JBL 308P and 708P

[Azazello]

@Jajo: Do you think that there is a way to combine the 310 (or any other active sub of reasonable size) with 3677?

[ThomasOK]

@Jajo: Do you think that there is a way to combine the 310 (or any other active sub of reasonable size) with 3677?

What, you don't think a 4645C is reasonable size? :-)

[Azazello]

What, you don't think a 4645C is reasonable size? :-)

Well, it's maybe not so much about what I think is "reasonable" as the fact that I don´t have room for it. It's also that I can’t get my hands on stands for it, and that it becomes a bit pricey considering that I need another tundra mono. :)

EDIT: And external filters …

[jajo]

@Jajo: Do you think that there is a way to combine the 310 (or any other active sub of reasonable size) with 3677?

Sure. 3677 is made to be used with a sub. You might have to look at alternatives to using the builtin crossover in 310 though. It was tuned for JBL 3-series. But it would most likely sound great.

[tokenbrit]

How would you connect a 310 in that setup: phono to XLR from both Sagatun left & right line outputs, and leave the 3677s as full-range?

[hcl]

Without going too much off-topic, but connecting a Källa to the analogue input of an Exakt system is going to be inferior

Isn't a similar situation with a Källa being connected to JBL308P or JBL708P?

Perhaps, with the difference that the JBLs are much more musical than any Exakt system I ever heard.

Hilarious!

[jajo]

Isn't a similar situation with a Källa being connected to JBL308P or JBL708P?

Perhaps, with the difference that the JBLs are much more musical than any Exakt system I ever heard.

Hilarious!

Have you heard 708P?

[ThomasOK]

Isn't a similar situation with a Källa being connected to JBL308P or JBL708P?

Perhaps, with the difference that the JBLs are much more musical than any Exakt system I ever heard.

Hilarious!

Having owned 3677s and 308P mk1s, and currently owning 305P mk1s in a secondary system, not to me.

[u252agz]

Perhaps, with the difference that the JBLs are much more musical than any Exakt system I ever heard.

Hilarious!

Having owned 3677s and 308P mk1s, and currently owning 305P mk1s in a secondary system, not to me.

JBL308P mk1 is a seriously musical active speaker - in my system, as enjoyable as Tundra mono and 242 combination.

Kalla , spotify, a good preamp ( I tried with Giella Pi and sagatun mono) and 308s, in my opinion is a cracking system.

[hcl]

Hilarious!

Having owned 3677s and 308P mk1s, and currently owning 305P mk1s in a secondary system, not to me.

JBL308P mk1 is a seriously musical active speaker - in my system, as enjoyable as Tundra mono and 242 combination.

Kalla , spotify, a good preamp ( I tried with Giella Pi and sagatun mono) and 308s, in my opinion is a cracking system.

Sounds great. A search for the MkI came up empty and I guess that is the one, right?

[Discodave]

My search for the Mk1 has proved fruitless. Annoying.

[u252agz]

We seemed to have moved away from ‘Kalla’ - maybe the moderators could do a spot of tidying up?

But - Jajo is the Forum expert on JBl active speakers ( and other active speakers) and he advises Mk 1 308 over Mk2. ( same with 305P).

Not sure how far behind the Mk2s are - I have a feeling they must still be pretty musical and great value for money.

Buying used active speakers is a bit of a risk - I was lucky with my Mk 1s and got them from a very trustworthy Forum member.

[FairPlayMotty]

We seemed to have moved away from ‘Kalla’ - maybe the moderators could do a spot of tidying up?

But - Jajo is the Forum expert on JBl active speakers ( and other active speakers) and he advises Mk 1 308 over Mk2. ( same with 305P).

Not sure how far behind the Mk2s are - I have a feeling they must still be pretty musical and great value for money.

Buying used active speakers is a bit of a risk - I was lucky with my Mk 1s and got them from a very trustworthy Forum member.

I agree on the OT rationale.

Jajo, I believe, was the source of the JBL 3677 idea. I found that thread extremely humorous.

Summary: we've found the only JBL musical speaker ever made (lightning doesn't strike twice etc.). It's a wonderfully musical speaker. Let's get the power tools out and see how we can improve the bass, connectors, crossovers etc. I find it a little puzzling how many people bought them and rather quickly sold them (with, it seems, more to follow).

The 308P and 708P are in a different territory because they're active and have glowing reviews across the internet. They're a game changer for many on here because of the budgetary benefits of offloading power amps and passive speakers. I've a pair of 308Ps on the way. As far as I can see there are no clip comparisons of the 3677 vs 308P or 708P. Or any other clip comparison of the 308P or 708P vs a passive set up that many of us can relate to. That's disappointing. The monetary risk to me of buying a set of 308P MKI is very small. But comparative clips would benefit many of us.

[Lego]

Perhaps, with the difference that the JBLs are much more musical than any Exakt system I ever heard.

Hilarious!

Have you heard 708P?

I take that that as HCL finds the fact that the JBLs are more musical than the much more expensive Exact system hilarious,rather than the your statement being hilarious Jajo.

[matthias]

I find it a little puzzling how many people bought them and rather quickly sold them (with, it seems, more to follow).

I am not one of those. I like them and even in my 50sqm listening room they seem not to lack so much in the bass department with my special stands.

Matt

[FairPlayMotty]

I find it a little puzzling how many people bought them and rather quickly sold them (with, it seems, more to follow).

I am not one of those. I like them and even in my 50qm listening room they seem not to lack so much in the bass department with my special stands.

Matt

I know (roughly) who kept them. Do you use them with a subwoofer Matt?

Jajo's JBL knowledge has been a benefit to many.

[matthias]

Do you use them with a subwoofer Matt?
Jajo's JBL knowledge has been a benefit to many.

I do use them without subwoofer but my mains distribution does help a lot.
I think jajo was the first who discovered the virtues of the 3677s and I appreciate this.

Matt

[lejonklou]

Moved some posts about JBL speakers to this thread.

[markiteight]

JBL 308P vs. Zu Omen Dirty Weekend/Klout:
https://www.lejonklou.com/forum/viewtop ... 835#p60835

[lindsayt]

Summary: we've found the only JBL musical speaker ever made (lightning doesn't strike twice etc.).

Are you being hyperbolic?

"the only JBL musical speaker ever made"?

The JBL 4350 and 4355? How were they lacking in musicality, in your opinion, when you auditioned them in a comparative demo?

[jajo]

The best JBL speaker I ever heard is the JBL 4675C (probably, because of their size I haven't been able to compare them directly to 308/708P but I trust my gut feeling here).

There are probably many fantastic speakers in their lineup but there are also many that aren't performing (like the 3678, 4722, 3722, new 2xx-series that replaced 3677). So JBL is not a brand that can be generally recommended (like most brands).

[Azazello]

I find it a little puzzling how many people bought them and rather quickly sold them (with, it seems, more to follow).

1: You are dealing with a very exentric sub-set of hifi-nerds if you select people who are willing to introduce that kind of speakers in their home, they are also going to change equipment much more often than most. :)

2: I don't know of anyone who sold 3677 and went back to Linn (or their old speakers)?

3: If I already had a sub that works with 3677 I would never look back, they are amazing. But: I would need to; 1)source a 4645C, 2) source stands, 3) get another tundra mono, 4) get my hands on filters and 5) learn how to use them. All in all I guess that the sub would cost me something like 8000 €. And I don't have room for it.

[FairPlayMotty]

I find it a little puzzling how many people bought them and rather quickly sold them (with, it seems, more to follow).

1: You are dealing with a very exentric sub-set of hifi-nerds if you select people who are willing to introduce that kind of speakers in their home, they are also going to change equipment much more often than most. :)

2: I don't know of anyone who sold 3677 and went back to Linn (or their old speakers)?

3: If I already had a sub that works with 3677 I would never look back, they are amazing. But: I would need to; 1)source a 4645C, 2) source stands, 3) get another tundra mono, 4) get my hands on filters and 5) learn how to use them. All in all I guess that the sub would cost me something like 8000 €. And I don't have room for it.

Taking your points in order:

1. I know - I own too much equipment but I typically own speakers for >fifteen years. However I struggle to understand why I own three universal disc players (other than past self indulgence).

2. Nor do I.

3. Understood.

[lindsayt]

The best JBL speaker I ever heard is the JBL 4675C (probably, because of their size I haven't been able to compare them directly to 308/708P but I trust my gut feeling here).

There are probably many fantastic speakers in their lineup but there are also many that aren't performing (like the 3678, 4722, 3722, new 2xx-series that replaced 3677). So JBL is not a brand that can be generally recommended (like most brands).

I agree wholeheartedly.

The JBL 4675c's have the ingredients to be good speakers. They have a broadly similar design to the JBL 4350's.

For a company as large as JBL that has been around for as long as they have and that have delved into the consumer budget end of the market, they will have made plenty of dud to mediocre speakers in their time.

That's why, it makes sense to aim to buy the right model at the right price. To cherry pick the speakers that you buy.

I think it's also the right approach to keep an open mind. And to realise that a company like JBL may have made quite a number of speakers in their time that are well worth buying at the right price.
And that the same applies to other manufacturers.

[FairPlayMotty]

I upgraded to 708P since I wanted deeper bass response and more dynamics. They are cerainly closer to 3677 in terms of power but still very different in the way they sound. They are more suitable in normal rooms than 3677 and the frequency range is wider. Ear fatigue is almost non-existant and I can listen for many hours without discomfort which is important for me. 708P is a lot more musical than 308 when playing on low volume or really loud. In the normal volume range the difference is smaller but still clearly better in my opinion. Bass goes much deeper and has wonderful tunefulness. Like Fredrik said they are quite ”dry” sounding and you hear everything - I like this sound character and it makes them a fantastic tool for tuning other equipment or music production. Dynamics are wild - movies with these speakers really come to life.

Indeed the 708P works very well without subwoofer. The 8” driver handles lowend much better. I personally didn’t want to go the subwoofer path and that is why I got 708 to replace 308.

The sentiments expressed by Jajo are repeated often across the internet. The amount of low end anyone wants or needs is a personal preference. In my case my floorstanders go very deep. So I suspect that the 308P won't go as deep as I'm used to or want. I already ordered RCA preamp output adapters to supply a subwoofer. I'll start with the 308P by themselves. Get used to them. Then add my subwoofer and re-assess. After that I'll likely buy either the JBL subwoofer recommended by Jajo or an REL.