JBL S312II

[SansuiFlorida]

Someone locally is trying to sell a pair of JBL S312II. Wondering if anyone has had any experience with these speakers and if I should seriously consider pursing them. The reviews I found on the net spoke well about these ones.

Thanks
Mike

[Titanium Dome]

Or should I say yes unless you're one of those folks stubbornly rooted in the past and believe that all recent JBL consumer level products are crap? OK, I won't say it because you're not one of those guys. It'd just be gratuitous posing on my part.

Many users of the S312II are very, very happy, and they do sound good. They look a bit distracting with the grilles off due to the weirdly colored cones, but they sound just fine and provide excellent bang for the buck even at full retail.

They are a definite step up from the Northridge N Series and probably better than the E Series, too. They will sound better than many vintage speakers with 12" or smaller drivers, such as L100 or L80t models for example.

[SansuiFlorida]

Thanks TD for your advice/comments.

I talked to the owner (military AF) who purchased them thru AAFES will stationed in Japan. Owner says they have low hours, mint condition and come with orginal boxes, manual, etc. He stated they were his wife's speakers because she liked to listen to R&B music. He said he was selling because he and wife are now separated. He uses Klipsch speakers for his gear and had no need for the JBLs anymore. He's asking $650. I haven't had any time to do any price research. I plan on going to check them out Saturday. Any suggestions would be appreciated to look for besides the obvious.

Thanks
Mike

[oznob]

Ti is right on the money. The S312's are a great sounding speaker and can be had now at bargain prices. I had a pair of the first generation S312's and enjoyed them thoroughly. Get there before the seller does an honest comparison between them and his Klipsch speakers. He will likely end up keeping the JBL's.

[Titanium Dome]

Besides the obvious, like listening to them and checking general condition, inspect the speaker wire binding posts to be sure they're intact, tight, and all the parts are there. Also look at the bottoms to be sure the four feet are all there and secure, and look to see if all the grille pegs are intact.

[JBLnsince1959]

Besides the obvious, like listening to them and checking general condition, inspect the speaker wire binding posts to be sure they're intact, tight, and all the parts are there. Also look at the bottoms to be sure the four feet are all there and secure, and look to see if all the grille pegs are intact.

agree..also...check the tweeters and make sure they haven't been pushed in. It happens a lot on speakers that are on display in a store...

[Zilch]

They will sound better than many vintage speakers with 12" or smaller drivers, such as L100 or L80t models for example.

[Zilch scrapes hisself off the floor.... ]

[Titanium Dome]

[Zilch scrapes hisself off the floor.... ]

Of course, you can't really stack them.

[Keyser Soze]

I own a set of S312 Mk. 1's (which I assume are similar to the 2's) and think they're exceptional value IF you listen exclusively to popular music. They are effortlessly powerful and big-sounding, with loads of presence and clarity. Bass is weighty and punchy, if a little slow and ponderous.

On classical, and especially chamber music, however, the problems show up pretty clearly. They're on the hard and metallic side, with rather steely tone-colours on violin and piano, and their imagery, while tremendously big, isn't particularly well-focussed.

To be honest, if you can spare the money I'd strongly suggest you opt instead for a set of JBL pro monitors. The LSR 6328's are aeons ahead of the 312's in almost every area and although they're available for around $2400 you're getting power amps (the 6328's are powered) in the deal.

[JBeL]

Someone locally is trying to sell a pair of JBL S312II. Wondering if anyone has had any experience with these speakers and if I should seriously consider pursing them. The reviews I found on the net spoke well about these ones.

Thanks
Mike

l know this is an old post but do you still have those 312's.. l have a pair of the 1st series and like them a lot and have compared them with other speakers over time and they always win out.

[BMWCCA]

l know this is an old post but do you still have those 312's.. l have a pair of the 1st series and like them a lot and have compared them with other speakers over time and they always win out.

The originals and the II's don't have a lot in common, FWIW.

[_666_]

The originals and the II's don't have a lot in common, FWIW.

Meaning the Mark I are superior or inferior to the Mark II? I have JBL s310 Mark II which I will soon be upgrading to JBL s312 Mark I, and would value your opinion with any details you can give.

[hjames]

Meaning the Mark I are superior or inferior to the Mark II? I have JBL s310 Mark II which I will soon be upgrading to JBL s312 Mark I, and would value your opinion with any details you can give.

I've had 2 pairs of the 312 IIs - first pair sounded great, nearly charmed. Second pair - meh, not impressive
I"believe" the Mk I is superior but had some kind of patent dispute (?) and needed a change.

[_666_]

I've had 2 pairs of the 312 IIs - first pair sounded great, nearly charmed. Second pair - meh, not impressive
I"believe" the Mk I is superior but had some kind of patent dispute (?) and needed a change.

I now have the S312 Mark Is in Black sitting in the living room and after cleaning them up with a wet rag I noticed some minor scratches and a few spots where the paint seems to have faded (at first glance, looked like there was some white paint on there, but as soon as the surface was dampened by the wiping, everything looked great...for about 60 seconds).

So now I'm wondering what I should do to clean them. Some google-ing came up with suggestions like "Old English Lemon Oil" or even more heavy duty polishes like "Watco Danish Oil", as well as waxing and buffing to hide the scratches. Any tried & true suggestions for these speakers?

[rdgrimes]

I now have the S312 Mark Is in Black sitting in the living room and after cleaning them up with a wet rag I noticed some minor scratches and a few spots where the paint seems to have faded (at first glance, looked like there was some white paint on there, but as soon as the surface was dampened by the wiping, everything looked great...for about 60 seconds).

So now I'm wondering what I should do to clean them. Some google-ing came up with suggestions like "Old English Lemon Oil" or even more heavy duty polishes like "Watco Danish Oil", as well as waxing and buffing to hide the scratches. Any tried & true suggestions for these speakers?

They should be covered with vinyl laminate. At lease I know the baffles are. Pretty much any type household wax product will shine them up.