JBL 705P Studio Monitor Review

[gr-e]

So they traded LF efficency for dip? Maybe dip is not really an audible issue..

The graph doesn't show performance with plugged port. Blue is woofer, green is port and red is their summed response.

But yeah, fixing it would probably be a trade-off either in LF performance, cabinet size, unnecessary construction complexity or something else

 

[beefkabob]

How loud do you play them and how large is your room? I would consider them, but as I like to listen sometimes at or above reference level in my 15x18 room, I'm better with large cinema speakers.

Name a moment in a movie. I'll take a 2.1 or 2.0 (whatever you want), 0db on the volume knob (digital) measurement from about 13 feet with the 708p. Somewhat bigger room than yours.

So they traded LF efficency for dip? Maybe dip is not really an audible issue..

According to Amirm and many owner posts, it's not a problem.

 

[QMuse]

Not efficiency so much as output but yes.

Sure, that's what I meant but I used the wrong word.

 

[BDWoody]

Name a moment in a movie. I'll take a 2.1 or 2.0 (whatever you want), 0db on the volume knob (digital) measurement from about 13 feet with the 708p. Somewhat bigger room than yours.



According to Amirm and many owner posts, it's not a problem.

@amirm, would there be any value in getting hold of a 708p and doing a direct comparison while you still have the 705p? It might be interesting to see what differences related to these specific issues are noticed.

 

[thewas]

Its also visible in the S&R spectogram as a resonance

but in their listening test there wasn't any mention that it was audible. https://www.soundandrecording.de/equipment/jbl-705p-nahfeldmonitor-im-test/

 

[ctrl]

According to Amirm and many owner posts, it's not a problem.

For home use it is less of a problem, unless you are e.g. a lover of piano music, in which case you would find the keystrokes in this area almost half as loud (6-8dB dip).

Of course, this is not suitable for studio use.

Maybe Amir makes a few more measurements (harmonic distortion and CSD) with the plugged bass-reflex port.

 

[wje]

Thanks for this great review. Great inspiration for JBL once again and after using the passive Paradigm 200b and Elac B6.2 this weekend, I put my JBL 530s back on the stands and was fed some good JBL medicine before my journey into work for the day. But, the JBL 708s has me curious - not that the 705s is lacking in any way - especially in my condominium. Having 250 watts being fed to each driver and a relatively good frequency response - paired with my subs for the lower end, powered speakers vs. passive has piqued my interest.

 

[Reddy]

what would you recommend? The 705P or the Neumann KH80DSP?

 

[617]

This thing would be pretty sick with side mounted passive radiators but it would probably have to be a bit bigger.

For home use it is less of a problem, unless you are e.g. a lover of piano music, in which case you would find the keystrokes in this area almost half as loud (6-8dB dip).

Of course, this is not suitable for studio use.

Maybe Amir makes a few more measurements (harmonic distortion and CSD) with the plugged bass-reflex port.

Dip is right around F# 5, near piano's center range. I agree this wouldn't be my first pick for playing virtual instruments.

 

[Joachim Herbert]

what would you recommend? The 705P or the Neumann KH80DSP?

Neumann KH120, no dsp. Maybe with the KH750DSP for the lower regions and additional tweaking.

For anyone who is interested in sound and recording measurements: There is an ebook with some 80 studio monitors measured (pdf, 8.90 Euros).

 

[QMuse]

This thing would be pretty sick with side mounted passive radiators but it would probably have to be a bit bigger.

Or even better with transmission line, in which case it would be a lot bigger.

 

[amirm]

@amirm, would there be any value in getting hold of a 708p and doing a direct comparison while you still have the 705p? It might be interesting to see what differences related to these specific issues are noticed.

With the owner's permission, I can send one of his 705p back and keep the other for comparison. Was really looking forward to clearing up the clutter around the house though.

 

[beefkabob]

For home use it is less of a problem, unless you are e.g. a lover of piano music, in which case you would find the keystrokes in this area almost half as loud (6-8dB dip).

Of course, this is not suitable for studio use.

I didn't think of that. I don't know the spread of piano keys, but yeah, one could land right in there.

However, when I listen to piano, it's my son playing the baby grand. He's just starting on:
F. Chopin : Waltz op. 64 n°1 in D flat major "Minute Waltz"
and
Six Variations on 'Nel cor piu non mi sento', WoO 70 (Beethoven)

That's what I get for teasing him about only playing slow pieces.

 

[wwenze]

Its also visible in the S&R spectogram as a resonance

but in their listening test there wasn't any mention that it was audible. https://www.soundandrecording.de/equipment/jbl-705p-nahfeldmonitor-im-test/

I have a question: In the case of resonance, the energy gets absorbed and then released at that frequency later, right? Hence at around 4ms there is a clear dip in the response. However the energy gets released back later albeit delayed.

With continuous tones or noise, would the dip still exist in the FR chart? As opposed to, i dunno what was used by most measurers, maybe gated?

Or put in another way, due to that resonance, if fed a random signal, we would see a peak, hence JBL had to add a notch filter to that signal, which then show up as a dip with test tones?

 

[q3cpma]

Its also visible in the S&R spectogram as a resonance
View attachment 53493

but in their listening test there wasn't any mention that it was audible. https://www.soundandrecording.de/equipment/jbl-705p-nahfeldmonitor-im-test/

SOS did mention it, though: https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/jbl-7-series

"The million-dollar question on the 705P pipe resonance is, of course, that
of audibility. Well, when listening to pink noise on the 705P, with the ports
blocked by wadding or left open as intended, I could clearly hear a change in
the mid-range as the wadding was removed, so in those circumstances, it’s
audible. However, pink noise and music are different beasts, and with the
constantly changing character of most music, it would be very hard consistently
to pin down and identify the effect. It will be there, however, making a
contribution to the overall aural signature of the 705P."

And while this isn't a controlled test, SOS isn't known for doing systematic measurements, which would imply that these were done after hearing the anomaly.

I do think that it's (probably) very minor outside of articial sweeps, but you're never too sure. And at that price, you can get something good from Genelec (8040 or 8340). Fortunately, the 708p is exempt from this, but I'd like it if it were at least 2/3 of its MSRP.

 

[Spocko]

Oh joy and rapture! I have three of these arriving tomorrow.

L/C/R home theater?

 

[QMuse]

I have a question: In the case of resonance, the energy gets absorbed and then released at that frequency later, right? Hence at around 4ms there is a clear dip in the response. However the energy gets released back later albeit delayed.

With continuous tones or noise, would the dip still exist in the FR chart? As opposed to, i dunno what was used by most measurers, maybe gated?

Or put in another way, due to that resonance, if fed a random signal, we would see a peak, hence JBL had to add a notch filter to that signal, which then show up as a dip with test tones?

There are no differences in measurrement of resonant peaks and dips with RTA and repeating pink noise vs sweep.

 

[Dj7675]

I have these coming for my L/C/R for my home theater. I have had the 308P MKII for a short time and I actually can't find much fault with them. They sound really good to me. However, @ $500 each for the 705Pdelievered, just couldn't pass these up. I listen around -10db most of the time and have them crossed at 80hz, so I don't think volume/distortion should be an issue.

 

[Lbstyling]

That waveguide would likely be the cause of the dip in response around 1.7k. 1.7khz is about 201mm, which is (about) the cabinet width + the lens curvature distance.

This is a problem that anyone involved with horn and lens design speakers has to deal with.

Either that or one of the driver's has reverse polarity.

I would be interested to see what the 8inch version looks like, as this may make all the difference !

 

[mi-fu]

It is one of the reviews that I really looked forward to. Thanks @amirm and the kind owner sending it in