JBL 308P MKII Studio Monitor Review

[aptx78]

Is that something I can try to imitate with some DIY?

I've seen people say to eq for warmth, but that never has helped for me. I still think it's everything, you need the speaker design, box, amp, etc.. it's what creates the sound profile.

Maybe I'm a picky audiophile or whatever, but I can hear the differences, it's just painfully obvious for me. I guess I'll just have to buy the JBL's if I want that sound, no way around it. I've been listening all day to the Kali's with music and they just don't feel the same. Sure some songs sound great but it's missing that character for me. I'll def be keeping these for movies since they absolutely destroy the JBL's in that regard for me. I actually though JBL would pull ahead due to their tweeter design but these Kali's are the first speakers I've ever had/heard where I can listen to movies and get that phantom center without having to be dead center.

It's been a while but man... I swear the 305s have more bass than these massive In-8 v2's.

**ehh maybe they are a bit ahead, I changed a DSP setting on the Kali Audios and it made a massive difference in projecting the bass**.. still the 305s have a ton of bass for how small they are.

I dont know whats with the JBL sound- its bright at times but very detailed and addictive. I listen to these more than my KEFs and Wharfedales (220)

 

[Standalone]

IME the 305 and 306 are more alike while the 308 has a different sound. The 308 is more neutral. I would definitely say try it first to see if it had that JBL sound you prefer. Compared to the Kali the 308 and LP-8 are very close in our shoot out. The LP-8 won but it was very, very close. That doesn't mean they sound the same just which they preferred. I think the IN series is a step up from either of them. Particularly better in the midrange but if you like the JBL sound you still might prefer it.

You are not that far you are welcome to take the 308 home and try them. We use them for rentals, so it is not a problem if someone wants to try them. No obligation, plus I doubt we could match the current price they are selling. It's just nice to get others impressions especially if doing a shootout.

This was my sense of the 308 vs the 305 when I demo'd them originally. I have been running the 308's in my studio for a number of years now and very much enjoy them.

 

[pbc]

So have been using these in my family room 4.2 setup for a few years. They sound great even being used without a center channel.

But they do tend to run out of juice as it’s a larger room. Curious what folks might recommend that can put out some more SPL in a similar size format and active?

 

[staticV3]

So have been using these in my family room 4.2 setup for a few years. They sound great even being used without a center channel.

But they do tend to run out of juice as it’s a larger room. Curious what folks might recommend that can put out some more SPL in a similar size format and active?

Take a look at Adam T series.

Specifically the T8V which Amir reviewed as well.

Those have much more capable woofers:


At 96dB SPL, THD at 100-200Hz is some 15dB lower.

Edit:
Or, for the price of five T8Vs, you could get a Neumann KH150 which would reduce THD by another 10dB:

 

[pbc]

Take a look at Adam T series.

Specifically the T8V which Amir reviewed as well.

Those have much more capable woofers:
View attachment 506060 View attachment 506061

At 96dB SPL, THD at 100-200Hz is some 15dB lower.

Edit:
Or, for the price of five T8Vs, you could get a Neumann KH150 which would reduce THD by another 10dB:
View attachment 506065

Thanks. How do the Klipsch Nines compare?

 

[respice finem]

So have been using these in my family room 4.2 setup for a few years. They sound great even being used without a center channel.

But they do tend to run out of juice as it’s a larger room. Curious what folks might recommend that can put out some more SPL in a similar size format and active?

Or just add the matching JBL sub, maybe?

https://www.amazon.com/JBL-LSR310S-Powered-Studio-Subwoofer/dp/B00I08RT3U

 

[staticV3]

Thanks. How do the Klipsch Nines compare?

Slightly worse than the T8V: https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/klipsch_the_nines/

 

[pbc]

Or just add the matching JBL sub, maybe?

https://www.amazon.com/JBL-LSR310S-Powered-Studio-Subwoofer/dp/B00I08RT3U

Sorry, should have said 4.2.1 setup. Already have a pretty powerful sub.

 

[Krit]

Sounds awesome! When I had my 305s I didn't like them for movies cause the voices would sound a bit muted. But I'm guessing having a 305 for the center would fix that. I just bought the Kali in-8 v2's the other week but I'm still missing that JBL sound. Hoping the stock market turns around in the next few months cause I want to pick up the JBL's again..just not sure which ones to go with. I did like the 305s but wonder if the 306s would be a bit better or not. I really wanted to get the 308s but I've been seeing that they are even more noisy than the 305s.

I really really really loved the 305s warm sound. Wish I could test them out cause I would love to see if the 308s add even more warmth due to the bigger speaker..plus the 308s at 200 each is a nice deal. But they would also mainly be used for my desk so I'm not sure if the 308s size would make for a worse soundstage or anything else.

I had 305s and 306s to me 305s was better for listening more detail just better overall sound. LP6 V2 was boring not a lot of detail i liked 305s better for listening more low end and more detail from tweeter. IN-5 quite expensive but sounds boxy (cabinet design is cheap) and at lower volumes it has not a lot of low end and sounds not as clean and punchy as A100. IN-5 is more a midfield monitor not a nearfield. At nearfield it can not produce proper bass only at higher volumes which aviously sucks.

 

[Krit]

I've seen people say to eq for warmth, but that never has helped for me. I still think it's everything, you need the speaker design, box, amp, etc.. it's what creates the sound profile.
Maybe I'm a picky audiophile or whatever, but I can hear the differences, it's just painfully obvious for me. I guess I'll just have to buy the JBL's if I want that sound, no way around it. I've been listening all day to the Kali's with music and they just don't feel the same. Sure some songs sound great but it's missing that character for me.

It looks like you are aiming for hi-fi not for boring studio monitor sound. Try A100 it's a big upgrade over 305P MKII at least in EU they cost only ~ 500€ sometimes even as low as 400€ which is absolute joke. In my eyes they sound better than IN-5, EVO 65 and SM200 and you don't need an audio interface (perfect for smaller rooms)

 

[ryanosaur]

What would be recommended distances for good setup use as monitors, these 8” vs the 5 and 6” models?

My likely setup would have me around 3’ away.

 

[FTB]

I had 305s and 306s to me 305s was better for listening more detail just better overall sound. LP6 V2 was boring not a lot of detail i liked 305s better for listening more low end and more detail from tweeter. IN-5 quite expensive but sounds boxy (cabinet design is cheap) and at lower volumes it has not a lot of low end and sounds not as clean and punchy as A100. IN-5 is more a midfield monitor not a nearfield. At nearfield it can not produce proper bass only at higher volumes which aviously sucks.

Kali LP6 mk2 boring ?
For the price they are pretty linear, not better nor worse than the JBL, with low distortion for 200 € each.



The 308, 306, 305 have far worse distortion...

 

[Ktacos]

Kali LP6 mk2 boring ?
For the price they are pretty linear, not better nor worse than the JBL, with low distortion for 200 € each.

View attachment 509532View attachment 509533

The 308, 306, 305 have far worse distortion...

The LP6 sounded boring to me as well. The woofer, front port, overall cheap and thin build quality makes for a pretty resonance heavy woofer response. That front port is really pretty poor, it's resonances are not well suppressed at all, typically they're 5-10db lower with a simple rear ported speaker. These port/driver/cab issues left me with a speaker with a woofer sound that was just not engaging at all. I've bought the lp6 v2 twice now, each time thinking that I'll get over the problems but I never do. Same experience every time, everything from the tweeter sounds great, everything from the woofer sounds meh. You can tell the resonances are problem as you can try to EQ them away but the sound effectively doesn't change at all. The amplifiers are also pretty cheap and high on distortion. I did some measurements of the woofer out of box and noticed that the built in amps were giving me some narrow distortion peaks for whatever reason.

I love neutral speakers, anything else sounds pretty annoying to me so I should love the lp6. The resonance issues just spoil and otherwise amazing package IMO.

 

[Krit]

Kali LP6 mk2 boring ?
For the price they are pretty linear, not better nor worse than the JBL, with low distortion for 200 € each.

View attachment 509532View attachment 509533

The 308, 306, 305 have far worse distortion...

To be honest i'm not sold on these graphs i'm usually using real world A/B tests. Which will tell way more about speakers the level of detail, depth, sound stage, sound character, how clean is the sound, speed, warmth, distortion etc.

Kali audio maybe is good for work "Flat" but really falls short for music enjoyment (does not sound alive cannot get that orchestra type fullness something is definitely missing even at 3-way design at least when using them as nearfield) also poor quality materials and p/p ratio in general.

 

[FTB]

The LP6 sounded boring to me as well. The woofer, front port, overall cheap and thin build quality makes for a pretty resonance heavy woofer response. That front port is really pretty poor, it's resonances are not well suppressed at all, typically they're 5-10db lower with a simple rear ported speaker. These port/driver/cab issues left me with a speaker with a woofer sound that was just not engaging at all. I've bought the lp6 v2 twice now, each time thinking that I'll get over the problems but I never do. Same experience every time, everything from the tweeter sounds great, everything from the woofer sounds meh. You can tell the resonances are problem as you can try to EQ them away but the sound effectively doesn't change at all. The amplifiers are also pretty cheap and high on distortion. I did some measurements of the woofer out of box and noticed that the built in amps were giving me some narrow distortion peaks for whatever reason.

I love neutral speakers, anything else sounds pretty annoying to me so I should love the lp6. The resonance issues just spoil and otherwise amazing package IMO.

The measurements show nothing wrong with the woofer...



All the data here : https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/kali_lp-6v2/

 

[FTB]

To be honest i'm not sold on these graphs i'm usually using real world A/B tests. Which will tell way more about speakers the level of detail, depth, sound stage, sound character, how clean is the sound, speed, warmth, distortion etc.

Kali audio maybe is good for work "Flat" but really falls short for music enjoyment (does not sound alive cannot get that orchestra type fullness something is definitely missing even at 3-way design at least when using them as nearfield) also poor quality materials and p/p ratio in general.

Was it blind A/B tests ?
If not it means nothing, our ears are not good to measure anything.
Measurements made with Klippel NFS don't lie.

 

[Krit]

Was it blind A/B tests ?

Side by side in the same room switching back and forth.

 

[Krit]

our ears are not good to measure anything.

They will not measure but sound what you get is completely different for different speakers that's how you make a choice.

 

[Robbo99999]

What would be recommended distances for good setup use as monitors, these 8” vs the 5 and 6” models?

My likely setup would have me around 3’ away.

3 ft is just under 1m, and I remember reading somewhere on here that you want to be over 1m distance for non-coaxial speakers, so you might want some coaxial speakers for your setup if you're at 1m or a tad under. Plus these JBL speakers have quite audible hiss, so if you're using them along with a PC desktop setup for instance then the hiss will drive you up the wall when you're not listening to anything, as obviously the hiss is drowned out when you have any kind of audio playing on them. You probably need to be at around 1-2m away from the speakers (depending on your hearing to not hear the hiss when nothing is playing).

 

[ryanosaur]

3 ft is just under 1m, and I remember reading somewhere on here that you want to be over 1m distance for non-coaxial speakers, so you might want some coaxial speakers for your setup if you're at 1m or a tad under. Plus these JBL speakers have quite audible hiss, so if you're using them along with a PC desktop setup for instance then the hiss will drive you up the wall when you're not listening to anything, as obviously the hiss is drowned out when you have any kind of audio playing on them. You probably need to be at around 1-2m away from the speakers (depending on your hearing to not hear the hiss when nothing is playing).

Is that for the 308 specifically? would you still recommend the same distances for the 305/306?

I know the JBLs are the least expensive good option with Kali coming in at the next higher price point. Frankly I would love to go with the In-5 for a near field approach, but if I'm also buying a good Midi Controller like the Arturia Keylab 61, that's another 550-600US... I'd love to say 200-400 here or there doesn't matter, but the controller seems a more important starting investment than the Speakers. If I had it all my way, I'd have the space and funds to consider In-8 as my starting set. *shrugs

Appreciate any further thoughts or advice!