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More questions from Chris L.


Hello AudioGon people,

I'm going to begin purchasing speakers in the immediate future and found an incredible price for what would seem to be a fair set of studio JBL S312 II floor monitors. At the Best Buy I work at the really good deals we get are usually the best model of speaker or television in the line.
For instance the Studio JBL's retail for $799.oo a pair but I can get them for $243.oo, the same price I get on a pair of $400.oo shelf speakers from JBL.

Overall they seem to hit good sub freq's and are semi punchy. The mids feel accurate but a little veiled. High freq's are reminicent of bose dual sattelite speakers, clear as day. They are hooked up with 18g. demo wires that look and feel rather pathetic. The wires run through a confusing splitter used to seperate the signal for a button punch menu so customers can listen to different speakers and styles of music. The whole contrived tangle runs to a 720watt Yamaha 5590 reciever.

In a nut shell there is simply no way to find the speakers true range in this configuration. So if anyone has any experience with the history, technology, or just overall "feel" of JBL studio and what it SHOULD be connected to (amp, cables, etc.) for great 2ch. please give me a line on it - strong feelings for or against welcomed.

My budget isn't top notch by any means but I it would be my first foray into this technology as a hobby and the discount is just daunting.

Overall I listen to indie-rock and jazzy hardcore yet I have always wanted to here the prog-rock stylings of TOOL in true form - through speakers that can handles the power and innuendo (sp?) of their lengthy tracks. I also enjoy some blues and industrial, hip-hop of the Talib-kwali and Common vein and ska.

I love my movies too. Good range in both formats would be ideal to anyone but I straddle both sides of that particular juncture. Thanks for reading this far and I look forward to the usual informed and discerning responses!

-Chris L.
sol5960015e
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
It seems like everybody is saying what I know to be true. JBL is mass media crap. In fact, if it wasn't, Best Buy wouldn't carry it.
The attraction for you appears to be the discount and the message I'm hearing from your wise and patient respondents is uniformly this: Look for value, not discount.
As Nelson Pass once said, "The used market speaks eloquently......". You can see by the prices what something is really worth.
If you want to be taken seriously around here, you have to take serious advice seriously.
Buy a good entry level integrated and a nice pair of used monitors and by listening to them at home and the other stuff at work, you will become discerning. And you'll probably need to look for a new job.
Good Luck. You're on the right track if you listen to these guys. No one at BB from the CEO on down can run with this group.
sol5960015e OP
3 posts
 
Ouch. Okay let's turn this around a bit? No brick walls here people, first thing first. I'm trying to learn terminoligy such as is not provided to the joe anybody. I'm not set on a reciever in the least. I'm trying to filter the "Home Theatre" crap from my head every day and I'm no slow learner. That means seeking the tech out there in the great sea of misinformation that accuratly reproduces the sounds I already love and those I hadn't the tools to appreciate before now. I, for instance will now seek out info on monitors, not "GIGANTOR-EXPLOSIVE(speaker)-STUFF ala' JBL! So thank you so far for this slightly more blunt advice. Spend more money? Once I find the right mix of amp/preamp/monitor I will have found my price point and will then be much more prepared for the process of saving, a process everyone seeking a passion is very familiar with.
I have heard Definitive before and liked what I heard. Totem seems absolutely well designed and well recieved. PBS I am familiar with by name and will try to find in the flesh so that I might get a little more comparison standard for the others. I think I know much more for unlearning the mainstream in corresponding with AGon members. It really helps me to get past reviews and "shiny" pleasantries and just get into the aural attraction of what a good system is.

Sean's comments were a bit painful to the old pride initially. Also what I needed, so , gratitude in that direction, Sean. Good points all of you. I'm going to do some real listening at the hi-fi shops in town tommorow so I'll keep it all in mind. Discount be damned, I'm going to find some nice audio. - Chris L.
sol5960015e OP
3 posts
 
Ouch. Okay let's turn this around a bit? No brick walls here people, first thing first. I'm trying to learn terminoligy such as is not provided to the joe anybody. I'm not set on a reciever in the least. I'm trying to filter the "Home Theatre" crap from my head every day and I'm no slow learner. That means seeking the tech out there in the great sea of misinformation that accuratly reproduces the sounds I already love and those I hadn't the tools to appreciate before now. I, for instance will now seek out info on monitors, not "GIGANTOR-EXPLOSIVE(speaker)-STUFF ala' JBL! So thank you so far for this slightly more blunt advice. Spend more money? Once I find the right mix of amp/preamp/monitor I will have found my price point and will then be much more prepared for the process of saving, a process everyone seeking a passion is very familiar with.
I have heard Definitive before and liked what I heard. Totem seems absolutely well designed and well recieved. PBS I am familiar with by name and will try to find in the flesh so that I might get a little more comparison standard for the others. I think I know much more for unlearning the mainstream in corresponding with AGon members. It really helps me to get past reviews and "shiny" pleasantries and just get into the aural attraction of what a good system is.

Sean's comments were a bit painful to the old pride initially. Also what I needed, so , gratitude in that direction, Sean. Good points all of you. I'm going to do some real listening at the hi-fi shops in town tommorow so I'll keep it all in mind. - Chris L.
sean
6,231 posts
 
I stopped by BB today and saw the speakers that Chris is looking at. I can see why a "youngster" might be impressed by them i.e. they are good sized floorstanders and appear to be a bargain at 1/3 of retail price. Having said that, i was quickly reminded of why they wholesale at that price once i knocked on the cabinet i.e. they had the sound of a completely unbraced, undamped resonant box. After listening to the undamped bass and sizzling treble, they are surely built to sound "exciting" in the showroom but would probably be fatiguing in the long run. I can say without hesitation that Chris would be better off with a stacked pair of Large Advent's for about the same money. Not only would that installation "look impressive" to his buddies, it would sound 10X better. Not as exciting mind you, but MUCH more natural and realistic for about the same amount of money.

As far as any HT receiver goes Chris, don't believe the power specs. Most do not meet spec when put to the test. HT receivers are about in the same place that car stereo amps were 15 years ago i.e. marketing makes up numbers that the products could only meet under very specific and limited conditions.

Think of this as your "challenge" and you are Luke Skywalker. We know that the "dark side" ( mass produced commercialized junk ) may have a powerful draw that seems to be very attractive, but once you know and experience "the good side" of hi-fi / audio reproduction, you'll have no problem staying "true to the cause" : ) Sean
>

PS... Chris aka "Luke": I am NOT your Father : )

macrojack
1,303 posts
 
Bravo -- A convert.
You needn't go for separates to start out. There are integrated amps from NAD and some of the British companies and speakers from NHT that won't cost you any more than you were planning to spend on the Best Buy option.
Where do you live? One of us probably lives close enough to help you and quite possibly someone in the group has something in a closet that would get you on the path. There is a ridiculous glut of equipment for sale these days. It's a buyer's market and we've reached a place where things a guy like you might need to launch his disease are available very cheaply.
What sources do you wish to include?
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