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JBL 4329p 8”active Studio Monitor series

I really liked this idea. I wanted to use it for speakers distributed around the yard. MiniDSP for a time made a small cube network speaker with built-in digital amp. A dozen of them would have been interesting. But they were around $400 each. Also, the input was AVB.

I wonder how loud they get with just 15W.

The Meyer Sound MM4XP is rated at 440W peak and can pull 100W from the 48V power supply.

 
the manual doesn't mention a recommended minimum listening distance from MLP to front of baffle. Would it be around, say, 2.5 metres or could you get any closer for the drivers to integrate properly?
 
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These were on sale for $3500 so I got a set to try out. Easy to unbox and placed them on some old stands I had which were the same height as the recommended but without the 7° slant. Connected the main, digital link cable and hardwired them to my switch. Powered them up, began to get the settings in order and the volume and source knobs were frozen. Read the manual again, yes they are suppose to move, check to make sure there isn't a cover or something to hold them, no nothing there, still won't move. Will not rotate or push in or pull out. Look at the manual again, scratch my head and get a firm grip and turn, nothing. Get a really firm grip and turn as hard as I can and volume knob moves. OK that's probably not right but it's rotating easy now so I try the source knob, nothing. Get a really really good grip and turn as hard as I can, nothing. Time for the pliers and something to protect the plastic knob and that did the trick, source knob moves easy. No network. Look at manual again hold in both knobs as the network light shows red, nothing. Try 3 cables one I got from a working connection so I know it's good, nothing. Hold reset button for factory reset, got network. Fired up roon, finds the speakers easy enough click on first album I see and they do play. Shut them down and forgot about them for the rest of the day. Might run REW tomorrow, might get an RMA, still thinking on it. They do have a 2 year warranty from Sweetwater, they are new not demos or returns. Sleep on it.
 
These were on sale for $3500 so I got a set to try out. Easy to unbox and placed them on some old stands I had which were the same height as the recommended but without the 7° slant. Connected the main, digital link cable and hardwired them to my switch. Powered them up, began to get the settings in order and the volume and source knobs were frozen. Read the manual again, yes they are suppose to move, check to make sure there isn't a cover or something to hold them, no nothing there, still won't move. Will not rotate or push in or pull out. Look at the manual again, scratch my head and get a firm grip and turn, nothing. Get a really firm grip and turn as hard as I can and volume knob moves. OK that's probably not right but it's rotating easy now so I try the source knob, nothing. Get a really really good grip and turn as hard as I can, nothing. Time for the pliers and something to protect the plastic knob and that did the trick, source knob moves easy. No network. Look at manual again hold in both knobs as the network light shows red, nothing. Try 3 cables one I got from a working connection so I know it's good, nothing. Hold reset button for factory reset, got network. Fired up roon, finds the speakers easy enough click on first album I see and they do play. Shut them down and forgot about them for the rest of the day. Might run REW tomorrow, might get an RMA, still thinking on it. They do have a 2 year warranty from Sweetwater, they are new not demos or returns. Sleep on it.
I feel that, for the money, the 708P are the better option. Not as pretty, but more power. Simpler interfaces; AES & XLR. Interfacing is easily solved externally.
 
I feel that, for the money, the 708P are the better option. Not as pretty, but more power. Simpler interfaces; AES & XLR. Interfacing is easily solved externally.
Depends where you are though. Here, a pair of 708p's cost around 25% more than a pair of 4329p's. In the US, I believe the 708ps are better value compared to the EU/UK. Possibly better supported by JBL too.

Fwiw, Erin seemed to prefer the 4329p's
The 708p was a great speaker but this one has some clear pros that give it the advantage IMHO. The bass extension is one but also the horizontal radiation being a bit wider is something I personally appreciate of the 4329P as well. The directivity is better with this speaker which gives it a better estimated in-room response without the flattening out of the HF like the 708p has.


might get an RMA, still thinking on it.
From how you described the volume and source knobs, I wouldn't hesitate personally -)

How was the packaging; double-boxed presumably?
 
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Depends where you are though. Here, a pair of 708p's cost around 25% more than a pair of 4329p's. In the US, I believe the 708ps are better value compared to the EU/UK. Possibly better supported by JBL too.

Fwiw, Erin seemed to prefer the 4329p's




From how you described the volume and source knobs, I wouldn't hesitate personally -)

How was the packaging; double-boxed presumably?
Yes, they were well packed. They survived FedEx though the outer box had a tear I examined to make sure it didn't break the inner box before I would sign for them. The knobs don't make sense to me. Very strange.
 
The wider horizontal dispersion was one of the reasons I decided on the 4329p over the 708P, and I didn't need a source since they're Roon ready. The 708P is on sale as well for $3600 a pair.
 
The wider horizontal dispersion was one of the reasons I decided on the 4329p over the 708P, and I didn't need a source since they're Roon ready. The 708P is on sale as well for $3600 a pair.
I guess the 708P are truly nearfield monitors, which implies narrower dispersion. They certainly work well for me. I feed them AES from a RPi running PiCorePlayer.
 
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