JBL S312 II initial impressions (1 Viewer)

[Michael R Price]

Alright James. I've been experimenting with placement, cables and such but the sound seems to keep changing. Had the things since December (and had a cough for 4 months since I didn't wear a mask cutting/sanding the MDF).
Glad to hear my amp should be OK, I was concerned since it claims only 200w bridged (meaning the output only goes from 80w/8ohm to 100w/4ohm). I thought I made it distort slightly once but I'm thinking now that it was just the recording. (50wpc at listening position should be 103dB and that's just crazy.)
500 hours? Sheesh. I've cranked them every once in a while to maybe 90-95dB average (pretty damn loud IMO). At that point, I can hold my ears and walk up to a speaker... the woofers are moving a little but not more than 2-3mm (except on the occasional infrasonics and kick drums). Should I try placing the speakers face to face out of phase and running loud music or multiple tones (which is better anyway?)... or just live with it for a while? And do the tweeters exhibit any "break-in" characteristics? I guess I've got too much of the "I want it to sound good NOW" attitude. Thanks a lot, a LOT, for the help. I can tell these are ridiculously good speakers.
And sorry for hijacking your thread. I know the S312s are good too... If you wish, I can remove this post and put it somewhere else. Thanks again.

 

[Saurav]

I guess I've got too much of the "I want it to sound good NOW" attitude.

Nothing wrong with that I'm pretty sure that after 4 months of (I assume) reasonably regular use, correct speaker placement will make a a much bigger difference than any changes that are still to happen due to speaker break-in, or even changing cables. You said you've been experimenting with placement - did you use any "standard" placement strategies, or were you just trying out different positions? Go to www.audioasylum.com and check out the FAQ, it has links to 3 or 4 different speaker placement strategies, which are designed for different speaker/room situations. For me, the WASP technique was the one which gave the best results, and it worked well for a few people I've suggested it to. Of course, the final position has to be chosen by ear, but these get your speakers into the ballpark pretty quickly.

 

[Stephen Houdek]

Glad to see I spent my $600 wisely on the S312's.

 

[Steve Zimmerman]

The real question I have is are the S312 IIs worth the difference in price that you would have to pay compared what you could get the "old" version S312s for on uBid.

On uBid during January, brand new pairs of S312s were routinely selling for $350-$400 including shipping.

--Steve

 

[Stephen Houdek]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is the II's are the result of a lawsuit and the resulting changes from the original design can only be worse if it took a lawsuit to force the new model across the board.

I don't know the technical issue of the lawsuit. But if they were forced to change it couldn't be for the better.

 

[Saurav]

Wasn't that the lawsuit with Bose? I believe it had something to do with the design of a flared port, or something like that.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

FYI: Here's the linked document showing the JBL speaker models named in the suit, . . . the following quote is from
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 01-1054
BOSE CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
JBL, INC. and INFINITY SYSTEMS CORPORATION, Defendants-Appellants.

... forced to change it couldn't be for the better.

Stephen - reason on this, ... the port releases air, it can be tuned, and the fact that the JBL Mark-II Frequency spec's didn't change means they used the design from the S-Series S412P Floor model** or JBL LSR PRO Monitors**, which could mean, ... it's better!! (**they're not listed in the above document) Not likely though, JBL just choose another way to accomplish the FreePort goal for those listed models above.
Phil

 

[Stephen Houdek]

Makes sense Phil.......But I like the looks and sounds of my I series just fine and like to think they're unique and better of course!

Thanks for the usually informative response. You really should get a job as a JBL marketer. Could be more money in that than CAD..........

 

[Phil Iturralde]

... be more money in that than CAD

Not likely since they're established and HK International influenced, ... but thanks for the thought! I'm having too much fun playing Lead! Review merit raises & profit sharing is back, now that the Semi-conductor industry is on the rise once again!
Phil

 

[DanWiggins]

Saurav posted:

We sell a finished cabinet version of the KIT281 (with a few tweaks) as our Kiri speaker. Cost is $799 for the pair, in real oak veneer.
Dan Wiggins
Adire Audio

 

[Saurav]

Thanks. That's in the ballpark with the S312 then, and in my mind makes it a slightly more meaningful comparision.

 

[Michael R Price]

That's the sealed 281 I think it is a Q=0.8 down 3dB at 66Hz or so. Looks good as a 'large bookshelf' or surround. From my short experience listening to the JBLs at Best Buy, the 281 would smoke it. But take it with a grain of salt, I'm sure the JBLs are great speakers. I saw a very solid review of the S38 in Stereophile once, who claimed it could play very loud and clear.
About that lawsuit, I think the port shape shouldn't have been patented in the first place but oh well, such is life. I assume there's not too big a difference in the new JBLs.
James, any progress on your in-room measurements? I'd love the see them. And if only I had no standing waves, because playing a sine sweep the 281s seemed to drop off between 18-20Hz (!). (I tuned them down to 24.5Hz about).
BTW, Dan if you're still here can you recommend how to break in the AV8s? I've had the 281Vs for 5-6 months and I still think they're not quite there (I disconnect the tweeter and still hear a bit of... don't know but it sounds like but the woofers are making sound they shouldn't be). I love playing them loud but living with my parents, that doesn't happen much. Currently I'm experimenting with running loud bass tones with the speakers out of phase. But I would really appreciate your advice on what's needed to get these things working. I can't exactly put in a CD on repeat at 100dB and leave house for a week... Thanks.

 

[Saurav]

who claimed it could play very loud and clear

You know, that pretty much sums up what most people seem to be saying about these speakers. The first (and often, only) thing people seem to praise is their ability to play loud without distortion. I'm sure that's pretty important for HT, but for my setup (music only, in a 15'x20' room), that feature is relatively unimportant. I'd much rather have something that sounded good at the volume levels I listen at, than something which could play really loud.

Just my opinion, of course.

 

[James W. Johnson]

Michael don't expect any measurements for awhile because as you can see I have some massive room problems that need to be resolved first.

Although I may take these outside and measure their low end.

What are your Kit281s doing wrong? As Saurav said awhile back ,breaking them will make a fairly minor improvment verses the difference proper placment can make.

 

[Michael R Price]

Well James, to not answer your question... I don't know what's wrong with them. Listening