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Comparison between 705P and 708PSeveral AC members mentioned that the 705 and 708 are very similar, that the only difference was the lower extension of the 708s. I guess this is one of those "I don't hear things the same way" moments. The 705s and 708s, to my ears, are cut from the same cloth, and the 7-Series definitely have a house (non-)sound. Clear, crisp and transparent. But to my ears they are NOT completely alike.Differences:1. The 708s sound bigger and play much louder without congestion. You can't see it from the pictures, but the listening room at Sweetwater was (and I will estimate) 25-30' x 40', with perhaps 15-20' high ceilings. It's a big space, and it really shows the difference between near-field speakers (705s) and mid-field speakers (708s). Actually, I think the 708s will work beyond mid-field, but there are limits to the even the space they will cover.2. Size: the 705s are thinner and deeper than most of the other monitors I saw. It is a thin rectangle. The 708s are more traditional in shape versus other active monitors. Neither speaker is large. The JBL 305s I have are not far off the size of the 708s. The 705s seem visually smaller than the 305s.3. Usage: to me, the 705s are a near-field monitor, and in that capacity I doubt you'd notice too much of a difference between it and the 708s. For someone debating the 705s and 708s in a near-field setup, I'd say get the 705s without hesitation and pocket the $2k difference for other purposes. Going to listen to these speakers in a small-to-medium sized room? Go for the 708s -- they play larger, they stay more coherent overall, and they sound effortless at almost any volume. At reasonable volumes, the 705s are fine, but the sonic weight and coherence of the 708s really shows when they are pushed harder. The 705s just can't match that, but they were not designed to do so.4. Cabinet resonance: as other AC posters have noted, all the JBL 3-Series and 7-Series I have heard have cabinet resonances. These 7-Series cabinets are well-designed, but they are not as inert as other "audiophile" speakers I have heard. When you pump some volume through both, you can feel the cabinet vibrations on the side and top. This effect happens earlier in the 705s, but it exists in both models. So, the common wisdom indicates that where there is cabinet resonance there is coloration/distortion. So why couldn't I hear any? Both speakers seem unfazed sonically even though their cabinets are vibrating somewhat. To explain this (partially), I can only assume that the JBL engineers did some very careful tweaking with the DSP engine to reduce/eliminate this effect. Hard as I tried, I couldn't hear the cabinet resonance, even though I knew from hands-on inspection that the resonances existed. Engineering magic, I guess.....it was the darnedest thing, but I admit defeat in not being able to pinpoint any resonance effects.5. Low end extension: even though the 708s go deeper on the spec sheet, it's supposed to be only by a few Hz. That's probably true, but the 708s sounded bigger/meatier than the 705s at lower volumes all the way through ghetto-blaster levels. I guess that is the main difference: the 708s just sound "more" than the 705s. Could be the placebo effect of seeing bigger cabinets, but the 708s seemed just a little more open and transparent, too. This was not a night-and-day difference, but it was there from my perspective.6. Dispersion:[More on this tomorrow. Going to get some shut-eye now].-dGB
JLM,that is a sweet pic of your system JLM, thanks for posting! My quad 12L studio active are getting long in the tooth (like me) and I would love to audition the 708 in my room. I really like your solid looking speaker stands, are those custom made? The only thing that I would change is to get the cords off the floor, but that is me and I have NO idea if it really makes a difference!NICE set up ! ----Mark
4. Cabinet resonance: as other AC posters have noted, all the JBL 3-Series and 7-Series I have heard have cabinet resonances. These 7-Series cabinets are well-designed, but they are not as inert as other "audiophile" speakers I have heard. When you pump some volume through both, you can feel the cabinet vibrations on the side and top. This effect happens earlier in the 705s, but it exists in both models. So, the common wisdom indicates that where there is cabinet resonance there is coloration/distortion. So why couldn't I hear any? Both speakers seem unfazed sonically even though their cabinets are vibrating somewhat. To explain this (partially), I can only assume that the JBL engineers did some very careful tweaking with the DSP engine to reduce/eliminate this effect. Hard as I tried, I couldn't hear the cabinet resonance, even though I knew from hands-on inspection that the resonances existed. Engineering magic, I guess.....it was the darnedest thing, but I admit defeat in not being able to pinpoint any resonance effects.-dGB
As one of the persons here who had the opportunity to do some auditioning at Harman prior to the purchase of M2’s I applaud the efforts. While touring the JBL development area with a senior member of engineering we had specific discussion about cabinet resonances and their importance. JBL puts money and efforts where they are warranted. Although cabinet construction matters they build them to a point where more doesn’t translate to better sound quality. They have all of the necessary tools to measure cabinet involvement and certainly do so. I mention this as a hand, knuckle test and/or accelerometer have not shown direct correlation to sound quality at levels beyond which are deemed ‘good enough’. Yet another one of those things that may be proven via mental comfort.
I have valued your's and Jason's write-up of your trip to Harmon, thanks much. After decades around audio am finally convinced of the value that the manufacturer brings to the product. JBL's long professional/commercial history, deep resources (R&D/manufacturing/partner companies), and solid professional service are near the top of the industry. DIYers and one man shops just can't begin to compete. Even long time vendors that use off the shelf parts are pretenders in comparison.
Where would I find JBL's measurements? (I'm not seeing them....)https://www.jbl.com/7-series-studio-monitors/708P_.html?cgid=7-series-studio-monitors&dwvar_708P___color=Black-GLOBAL-Current
Thanks for the write up. Consumers are slowly waking up to the advantages of active design. Here's my setup:Now that doesn't look too bad does it?
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/jbl-705p-708p.1303/https://www.sausalitoaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/JBL-708P-Charts.pdfBest,Anand.
Seriously - where does JBL publish their mesaurements?