JBL SDP-55 Audio/Video Processor Review

[voodooless]

I have a basic question that perhaps I’ve known the answer to before, but don’t remember, or perhaps I sort of understand, but not really. I will first be pairing this JBL with an NAD M28. According to the NAD M28 spec sheet, the input sensitivity is “1.3 V (rated power).” What does that mean when pairing these two devices? Does it mean that the M28 doesn’t emit audible signal until 1.3 V? Does it mean 1.3 V is somehow the “sweet spot”? Does it mean that the ”rated power” was tested at 1.3 V?

It just means that at 1.3V the amplifier will reach its maximum power. And it's probably an incomplete spec, because it does not tell you if this is balanced or single ended. Most likely it's a single ended spec, since balanced usually has a higher voltage.

 

[HTNut1975]

It just means that at 1.3V the amplifier will reach its maximum power. And it's probably an incomplete spec, because it does not tell you if this is balanced or single ended. Most likely it's a single ended spec, since balanced usually has a higher voltage.

Thanks for the quick response. I couldn’t find any additional information. With a balanced connection, is It somewhat safe to say that maximum power would be reached at around twice that voltage?

 

[voodooless]

Thanks for the quick response. I couldn’t find any additional information. With a balanced connection, is It somewhat safe to say that maximum power would be reached at around twice that voltage?

Possibly. Which means the amp will start clipping quite a bit before the JBL reaches maximum volume. Also note that probably the JBL will be the weakest link here. Those Purifi amps deserve something better SINAD wise.

 

[HTNut1975]

Possibly. Which means the amp will start clipping quite a bit before the JBL reaches maximum volume. Also note that probably the JBL will be the weakest link here. Those Purifi amps deserve something better SINAD wise.

Ok, I think I get the general idea. I’m assuming that is probably a good thing. The JBL multichannel amp has a sensitivity of 800mv rms and it concerned me a tad with the discrepancy, but I wasn’t sweating it too much.

 

[peng]

Thanks for the quick response. I couldn’t find any additional information. With a balanced connection, is It somewhat safe to say that maximum power would be reached at around twice that voltage?

That seems to be the case, more often than not. If it is for the M28, then with balanced input you would need 2.6 V for it to output its rated power. You shouldn't assume though, you can either contact NAD for an official answer, or take some measurements yourself.

 

[lashto]

This is what I mean..there is nothing else. The HTP-1 at $4000 is the giant killer and even has DLBC which Datasat rs20i is not powerful enough to do at this point.

pretty schitty that even $20K cannot buy a truly highend AVR.

And I agree about the Monoprice HTP, seems to be the best deal nowadays. Their thread on avsforum is quite long and very 'clean': no bugs, no headaches, just happy users discussing how to best use the features. All issues from the ASR measurements were fixed almost instantly and it'll probably be the first device with a functional Dirac BM. Really good performance from the Monoprice team, especially for a first ever device.

Too bad they still do not sell them in the EU. Yes, one can order from the US but with taxes/transport the price is much higher. And waiting a month+ in case you need service/replacement is also far from optimal.

 

[voodooless]

It's truly staggering how little extra you get for paying so much premium. You might get a few more amps vs the base model, sometimes a bit more codecs, a step better room correction, but mostly a shitload more marketing in the form of super fancy transformers, hyped capacitor and other nonsense. If you're lucky they even stick a decent ESS of AKM dac in there.. however rarely this translates into any better real world performance improvements.

 

[PeteL]

pretty schitty that even $20K cannot buy a truly highend AVR.

And I agree about the Monoprice HTP, seems to be the best deal nowadays. Their thread on avsforum is quite long and very 'clean': no bugs, no headaches, just happy users discussing how to best use the features. All issues from the ASR measurements were fixed almost instantly and it'll probably be the first device with a functional Dirac BM. Really good performance from the Monoprice team, especially for a first ever device.

To bad they still do not sell them in the EU. Yes, one can order from the US but with taxes/transport the price is much higher. And waiting a month+ in case you need service/replacement is also far from optimal.

Don't take my word for it, I might very well be wrong, but I was under the impression that Mono Price where using other manufacturers and offering them subcontracting deals. Do they actually design their stuff or these are oem, Monoprice branded. Just curious, they went really fast from being a cable and acessory brand to a full impressive hifi line.

 

[HTNut1975]

pretty schitty that even $20K cannot buy a truly highend AVR.

And I agree about the Monoprice HTP, seems to be the best deal nowadays. Their thread on avsforum is quite long and very 'clean': no bugs, no headaches, just happy users discussing how to best use the features. All issues from the ASR measurements were fixed almost instantly and it'll probably be the first device with a functional Dirac BM. Really good performance from the Monoprice team, especially for a first ever device.

To bad they still do not sell them in the EU. Yes, one can order from the US but with taxes/transport the price is much higher. And waiting a month+ in case you need service/replacement is also far from optimal.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Monoprice “price” is internet direct, while the JBL price discussed on here is MSRP. In the real world, at least in the states, that difference significantly shrinks to the point of getting very close to or equaling the Monoprice pricing. It depends on the philosophy of the dealer, but I priced it with several dealers and found that to be true. Now, add on top of that that the JBL comes with any new Dirac upgrade for free. DLBC for multisubs is at the moment 500 bucks. Dirac has publically stated that there are future upgrade modules in the works. Any upgrade released in the near future will be free on the JBL and will likely cost money on the Monoprice. See where I’m going?

At the moment, DLBC actually does work on the JBL but there are issues that pop up with Atmos. It would’ve worked sufficiently for Amir to test it and that was the original plan, but I was too excited to wait any longer and so he is graciously going to ship it back to me this week at some point. I imagine that a firmware update is around the corner to iron out the Atmos issue in the very near future.

 

[Archaea]

I forget due to both having edits and there being fixed and whatnot, but does the Emotiva RMC-1 for $5000 offer anything over the Monoprice for $4000 (at say 3Vrms and lower; no amp needs more than that to my knowledge)?

Yeah it does
The Emotiva on the whole offers way more glitches, bugs, and dissatisfaction.

Read the user community issues over at AVSForum. That processor has been a train wreck (like all Emotiva processors of late). Emotiva has a history of culling negative reviews on their own lounge forum, but AVSForum does not. You can get the true picture at AVS. I haven’t watched it lately, maybe they’ve fixed things, but for many months people couldn’t even watch basic 5.1 DTS without constant audio drop outs, or all channels firing up at max volume on a test tones unexpectedly, etc.
By contrast the user community seems to be very pleased overall with the Monoprice unit.

 

[Vasr]

Really good performance from the Monoprice team, especially for a first ever device.

Don't take my word for it, I might very well be wrong, but I was under the impression that Mono Price where using other manufacturers and offering them subcontracting deals. Do they actually design their stuff or these are oem, Monoprice branded. Just curious, they went really fast from being a cable and acessory brand to a full impressive hifi line.

Monoprice Monolith branded amps and pre/pros are designed and built by ATI, no stranger to high-end audio.

The HTP-1 is the ASR beauty contest loser that you marry and be happy with it seems.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Monoprice “price” is internet direct, while the JBL price discussed on here is MSRP. In the real world, at least in the states, that difference significantly shrinks to the point of getting very close to or equaling the Monoprice pricing.

1/3 price off of MSRP on a current model to meet the Monoprice price is not a realistic expectation for most people. The fact that it is internet-direct without middleman margins is partly why it is cheaper. With the SD-55, Arcam, JBL and the dealer all have to get their cut. With Monoprice/ATI, it is ATI oem prices + Monoprices's ability to run on thin margins as a business model. Difficult to compete with that. But if JBL sales doesn't meet expectations, it may drop significantly like the Lexicons did.

 

[HTNut1975]

1/3 price off of MSRP on a current model to meet the Monoprice price is not a realistic expectation for most people. The fact that it is internet-direct without middleman margins is partly why it is cheaper. With the SD-55, Arcam, JBL and the dealer all have to get their cut. With Monoprice/ATI, it is ATI oem prices + Monoprices's ability to run on thin margins as a business model. Difficult to compete with that. But if JBL sales doesn't meet expectations, it may drop significantly like the Lexicons did.

I priced a new Lexicon MC-10 in Jan of 2019 for 1/3 off at my local dealer (and the RV-6 was priced at a crazy low price because of manufacturer incentives). That was when it was the current processor. I’ve also priced this JBL at that margin (or very close) at a couple of dealers without doing too much work. I would venture to guess that it does matter re: the market and that sales will go up and down (for example, if the next firmware shows to stabilize the vast majority of issues, then dealers may pull back on discounts). I don’t think we are that far off in disagreement. But even if you price it at 25 percent off, that still gets you the processor with DLBC that is the same price as the Monoprice with the extra benefit of having any future Dirac upgrade for free.

 

[lashto]

One thing to keep in mind is that the Monoprice “price” is internet direct, while the JBL price discussed on here is MSRP. In the real world, at least in the states, that difference significantly shrinks to the point of getting very close to or equaling the Monoprice pricing. It depends on the philosophy of the dealer, but I priced it with several dealers and found that to be true. Now, add on top of that that the JBL comes with any new Dirac upgrade for free. DLBC for multisubs is at the moment 500 bucks. Dirac has publically stated that there are future upgrade modules in the works. Any upgrade released in the near future will be free on the JBL and will likely cost money on the Monoprice. See where I’m going?

Honestly, I think you are going into LaLaLand
That's what this JBL device seems to be, a beautiiful LaLaLand on paper. What you actually get is a bag of headaches. If all the stuff they promise worked fine, yes it would be a device to consider. But almost nothing works properly. And ~1 year after launch it's still the same bag of headaches. So, no thank you JBL.

P.S.
btw, I am not a fanboy of monoprice or any other AVR brand. Just a really annoyed customer who cannot find a single AVR/P worth buying this year. The AVR reviews on this forum are just a long chain of clusterfooks.

 

[HTNut1975]

Honestly, I think you are going into LaLaLand
That's what this JBL device seems to be, a beautiiful LaLaLand on paper. What you actually get is a bag of headaches. If all the stuff they promise worked fine, yes it might be a device to consider. But almost nothing works properly. And ~1 year after launch it's still the same bag of headaches. So, no thank you JBL.

P.S.
btw, I am not a fanboy of monoprice or any other AVR brand. Just a really annoyed customer who cannot find a single AVR/P worth buying this year. The AVR reviews on this forum are just a long chain of clusterfooks.

I may well be—decent music, no?

Though there are certainly headaches, it is not the case that almost nothing works. I’ve been following the AVS thread (and conversing with current owners) for several months, now. Yes, there are annoying bugs. No, it isn’t in the same category of the type headaches that Emotiva users had to put up with for quite some time. Yes, Dirac works on it as does DLBC (but with a dirty Atmos bug when it is in use). Yes, the likelihood of remedying the problem is relatively high, I would say (and base that belief in part on the stability of the previous generation Lexicons/Arcam’s, which also had a slow start out the gate).

Also, the JBL has been out since the spring— about 5 months ago (not a year).

 

[SirMaster]

Have you seen source media for the home with more than 15 objects and LFE? I have scanned the digital copies of my blurays and no Atmos tracks seem to exceed 15 objects, many are only 11 objects. Even the notoriously high bit Abbey Road Atmos is only 15 objects.

The home Atmos format doesn't support it more, but why does it need to?

It parks 7 object channels over the standard 7 speaker positions, the 1 LFE channel (which is the only true "BED" channel), and then has either 4, 6, or 8 dynamic object channels.

 

[Krobar]

The home Atmos format doesn't support it more, but why does it need to?

It parks 7 object channels over the standard 7 speaker positions, the 1 LFE channel (which is the only true "BED" channel), and then has either 4, 6, or 8 dynamic object channels.

Was just asking if people knew of media with more objects. 15/8 objects is quite alot less than the 118 objects quoted earlier (Is this an object total as opposed to simultaneous objects?)

 

[SirMaster]

Was just asking if people knew of media with more objects. 15/8 objects is quite alot less than the 118 objects quoted earlier (Is this an object total as opposed to simultaneous objects?)

118 objects is only in the original theater mix, and would require something like ~100mbit/s to store (more than the average UHD video bitrate).

The (up to) 118 original theater mix objects are "spatially coded" (grouped together into object channels) for the home mix, so that it can fit on a disc or be streamed online.

If you actually view an Atmos track for a movie, you will see that they use 1 BED channel for the LFE, and they leave 7 of the remaining 15 channels parked at the standard speaker locations, and then the remaining 4-8 usually move (but sometime are also locked in position on the ceiling).

If you think about it, for a 7.1.4 (or less) speaker system, locked ceiling object channels are actually ideal as it can accurately represent the original 118 theater channels (since there is always an object channel located at each physical speaker.)

https://www.dolby.com/in/en/professional/content-creation/dolby-atmos/dolby-atmos-renderer-guide.pdf

See page 264-267.

 

[Krobar]

118 objects is only in the original theater mix, and would require something like ~100mbit/s to store (more than the average UHD video bitrate).

The (up to) 118 original theater mix objects are "spatially coded" (grouped together into object channels) for the home mix, so that it can fit on a disc or be streamed online.

If you actually view an Atmos track for a movie, you will see that they use 1 BED channel for the LFE, and they leave 7 of the remaining 15 channels parked at the standard speaker locations, and then the remaining 4-8 usually move (but sometime are also locked in position on the ceiling).

If you think about it, for a 7.1.4 (or less) speaker system, locked ceiling object channels are actually ideal as it can accurately represent the original 118 theater channels (since there is always an object channel located at each physical speaker.)

https://www.dolby.com/in/en/professional/content-creation/dolby-atmos/dolby-atmos-renderer-guide.pdf

See page 264-267.

Thanks for the link. Had read a bit about this for DTS:X but never looked at Atmos. DTS:X looks similar although fixed position are apparently more common and I havent seen documentation like you linked above for DTS:X.

 

[Obelisk]

another AVR clusterfook, just what everyone wanted to see

@Obelisk
AFAIK, there is no AVR/P out there that deserves to be called highend/highres (by my definition that would be >105 SINAD, or >17 distortion-free bits).

Looks like many still have hopes for the mega expensive AVR/Ps that were not measured on ASR. You should probably forget those hopes, just check the avsforum measurements for so called TOTL devices from Trinnov, Lyngdorf, Bryston. The Datasat (~$20000) might the best measurements-wise, see the "On the Bench" section at the bottom.

Bryston SP4 - $16,995, Lyngdorf MP-40 - $9,990, Tinnov Altitude 16 - $17,000. While it appears there is competition at the very high-end, it is dissapointing that the Monoprice HTP-1 price point doesn't have an abundance of solid performing competitors. Take the new $3,500 Rotel RSP-1576MKII - no network streaming, no eARC, DSD decoding? and an on screen interface from the 1990s Hopefully it will perform well, but no network streaming seems out of touch with reality and not at all competitive.

 

[jam]

Bummer, I had high hopes for this one. Thanks again for such an honest and impartial review Amir. No one can can accuse you of having vested interests.