JBL 4312M II 3-way Studio Monitor Review

[fpitas]

The JBL website claims crossover frequencies of 7 khz and 12 khz. Assuming it isn’t a typo… why even have a mid and tweeter at that point (they are barely doing anything). When I saw the driver sizes I was expecting ~1 khz and ~3.5 khz for crossover points.

Is it $1k for the pair? Can’t possibly be $1k per side.

$100 for a pair would be excessive, unless you just love the looks.

 

[AudioSceptic]

Properly doped bextrene cones and careful crossover design back in the mid 70's was very much better than the imported paper coned squawkers and/or screechers we had to try.. We may have lost ground nowadays, but I maintain the UK was well ahead of the game all those years ago, the original 4311/L100 was an absolute joke on speech reproduction...

Yes, the L100 was OK on rock, but pretty poor on anything else.

 

[TurtlePaul]

Magnets are shielded for some reason. Leftover stock they had to move?

The bucking magnet is likely there to get such small woofers to the sensitivity number (90 dB) that they needed for marketing.

 

[AudioSceptic]

Where on earth are they sourcing the tweeter and mid-range, a landfill? You can get better results from $5 drivers even if you design the crossover while blindfolded.

Why would put 3 drivers in such a small box anyway? How does a 2" mid make any sense?

 

[fpitas]

Why would put 3 drivers in such a small box anyway? How does a 2" mid make any sense?

I think it keeps coming down to looking impressive.

 

[TurtlePaul]

Why would put 3 drivers in such a small box anyway? How does a 2" mid make any sense?

As has been commented previously, this is designed to be a “look alike miniature” of the JBL 4312. The 4312 has a 12” woofer and 5” mid, which makes a lot more sense.

 

[617]

High distortion, no bass and chaotic resonances in the treble. The perfect speaker for a headphone enthusiast.

 

[fpitas]

High distortion, no bass and chaotic resonances in the treble.

You pay extra for that!

 

[ReDFoX]

Wow, that's disgusting...
I have a set of mine amateur measurements of its older "brother" - 4312mkii

It was the first system I've measured, so I wouldn't trust these graphs. Anyway, it gives you a hint on what's this "monitor" sounds like... I'm sure something's not right with this unit

 

[Muddywaters]

The vaunted “West Coast Sound” from the 70’s

 

[TurtlePaul]

It was the first system I've measured, so I wouldn't trust these graphs. Anyway, it gives you a hint on what's this "monitor" sounds like... I'm sure something's not right with this unit

This unit is fine. The 4312 is ~8x the cabinet volume and each driver is 2x the size (the 4313M is a 50% miniature).

 

[AdamG]

With the exception of the Price, incredibly broken Frequency response, plethora of resonances, razor sharp beaming and uneven directivity on every plane, gobs of distortion as each driver fights to be the Distortion King. These baby’s aren’t half bad. Half bad would be a major improvement. Maybe they will work as decent tissue dispensers. You will certainly be crying if you bought a pair. So there’s that.

Thanks Amir for another Review. At the very least this review can stand as a testimony to your complete lack of any Bias you may hold as a Dealer for Harman and thus JBL by extension.

To the kind Member who sent this in for testing. We weep with you Sir. We extend our deepest condolences and thank you for building up the courage to send this to Amir for testing. A sad day for us all!

 

[boxerfan88]

A 3-way system with first crossover @ 7kHz, why??

Quite an odd design choice.

 

[617]

A 3-way system with first crossover @ 7kHz, why??

Quite an odd design choice.

Traditional idea for the JBL large woofer monitors. I think the L100 had the woofer up to 4kHz.

 

[restorer-john]

How on earth does Harman let something this bad go out the door?

Because they simply don't care.

Put the JBL badge on anything- it'll sell...

 

[uwotm8]

These and some other from that vintage-looking line are just terrible scale models pretending to be JBL. AFAIR all Chinese-made are same bad. More expensive Mexican models are better but still far far away from what you'd expect.

L100 are whole different thing at the same time.
2-ways with horns, active and passive, are good or even awesome too.

I will never understand Harman (a Samsung company)

 

[RobL]

Traditional idea for the JBL large woofer monitors. I think the L100 had the woofer up to 4kHz.

I believe the 4311 and L100 ran the woofer full range.

 

[restorer-john]

Yes, the L100 was OK on rock, but pretty poor on anything else.

The Century L100 was a horror show. I had two pairs over the years.

I tried to like them, I really did. But alongside actual quality loudspeakers, they were raucous, nasty ear bleeding and brutal.

Sure, play some Fleetwood Mac or The Eagles, with a gutful of alcohol and they were fuggin' awesome! But in the sober world, nah.

 

[Ken1951]

Yes, the L100 was OK on rock, but pretty poor on anything else.

I was in the business way back then and we carried them, and sold plenty of them. Me? I hated them on any music.

 

[Mosquito]

Attached is a Italian review I stole from one of our members here (sorry forgot who), and correlates with Amir’s result quite well. No low pass filter on the woofer?

Measurements correlated quite well, but the text describing wonders in the sound of these disasters is laughable,, due to how distant and opposite to Amir's impressions about the sound of exactly the same product.