Here is an honest review and my opinion on the JBL 306p MkII Studio Monitors. Review done by Francis Julien in Quebec City, Canada Sound recorded with Takstar SGC-598
This is a really great video man. Funny as hell without being over the top. Informative too! I have a set of these arriving tomorrow and I can't wait. Thanks from NZ!
Thanks, great video, I just ordered the 305's as my first monitors, like you I will probably never finish my projects either, lol. Hope you are still making music!
That's fantastic!! Hehe YES, less and less music is being made lately it is true but, when I do, I make it scream!! It's important to START project first, the rest is always up to chance lol. Peace man.
X-Entertainment Crew there is so much bass on these monitors! Especially in untreated rooms I would say... mine ar at the lowest settings and it’s fine but, pleeenty of bass for me. It shouldn’t be a problem
Salut Francis, trouve tu que le noise floor des speakers est gossant? Je les entends assez bien à 5 pieds de distance et je focus juste la dessus maintenant.
Frederic, je comprends tout à fait ce dont tu me parles mais honnêtement, en travaillant on l’entend pas du tout et sinon je l’ai ai pluggés sur une power bar que j’ai visée dans le mur tout près de mon bureau. Quand j’en n’ai pas besoin, si je veux pas les entendre, je ferme la switch juste en allongeant le bras, rien de plus simple. Mais je ne les entends pu du tout. Ya définitivement un hum constant et je CROYAIS que ça allait me gosser. Mais non, je suis en mode beat, j’ai deja les oreilles qui bourdonnent quand je suis dans mon studio donc, ca fait partie de l’atmosphère. J’imagine que les différents settings en arrière peuvent réduire le noise un peu mais ,à la longue je ne les entends pu et j’en suis revenu. No problem
Yes MC, these are amazing for mixing because they are super flat and precise. Probably mastering too although, I don’t dona lot of mastering. They are pretry good man
Hi Great review. How would you compare this to more expensive studio monitoring speakers? I recently bought JBL p 304 and now am thinking to give this away and purchase JBL 306! Thanks!
@@FrancisJulien418 I love JBL p 304 so far. I can hear all ranges of sound except the low range, and the imaging is awesome -- vocal is always at the centre regardless of the position of the speakers! However, I realized that my mom listens to music through like 20-year-old speakers, which has blurry sound, and I want to give JBL p 304 to her so that she can also enjoy music. By doing this so, I will need a new pair of speakers and thinking about JBL 306p MkII.
osondoson Cool! Good reason! 😉 You will get better lows with the 6inch speakers and the different settings behind. They « can » be really bassy but I personally choose to have them a little bit brighter because of my room. It all depends of your situation. Mine have plenty of low end, I choose to reduce it so, you should be good.
Hey Frank, loved your review. you are a funny guy. I am Sold on the JBL 306, I was looking at the 305 first but I need a bit more Bass and it looks like these will be just right. I was also looking at the Kali audio lp6 which look amazing but they're hard to get here in Ontario with shipping and insurance they would be the same price as these 306's. Looking forward to seeing more videos from you. 😎
Betty Anne and Brian Watts thank you man! It means a lot to me to receive words of encouragement like yours. Really appreciated. I will make a new video soon talking about my unusual tips for your home studios 😉 haha, we’ll see how it goes. Peace
Hey I'm a complete audio noob and trying to get myself a decent setup. Do you think I'd be able to get some good metal sounds with this connected to a dac then into my computer? I'll be listening to spotify with max quality. Also would it be possible to use these with a CD player and would I need to use a dac with the CD player? Thanks, btw good review.
Melvin Yes, absolutely to all! First of, if you take this specific product, we’ll have the same setup and I play metal a lot and the sound is great trust me. Deep and rich and lot’s of different settings to fit your room. If you want to play with just a CD player there is absolutely no problem- you can use 1/4 jacks inputs if they fit in your CD player or RCA cables with 1/4 jack adaptors for the monitors and 1/8 for the computer. No problem. You have to pay attention though since your volume nobs are behind the monitors and probably at maximum... so if you don’t want to have super loud music playing BANG right away, you have to lower the volume on your CD player/computer and progressively raise it to your liking. Peace man, enjoy your music!
Hi Frank would you recommend these for issuing with electronic drums for home use? I used to use the ev zxa1 tops with the matching sub which sounded great but maybe a bit overkill but if I used the JBL that you used with the 10”sub do you think it could handle it or not?
To play by yourself, no problem. But the volume level will depend of the power of the preamp of your electronic drum if you wana use your drum in a jam with a band for exemple. You will hear yourself for sure in a solo situation but might also hear the pads a little bit as well. You should take bigger model
FIVSTA by Sahil Joshi Here is what I think: They both sound very opened and defined and « maybe » the JBLs are a little bit less « directional » (so you don’t need te be straight in the line of the speakers to hear the sound clearly) They make a « isssh » noise when they are powered and not playing and it can be a problem for some (but not for me, I live well with it. If I’m not using them I just turn my powerbar off thats it. The noise DOES’NT EXIST WHEN PLAYING MUSIC) I don’t know if the HS7 make the same noise but I haven’t heard anything about that issue from them. So, maybe that’s a point fort the HS7. The JBL are less expensive than the HS7. So if you are the kind of person that is willing to pay more to avoid this isssh noise when the monitors are on standby I would go with the HS7 since they have been a standard of the industry for years and sound as opened as the JBL. (Maybe more directional though... so you always need to be right in front of them) Me, Im a guitar player and I am used to hear my gear when it’s opened so I don’t mind the little isssh noise. I open my monitors to play with them and I don’t let them opened all the time when not in use so... really, it’s ok with me. They both sound better than the KRKs for sure. JBL less expensive than HS7 but little bit noisy on standby mode. So if you have the money I’d say go for the Yamahas. But I love my JBL and I am not disappointed one bit. Good luck!
@@FrancisJulien418 solid answer! Yes, I do own a pair of hs8s but was curious to know if I'm missing out on something with the JBL because I'm hearing a lot of praise for the JBL. Also a lot of people have been telling me that people into composing like the JBL more and people into mixing like the Yamaha ones more.
It can really be as simple as: two 1/4 cables (guitar style cable for instrument) running as Left and Right into a ''Y'' shape adaptor for 1/8 jack OUT into your IPhone or MP3 player or what ever.
salut, toujours satisfait? les as-tu encore? si je comprends bien, ils sont assez flats, mais quand même bassy et tu as eu à couper les low-ends avec les knobs derrières? sur tes vidéos plus récents, tu sembles avoir traiter ta pièce, gros changement au niveau de l'équilibre? je recherche aussi pour la guitare et utliser un simulateur d'amp. cheers
Salut JP! Mets-en que je les ai encore, c'est mon set de moniteurs actuels encore. La différence dans mon studio est vraiment notable man, je suis content que mes efforts aient porté fruits. Les JBL sont pas trop bassy maintenant parce que JUSTEMENT j'ai traité la room pis que ca sonne moins echo maintenant. Je dois admettre qu'il font un hisss quand ils sont allumés et que rien ne joue.. on s'y habitue honnêtement en pas bcp de temps mais je dois le noter. Peace man.
Are they good for playing as an Amp? Like, would they be a good option to use amp simulator programs on the computer and use the monitors as the sound source?
Bluegrass Firearms YES ABSOLUTLY! I actually bought them for that reason and for mixing music and they sound detailed and have great dept. The fact that they are a little big bigger than standard entry size monitors (5 inches) gives them more bass in my opinion. For practicing, creating music or playing little jam sessions with friends at lower volume they are great. They will never have the power of my real amps with 12inch Celestion speakers in them and it’s normal because they are half the size and designed to be near the listener ears but as studio monitors that can do many different things, I am really satisfied.
Yes you are right! I think so too. In my next studio (I just bought a house, yay) I will place them a little further from the walls and they are gona be perfect!
@@FrancisJulien418 Oh! Congrats on the house! Me and my buddies have been pro engineers since the 1980's and most of us swear by these 6" JBL powered monitors going back for 20 years. They strain our ears the least, and when we mix on them our tapes sound the same everywhere else we bring them. For $160 per speaker these monitors are a steal :) At any price they are what we prefer to work with. I just bought a pair for my home studio too. Greetings from Rochester, NY, USA!
Room treatment changed my life and it’s not that hard Get 7 bags of roxul safe and sound , make 6 inch thick panels, put them in the corners floor to ceiling, then to your left and right sides, then a 9” thick cloud above you Foam is useless. Treatment will have WAY more impact than speakers. Even the shittiest speaker will sound great
steamorfry Yeah it’s probably my next move in my room but the placement of my desk (in front of the window ‘cause I like it) makes treatment a little bit more complicated. I am not going to block the window for sure and I also have a wardrobe with 2 foldable doors to my right when I work. How would you deal in my conditions? Maybe open the wardrobe when I work and treat the inside of it?
Francis Julien i’d say put 60cm wide rectangle traps on the available corners, floor to ceiling. Make them 6” thick Put a huge cloud panel on top of you 9” thick With that your room will improve massively You will have some dips because of the monitor proximity to the wall. Consider moving things around so you can put a panel behind the speakers
Well, the HS5 have been the industry standard (more the HS8) for this price range or monitors. At the time I was shooting this video, the Yamaha line didn’t offer the 6,5 ‘’ version. So I tought that, for playing heavy guitar riffs with my computer’s pluggings, there would be more headroom using the JBL (especially at lower volume). The JBLs tweeter was advertised to me innovative and projecting mid and high frequency waves a little bit wider and less « unidirectional » than a normal tweeter (I wanted that) They both sound extremely well to be honnest and have similar settings in the back. My answer is: find a deal on these two products and buy the less expensive one. You will be happy. You will not be missing out on anything
I Cristian Honestly, I think I would personally choose some monitors that plug into the Digital Audio/Optical port behind a TV. The JBLs would need to be plugged by the RCA ports and it is a lesser sound quality. I would not recommend them as a Home Cinema alternative. I would recommend something that prefers Digital Signals/Optical.
@@icristian6707 In both cases you would use the RCA ports of your device and rely on lesser quality audio. These are studio monitors for accurate reference when mixing NOT for home cinema purpose. I would highly recommend that you would opt for something more dedicated to TV audio purposes if I were you. It would work buddy but why pay this when you can pay that and work with digital audio or optical (it's a laser inside giving the signal) instead of your red and black RCA cables from Walmart...
@@FrancisJulien418 it is not because they are bad, it is because of the line Out in the TV Sucks. Shit in, shit out. So for TV, get something that takes a digital signal that carries volume so you can change via your remote.
This small series of professional studio monitors 3 series, a luxury for use at home, is extremely well manufactured, the sound is fabulous, the design superb, but it is a Chinese manufacture and it causes me a case of conscience. I have been a fan of JBL since 1977, so much this American company can get bored and proud to have contributed enormously to the evolution of the audio industry through its numerous patents including in-depth studies on constant directivity technology. , bass reflex, loudspeaker cooling, the invention of the design and so-called array technology, the list goes on. JBL, a Californian brand, produces all of its own loudspeakers, the best in the audio industry, in contrast to 80% of brands that have never manufactured a single loudspeaker. What I deplore today is the excessive relocation of products to China. I can understand the strategy of manufacturing where we sell, okay, Asia is a big market for JBL but the china manufacture of the Harman group should in my opinion as an economist be sold exclusively in the Asian region, not in the rest of the world, a strategic error. JBL has a state-of-the-art factory in Mexico Tijuana that could be expanded, and it's just a stone's throw from Northridge, California. In view of the health crisis which China is causing, I think that consumers will look carefully at the origin of manufacturing, and, China will be shunned, rejected. Already many people no longer want Chinese goods, I do not say Asian.
It is true that consuming habits will slowly change for more local products, it’s a tendency and it is good. But for me, buying american, or chinese or mexican is all foreign! Hahaha and the problem is often that, specialized products from my country, Canada, are kinda high end and pricey. It is not always easy but i get your point Eric.
Using lsr 305s 1st gen for a couple of years maiInly for listening music (mostly acoustic stuff) - for the price there is almost no alternatves 0o, havea friend sound eng. guy who heard them when visiting me for some drinks and he was amased how this lil speakers sound and what sound stage they are capable to reproduce. He even thinks the lsr-s sound better on some speciffic stuff than his office thousands of dollars pro monitors:) 305-s lack a little on the low end that's why ithink to get the lsr sub for them:)
Alex Grigorov These 2nd Gen and 6,5 inch come with a special setup configuration in the back and soun wayyy less thin on bass then I first heard of. Because my room is not acoustically treated properly and the way they are placed in the room, I actually had to lower their bass to have a clearer sound. They can be very bassy but I understand why you would be interested in getting a sub for the 1st gen 5inch. Thanks for commenting! 👍
Good question! They are at -10. My room is not treated here and kinda echo-y but I manage to make it work. I had to low the bottom end down a bit and are actually at -2 and -1,5 settings. No choice. Very clear but I have to admit that doing playbacks songs with the umc404hd xlr main outputs ,the volume is not as loud as when I take the TRS cables to 1/8 cable and plug it straight into my macbook pro. Is it loud enough for you when you only use your umc404 as an OUTPUT source? What are your settings? I'm curious. Thanks
@@FrancisJulien418 If you go by Behringer manual it should be at +4. However, they are ridiculously quite. I came across an excellent article yesterday, long story short Its back to +10 with volume at 8 or 9. www.cameratim.com/reviews/audio/behringer-u-phoria-umc404hd-audio-interface/
@@DerekSmyth Aarrh quite a read! Hahaha I'm too lazy and dumb to really get into it this morning apparently... haha , I will keep mine like they are 'cause I know that, when I first installed them with one of my buddy, we tested every settings carefully and we went for this sweet spot here. It seems to have the same problem there: low output volume when played in playback mode from the umc404 so, I am used to choose my output from my laptop since the beginning and there is no latency at all, it works fine for me and has WAY more volume than I need like that.
@@DerekSmyth Hahaha well, thanks. I do, indeed, try to make my own opinion for my best usage at home it's true. I do not own expensive equipement and I'm more of a best bang for your buck kinda guy. Honestly, you can make pretty good music with a Squier guitar plugged into a 99$ audio interface and recording with garageband in an untreated room... It is not the best for sure but for those who say that it is impossible I would say: Stop living at your mother's house-then we'll talk ;) I have fun without breaking the bank, sue me!
Melkorify Hehe thanks bud, well... I just have this one video that I made to see if I could do it. I wasn’t expecting much but just tried to enjoy the process. I’ll make another one soon- come back to check it out man 😉👍
Since I got a like maybe I can get a reply from you. I've been trying to figure this out everywhere, monitors are usually crossover at 2K for the tweeters the 5inch and the 8-inch version of these are about that. These six and a half for some reason are 1400hz. Do you know why that would be and it seems like it let's too much punchiness into the tweeter and I'm worried about turning them up to high.
Hey Richard, sorry your comment got lost in the process and I am only seeing this 8 months later... There is nothing to be worried about from these monitors. I put them very loud sometimes and I never seen any kind of ''breakage'' in them. They are solid.
@@FrancisJulien418 Lol. I need to re-watch that movie. Anyhow, I'm considering getting the JBL 306p, Adam T7V, or the Yamaha HS8. After comparing these monitors over on Digital Stereophony's channel, the JBL 306p sounds closest to the original mix of the demo tracks. My only hesitation is that it's only 6". If I were to get the JBL 306p's would I also need to get an external woofer for low end mixing? Also how did the Adam T7V's compare for you? Is the ear fatigue better with the ribbon tweeter?
Jona Adams Yeah I though about it for sure. I am buying a house soon and will build my studio 2.0 in the basement. It will be a better situation to finally get a subwoofer.
