JBL 4312M II 3-way Studio Monitor Review

[oscar_dziki]

There's no doubt it results in boisterous and often heated engagement in the review thread.

Maybe that's why @amirm throws in the odd GR Research, PS Audio, Synergistic Research or USB cable 'review' every now and then?

It's been a while since we had BS Audio review

 

[Robbo99999]

No, the Mark II of the 3 series is the most recent studio monitor update/release by JBL.
The 7xx series has been out longer.
I suspect the 700's are due for some sort of update, updates are usually slower on pro audio products as the market is totally different.

I see, well it'll be interesting to see what JBL do in the future then, in relation to what is being mentioned in this post (re Samsung):

JBL 4312M II 3-way Studio Monitor Review

OK. So who are you two jokesters, because this speaker is not great? Well, what is a good, what is a bad? Poor measurement, poor performance, poor...and so on but having this one will probably attract attention among the neighbors. Thus the purpose is fulfilled, ..great. :D...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[anmpr1]

I don’t recall JBL being considered a discount brand. While they had plenty of lower-priced models in the lineup, they also produced some very high priced monitors and home speakers.

In the '70s, in order to maintain a JBL franchise dealers were required to sell at list. I think it was called 'fair trade', or something similar. That is how my dealer explained it to me. And JBL were expensive. I bought L100 (still have them) for $330.00 each. To 'sweeten' the deal he 'threw in' a Shure M-91 phono cartridge--one step down from the top of the line V15 III. 'Bundling' was a way dealers could get around the MSRP. I would have preferred the L65 Jubal, which I thought was a better loudspeaker, but I think it was about $100.00 more, each.

That particular dealer (Winter Park Fl) sold Crown, which at the time bridged the gap between consumer and pro. His top tier system featured a Crown DC300 and IC-150 preamp, along with JBL L300, a large floor standing version of one of their studio monitors. With a Crown open reel deck. I don't remember the record player they used.

Down the street another dealer (Sound Gallery) laughed at the former's product. They sold brands few remember today, such as Analog Engineering Associates, Dunlap Clarke, Audire, Quintessence (electronics) and Dahlquist loudspeakers. Across the street was the McIntosh dealer (Absolute Sounds). Back then you had local choice. And you didn't have to walk far to get it.

 

[aschen]

New JBL Motto: 'Sometimes we try sometimes we don't"

I gotta think this was on purpose, but not sure what intended target would be.

 

[Palladium]

Yep, I'm aware of the 705/708p models, seen them reviewed here on ASR. Did they come out after the 305/306/308p mkii line then?

IIRC they came out around somewhere in 2013.

 

[kemmler3D]

I gotta think this was on purpose, but not sure what intended target would be.

It's possible they have a "vintage" demographic in mind who are actively nostalgic for a certain (F'd) sound signature. I have done focus groups of all middle-aged guys on speakers, and I can easily imagine getting hearty agreement about "old-school sound, with BALLS!" leading to something like this.

Of course this would imply they have marketing-oriented and product/engineering-oriented product development going on in parallel, but in a company that big anything is possible.

 

[Robbo99999]

IIRC they came out around somewhere in 2013.

I probably should have just googled it myself when I asked earlier, rather than asking, but it's conversation isn't it. Someone else responded earlier and said 7 series were released before 3 series. I just googled it now, and the 7 series p models were launched in 2017, and the 7 series i models (passive) were launched in 2015. The 3 series p models were launched in 2018. It'll be interesting to see how future JBL models will perform now that they come under the umbrella of Samsung, someone mentioned earlier that they think the quality will decrease because of that.

 

[French Meloman]

This disappointing performance seems to illustrate the loss of technical competence in the world of HI FI that we have seen in recent years. Beyond that, when it comes to speakers, it is difficult for a consumer to have the relevant information to make an informed choice, especially since the commercial speeches are all read or less misleading.

 

[fredoamigo]

This disappointing performance seems to illustrate the loss of technical competence in the world of HI FI that we have seen in recent years. Beyond that, when it comes to speakers, it is difficult for a consumer to have the relevant information to make an informed choice, especially since the commercial speeches are all read or less misleading.

I think the opposite about the technical competence of recent years ... especially since the design of this speaker dates from almost 30 years ago when it was not really uncommon to encounter this kind of design or even very common ....
Here, they thought "for an office loudspeaker, this will do very well with a nice veneer, a retro look, and JBL Studio Monitor written on the front".

 

[beagleman]

I think the opposite about the technical competence of recent years ... especially since the design of this speaker dates from almost 30 years ago when it was not really uncommon to encounter this kind of design or even very common ....
Here, they thought "for an office loudspeaker, this will do very well with a nice veneer, a retro look, and JBL Studio Monitor written on the front".

But the odd thing......

I have seen cheap run of the mill speakers, and even DIY speakers, with far better response, and they were not engineering marvels.
It is "Fairly" easy to design a small 2-3 way speaker with relatively okay response.

I want to know how they made it "So bad", as even cheap stuff often does far better.
I keep wondering if we are dealing with a defective driver pehaps.....??

Its tough to get something THAT BAD.....

 

[fredoamigo]

But the odd thing......

I have seen cheap run of the mill speakers, and even DIY speakers, with far better response, and they were not engineering marvels.
It is "Fairly" easy to design a small 2-3 way speaker with relatively okay response.

I want to know how they made it "So bad", as even cheap stuff often does far better.
I keep wondering if we are dealing with a defective driver pehaps.....??

Its tough to get something THAT BAD.....

I guess amir, when he saw this disaster, made some checks of the enclosure and the Klippel ....
But an ASR Member published these measurements (page4)
and we arrive at almost the same catastrophe.

 

[Gremlins]

The great value of this review is that it shows that sometimes a good brand name and reputation is not enough and companies,even that big,must prove themselves time and time again.
That was an unfortunate outcome.

Thanks Amir!

To me it just prooves that many many many so called audiophiles have no hearing capabilities

How many great comments on internet about these?

 

[GXAlan]

To me it just prooves that many many many so called audiophiles have no hearing capabilities

How many great comments on internet about these?

In Japan, the 1 and 2 star reviews sort of sum up the answer. There are some with 5 stars though.

https://s-kakaku-com.translate.goog/review/20444311197/RevRate=1%2C2/?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

 

[restorer-john]

It's possible they have a "vintage" demographic in mind who are actively nostalgic for a certain (F'd) sound signature. I have done focus groups of all middle-aged guys on speakers, and I can easily imagine getting hearty agreement about "old-school sound, with BALLS!" leading to something like this.

That same 'focus group attitude' at Harman gave us the 're-imagined' and wretched JBL Century L100s, now in L100 Classic MkII guise...

L100 Classic MkII - JBL APAC NC

The L100 Classic MkII is the next evolution in the reborn legend that is the JBL Classic Series. This 12-inch (300mm) 3-way bookshelf loudspeaker features upgraded JBL acoustic components to improve the sound quality of this Classic loudspeaker. In addition to performance enhancements to the...

mm.jbl.com

 

[MEGB1262]

Hi all,
i'm coming from the DIY corner and tried to simulate real quick some kind of a clone of the speaker using the same external dimensions as of 30 X 18 X 18 in cm.
Even using small wooden boards of 15 mm you don't get out more than 6 - 6.5 Liters of volume for the bass speaker, so the bass response is limited by physics.
Most probably you definitely want to use this speaker in a bookshelf lying on the broadside to get the quite better directivity plot with midrange cone and dome tweeter collocated vertically. What would definitely help to make a better speaker out of it are some changes in the crossover with a decent 12 db crossover with a crossover point about 1000 Hz for the bass chassis and to use the tweeter only as a super tweeter with a high crossover point about 10 kHz. I was able to adopt a very simple 6 dB L - C wired in series crossover for the 2 inch full-range chassis used for my simulation the well known Visaton FRS5X, you just need to use it wired with reverse polarity to get a decent addition of the SPL of bass and fullrange chassis in the 1000 Hz crossover range. So it is really difficult to understand why a brand like JBL is not able to come to some similar conclusions with only very limited additional cost for a decent crossover. For the frustrated owners of these speakers there is some hope to pimp this stuff with a better crossover without the need to spend a fortune for the modifications. What is really good for this small size is the efficiency of more than 90 db at 1 W in 1 m, probably this is achieved only with the bass chassis with no crossover, so the very good sensitivity is gone with a decent crossover, that is the other side of the coin.

Hope it helps, Stefano

P.S.: an additional iron core coil in parallel to the 2 inch full-range chassis for the midrange helps a lot to lower the distortion, the simple 6 db bandpass filter is not steep enough to block the lower frequencies that stresses the small midrange speaker

 

[MEGB1262]

Here some quick screenshots of my simulation - i had to take Visaton chassis - with other chassis the Visaton BoxSim tool gets complicated to use for a very first proof of concept



with my chassis and the enclosure dimensions closed box works better than bassreflex, costs a little of sensitivity below 80 Hz

 

[DSJR]

These are full size - any idea at all how good or not they are?

JBL 4312G Studio Monitor Pair of Speakers Ghost Edition LIMITED OFFER

Buy JBL 4312G Studio Monitor Speakers Ghost Edition in the UK at the best price from authorised JBL dealer. FAST Delivery >> Order Now!

www.electricshop.com

A grand in UK terms and for a pair...

 

[DSJR]

In the '70s, in order to maintain a JBL franchise dealers were required to sell at list. I think it was called 'fair trade', or something similar. That is how my dealer explained it to me. And JBL were expensive. I bought L100 (still have them) for $330.00 each. To 'sweeten' the deal he 'threw in' a Shure M-91 phono cartridge--one step down from the top of the line V15 III. 'Bundling' was a way dealers could get around the MSRP. I would have preferred the L65 Jubal, which I thought was a better loudspeaker, but I think it was about $100.00 more, each.

That particular dealer (Winter Park Fl) sold Crown, which at the time bridged the gap between consumer and pro. His top tier system featured a Crown DC300 and IC-150 preamp, along with JBL L300, a large floor standing version of one of their studio monitors. With a Crown open reel deck. I don't remember the record player they used.

Down the street another dealer (Sound Gallery) laughed at the former's product. They sold brands few remember today, such as Analog Engineering Associates, Dunlap Clarke, Audire, Quintessence (electronics) and Dahlquist loudspeakers. Across the street was the McIntosh dealer (Absolute Sounds). Back then you had local choice. And you didn't have to walk far to get it.

M91-ED to me 'sounded' better than the M75-ED (same thing, different jacket so who knows today...).

I LOVED the Jubal L65 which was more than a little bit better than the L100. Colouration was moderate and the offset tweeter was adjustable for level if an issue. I'd say they needed low stands ideally in UK rooms...

Over here, dealers were with specialist of some sort or discount chains. My employer had a warehouse counter and a proper showroom with two tier price structure. The customers haggling for the best price were also the ones who shouted loudest if their purchase went wrong...

 

[fredoamigo]

M91-ED to me 'sounded' better than the M75-ED (same thing, different jacket so who knows today...).

I LOVED the Jubal L65 which was more than a little bit better than the L100. Colouration was moderate and the offset tweeter was adjustable for level if an issue. I'd say they needed low stands ideally in UK rooms...

Over here, dealers were with specialist of some sort or discount chains. My employer had a warehouse counter and a proper showroom with two tier price structure. The customers haggling for the best price were also the ones who shouted loudest if their purchase went wrong...

At the time, the Jubal L65 wasn't too bad, and according to this test, the distortion results were "exceptional".
as you can see, the FR is not really linear depending on the position of the high-frequency slider.
I suppose they had a "HIFI" sound atypical of JBLs with this "smile curve" a bit like what B&W has often done...in any case certainly a pleasant loudspeaker

 

[DSJR]

I don't remember them being that spiteful up top, but then I suppose I turned the tweeters down as a matter of course. One client I remember had a pair and got to say they sounded great with his then new digital sources... So long ago now sadly.