JBL 308P MKII Studio Monitor Review

[Ziltoe]

[.../] Interesting asymmetrical woofer waveguide design. Maybe the upper and lower lips help to beam the sound horizontally? [\...]

jep, have had similar thoughts.... perhaps someone having expertise can enlighteing us?

 

[Ziltoe]

I had both, the 308 and IN-8 on focus, the latter did it. Looking at @amirs outstanding work, I'm sure being very happy having the 308 in my environment.

 

[Robbo99999]

Hmm, this is an interesting finding, I've noticed that altering the volume level on the back of the speaker (JBL 308p of course) changes the quality of the sound beyond just the increased volume output:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...g-distortion-testing.18543/page-2#post-607980

At that previous post I'd thought I'd damaged my speakers during distortion testing, but I narrowed it down to being some kind of peculiarity based around the volume knob position on the back of the speaker. On my speakers they sound rubbish if run below 4.5 on the dial. 4.5 seems to be the best sweet spot, but not done much testing further up the scale. I've got a week off in a couple of weeks, so I'll use a little of that time to do distortion & frequency response measurements at the same SPL, but at different volume knob positions on the back of the speaker to see if I can work out exactly what's going on here. For some reason the gain level on the back of speakers is greatly affecting sound quality on my JBL 308p speakers, it's really quite a stark difference. Thought I should let other 308p owners know of this so they can optimise their systems, and for others out of curiosity. Will update with my testing in a couple of weeks.

 

[frankrcarter]

Hopefully the Mackie HR824 MK1 (discontinued) gets reviewed. It has a neutral frequency response, bass to 37hz, and it has decent internal bracing. Each speaker monitor weighs 32.6 pounds, which is a lot more and much more solid than the 308p.

This is a link to a post of mine regarding these. I replaced 2 LSR308 and 1 LSR305 as the fronts in my basement theater with the HR824 Mk1s. Is there much difference between the MkI vs MkII LSRs?

I did an unscientific A/B test of this Mackie and the JBL LSR308 with a friend recently. We played mono, did level match, and physically swapped them so they were in the same location while the other listener judged. Mackie was preferred by both of us by a large margin. I ended up buying 3 used ones to replace the LCRs in my basement surround system.

 

[pbc]

So the ones I have don't seem to want to go into standby....curious, am I risking severely decreasing the life of the amp by leaving it on all the time? I need to send them back if that is the case.

Read somewhere online that if the speakers do not have the CE testing logo on them, the standby feature was not operable. Not sure how true that is (thought CE was just for Europe).

 

[Robbo99999]

So the ones I have don't seem to want to go into standby....curious, am I risking severely decreasing the life of the amp by leaving it on all the time? I need to send them back if that is the case.

Read somewhere online that if the speakers do not have the CE testing logo on them, the standby feature was not operable. Not sure how true that is (thought CE was just for Europe).

I got CE written on the back of my speakers, and my right speaker sometimes won't go into standby - about 50% of the time I'll get up in the morning & see the right speaker is still active....it doesn't bother me, I don't think it makes much difference to product life, and if it does then tough luck for me & I'll upgrade my speakers....I don't think it's worth turning them off everyday with the power switch on the back of the speaker, maybe that could wear out, suppose you could pull the mains plug if you're worried about it, not worth it overall I don't think.

 

[maverickronin]

I use a power strip with independent switchable outlets to turn my 305's on and off because I have 2 or 3 things more or less in parallel with their XLR inputs.

 

[donnbialik]

Amirm,

In this price range, is there anything else I should be considering? I'll be using them in a hobby recording studio and most often as a monitor for various keyboards. My control room is in my basement and is medium sized and asymmetrical with basic acoustical treatments.

After reading a lot of reviews, I get the sense that many recording engineers really like this speaker because it nets them great mixes.

 

[daftcombo]

Amirm,

In this price range, is there anything else I should be considering? I'll be using them in a hobby recording studio and most often as a monitor for various keyboards. My control room is in my basement and is medium sized and asymmetrical with basic acoustical treatments.

After reading a lot of reviews, I get the sense that many recording engineers really like this speaker because it nets them great mixes.

Adam T7V ? (T5V ?)

 

[donnbialik]

Adam T7V ? (T5V ?)

Maybe Adam TV8 would be better? Though slightly more expensive.

 

[daftcombo]

Maybe Adam TV8 would be better? Though slightly more expensive.

Sure, it depends how much SPL you need.

Amir prefered the T5V to the T8V.

 

[Rockfella]

I had my eyes on the JBL LSR 305/6 but got the Kali LP6s to keep them very close to the wall. No regrets.

 

[donnbialik]

Sure, it depends how much SPL you need.

Amir prefered the T5V to the T8V.

Did he? His review of the TV8s is pretty favorable.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/adam-t8v-studio-monitor-review.17118/

 

[YSC]

Did he? His review of the TV8s is pretty favorable.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/adam-t8v-studio-monitor-review.17118/

I think he preferred the T5V EQed, raw FR seems the T8V is better (though marginal as it still remains +\- 3db anechoic, in real world I bet room modes will mask all those away)

 

[daftcombo]

Did he? His review of the TV8s is pretty favorable.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/adam-t8v-studio-monitor-review.17118/

I'd take a soccer playing panther over a chilling one every time

Joke aside, the T5V has better directivity and lower distortion at 86dB around 5kHz.

If you need more SPL or can't EQ, the T8V is probably better. Otherwise T5V will be fine.

Keep in mind that both have hiss (but 308p mkII also) according to this chart:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/hiss-list-s-r.18050/

(PS : I have not heard those speakers, I "only" own the JBL 305p mkII and Genelec 8030C).

 

[donnbialik]

I'd take a soccer playing panther over a chilling one every time

Joke aside, the T5V has better directivity and lower distortion at 86dB around 5kHz.

If you need more SPL or can't EQ, the T8V is probably better. Otherwise T5V will be fine.

Keep in mind that both have hiss (but 308p mkII also) according to this chart:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/hiss-list-s-r.18050/

(PS : I have not heard those speakers, I "only" own the JBL 305p mkII and Genelec 8030C).

Or do I go with the Kali Audio LP-6/8 which received a higher score than either of the Adams speakers.

 

[More Dynamics Please]

Good luck trying to find a consensus choice from among this group of closely matched studio monitors that each has a different mix of pros and cons that appeals to a different mix of personal preferences.

 

[richard12511]

Good luck trying to find a consensus choice from among this group of closely matched studio monitors that each has a different mix of pros and cons that appeals to a different mix of personal preferences.

Ha! Very true. I'll add my opinion, though

308p:
+ better frequency response
+ more effective switches(the +0 and -2 treble both work very well, as @Robbo99999 showed)
+ slightly smoother directivity
+ lower directivity control(380?Hz vs 500Hz)
+ lower extension (37Hz vs 45Hz)
+ more dynamic (112dB vs 106db)

T5V:
+ Cheaper(at least at non sale prices)
+ Less distortion
+ Less hiss(deal breaker for many)
+ Smaller
+ Less space needed for drivers to merge

T5V kinda needs software EQ to shelf that treble down(since the switch doesn't), but with EQ it's very good. A lot of it may come down to size needs and hiss tolerances.

T8V doesn't look as good to me, considering the price.

 

[Jinjuku]

Been using mine with the companion subs (LSR310s). I wonder what they do for the speaker preference score since they offload 80Hz and down.

All in I'm at $189 per 308p MKII and $299 per for the LSR310s. Incredibly enjoyable system. The less than $1K outlay makes it that much better.

 

[m8o]

I wonder what they do for the speaker preference score since they offload 80Hz and down.

See post #2 of this thread right under the review.