So I finally got the JBL LSR305’s Professional Studio Monitor a few days ago. I’ve been playing around with them and trying to assess the pros and cons of the monitors and have finally come up with a suitable review. The 305’s are the 5-inch version of the 3-Series of JBL studio monitors. The 3-Series also includes the LSR308, the 8-inch version, and the stand alone LSR310S, the stand alone sub. The general idea behind the 3-Series is to give a more than capable studio monitor setup at an affordable price range for the average producer on a budget.
JBL LSR305 Professional Studio Monitor Review
I finally got the package
The professional studio monitor seemed huge to me. They weighed about 15 lb a piece and are around a foot tall. Looking back on it now, the 305’s would fit perfectly into any small to medium sized room. If you wanted the 308’s, I’d only really recommend them if you have a large, but acoustically treated room. A lot of my friends say I have a large room, but I consider it medium since it doesn’t quite give off a large enough acoustic slap-back for me to feel “lost” in the sound.
Both 305’s came with a power adapter, instructions, and suitable packaging. I’m actually using the 4 foam pads that came with the monitors to cut out some of the bass resonance, as well as getting the monitors to ear level.
Setting up the 305’s were super easy. Make sure you have an instrument cable (1/4 inch or XLR-to-1/4 inch) for each monitor and an audio interface with at least two outputs before you even think about buying these. They are both individually powered, so make sure you have a power strip as well. When you get them set up and properly EQ’ed by using the
(2- dB/0 dB/2+ db) High and Low Trim options on the back, you’re ready to rock!
Pros:
The 305’s have an amazing image control waveguide, which was adapted from their master reference monitor. The sweet spot and the stereo imaging of these are INSANE. You can really hear the stereo separate from the centered elements such as kick, bass, snare, vocals and etc. It’s hard to even really describe the imaging accurately, but think of an imaginary 3rd speaker right in front of you accounting for the mentioned centered elements. It’s super nuts.
The frequency curve is super accurate. My mixes translate flawlessly from my bedroom, to the car, to the phone, and etc. These are probably the most accurate within the two hundred pound range. The KRK’s seemed to be way over powered bass wise and drowned out the treble in the mix.
The Yamaha’s weren’t bad either, but for my liking they were not flat enough frequency wise. With the extremely accurate representation and the amazing stereo imaging, the JBL’s were a no-brainer.
Cons:
These professional studio monitor are borderline perfect. The only real draw back is the lack of lower end sub-response, which were to be expected from the reviews and nothing too surprising from a 5-inch woofer. The lowest register they can audibly hit is around 42Hz, although they can go lower to around 30 or so before losing a lot strength. I’ve honestly been compensating for a few extra Hz by using the stand alone sub from my last setup and plugging it through the headphone input. This at least gives me a decent understanding of the sub presence in the mix, especially since I can control the sub volume independently to it’s not inaccurate. Don’t get me wrong, though, these speakers do not lack bass.
They push air with the rest of them, they just need a bit of help in the extremely low sub frequencies.
My final assessment on these speakers are that they kick solid ass.
Great for entry level producers just starting out with their first studio and even great for fresh professionals. Great and professional studio monitors, JBL is my go to.
