JBL 4312M II 3-way Studio Monitor Review

[DanielT]

OK. So who are you two jokesters, because this speaker is not great?
View attachment 341185

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.

DMC DeLorean - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

(I didn't vote great regarding the JBL 4312M II)

 

[dzerig]

All these popular re-releases by companies with 'classic' trademarks seem to ignore the fact none of these speakers were considered high fidelity back in the day. They were discount brands for a reason!

 

[fpitas]

OK. So who are you two jokesters, because this speaker is not great?
View attachment 341185

Trolls will be trollin'.

 

[fpitas]

All these popular re-releases by companies with 'classic' trademarks seem to ignore the fact none of these speakers were considered high fidelity back in the day. They were discount brands for a reason!

Nostalgia is very malleable.

 

[Everett T]

Nostalgia is very malleable.

Truer words have never been spoken...

 

[DSJR]

The UK isn't into 'retro' as such I'm told. The Wharfedale Linton Heritage and it's baby brethren apparently don't sell here despite the performance and at a show put on annually (usually) by our local audio salon, the then UK distributors of JBL, Levinson and Revel had a display showing the L100 Classic and apparently I was the only one all but begging to hear them as I remember much work was done to sort out the ancestor model's severe colourations. They didn't bother to get them in as I'm not a paying customer and the pair they'd ordered after the show was cancelled through lack of any other interest. Said distributor doesn't seem to carry Harman now

I was told Harman did similar things to Greg Timbers and his colleagues with the Madrigal organisation (Levinson, Proceed and Revel), moving production, closing the factory at seemingly very short notice and the staff/engineers basically losing their jobs apparently. I think it's very sad, as these brands in past years really were top of their tree (Levinson was always more highly regarded than Krell by 'those who knew' but Krell got all the press and pizzazz back then along with ARC which had rave subjective reviews from a well known UK reviewer/engineer who knew where his bread and future was buttered...

 

[Robbo99999]

The downward spiral for JBL has been going on for a decade, at least. All that hard work by the original designers is lot on a company using a name to sell sub-par performing products. The outcome of this review was anticipated.

Apart from all the JBL recommended speakers here though for instance!

 

[fredoamigo]

Among these models, there are none from the "old school" era, of which this review is an ilustration ..and which JBL persists in not taking out of the catalog ..this product is not representative of JBL, it's a mistake.
For example, the JBL 4329p is representative of what JBL does today .

 

[valerianf]

It is sad to see such bad lab results.
Some products from the 80's were better.
I have listen to many large good speakers during that time.
Brick and mortar shops were making listening easy.
Nowadays this JBL is sold on Internet.

What a regression.

 

[ocinn]

By now, we should know that JBL is ... just JBL and they lay those duds regularly ...meanwhile they have in their stable jewels they won't market.

IIRC most of their gems are actually just passion projects of senior harman engineers (CBT line, M2, Revel Salon, etc…) that are pleaded to be funded for sale.

Oh and all of these were grandfathered in pre-Samsung purchase. I think the only reason the LSR MK2 line wasn’t ruined by ultra corporate cost cutting is that the development was done pre-merger.

I have hope though, at least for the pro line. The new VTX-A line array series is finally a somewhat competitive box whereas the old VTX was horrifically awful. Not accepted on any artist rider because of how horrible it was.

 

[Endibol]

OK. So who are you two jokesters, because this speaker is not great?
View attachment 341185

The same two guys always voting poor when a DAC measures great…

 

[Postlan]

In 80's, the 2 way 44xx series sounded so much better than the 3+ way 43xx series...

 

[Barry_Sound]

I had to google it to realize this is not a vintage speaker but a current production model.

 

[Barry_Sound]

@amirm I think all test charts would benefit from an "ideal line" for reference, especially for people being new to the hobby

 

[Bruce Morgen]

Nostalgia is very malleable.

 

[Palladium]

Even without filters as it is,tweeter just seems broken,I have never saw a response like this even in 30 euro cheap ones which people use as sacrificial,even those were decent.
That sudden fall after the 8Khz mark is similar to broken ones,seriously,and I suspect that's the case here,there can not be any other explanation.

A tweeter like this simply does not exist and if it does it must be in some aliexpress 10 euro knock-offs.

A big "lol" if you think the drivers in something like a 305P costs 10 euros. It's definitely much more lower.

 

[fpitas]

A big "lol" if you think the drivers in something like a 305P costs 10 euros. It's definitely much more lower.

A grain of truth there, but those drivers actually function properly.

 

[Sokel]

A big "lol" if you think the drivers in something like a 305P costs 10 euros. It's definitely much more lower.

Agree if you are JBL who get thousands of them or even make them in house,not if you are the lonely Sokel which gets two of them.

 

[Palladium]

IIRC most of their gems are actually just passion projects of senior harman engineers (CBT line, M2, Revel Salon, etc…) that are pleaded to be funded for sale.

Oh and all of these were grandfathered in pre-Samsung purchase. I think the only reason the LSR MK2 line wasn’t ruined by ultra corporate cost cutting is that the development was done pre-merger.

I have hope though, at least for the pro line. The new VTX-A line array series is finally a somewhat competitive box whereas the old VTX was horrifically awful. Not accepted on any artist rider because of how horrible it was.

Samsung also kept putting curved screens on their flagship phones for 7 straight years even though almost everyone said they don't want this stupid gimmick.

 

[amirm]

@amirm I think all test charts would benefit from an "ideal line" for reference, especially for people being new to the hobby

Sorry, forgot to draw them this time. I added a link to my video on understanding speaker measurements: