Studio Series S312

[oznob]

My uncle has a pair of S312's he picked a few years ago for free. It's a long story! Anyway, did a search and found little information on them. Does anyone have any experience or currently own a pair of these? If so, what are your opinions of them? He is giving them to me as he has run out of room in his office. I have listened to them a few times and they sound damn good to me! Just curious to hear others opinions.

[Don C]

They are the most recent consumer 12" three way. Descendant of L-100. I have only heard them in Best Buy. They sounded pretty good, but oddly, I preferred the little S-38 on direct comparison. They probably needed a bigger room. I'd love to see either of those dissected to get a look at the quality of the components inside. Maybe you could do that?

[oznob]

They are the most recent consumer 12" three way. Descendant of L-100. I have only heard them in Best Buy. They sounded pretty good, but oddly, I preferred the little S-38 on direct comparison. They probably needed a bigger room. I'd love to see either of those dissected to get a look at the quality of the components inside. Maybe you could do that?

I will likely pick them up on this Wed. I have no clue what I will do with them?
I can certainly give them a close inspection and see what makes them tick. The few times I have listened to the S-312's was generally with FM radio, usually KFOG. I was always impressed with the bottom end at low volumes. Never did really pay much attention to them other than to expect nothing less from a JBL speaker! I guess it was due to me being a JBL snob and figuring that the new generation couldn't hold a candle to the vintage stuff. I have since certainly changed that opinion! I will post my impressions of them and try to get some pictures of the components.

[JBLnsince1959]

I personally like them a lot. I tested them alot a BB against the speaker with two smaller woofers and these sound more " real" with better detail and fullness.

I think you'll be surprised..they really are good speakers for the money.

Now don't get me wrong..they are not reference speakers ( But then the Performance Series ain't either) BUT... they are fun speakers for regular entertainment. Works best with around 200 watts ( or more). I think they blow away speakers costing 3 times as much.. (Thanks GT...:applaud: ) I'm still looking for a ( cheap) pair of the 412's

Let us know what you think....

have fun

[oznob]

He was originally going to give them to me. He did mention he wanted to buy a little sub to go with some Canton bookshelf speakers. I insisted I pay for them, at least enough to cover the cost of the sub. He reluctantly agreed so I'm giving him $300. I can get Denon AV receivers at dealer cost so I'm thinking of venturing into home theater, again. I have a pair of Norhtridge E-30's I picked up for under $100 so they should be adequate for the rears, I'll be doing a 5.1 system only. S center's seem to be easy to find on ebay. Then there is the sub issue. I would have limited room so it would have to be compact. Don't know if JBL makes a good sub small enough to fit my needs? It would have to be 13" square max, front firing, sealed cabinet. Any suggestions woulb be appreciated.

I will still have a two channel system on the back burner when our re-model is done and I can build a music room!

[JBLnsince1959]

Sounds like a good plan. Mine are "upstairs" for movies with the TV. I use mine in stereo ( I'm not big on 5.1, 6.1 7.1 or single center speakers) they really are fun speakers. I'm sure that there are many speakers better than these ( and much, much more expensive) and a person could compare against ,BUT ALSO, there are many more that are worst. Just really good bang for the buck.

You might have to work with the bass a little. I'll recommend waiting for a sub until you get everything else settled in.


By the ( and I'm just throwing this out there). I have an almost NEW S center that I've used with ONE movie and some testing ( about 3 to 4 hours total) that's it. It's just been sitting around all this time waiting for the "right" person. PM me if you wish to talk about it.

anyway, let us know what you think about these when you get them. I think You'll be surprised at how good these are.

Just don't put them beside some $5000 ( or more) speakers doing an A/B test and compare them ( I bet they would come close tho:D )

[qxlxp]

i bought a pair along with some s26's for the rear channel and the S center channel as a christmas gift for my dad.

i think they sound really good when we are watching a movie. i am with JBLnsince1959 in that if you plopped something like a lsr6332 next to it, the deficiencies in the 312's would become much more appearent. there is also probably a volume constraint as well, but they seemed to go pretty loud without any terribly objectionable distortion.

overall, i think they were a very good value and as long as you are not shooting for the "ultimate performance" from you system (and are willing to spend significantly more money) you will probably like them.

[JBLnsince1959]

1. i think they sound really good when we are watching a movie.

2. i am with JBLnsince1959 in that if you plopped something like a lsr6332 next to it, the deficiencies in the 312's would become much more appearent.

3. there is also probably a volume constraint as well, but they seemed to go pretty loud without any terribly objectionable distortion.

.

1. They do very well with movies AND with music - again very surprising considering the cost:D

2. either that or the deficiencies in the lsr6332 will become apparent:rotfl:

3. I've not heard any REAL MAJOR "volumn" issues with the S312's myself and I've had them hooked up to alot of different amps. The ONLY thing I can think of is that make sure you have some good power ( 200 watts or so) behind it.

I have mine hooked up to a Low-power Sony all-in-one music/HT receiver/amp/whatever.... for movies it ain't loud enough, but the problem isn't the speakers..the volumn is loud enough for music tho with the setup.

Again watch the bass response with setup and amp...you may need to tweak it a little. They can sound "Boomy" if you do it wrong ( setup and weak/sloppy amp). The best I heard was :
1. Mark Levinson - 23.5
2. Marantz monoamp MA700 ( 200 watts). Great mono-amps that can be had for around 250 to 300 each ( last time i looked, maybe less now - I had 10 of them, sold 3)

like ANY speaker there will be good setups and bad setups, it just takes time. Bottom-line is I like the puppies and they are really good and you can't beat the price

back to work

[oznob]

Sounds like a good plan. Mine are "upstairs" for movies with the TV. I use mine in stereo ( I'm not big on 5.1, 6.1 7.1 or single center speakers) they really are fun speakers. I'm sure that there are many speakers better than these ( and much, much more expensive) and a person could compare against ,BUT ALSO, there are many more that are worst. Just really good bang for the buck.

You might have to work with the bass a little. I'll recommend waiting for a sub until you get everything else settled in.


By the ( and I'm just throwing this out there). I have an almost NEW S center that I've used with ONE movie and some testing ( about 3 to 4 hours total) that's it. It's just been sitting around all this time waiting for the "right" person. PM me if you wish to talk about it.

anyway, let us know what you think about these when you get them. I think You'll be surprised at how good these are.

Just don't put them beside some $5000 ( or more) speakers doing an A/B test and compare them ( I bet they would come close tho:D )

Initially I will be using them with a Yamaha 100 stereo receiver. It is one of the newer breeds with adjustable loudness. I have compared it to many more $$$ units and the Yammy consitantly holds its own! I think it is a true bargain at around $300 used. The model is RX-777. I will send you a PM later regarding the S-Center.

[qxlxp]

Initially I will be using them with a Yamaha 100 stereo receiver.

i heard them using a 100 or 125 watt onkyo recvr and there was plenty of power/volume at a 8'-10' away listening position. (there was also a crossover to a powered sub which i am sure reduced the power requirements).

i also listened to the s26's for about 2 weeks using a classe 200 watt amp (had to check out the gift to make sure it was functional :) ). no low bass, mediocre imaging, and definitely volume constraints, but nothing that made me want to immediately unhook them from my system. i wish i could have heard the 312's with the good amp, but i didn't want to mess with unpacking and repacking a relatively large speaker.

[oznob]

I got them home this afternoon and have been listening to them ever since. I did an A/B comparison to the 4430's. Well, they are no 4430 but, for what they are, they sound very good. They do not have the sound stage, dynamics and accuracy of the big horns. They seem to reach up into the higher registers at the expense of some mid-range warmth. Vocals on the 4430's are the best I've ever heard so I think it unfair to compare the vocals of the S312 to them. Suffice it to say that they are in a different league. They do seem to be very well balanced. I can invision the S312 to be a great main speaker in a surround sound system and quite adequate in a modest two channel rig. I will try and make time this weekend to pull the drivers and post pictures. They will certainly put to shame other speakers in the 1 kilo buck range and above!