Massdrop JBL LSR30X 5" Active Studio Monitors

Discussion in 'Speakers' started by purr1n, Jun 18, 2017.

  1. Mshenay

    Mshenay Barred from loaner program. DON'T SEND ME GEAR.

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    Oh I just remembered I have XLR outs on my NFB10ES2, I can finally put them to good use :D
     
  2. wrestler

    wrestler Acquaintance

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    From schiit sys FAQ:

     
  3. a44100Hz

    a44100Hz Friend

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    You can get some simple XLR cables off Amazon. The 3.5mm jack is a typical laptop headphone jack, I assume for convenience, but then you'd be double amping (and in your case not using your Gungnir Multibit at all). Just get a pair of XLR cables at whatever lengths you'll need.

    You could also get RCA -> 1/4" cables but the only ones I've found on Amazon have been bad quality. @Gaspasser you'll need that kind of cable with the Sys. Don't use HOSA brand.
     
  4. Mshenay

    Mshenay Barred from loaner program. DON'T SEND ME GEAR.

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    ooh my TV has Optical out! I can't imagine it'll be to clean, but what's a good inexpensive dac with optical in? Pairing these with my TV makes the most sense atm, as the internal Speakers aren't... amazing. An my wife might let me keep em if she can listen to them as well lol
     
  5. wrestler

    wrestler Acquaintance

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    By inexpensive, if you mean 250$, schiit modi multibit.
    Even cheaper would be schiit modi 2 uber.
     
  6. a44100Hz

    a44100Hz Friend

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    Oh, and for nearfield monitors, you want the center of the speaker (between tweeter and woofer) to be roughly at the height of your ears (so you might want stands) and you want them to be in an equilateral triangle with your head.

    I've been using these stands on my desk. They're solid. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009WE0Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_v0XvzbNB8YTEV
     
  7. Mystic

    Mystic Mystique's Spiritual Advisor

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    Thanks man. I'll be using these at my desk when gaming so I'll invest in some desktop stands for them.

    Would these be a little to big to use on a standard desktop when I'm sitting at said desk gaming?
     
  8. Mshenay

    Mshenay Barred from loaner program. DON'T SEND ME GEAR.

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    Go even Cheaper, I'm thinking like $50... I have the Balanced outputs on my NFB10ES2 for the office If I ever get the desk space to use them here. Which I may in the next few months. But if I'm going to use these with my TV I just want something cleaner than the RCA out's on the TV. Though I see a TON of second hand Modi Ubers for around $150 ish. Might snag one up

    also @a44100Hz good link on the Stands! How's the build quality
     
  9. a44100Hz

    a44100Hz Friend

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    They're totally fine. Nothing special compared to some of the stuff floating around here but they're heavy enough and they hold larger monitors than the 305's without moving. The base of them may take up a lot of room on your desk though. Should do some measurements. I'm using the cheapest IKEA desk and I have just enough room.

    @Mystic in a pinch you could try a book stack like this guy... http://noaudiophile.com/JBL_LSR305/JBL_LSR_305_Desk.jpg
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Whether you need the +/- 0.5db matching depends upon your needs. Peter already explained the benefits of better imaging. I'd probably go a bit further and say that in more nebulous terms that you will simply get "better" sound. I've been on record complaining how unacceptable L and R matching is with certain headphone brands, and how the brands that do matching well such as Sennheiser, HiFiMan, AKG, and some others tend to make headphones that sound more "right" and cohesive. The more precise imaging cited by @PeterJBL could certainly be the reason why.

    We already know that shifting the L and R balance by a few db is going to change where sounds come from on the soundstage. Given that L and R frequency responses can be uneven throughout the audible range, and that instruments and voices can cover several octaves, uneven matching may result in unstable imaging. Instruments will appear to move around and not stay in one place.

    Normally, this hasn't been an issue with me because I've been building my own speakers for a while using very high quality drivers - the cheapest driver I might use would already be the price of a single LSR 30X monitor.

    The normal LSR305 standard of +/- 1.75dB (3.5db) at certain frequencies to 2.25dB (4.5db) at others, could be in a worse case scenario for unacceptable for professionals or very demanding audiophiles. We really can't bitch much about these worse case tolerances for the LSR305 if we are opting for Amazon ball-busting prices at $283 per pair or whatever.

    However, the Massdrop LSR30X for $20 or so more, get you get rubber feet that would save you a trip to the hardware store, and driver matching to the point where you just plop the monitors straight down on your desk, get a reference studio frequency response, and not have to worry about thing anything else. The more anal professionals who buy the LSR305 would probably EQ to make everything perfect; but an RTA, measurement microphone, and other accessories needed to do this aren't exactly free.

    Whether the extra $20 to $33 is worth it for the cosmetics and driver matching (more important than cosmetics in my book) is up to you. I believe that @ultrabike creamed in his pants when reading what @PeterJBL wrote.
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2017
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Oh f**k. Price reduced to $279.99. Just noticed.

    I am reading something wrong?
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2017
  12. Garns

    Garns Friend

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    @Mystic I would recommend getting either the Belden 1800F XLR cables from Blue Jeans or Mogami 3080 XLR cables from Redco (via their custom cable configurator). Cheap and good. I find these AES/EBU spec cables to be a bit clearer and smoother in the high end than ordinary mic cable or starquad.

    Controlling volume from Windows, set the monitor attenuation so that a full scale signal gives the loudest volume you will ever want in practice, and then attenuate digitally from there. That way, even if something screws up on your computer you will not blast your speakers into the next dimension. Also you minimise the degree of digital attenuation you need so retaining as much SQ as possible.

    Yep, Gungnir Multibit RCA out -> SYS -> RCA to 1/4" cable to jack inputs on the monitors. Probably best to do all the volume control in analogue. You can try leaving the monitors at full gain and using the SYS for all gain reduction, or maybe cutting some gain on the monitors and doing the rest with the SYS. It's possible that these may sound different for impedance reasons, so some experimentation may be in order. Option two should reduce hum/hiss a bit so if there are no other differences in sound it's probably preferable.
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2017
  13. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    No she won't. The high gloss is actually a stealth finish. She won't even notice them. And if she says, "I don't know, there seems to be something different about your desk?" Gaslighting. "Nothing has changed at all. Why don't you go and lie down, dear; you need to take some rest; you've been imagining things recently. It'll be 10kHz spikes next, if you are not careful."

    Buy them. <evil-laugh>

    Whilst I appreciate JBL for trying just that bit harder, I also suspect a bit of fluff here. Wouldn't you expect any pair of stereo speakers to be reasonably matched to the point of not being able to hear a difference?

    These speakers have proved to be a very popular offering from JBL, even among price-tag audiophiles. Nobody has been posting that they feel that there is any difference between one and the other.

    I also think that it should be recognised that these are low-budget speakers. Pick a $,000-each speaker, and the suppliers might be more willing to match beyond human earpower!

    Buy. Either way. But buy the Massdrop ones for the stealth finish, to avoid trouble from your wife!
     
  14. Grahad2

    Grahad2 Red eyes from too much anime

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    To be fair these are normally sold in 1s. And aimed at professional usage with EQ compensation.
     
  15. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Almost all studio speakers are sold in ones. It's the way that market works. People still buy and use them in stereo pairs.
    Aimed at home studios and those that want to get on the active-speaker-technology at modest cost.

    Check out Gearslutz, or magazine/sites like Sound On Sound for the context. >This< is aimed at pros :D And some of its technology is hand-me-down to the more modest LSRs.
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2017
  16. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

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    I've seen a lot of small and home studios use the 305, so I would agree that pros would skip the 3 series and use at least the 7 series and beyond. Especially with all the extra setup and input options that the higher line offers:

     
  17. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    I recommend our nearfields thread to anyone who has not seen it. As we posted in that thread, the studio scene is a different world. The speakers I ended up dreaming of owning was a make I had not even heard of a few years before that. Would have cost me 2-grand-GBP to put on my desk. Smaller than these IBMs.

    That time is past: for various reasons it is highly unlikely that I'll ever by $,000s speakers now. But I have been intrigued by these LSRs since their launch. They certainly remain on my maybe list. They are affordable :)
     
  18. Mshenay

    Mshenay Barred from loaner program. DON'T SEND ME GEAR.

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    welp I've joined! I'll hold out on getting the Dac and stands till I actually need them, but I snagged a pair! Stealth finish for the win
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2017
  19. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Damn, now I'm really hoping that she doesn't get the new, updated radar vision before they arrive! :eek:

    Advance congratulations on the new speakers :)
     
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I have some special stack-able audiophile mass loaded stands that I can sell you. Great deal. $28 each + shipping.
    IMG_20170701_122029 (Small).jpg
     

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