 

[daftcombo]

I also have 305 MkI too that I use for music "production" (playing) and I have to really really concentrate to hear them from 30cm away

I sold my pair because hiss made it unsable under 1m for me.

 

[Robbo99999]

Regarding hiss, I picked up a 306P for kitchen listening and there is just a very slight hiss...audible from 2" or so, but very slight...

That's impressive I can hear my 308 II in living room from distance of >3m

I think it's how sensitive your ears are to picking up the hiss, and also how low your background noise floor is of your environment. So it probably depends mostly on how "good" your hearing is and if you live on a busy street or in a quiet rural environment. The hiss on my 308p Mkii doesn't change at all with gain settings, it's constant at the same level, not an issue though as can't hear it at 2m in a silent room.

I sold my pair because hiss made it unsable under 1m for me.

Yep, I definitely couldn't use mine at 1m if they were sat on my computer desk not being used for instance (because that's when you hear it).

 

[daftcombo]

he hiss on my 308p Mkii doesn't change at all with gain settings, it's constant at the same level, not an issue though as can't hear it at 2m in a silent room.

My 305 MKII had the hiss worse when the gain knob was turned towards higher values, but only above a certain value (5 or 6 out of 10 perhaps). Before that, the hiss was constant from 0 to that value. Then I could hear a big difference (in direct comparison), then slow increase.

 

[monkeyboy]

No input, just an unconnected 6 ft trs to xlr cable...the hiss is independent of the volume except at the extreme low end (last click) where it shuts off.

If the hiss is dependent on the volume position, then that would mean it's occuring in the gain stage or coming from the input...amplification occurs downstream of the input gain.

 

[Buckster]

my 308 IIs - hiss level is independent on whether anything connected or not

or at what volume set to either

 

[Robbo99999]

My 305 MKII had the hiss worse when the gain knob was turned towards higher values, but only above a certain value (5 or 6 out of 10 perhaps). Before that, the hiss was constant from 0 to that value. Then I could hear a big difference (in direct comparison), then slow increase.

Weird, it's not like that on mine at all, hiss is exactly the same at all volume knob positions on back of speaker, except for if at zero in which case there is no hiss. Also not affected by having anything attached to the speaker - it will make the same hiss with nothing or something plugged into the inputs.

my 308 IIs - hiss level is independent on whether anything connected or not

or at what volume set to either

Yes, exactly my experience.

I did have ground loops though when I first setup my system and that created a hum that got worse as I increased the volume knob on the back of the speaker, but I solved that problem in the first week I bought these speakers.

 

[Accace]

I wonder if those scores are based solely on the sound or consider the price too? Are they really a better option than, let's say, all of the Adam lineup that you have tested (including s2v)?

 

[roci_big_ear]

I have the same speaker and the 1.6 kHz dip is caused by driver phase misalignment and destructive interference at the cross-over frequency. The dip is gone vertically towards the woofer. However, going slightly upwards towards the tweeter (like most of us would listen to it) results in totally destructive interference. Since the DSP used doesn't support programmable audio delay, they could have moved the woofer outwards (or the tweeter inwards) by a couple centimeters, to align them better.

Note that this cannot be generally compensated with EQ because the ears perceive the sound as originating from weird places (and is generally a bit uncomfortable) due to phase misalignment. The older LSR305 has perfectly aligned drivers and sounds more authoritative in A/B testing. Not sure why the 6" version is that much different. I already bought 3 of them for my L/R/C, so my only option is to flip them upside down .

 

[LightninBoy]

I wonder if those scores are based solely on the sound or consider the price too? Are they really a better option than, let's say, all of the Adam lineup that you have tested (including s2v)?

If you are talking about the preference score then it is based only on the spin measurements. Price is not factored in. Also not factored in is distortion, SPL capability, self noise, aesthetics, size, compatibility with your setup, etc, etc. At this price point, there are many compromises and only you can decide whether those compromises are the right ones for you. That said, typically Adams, Kali, and JBL are recommended in this price range.

 

[Sancus]

The Kali LP-6v2 is an improved version of this speaker in every way so not much reason to buy the JBL anymore unless you are getting a fire sale price.

Active Speaker Recommendations for USA (by @sweetchaos)

I'm constantly asked which speakers to purchase...so, here you go! :D This guide is for ACTIVE speakers. For PASSIVE speakers go here. Click on the "Spoiler" buttons below to expand each section. Readme: Legend: Active Speakers (aka Studio Monitors): Bookshelf speakers (when turned 90deg)...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Stephen Howe]

Think I've figured out a simple non-destructive hack to connect these speakers to a DAC and wireless subwoofer.
I've got an SMSL Su-6 and a Martin Logan Dynamo 700w (and the SWT-2 wireless transmitter that came with it).
The 306p manual says connect an unbalanced input into the quarter inch input; I'm using rca to quarter inch cables for that.
As an experiment I connected the SWT-2 to the 306p's xlr in; looks like the speakers and the SWT-2 can share the signal from the DAC that way. There's no obvious reduction in sound quality.

 

[Germanium]

I just got a pair of these JBL LSR306P MK2 monitor speakers. These are definitely a cut above the LSR 305P(I have both). Significantly more transparent sounding. Great bass in stock form but I wanted something a little extra down there. Not in terms of bass level but I wanted more extension.

In order to accomplish the bass extension I have a Tannoy TS10 subwoofer I modified to extend the bass to 20Hz & below. I modified the crossover to act as an EQ configured it to be able to have proper slope of EQ to balance the bottom end of a satellite that has a sealed cabinet I.E. 12db/Oct slope. With this slope & proper volume setting I get very close back to original bass balance but with huge extended bass. There is 18db bass boost @ 17Hz. This compensates for the 12db/oct roll off of the sealed cabinet subwoofer below the resonance of the driver as well as functions as crossover above resonant freqence of subwoofer. the Bass is crisp & full with great articulation.

My goal was not to go louder than what the stock speaker could do. These speakers get loud enough already. As such I sacrificed a huge amount of loudness potential of subwoofer to get my extension. It still plays loud enough though for my purposes.

Electrical drive to the LSR306P MK2 was left unaltered. Overall sonic balance is near perfect to the stock LSR306P MK2. Only the bass port was plugged to achieve the needed bass roll off of satellite in order to match the rolloff characteristics of the sub crossover. That should yield a cross over frequency between 70-80Hz due to combined rolloff of sub & satellites both being 12db/Oct.

That said this speaker combo accomplishes my goal perfectly. They sound absolutely phenomenal. A lot of credit has to go to JBL for producing such a great speaker to begin with. They were a great platform to build on. As you can tell I really love them.

Noise level of my sample is not a factor at listening position at all. I don't hear them more than a foot away.

My system with subwoofer

My girl friends system with LSR 305P MK2

Out TV with original LSR305.

The ĹSR 305's were used with the sub in my room before I got the LSR306P MK2. I was able to achieve best balance with sub with sub volume knob set to 1:30 position compared to 2:30 on the LSR 305. The LSR306p MK2 have more output into the deep bass on thier own than the LSR305 so less subwoofer volume was needed to get blend needed. One of the benefits plugging the port is it improves output at very deep frequencies of the satellites. LSR305 just does not have enough surface area to add much without use of the port but sounds wooly if port not blocked & as a result if on does not block the port you cannot get the full effect of bass extension if you want to be able to have sub blend properly without sounding wooly.