JBL 308P and 708P

[Azazello]

The horn IS the secret with 4675C.

😭

😍

Wait … how many do you have?

[jajo]

😭

😍

Wait … how many do you have?

3

😭

😍

They are so big!! It NUTS.

Do you seriously believe that 3677 is better than 4670?

I am very unsure since the cinema I've heard them in has horrible accoustics. I really can't say how they perform against 3677 but they have been consistently bad in this room.

[FairPlayMotty]

Having bedded in the 308s I've noticed a couple of things:

1. Tuning my subwoofer (QAcoustics) settings wasn't at all easy but has added to the musicality. I didn't add it to get more low end. A subwoofer adds information on the recording that a typical speaker can't deliver. The output setting on my subwoofer is around 25% and the crossover is a hair below 80Hz.

2. Whatever JBL does with the ADC/DAC works beautifully when my turntable is playing. It almost seems like the ADC/DAC is in a pass through mode (though it's not).

I did see one guy say on the internet that the 708s were the best speakers he'd heard but he was selling them because of his disdain for the ADC/DAC chips used. That makes no sense to me. Trust your ears!

[Defender]

the 308 is a little bit noisy in standby/ without playing music
is the 708 the same or different

btw which ADC/DAC chips are used in the 708?

[FairPlayMotty]

ADC is the CS5361.
DAC is the TI (Burr-Brown) PCM1796.

[Defender]

mmh probably not newest latest 32bit but good ones - certainly not something which would be a deal breaker for me.

[jajo]

the 308 is a little bit noisy in standby/ without playing music
is the 708 the same or different

btw which ADC/DAC chips are used in the 708?

My 708P are much less noisy than 308.

[Lego]

the 308 is a little bit noisy in standby/ without playing music
is the 708 the same or different

btw which ADC/DAC chips are used in the 708?

What do you mean by noisy,is it the hiss coming from the tweeter?

I dont notice it at all

What are your thoughts on the 308s Defender?

I set up mine last night on Linn Kan stands and I must say I was blown away by the way they portray music compared to my aktiv Ninkas driven by 2 Klouts.

This is the most unhifi my hifi has ever sounded.Fredrik says it feels as if there is are no speakers,I'd also add that on certain tracks it feels as if no electricity is involved its just the singer and the instruments but this time rather than rehearse they are going to record it.Everything sounds like a performance.

In the last 35 years I've only had linn speakers and so I'm used to the you'd better put everything down and listen up right now attitude that some linn speakers have,especially my 212s, but still early days.

One thing I do enjoy is listening late at night at low volume with the treble and bass thingys turned up to +2 .Reminds me off my late listening with the Nad 3020 days using the mute button.

[FairPlayMotty]

the 308 is a little bit noisy in standby/ without playing music
is the 708 the same or different

btw which ADC/DAC chips are used in the 708?

What do you mean by noisy,is it the hiss coming from the tweeter?

I dont notice it at all

What are your thoughts on the 308s Defender?

I set up mine last night on Linn Kan stands and I must say I was blown away by the way they portray music compared to my aktiv Ninkas driven by 2 Klouts.

This is the most unhifi my hifi has ever sounded.Fredrik says it feels as if there is are no speakers,I'd also add that on certain tracks it feels as if no electricity is involved its just the singer and the instruments but this time rather than rehearse they are going to record it.Everything sounds like a performance.

In the last 35 years I've only had linn speakers and so I'm used to the you'd better put everything down and listen up right now attitude that some linn speakers have,especially my 212s, but still early days.

One thing I do enjoy is listening late at night at low volume with the treble and bass thingys turned up to +2 .Reminds me off my late listening with the Nad 3020 days using the mute button.

Very similar experience here. Practically zero audible noise. A major upgrade to almost half my system for £250 is crazy. But the main positive is the heightened musical enjoyment.

[Defender]

actually I couldn’t really make my mind up since I am not ready to move my big speakers away before I have proper stands - I am searching for the Kan Stands but it can take a while until they come up used here in Germany. Till than the 308 are packed away.
and for me this hiss is annoying - everything which I can hear at 1,5 meters away is not considered nice.
But was overall positively surprised about the bass performance with an almost not moving bass driver and the horn performance which I always thought would be very nasal - but not in the case of the 308

[Lego]

actually I couldn’t really make my mind up since I am not ready to move my big speakers away before I have proper stands - I am searching for the Kan Stands but it can take a while until they come up used here in Germany. Till than the 308 are packed away.
and for me this hiss is annoying - everything which I can hear at 1,5 meters away is not considered nice.
But was overall positively surprised about the bass performance with an almost not moving bass driver and the horn performance which I always thought would be very nasal - but not in the case of the 308

Where's the horn in the 308s ??

I'm wondering if the reason why people moan about the hiss is due to bad speaker placement.Im sure in the past if my speaker stands weren't set up properly I could hear more surface noise.

[u252agz]

the 308 is a little bit noisy in standby/ without playing music
is the 708 the same or different

btw which ADC/DAC chips are used in the 708?

What do you mean by noisy,is it the hiss coming from the tweeter?

I dont notice it at all

What are your thoughts on the 308s Defender?

I set up mine last night on Linn Kan stands and I must say I was blown away by the way they portray music compared to my aktiv Ninkas driven by 2 Klouts.

This is the most unhifi my hifi has ever sounded.Fredrik says it feels as if there is are no speakers,I'd also add that on certain tracks it feels as if no electricity is involved its just the singer and the instruments but this time rather than rehearse they are going to record it.Everything sounds like a performance.

In the last 35 years I've only had linn speakers and so I'm used to the you'd better put everything down and listen up right now attitude that some linn speakers have,especially my 212s, but still early days.

One thing I do enjoy is listening late at night at low volume with the treble and bass thingys turned up to +2 .Reminds me off my late listening with the Nad 3020 days using the mute button.

I hear very little hiss from my 308s - I have to put my ear right up to the speaker to hear it.

These are in a different league to Ninkas in terms of musicality and, with proper installation and stands, maybe even more musical than my 242s.

With a good source and preamp - they sound great and ridiculous value for the money.

[jajo]

actually I couldn’t really make my mind up since I am not ready to move my big speakers away before I have proper stands - I am searching for the Kan Stands but it can take a while until they come up used here in Germany. Till than the 308 are packed away.
and for me this hiss is annoying - everything which I can hear at 1,5 meters away is not considered nice.
But was overall positively surprised about the bass performance with an almost not moving bass driver and the horn performance which I always thought would be very nasal - but not in the case of the 308

Where's the horn in the 308s ??

I'm wondering if the reason why people moan about the hiss is due to bad speaker placement.Im sure in the past if my speaker stands weren't set up properly I could hear more surface noise.

The horn is where the treble unit is mounted. A more technically correct term would be "waveguide".

[FairPlayMotty]

Yes, but not in a reliable environment unfortunately. My gut feeling is that they are not something to go for.

4670 and 4675 seem to share all components exempt the horn (but with the same driver), and a different setting on the filter. It does seem like they should be really similar unless the horn itself is really critical?

Also it seems like it should be possible to use the 4675 setting (800 hz) on the 4670 (should be 630 hz) if the filter setting is an issue? I guess that the idea is to offload some work from the HF driver to be able to play 4675 louder?

The horn IS the secret with 4675C.

Two plus a subwoofer worth £850?

[jajo]

4670 and 4675 seem to share all components exempt the horn (but with the same driver), and a different setting on the filter. It does seem like they should be really similar unless the horn itself is really critical?

Also it seems like it should be possible to use the 4675 setting (800 hz) on the 4670 (should be 630 hz) if the filter setting is an issue? I guess that the idea is to offload some work from the HF driver to be able to play 4675 louder?

The horn IS the secret with 4675C.

Two plus a subwoofer worth £850?

Getting hold of the JBL 2360A is a great start. I am sure it is possible to match them with different LF-systems with great results and that could allow for a less bulky system.

I sometimes bring one of the horns from the basement to my apartment and play music on it in mono. It goes surprisingly low and I cannot express how incredible voices sound on them. Listening to radio is just an enchanting experience. I would not recommend to use them without LF for music though.

[FairPlayMotty]

Getting hold of the JBL 2360A is a great start. I am sure it is possible to match them with different LF-systems with great results and that could allow for a less bulky system.

I sometimes bring one of the horns from the basement to my apartment and play music on it in mono. It goes surprisingly low and I cannot express how incredible voices sound on them. Listening to radio is just an enchanting experience. I would not recommend to use them without LF for music though.

Thanks Jajo, that's inspiring.

IMG_20211204_022726.jpg

That bundle might be worth a punt at £850.

[Azazello]

Getting hold of the JBL 2360A is a great start. I am sure it is possible to match them with different LF-systems with great results and that could allow for a less bulky system.

I sometimes bring one of the horns from the basement to my apartment and play music on it in mono. It goes surprisingly low and I cannot express how incredible voices sound on them. Listening to radio is just an enchanting experience. I would not recommend to use them without LF for music though.

Thanks Jajo, that's inspiring.

IMG_20211204_022726.jpg

That bundle might be worth a punt at £850.

That’s one 4670 to the right?

[Azazello]

Getting hold of the JBL 2360A is a great start. I am sure it is possible to match them with different LF-systems with great results and that could allow for a less bulky system.

I sometimes bring one of the horns from the basement to my apartment and play music on it in mono. It goes surprisingly low and I cannot express how incredible voices sound on them. Listening to radio is just an enchanting experience. I would not recommend to use them without LF for music though.

How deep would you say the 4638TH plays? Would 4675 leave me with the same desire for a subwoofer as 3677?

This is going to end up with me buying a new house …

[jajo]

Getting hold of the JBL 2360A is a great start. I am sure it is possible to match them with different LF-systems with great results and that could allow for a less bulky system.

I sometimes bring one of the horns from the basement to my apartment and play music on it in mono. It goes surprisingly low and I cannot express how incredible voices sound on them. Listening to radio is just an enchanting experience. I would not recommend to use them without LF for music though.

How deep would you say the 4638TH plays? Would 4675 leave me with the same desire for a subwoofer as 3677?

This is going to end up with me buying a new house …

4675C sounds very different from 3677 and you would most likely not have a need for subwoofer for music listening. Expect them to roll off pretty quickly around 35Hz in a normal sized room. They do however sound best with two (or more) 4645C/B subwoofers (sounds truly spectacular!).

Also, they should be driven in active mode. The passive filters in JBL Pro Cinema-speakers aren't that great when comparing to active. You would need an external crossover for that.

I use a THX rack-mountable Pro Cinema crossover (that has been used in a real THX certified cinema) with analogue cards tuned for 4675C. The best filter solution I have tried, much better than digital filters.

When looking for 4675C, it could be a good option to buy them complete with external crossovers for active use. You can then better fine-tune the sound, just like an active Linn system. Two Tundra Stereo are probably strong enough to drive a pair of 4675C although 4 Tundra Monos would be the safe way to go.

[matthias]

Haha,
considering this I am a fan of small passive standmounts like the 3677.......:-)

[jajo]

Haha,
considering this I am a fan of small passive standmounts like the 3677.......:-)

Indeed.

For the same reason I use 708P and I doubt that I would be much happier with a fully loaded 4675C system in my normal sized living room.

I like simplicity and as few boxes as possible for my apartment setup.

If I move to a house in the future, I will build a state of the art cinema and music room based on 4675C/4645C and many Tundra and Sagatun. That would be something.

[matthias]

That would be something.

Exa(k)ctly.......:-)

[FairPlayMotty]

Haha,
considering this I am a fan of small passive standmounts like the 3677.......:-)

Indeed.

For the same reason I use 708P and I doubt that I would be much happier with a fully loaded 4675C system in my normal sized living room.

I like simplicity and as few boxes as possible for my apartment setup.

Same here. Getting much joy from the 308s and a subwoofer.

If anyone in the UK wants to know about the £850 bundle pm me.

[jajo]

Haha,
considering this I am a fan of small passive standmounts like the 3677.......:-)

Indeed.

For the same reason I use 708P and I doubt that I would be much happier with a fully loaded 4675C system in my normal sized living room.

I like simplicity and as few boxes as possible for my apartment setup.

Same here. Getting much joy from the 308s and a subwoofer.

If anyone in the UK wants to know about the £850 bundle pm me.

Is the bundle the speakers in the picture? Not stereo pairs?

[Azazello]

Haha,
considering this I am a fan of small passive standmounts like the 3677.......:-)

😂