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JBL 705P / 708P
- Thread starter watchnerd
- Start date
Just read the spec and from what I can tell, "room EQ" means that you can program the internal parametric EQ. It is not an automatic room equalization. As such you measure your room externally and then program the parameters in the speaker.
"Comprehensive EQ and Delay
Although the 705P design yields exceptional neutrality in any room, the speaker also features onboard room equalization, so you can compensate for the adverse effects of room acoustics and enjoy the most accurate sound reproduction in any listening environment. In addition to twelve bands of Room EQ, eight bands of User EQ allow for customized response curves such as the X-Curve, and compensation for “screen-loss” when placed behind a perforated cinema screen. User-enabled digital delay allows virtual alignment of speakers relative to the listening position, while additional AV Synchronization delay is available to compensate for latency in video displays. "
Per above there are 12 specific filter settings and you can then overlay 8 more bands on top of them (e.g. to define the target curve).
"Comprehensive EQ and Delay
Although the 705P design yields exceptional neutrality in any room, the speaker also features onboard room equalization, so you can compensate for the adverse effects of room acoustics and enjoy the most accurate sound reproduction in any listening environment. In addition to twelve bands of Room EQ, eight bands of User EQ allow for customized response curves such as the X-Curve, and compensation for “screen-loss” when placed behind a perforated cinema screen. User-enabled digital delay allows virtual alignment of speakers relative to the listening position, while additional AV Synchronization delay is available to compensate for latency in video displays. "
Per above there are 12 specific filter settings and you can then overlay 8 more bands on top of them (e.g. to define the target curve).
The picture shows the User EQ settings:
"High-shelf," etc.
"High-shelf," etc.
OP
watchnerd
Grand Contributor
- Thread Starter
- #25
I found an interesting quote from a guy on Gearslutz who heard the 705 / 708 / M2 at NAMM 2017:
"I had a scheduled demo with JBL at their headquarters and they had set up the 705i, 708i, M2 for listening. The 708i and the M2 sound almost exactly the same in a near surreal way when you consider the size difference (and cost.) At that point, I was planning a new surround setup and was informed of the upcoming powered versions vs the Crown/BSS system "i" versions as noise and mobility were a factor (the Crown N amps need a separate machine room) in my purchasing decision.
The timetable for actual release of the "p" version is still pretty far off according to JBL when I was at the design facility (though the announcement was set for NAMM.) They didn't expect them to be shipping until end of first quarter (and now it states an April date.) I also saw the crossover network which is one they use from their line array system.
As for how they sound: they sound like cinema speakers. Wide dispersion, lots of power. That dispersion/coverage area is both a strength and weakness as the image it creates is fairly broad instead of precise. JBL was very excited to tout their drivers as the lowest distortion of any driver every made (I didn't ask for the spec sheet/testing data though it was on hand.) The woofers (including those found in the M2) have some extreme excursion abilities as well (to the point that I'd find it uncomfortable that they were engineered to be so -- not that I listen at those levels.)
But going back to sound -- when I was evaluating speakers a few years ago, I called a friend who manages the speaker systems of one of the largest post facilities. Since I work in mixing/editing music for film, I was keen on his insight about whether I should go to a system like he has installed in most of the theatres there (a cutdown version -- not the crazy expensive full version.) His first question was what were my other contenders and his response on comparison was that the ones that were my other contenders were definitely more "musical" than the theatre speakers -- but it is by design. I ended up going with the other contender because I mix music first and don't re-record mix as a priority -- that's handled at proper-sized post facilities. I'm looking at these JBLs now as a B surround system to check mixes before they get delivered to the dub stage but not to mix on. It's to save time on travelling to the dub stage when I can have a listen earlier of what a typical theatre sound would be like.
So, overall:
Wouldn't mix music on them.
Would do cinema work on them (as they translate to a theatre sound pretty accurately.)
Disappointed in the M2 as a music speaker (as I said, sounds near exactly the same as the 708i so it has the same flaws which is odd for a flagship speaker geared toward the mastering/hifi crowd instead of cinema professionals.)
Will probably get five of the 708p as my pseudo-post production setup."
I do find it his comments a bit odd regarding "musical" speakers to mix music...most of the audio engineers I work with don't hold that attitude.
"I had a scheduled demo with JBL at their headquarters and they had set up the 705i, 708i, M2 for listening. The 708i and the M2 sound almost exactly the same in a near surreal way when you consider the size difference (and cost.) At that point, I was planning a new surround setup and was informed of the upcoming powered versions vs the Crown/BSS system "i" versions as noise and mobility were a factor (the Crown N amps need a separate machine room) in my purchasing decision.
The timetable for actual release of the "p" version is still pretty far off according to JBL when I was at the design facility (though the announcement was set for NAMM.) They didn't expect them to be shipping until end of first quarter (and now it states an April date.) I also saw the crossover network which is one they use from their line array system.
As for how they sound: they sound like cinema speakers. Wide dispersion, lots of power. That dispersion/coverage area is both a strength and weakness as the image it creates is fairly broad instead of precise. JBL was very excited to tout their drivers as the lowest distortion of any driver every made (I didn't ask for the spec sheet/testing data though it was on hand.) The woofers (including those found in the M2) have some extreme excursion abilities as well (to the point that I'd find it uncomfortable that they were engineered to be so -- not that I listen at those levels.)
But going back to sound -- when I was evaluating speakers a few years ago, I called a friend who manages the speaker systems of one of the largest post facilities. Since I work in mixing/editing music for film, I was keen on his insight about whether I should go to a system like he has installed in most of the theatres there (a cutdown version -- not the crazy expensive full version.) His first question was what were my other contenders and his response on comparison was that the ones that were my other contenders were definitely more "musical" than the theatre speakers -- but it is by design. I ended up going with the other contender because I mix music first and don't re-record mix as a priority -- that's handled at proper-sized post facilities. I'm looking at these JBLs now as a B surround system to check mixes before they get delivered to the dub stage but not to mix on. It's to save time on travelling to the dub stage when I can have a listen earlier of what a typical theatre sound would be like.
So, overall:
Wouldn't mix music on them.
Would do cinema work on them (as they translate to a theatre sound pretty accurately.)
Disappointed in the M2 as a music speaker (as I said, sounds near exactly the same as the 708i so it has the same flaws which is odd for a flagship speaker geared toward the mastering/hifi crowd instead of cinema professionals.)
Will probably get five of the 708p as my pseudo-post production setup."
I do find it his comments a bit odd regarding "musical" speakers to mix music...most of the audio engineers I work with don't hold that attitude.
His subjective comments seem pretty random to me.
OP
watchnerd
Grand Contributor
- Thread Starter
- #27
Here's a quote from an AVS Forum guy who heard the passive 705i at the Newport show:
I Heard the LSR 705i at "The Show at Newport"
Its the biggest audiophile event in the USA .
Although they dont look like audiophile speakers more like PA speakers they Image very well,
the bass output for those little beasts was amazing. Everyone in the room was shocked.
It was being ran with the SDA 8300.
The Best Stereo 3D image I heard at the show were the YG acoustics Carmel 2, theres basically a huge stage behind the speakers .its like the band is playing in front of you.
2nd best was Magnepan .07s ive heard the 1.7s before but the .07s seem a little more dynamic.
3rd best were the JBL 705i. Although the difference between the Magnepans is very noticeable Image wise when it comes to size the Jbls where
up there.The sound was crisp and detailed and natural. It did not sound like I was listening to horn speakers. And it definitely did not sound like i was listening to small speakers . BIG sound placed in the correct spot in the room.
Either way im looking to buy a pair of 708i or 705i , ill probably go with the smaller ones just because i dont want to spend 1500 each right now on the 708is . If you want small speakers with big sound and great audio quality these are great.
I Heard the LSR 705i at "The Show at Newport"
Its the biggest audiophile event in the USA .
Although they dont look like audiophile speakers more like PA speakers they Image very well,
the bass output for those little beasts was amazing. Everyone in the room was shocked.
It was being ran with the SDA 8300.
The Best Stereo 3D image I heard at the show were the YG acoustics Carmel 2, theres basically a huge stage behind the speakers .its like the band is playing in front of you.
2nd best was Magnepan .07s ive heard the 1.7s before but the .07s seem a little more dynamic.
3rd best were the JBL 705i. Although the difference between the Magnepans is very noticeable Image wise when it comes to size the Jbls where
up there.The sound was crisp and detailed and natural. It did not sound like I was listening to horn speakers. And it definitely did not sound like i was listening to small speakers . BIG sound placed in the correct spot in the room.
Either way im looking to buy a pair of 708i or 705i , ill probably go with the smaller ones just because i dont want to spend 1500 each right now on the 708is . If you want small speakers with big sound and great audio quality these are great.
OP
watchnerd
Grand Contributor
- Thread Starter
- #28
This guy's comments (post #561 on AVS Forum) seem a little more relatable (at least to me):
"OK, I finally have my new LSR708s set up as LCRs in my demo theater (paired with the Synthesis SDA8300 amp) and had a chance to listen to them over the weekend. The JBLs play clean and loud with pretty amazing bass response. As per their design goals, they sound completely neutral to me and clearly reveal the intimate details of any recording you throw at them.
As many of you know, extremely revealing speakers can be a double edged sword. Excellent recordings come alive in a manner that is truly goose-bump inducing, while deficiencies in poorer recordings are laid bare for the world to hear. As I was setting them up, "Return of the Jedi" happened to be sitting in the Blu-ray player so I let it play as I was going through and re-programming my URC remote for the new Marantz receiver I'm using as the head-end (SR7010 for anyone curious). What immediately became noticeable was the clarity of the voices, even at the very low volume level the receiver was set to. It became obvious to me what dialogue was looped and what was recorded on set. Of course, being a film mixer and composer I am always at least subconsciously listening for stuff like this, but again, what surprised me was the detail in the reproduction even at low levels. The other thing that impressed me from the inadvertent "Jedi" demo was how distinct all the elements were in the soundstage, with the music and sound effects clearly distinct and distinguishable from one another.
Once I had everything dialed in, I did a great deal of 2 channel music listening with recordings I am intimately familiar with. First up was Robert Lamm's solo effort, "Subtlety and Passion." This is an extremely well recorded CD from the lone remaining radical from the original "Chicago" line-up, and one of my "go-tos" when evaluating speakers. Lamm's voice sounded clean and neutral, and again, I was struck by the clarity and distinction of all the elements in the mix. When the horns would come in it was easy to hear the timbral differences between trumpet and sax, for example. This is also where I became aware of the deep and tight bass reproduction of the speakers. It was easy to follow the bass line in the various tracks without muddiness or over-emphasis of any particular frequencies. One of the silly things that impressed me was the sense that I could actually hear the "metal" in the cymbals. I know that sounds like the typical way some high end "audiophiles" will gush over the sound coming from outrageously overpriced gear, but that was the impression I had - a sense of palpable "realism" from the speakers that I rarely ever encounter.
From there I just started pulling up track after track from my own personal collection and putting the speakers through their paces. As I mentioned above. it was easy to pick out the good recordings from the bad. Compression artifacts became obvious, as did poor EQ choices on the part of the mastering engineers (by compression artifacts I'm not talking about mp3-type compression artifacts, but the type of artifact that comes from the mix engineering adding too much volume compression during mastering). What always came through with any kind of mix was a solid and almost spooky center image, the type where you would swear the middle speaker was on. The clean and even dispersion JBL promotes lived up to claims as well, as you could move laterally front and back, stand or sit, and still experience the same tonal balance within any reasonable angle in relation to the speakers (this I had already experienced at Harman headquarters when our group was encouraged to walk around the room and pay attention to evenness of response). As far as music goes, the speaker does exactly what I would like it to do, what I would want ANY speaker to do: reproduce the original recording with as much accuracy as possible.
After my music listening session, I loaded up a series of much more recent movies to get a sense of the speaker's dynamics. As expected, the 708s played extremely loud and clean no matter what I threw at them (BTW, I am running the 708s single-wire from the SDA8300, so that means 300 wpc into each speaker. I elected not to bi-amp them for this current setup). Two tests that personally impressed me - the opening scene of "Star Trek" (2009) and several sequences from the 2014 "Godzilla" reboot. What impressed me most about the reproduction of the "Star Trek" mix occurred before the movie even started. As the various production company logos come up at the beginning of the film, Michael Giacchino's ST theme comes forth and the reproduction of the french horns was just glorious. Like I mentioned in my "cymbals" comment above, what came through was a sense of the actual "brassiness" of the instrument itself. I have noticed this phenomenon with very few speakers in the past (an Everest demo from years ago comes to mind) and have always wanted to possess a speaker capable of it ever since. I'm finally happy to say I have a set in my own home. The fullness of the sound of the french horn - and the horn "rip" that comes on the cut to the first actual image from the movie, a starship moving through space - was a genuine emotional experience for me. As I've mentioned, I'm a film composer as well as a mixer, so the clarity of the music score in a film mix is of prime importance from my point of view
From there I loaded up "Godzilla," mainly because it is one of the most dynamic mixes I have ever come across. This time I was looking for pure "impact," and again the 708s did not disappoint. I chose to demo the big set piece from the middle of the film where Godzilla makes his first real appearance in Hawaii. Again, what struck me was the clarity of each individual element in the mix even at extreme volume levels. And there is nothing like a compression driver to deliver the dynamics of the explosions and gunfire, all while sounding extremely clean and detailed.
As you can probably tell, I'm happy
Old Listener
Senior Member
Thanks to watchnerd for relaying those comments on the 705/708 speakers.
Wow.
Dang it watchnerd, I just got that TV on Thursday and my wallet can't take another hit for a while.
SPFC
Member
Keeping an eye on these for my next system for sure. For home aesthetics integration, a white version would be great though.
Can or two of Krylon and you'll be all set.Keeping an eye on these for my next system for sure. For home aesthetics integration, a white version would be great though.
http://www.krylon.com/
What a great thread! Muchas gracias @watchnerd for gathering all the reviews here in one spot. Can't wait to read reviews of the powered 7 series. Mate in UK is itching to audition a pair, so if he gets his hands on either 705p or 708p I'll post his insight here.
Muchas gracias @watchnerd for gathering all the reviews here in one spot. Can't wait to read reviews of the powered 7 series. Mate in UK is itching to audition a pair, so if he gets his hands on either 705p or 708p I'll post his insight here.
Welcome to the forum Vlad. And you get the award for the most cute avatar by far.
What a great avatar! Welcome!
Ordered a pair of 705p mainly to serve as the first instalment of my multichannel set up in the tv room but I will run them in my hifi setup ( hopefully) .
