LSR308s...just had to do it.

[Aculous]

Was at guitar center looking for connectors, I am digitizing a collection of vinyl for a friend (cleaning up old LPs and trying to salvage them since he let them sit in his basement for 20 some odd years and they got destroyed). I walked by the JBLs with strong resolve. Covering my wallet like it was child that would be corrupted just by gazing at them...

well long story short the tweeters in my Infinity's went out and it was going to be pretty expensive to replace the stupid polycell tweets...

I am the proud owner of a set of LSR308s, I'll do some listening tests for folks is theres interest. The waveguide got me...didn't hurt that the kid working the counter let me do a demo for myself and no one was around...

[LowPhreak]

Grats! and hey, I never pass up a chance to blast the latest speaker I might be interested in on a demo. If they still sound good and don't die, they may be a contender!

[dr_gallup]

I've heard very good things about them and the price is reasonable. Let us know what you think.

[BMWCCA]

Please let us know what you think of them.

In just comparing their specs to the LSR305, they have to be incredible. I'd love to hear them because I could not be more impressed with the LSR305s . . . especially when you take into account what they cost!
:applaud:

[Aculous]

Well hooked them up and I love them so far. Initially had some trouble hooking them up because my AVR that I was going to try them with doesn't have RCA preouts like I needed and my other AVR is not in my computer room. I think I have some signal issues as well, currently I have it running 1/4" TRS to 1/8" mini jack into my computer and there is definitely signal hiss its really low but its there. So I am going to get a mixer or computer audio interface which will give them a clean +4dB signal like most pro audio stuff and see if that helps. I am guessing a different soundcard could help...but the audio interface will take care of it for me.

But in a now...5 hour listening session they sound great. My room is tiny and they definitely need more room to breathe but I am super happy. The highs are a little on the hot side but turning them down 2dB was too much so I think really its just their positioning in my room with another foot or two away from my face it would be perfect. The stereo image is amazing. Bass is deep but not fatiguing. I messed with a little EQ and they are really flat and need just about nothing in that department. I am going to mess with REW and see what they are actually doing in my room. Currently the setup is not optimal...smash up against a wall and close together but even with the limitations they sound great. Very forgiving, I played everything from jazz, acoustic, classical, progressive rock, metal and soundtracks through them and they are pretty transparent. Once I get them dialed I think I will be really happy.

I'll see if I can work out the kinks and then do some video or just hook the H4N up and do a quick demo. Anniversary is tomorrow so the weekend it is!

[badman]

The 308s and 305s are both superb for the money. Not full-bird "reference" speakers by any stretch, but good enough that even a serious audiophile could live with them almost indefinitely. More bass from 308s more refinement from 305s it seems.

[BMWCCA]

More bass from 308s more refinement from 305s it seems.
That would seem to be the consensus, but I can't really figure why the 305 would best the 308 in any metric. I dearly love my 305s and the 308s are quite a step up the price-ladder, but I find it hard to believe the 308 wouldn't be better in every way. But then I haven't heard them!

[Aculous]

So this is really disappointing.

I thought the issues I was having with signal hiss were due to my unbalanced TRS connectors...nope! its the amp in them...

I am returning these, since I am using them on a desk I can hear the hiss and I think my ears are attuned to it now. JBL Pro Service was super helpful too..."yes they hiss, thats typical of all monitors, you should be using balanced inputs" "but they hiss without anything plugged into them which leads me to the amp" "well they are in spec I don't know what to tell you, other monitors hiss too" "Right...thanks for you help"

I hate this...I really liked these but I just can't NOT hear the hiss now...whats so maddening is these would be great as passive monitors...then I could hook them up to a non-class D amp thats worth a shit.

[BMWCCA]

I went upstairs and turned on my LSR305s. If I go six-feet across the room and stick my ear directly in front of the speakers I will hear a very slight hiss from the tweeter, and a very slight hum from the woofer. I can't hear it at all if there's even the lowest level of output from a source, it's so far below the signal output. But, if I had them sitting on a desk right in front of me in a quiet room at idle, it might drive me nuts, or at least bother me.

I tried the pair of Pro-III Plus right next to the LSRs, powered by a Crown PL3 amp. Similar size drivers, lots more power. Dead quiet. But then that amp twenty-years ago probably cost over four-times what the LSRs cost today. Not that that's any excuse.

[Ian Mackenzie]

To assist l think there are a couple of considerations:

Where is the volume control in the signal path?
If the major noise contributor is after the volume control you would hear the same level of hiss at any volume setting.

If this is the case my bet is that due to the inputs being balanced unless the negative is shorted to ground from an unbalanced source there will be a significant noise from the negative terminal of the amp input.

To test the amp noise alone short both the positive and negative input of the balanced input to ground.

If the amp is say 100 db s/n l think the amp would be quiet. So therefore care is required to set up the unbalanced input.

I hope this makes sense.

[Aculous]

I went upstairs and turned on my LSR305s. If I go six-feet across the room and stick my ear directly in front of the speakers I will hear a very slight hiss from the tweeter, and a very slight hum from the woofer. I can't hear it at all if there's even the lowest level of output from a source, it's so far below the signal output. But, if I had them sitting on a desk right in front of me in a quiet room at idle, it might drive me nuts, or at least bother me.

I tried the pair of Pro-III Plus right next to the LSRs, powered by a Crown PL3 amp. Similar size drivers, lots more power. Dead quiet. But then that amp twenty-years ago probably cost over four-times what the LSRs cost today. Not that that's any excuse.


Thats kinda what I was thinking. It was a little too good to be true. Realistically I would have been happy with them as a passive monitor. But a company like JBL should be able to put together a nice mini-Class-AB amp without noise for that price point...it doesn't have to be a 100 watts per channel thing just a clean amp that puts out 50 watts. Done...But then again I have never worked in the audio industry in that capacity and I don't know what production costs are...so I'll hope for more next time I guess.

[badman]

Thats kinda what I was thinking. It was a little too good to be true. Realistically I would have been happy with them as a passive monitor. But a company like JBL should be able to put together a nice mini-Class-AB amp without noise for that price point...it doesn't have to be a 100 watts per channel thing just a clean amp that puts out 50 watts. Done...But then again I have never worked in the audio industry in that capacity and I don't know what production costs are...so I'll hope for more next time I guess.

I'd argue that at the cost level they need to meet, class D is a better choice for sound quality than AB. It's not clear where the noise in any given rig is coming from. A tiny little hiss isn't uncommon, and I certainly don't have any that I can hear 2ft from the speakers, much less at listening position.

[Aculous]

To assist l think there are a couple of considerations:

Where is the volume control in the signal path? On the plate amp in the back of each speaker
If the major noise contributor is after the volume control you would hear the same level of hiss at any volume setting
Same level of hiss until you put it to the 9 or 10 position (90-100%) and then it went up slightly.

If this is the case my bet is that due to the inputs being balanced unless the negative is shorted to ground from an unbalanced source there will be a significant noise from the negative terminal of the amp input.
I believe the previous comment and answer goes to it not being a balanced vs unbalanced issue. In truth I did not nest a shorted balanced input but then again I bought these because they were supposed to work for consumer and pro level signals and I was expecting there to be no hiss.

To test the amp noise alone short both the positive and negative input of the balanced input to ground.

If the amp is say 100 db s/n l think the amp would be quiet. So therefore care is required to set up the unbalanced input.

I hope this makes sense.
For the most part, of course I already returned them...so theres that.

There was also some Reddit thread on it. Looks like a lot of people are having this issue. Its only problematic for people who are using them as near field monitors or extremely close. I think its a combination of the waveguide and proximity. However I am not saying these are fatally flawed, just not for me and my application. You should be able to bypass the amp...or the amp just work silently though that was stupid on JBLs part.

[Aculous]

I'd argue that at the cost level they need to meet, class D is a better choice for sound quality than AB. It's not clear where the noise in any given rig is coming from. A tiny little hiss isn't uncommon, and I certainly don't have any that I can hear 2ft from the speakers, much less at listening position.

I'm not an EE but class d has some disadvantages to sound quality if not designed well. (like any design) Except Class D has greater complexity and some inherent issues with PWM and the output filters that compromise sound quality.

Well your experience was different from mine then, which could be a million different factors. But close to a computer with fans running and the drone of the stupid A/C unit outside and I could still hear more then what I would call a "little hiss" hence the return.

guy from reddit.
http://i.imgur.com/EeuZdCl.jpg
https://soundcloud.com/user-203294559-52770461/jbl-lsr305-hiss

[Ian Mackenzie]

I agree that once you focus on it it can be a constant annoyance.

My comment is premised on that fact that some leads but not all necessarily provide shorting of the negative to ground.

By way of example if l use my hi end Pass labs 250.5 with rca unbalanced inputs and l do not use the shorting links provided to insert into the XL inputs the amp is quite noisier,

I have not used these monitors myself so as you say if they hiss regardless (with balanced inputs) the point is mute.

[BMWCCA]

To be fair, in a small, carpeted room with no other noise, away from the rest of the house, I have to literally stick my ear directly in front of each driver to hear any noise at all on mine. I never noticed any noise until this thread caused me to try sticking my ear in them.

My home is known for poor (old) electric with all two-wire circuits and yet I have no noise from any other speakers including the bi-amped Crowns with the 4345s downstairs. I'm running the LSR305s off a Crown PSL2 using a pre-made (Hosa) unbalanced RCA-to-XLR cable that (according to the packaging diagram) shorts terminals 1 and 3 (negative to ground). I don't have anything I can use in that room that would give me a true balanced connection to try it otherwise. I previously ran them off long RCA-to-RCA with 1/4-inch adapters into the unbalanced inputs with no problem noticed.
:dont-know:

[Ian Mackenzie]

That makes sense

[4313B]

I use my LSR305's on either side of my 42" flat panel hooked up to my PC and I sit approximately 3 feet away. I can't remember what cables I used or what setting I have them on, I'd have to look when I get home. I have no issues with hiss. I do remember having issues with hiss when I first hooked them up. In short, I couldn't be happier with these little monsters. They replaced a pair of passive Tannoy DC6's costing twice as much.

I have noticed that if I really crank them the inexpensive build quality of the enclosures begins to show. Fortunately, I just flat out don't like listening that loud.

Interestingly, the Tannoy DC6's are superior in the far field and their build quality is significantly better. But they cost a lot more too.

My only concern with these things was mirrored by Grumpy quite awhile ago - the amps. I'll use them until an amp fails and then toss them in the recycle bin.

[rusty jefferson]

I think it's very likely the acceptability of the noise level in the near field from these speakers is related to hearing, or loss of it. Just because you can "hear" a 10k sweep doesn't mean you'd be able to hear a high frequency hiss at 2-3ft. I don't know how many times I've listened to systems with a microphonic tube in a preamp or phono stage that was ringing or hissing in 1 channel that was making me nuts, and no one else in the room could hear it. It happens to all of us eventually.

If you have these speakers and don't really notice the hiss, determine the distance from the speakers it's audible to you and measure it (the distance). Then have a young person with known good hearing sit in front of them and measure the distance it's audible to them. Not annoying, but audible. Annoying is subjective.

[4313B]

I just checked my LSR305's and I sit 2.5 feet from them. The input sensitivity is set to +4 dBu and the level is set to Max. I use this cable to hook them up to my PC sound card: Hosa CMP159 Stereo Breakout, 3.5 mm TRS to Dual 1/4 in TS, 10-Feet

They are outstanding.

[Aculous]

To be fair, in a small, carpeted room with no other noise, away from the rest of the house, I have to literally stick my ear directly in front of each driver to hear any noise at all on mine. I never noticed any noise until this thread caused me to try sticking my ear in them.

My home is known for poor (old) electric with all two-wire circuits and yet I have no noise from any other speakers including the bi-amped Crowns with the 4345s downstairs. I'm running the LSR305s off a Crown PSL2 using a pre-made (Hosa) unbalanced RCA-to-XLR cable that (according to the packaging diagram) shorts terminals 1 and 3 (negative to ground). I don't have anything I can use in that room that would give me a true balanced connection to try it otherwise. I previously ran them off long RCA-to-RCA with 1/4-inch adapters into the unbalanced inputs with no problem noticed.
:dont-know:

well...all I can tell you is that at 2.5 feet away it was definitely audible. Just to make sure I wasn't crazy I had my girlfriend sit in the room and listen as well. Without me saying anything as to why I was asking her to sit down and listen I clicked the power switch waited and second and she said "what is that?" about 10 seconds of sitting there. I asked her to explain and she said it sounded like soft static. As Rusty mentioned already I suppose it could be age and hearing, we are both under 35 so I suppose thats young still? It is in a small room with carpet but its definitely not silent in there.

All I can say is that I have plenty of class-d amps and have had powered speakers before and never had this issue. But you get what you pay for, although I would have dropped another 50-70$ for a better amp so theres that. Or 50-70 less for passive monitors with MDF or dense wooden enclosure.

Anyway I'll leave it there for my experience with these. Glad other people are not having my same experience.

[bubbleboy76]

Maybe a noise difference 305 vs 308?

[BMWCCA]

If you have these speakers and don't really notice the hiss, determine the distance from the speakers it's audible to you and measure it (the distance). Then have a young person with known good hearing sit in front of them and measure the distance it's audible to them. Not annoying, but audible. Annoying is subjective.

Could be. I'm 63 with decades of motorcycling and listening to live and recorded music under my belt. Fortunately I have my much younger wife and 21-year-old daughter in the house so I can run that experiment. I'll let you know. But again, mine are the 305s—bought on the recommendation of 4313B and grateful for that.

[Ian Mackenzie]

We tin ear old farts are easy to please!

[watchnerd]

OP:

Are you using these in your living room or other mid-field type set up?

If so, how do you find the LSR308 now that you've had them a while?

[BMWCCA]

I'd jump on these, if you have any curiosity at all about them. I just ordered a second pair after contemplating buying a used pair locally for the same amount. That's $100 off list price for a pair, today only: http://www.guitarcenter.com/JBL/LSR305-5-Powered-Studio-Monitor-1371656243395.gc

One of the final legacy speakers from GT and what will forever be known as the Pre-Samsung JBLs. :)

[BMWCCA]

FYI: Today Guitar Center has the LSR305 in a Special Ediiton Matte Red color on-sale for $99-each.