These are pretty interesting speakers in the budget price category and getting great reviews in their price range and slightly higher. And at this nice discounted price ....Probably a genuine bargain .
I could not actually find a frequency response chart on the JBL web site
but I am a big fan of waveguide technology
I haven't heard them but here are some observations from Sound on Sound and Mix Magazine
From Mix magazine 2014
"The LSR305 is by far the best-sounding monitor I’ve heard for under $200 to date. In fact, its performance rivals that of many monitors that are several times more expensive. If you’re looking for an inexpensive near-field monitor that handily outperforms its price tag’s promise, this is the one to buy.
" PROS: Incredibly wide soundstage. Broad sweet spot. Excellent imaging, transient response, midrange clarity and depth. Built-in filters. Very inexpensive.
CONS: Bass sounds a bit pillowy.
BY MICHAEL COOPER
From Sound on Sound 2014
There's a great sense of focus and excellent stereo imaging, perhaps at the expense of a slightly 'forward' upper mid-range. I could hear the same kind of tonality when tapping the plastic flare with a fingernail, so maybe there's just a little coloration being added by tiny resonances in the material. In any event, this is fairlysubtle and doesn't make for a fatiguing listening experience. There is in fact more of a three-dimensional aspect to the sound than I hear from most budget monitors, as well as a usefully wide sweet spot, so that shaped waveguide flare is clearly doing something useful.
Since they are rear ported, you have to be a little careful when positioning the speakers relative to walls (this is especially true for the larger LSR308s), and even when spacing these a metre or so from the wall I found there was still a hint of 'pluminess' to the sound of bass guitars and kick drums, probably attributable to the inevitable LF time smearing that goes hand in hand with port tuning. Realistically though, this attribute is evident with most ported monitors, and it is not excessive in this case. There's always that rear panel switch you can use to drop the bass end by a couple of dBs if you find the lows too lively in your own room.
Any appraisal of these speakers has to be made in the context of their supremely attractive price, and even though we've seen some excellent budget speakers enter the marketplace in recent years, these monitors certainly deserve to be on your short list for auditioning. The LSR305s offer great clarity and sound adequately solid without the deep lows playing havoc when working in a small or acoustically unsympathetic room.
I would think for somebody wanting to get into studio monitors at as modest a price point possible these deserve a close look
|