JBL 308P and 708P

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beck
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by beck »

Charlie1 wrote: 2023-02-27 13:59 24 hours with the 308s and they are growing on me. Immediately missed the timing of Linn speakers but they are so neutral and refined across so many genres and eras of vinyl production and recording technology that's its hard not to like their amiable nature and ability to get out of the way. But I'm still admiring them more than loving them. Slight opposing sensation of the music pleasantly flowing along and yet at the same time sounding stilted - weird. Nothing obviously digital about them at all which is a surprise. Shame they are so ugly. They sound a bit 'soft' with pre-Cirkus Lingo Ekos LP12/VM95E/Slipsik/Wakonda - not too bad though - bearable, and besides the Giella should help once back from upgrade. Don't think Fredrik need give up making power amps anytime soon but for 180 quid it's hard not to be very impressed. Based on Lego's clips, my 'gut' feeling is that I'll end up with 212s (or maybe 109 replacements) but since I don't have any 212s yet, it's hard to be sure :)

I need to work on positioning before sharing clips cos the other speakers I've been trying were setup properly.
Thank you for your report Charlie1. It is very interesting to follow your search.
Playing cd’s…………
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by lejonklou »

Thanks from me too!

What stands do you have them on? To get the timing right, the stands are crucial. Quality, height and coupling to floor.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Charlie1 »

I only have Kan 2 stands. They're spiked through carpet and underlay into suspended wooded floor. No gripper board to worry about now though since they're not hard against the rear wall.

Would Katan, 109, or 212 stands be better suited?
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by lejonklou »

It seems the Kan 2 stands are by far the best.

In my living room, however, their height above the floor doesn’t work. Katan stands are much better, although in a different house the results were the opposite.

I find it a little strange, as previous experiences told me that height above floor was usually the same in all rooms for the same model of speaker. The question is whether in the past I usually tested in rooms with roughly the same ceiling height?
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Charlie1 »

OK, thanks. I will experiment with what I have.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Defender »

if they are not positioned correctly so far you will be in for an additional treat if you take care about that. I am speaking of hight above the floor and distance to the wall and between them. I tested two stands which are maybe 3-4cm difference in hight and it was a big difference. Unfortunately the more ugly silver stands sounded much better. Distance to the wall: everything above 1mm difference is easily notable.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Charlie1 »

OK, tx Defender.

Does anyone prefer the smaller 305 or 306 version?
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by lejonklou »

No
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Charlie1 »

First session at trying to find distance to (solid) rear wall and preferred 15cm so far.

How far are other members with theirs? Just trying to see if I'm miles out :)

John Lee Hooker 'Mr Lucky' has defo got some groove now - great track
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Hermann »

Recorded a few days ago to show the difference 305/308.

JBL 308 tomorrow...

I think the 305 is very potent in its field, especially because of its price.

https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... jDcXOuAq5V

https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... vOoSJCu5vX

https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... X8IfGYODQV

https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... W1kVaGOV00
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by tokenbrit »

lejonklou wrote: 2023-02-27 18:09 It seems the Kan 2 stands are by far the best.

In my living room, however, their height above the floor doesn’t work. Katan stands are much better, although in a different house the results were the opposite.

I find it a little strange, as previous experiences told me that height above floor was usually the same in all rooms for the same model of speaker. The question is whether in the past I usually tested in rooms with roughly the same ceiling height?
Is there a general guide as to what ceiling height range might indicate Kan 2 vs Katan stands: lower or higher ceiling for Katan over Kan 2? Is it more complicated than that, or not yet determined, or have to try in (every) room?
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Charlie1 »

Hermann wrote: 2023-02-27 21:55 Recorded a few days ago to show the difference 305/308.

JBL 308 tomorrow...

I think the 305 is very potent in its field, especially because of its price.

https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... jDcXOuAq5V

https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... vOoSJCu5vX

https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... X8IfGYODQV

https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... W1kVaGOV00
Sounding very good Hermann. Looking forward to 308 clips.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by markiteight »

Charlie1 wrote: 2023-02-27 13:59 24 hours with the 308s and they are growing on me. Immediately missed the timing of Linn speakers but they are so neutral and refined across so many genres and eras of vinyl production and recording technology that's its hard not to like their amiable nature and ability to get out of the way. But I'm still admiring them more than loving them. Slight opposing sensation of the music pleasantly flowing along and yet at the same time sounding stilted - weird. Nothing obviously digital about them at all which is a surprise. Shame they are so ugly. They sound a bit 'soft' with pre-Cirkus Lingo Ekos LP12/VM95E/Slipsik/Wakonda - not too bad though - bearable, and besides the Giella should help once back from upgrade. Don't think Fredrik need give up making power amps anytime soon but for 180 quid it's hard not to be very impressed. Based on Lego's clips, my 'gut' feeling is that I'll end up with 212s (or maybe 109 replacements) but since I don't have any 212s yet, it's hard to be sure :)

I need to work on positioning before sharing clips cos the other speakers I've been trying were setup properly.
What are you using to connect the 308s to your preamp, Charlie1? Getting this detail right is also key to their performance.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Charlie1 »

No probs - thanks for asking. I didn't want to spend lots of money on them at this stage so currently using a 3m-long RCA to XLR cable from Amazon. Look delivery of a different one today that's 5m so will compare tomorrow. If they are keepers then I'll ask my dealer to make up some 5m Linn cables.

How far apart are yours and how far from the rear wall?
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by markiteight »

Charlie1 wrote: 2023-02-28 00:50 No probs - thanks for asking. I didn't want to spend lots of money on them at this stage so currently using a 3m-long RCA to XLR cable from Amazon. Look delivery of a different one today that's 5m so will compare tomorrow. If they are keepers then I'll ask my dealer to make up some 5m Linn cables.

How far apart are yours and how far from the rear wall?
I would be wary of drawing any conclusions on the 308's performance without proper cabling. It makes a profound difference in their performance. That's a bit unfortunate, as it does require an investment in cables that are, outside the 308's application, almost completely useless. You might ask Defender about this. IIRC he initially evaluated the 308s with less than optimal connections, so he might be able to shed some light on the differences it makes. I had ThomasOK make up a 2m set of Blacks right from the start. It was a gamble to have him build up a pair of cables that cost as much as the speakers, but it was well worth it in the long run.

Recently I've been playing around with positioning the 308s and they've ended up closer together and closer to the wall, with very positive results. They're currently 114cm apart (~15cm closer together) and 7.5cm from the wall. Coincidentally, 7.5cm is the same distance I found worked best with the Zu Omens. I would like to try them even closer to the wall but that's proving problematic. These results are very room specific, however, so I wouldn't read into them too much. My room is quite small and quite sensitive to overenthusiastic bass. IIRC, Fredrik has his positioned much further from the wall than I do, in a much larger room than mine, and they sounded myyyy-teeeee-fiiiine!
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Charlie1 »

Thanks Mi8!

I just wanted a rough idea in case there was another sweet spot miles away from where I was looking.

Point taken about cables. There is probably enough performance for me to order cables now but I just want to take it a step at a time. I think I will get some 212s anyway which will take time so there's no hurry. The 308s are a better all round solution than the Linn stand mount speakers I have at the moment (3 x Kan 1, Tukans, Katans, K104s) so they will be here for a while at least and perhaps longer term if I prefer them to 212s.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Hermann »

The 308 are on Kan stands. They are controlled via a Fluid SRI-2 monitor controller. Source is an Intel NUC. I think the distances don't do you any good because they are set up as near field speakers.

Have fun

https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... 5bdjM5CgDX

https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... ptvJQ0doL7

https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... RSLJVNHWOk

https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code ... gKQ5zzlW0V
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Charlie1 »

I too find the 308s easier to make sense of, so I don't think I'll peruse the smaller versions. That's very helpful - thanks Hermann!

The sound is quite a different experience especially for you in the room I imagine (i.e. near field vs more normal listening distance), so what are your initial thoughts?

I also find mine 'time' a lot better now that I've setup them up properly, as other members advised. I don't for one second want to suggest they are perfectly setup but I've done a good job by my standards :)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/aywhdljksk7s0 ... 7.mp4?dl=0

So, pre-amp (£250), cable (£16), stands (£100) and speakers (£180) cost just under 550 quid. It's hard to argue with that. OK, the rest was quite a lot more expensive (except £30 stylus) but even so.

Will share clips against early Kan 1, Tukan and K104 later.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Hermann »

Of course, the 308 are better than the 305, but my wife is very satisfied with the small JBLs. The room, unfortunately, always plays a significant role, so the 308 are set up here in the office according to the 38% recommendation, as I use them at times to soundtrack videos. That means the seating position is 38% of the room length.

Previously I had Presonuns E8 with Sub T10. The 308 is really very affordable, so I took a chance and stuck with it. I no longer need a sub.

What I really like about the 308 is the fact that I can listen to music for hours without getting tired, especially loud! The impression is very different from the hifi system (living room), although the 308 are very musical. I do not miss anything, even if the hifi system shows a completely different dimension. Some times I actually sit down here in the office just to listen to music. Without comparison, better without hifi system, I could live very very well with this setup and would certainly place the speakers differently. Comparing the 308 to the briks is actually unfair, but they offer a similar musicality. Sure, they lack the depth of space that the briks provide, the width and height, and here and there the instrumentation sounds different than over the briks. Bright bells over the 308 turn out to be birdsong over the briks, for example. It doesn't matter, though, because the beasts sound really good.

On the other hand, the 308 nearfield monitors changed my listening habits, which the Presonus did not manage to do. There is something different about sitting directly at the musical action and consuming music than sitting a few feet away from it, like upstairs in front of the hifi system. I almost think that these impressions also contributed to my decision to say goodbye to Naim sound.

I'm actually considering setting aside a pair of 308s as a reserve....

I think you have enough experience to place the speakers correctly. The first test (if it is one) sounds very promising.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Charlie1 »

Very interesting - thanks Hermann!
Hermann wrote: 2023-02-28 12:32 What I really like about the 308 is the fact that I can listen to music for hours without getting tired, especially loud! The impression is very different from the hifi system (living room), although the 308 are very musical. I do not miss anything, even if the hifi system shows a completely different dimension.
I know what you mean. There really is nothing to irritate the listener.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Charlie1 »

A couple of comparisons to budget Linn speakers.

1. VM95E/Slipsik/Wakonda/LK140/K104: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0g5mxyqn8aieu ... 6.mp4?dl=0
2. VM95E/Slipsik/Wakonda/308P: https://www.dropbox.com/s/i6khqov766s0b ... 9.mp4?dl=0

This one is not as comparable cos the pre-amp is different, so I guess they're best thought of as separate systems.

1. VM95E/Slipsik/2016 Majik-i/Tukan: https://www.dropbox.com/s/avn36zn5geklw ... 4.mp4?dl=0
2. VM95E/Slipsik/Wakonda/308P: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vs3slb6yyu0dq ... 2.mp4?dl=0

Bear in mind these tracks were picked and originally recorded cos I thought they sounded good with the Linn speaker at that time. Whereas, the JBLs don't really shine or sound poor with anything.

I think as things stand, the JBLs are a great tool, but all-analogue leaves my mind slightly more at ease somehow, not dissimilar to Exakt. There's a very slight sigh of relief but I could happily live with these and may in fact do so. My gut feeling is that this is an inherent quality and got gonna change with a better cable but I'll see how much it would cost to get one made up. But at the end of the day, their all-round ability with anything you throw at them cannot be easily dismissed. Certainly not put off trying 212s though - as hopefully a bassier version of K104s.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Lego »

In the first set ,there was better intelligibility with the 308s but the guitar playing felt less integrated with the singer compared to the K.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Defender »

here are my measures:
my JBLs ended up 60.3cm above the floor with the stands I am using. The other stands got them too high and they did sound a little boring when placed on the higher stands. Room hight is 251.7cm just for comparison.
Distance from the back wall is 10.95cm and musicality of the JBLs seem to be very sensitive to that distance in my room.
Speaker to speaker distance is 170.8cm which seems wide (inner sides of the cabinet) [8] ——> [8]
Room is 412cm by 720cm I am sitting round about 420cm away from the loudspeakers so the loudspeakers are set up at the small side (at the 412cm wide wall) of the room.
I got my cables done from Thomas and the money was well spend before I used Linn Blacks with RCA to XLR Adapters and that was eating up a lot of the JBLs capabilities.
Last edited by Defender on 2023-02-28 16:36, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by Spannko »

This is the first time I’ve heard 104’s, and I really like them! I preferred them to the 308’s on the direct comparison. However, I preferred the 308 combo when compared to the Tukan combo.

I think I hear what you’re describing charlie1. The 104 combo has a natural musicality, whereas the 308’s just sound inoffensive (particularly when compared to the Tukan’s) The 104’s drew me in, but the 308’s didn’t, for some reason. Maybe they need a better pre-amp and interconnects to really shine, as others are suggesting.
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Re: JBL 308P and 708P

Post by ThomasOK »

I'm liking Hermann's clips with both the 305 and 308. The 308 is definitely better but the 305 are quite good too. Having had both at home I find the differences the same as what I've heard at home. Hermann, one would think you worked in a Hi-Fi store, Gone by Laith Al-Saadi and Tin Pan Alley by SRV are both popular demo tracks and were quite enjoyable. Of course I'm not sure Gone is used as much elsewhere as Laith is a local musician who I have seen live in local small venues. So we have some bias there. I was very unhappy when Tin Pan Alley stopped playing on the 308 clip!
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