new monitors - JBL LSR305

don't really have any money for any gear right now...
 
but i've been wanting to change out my little KRK rokits for a while..
i've had them a long time, and know them well..
 
and i have material for a 3rd album, that i want to final mix on, so figured now is a good time to learn some new monitors.
 
on sale, everywhere right now....
 
JBL LSR 305's
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LSR305?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=recording&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CNfvka3C974CFRQ1MgodcBEAxQ
 
so cheap, i figured, why not?
18 months no finance charge, 14 bucks a month, 30 day return policy....
 
 
 
i ab'd these recently, against:
PreSonus Eris E5
Yamaha HS5
RCF AYRA 5
http://www.rcf.it/products/recording/ayra/ayra-5
 
the ayra 5 was my favorite, jbl's 2nd favorite.
 but the cost of the jbl's on sale was a no brainer for me.
 
 
anybody else use these?
 

I would take the JBL LSR308s but then I afford the Event Opals if someone gave me the money for those.
JBL LSR305s will do, but I like the added wattage of the 308s.
 

the price went up on the 308s though. Blah!
 

LOL
 
thank you for your continuing confusion.

I updated/upgraded my studio monitors last December.  I went with LSR308's instead of the 5's.  I had trouble mixing the bass on my old speakers (Samson Resolv 6.5a) with a 6.5" speaker and didn't want to downgrade to 5" speakers. 
 
I'm very happy with the LSR308's.  All the mixes I've done with them has turned out great.  I don't have problems with the bass mix (actually with the mixes) anymore.
 
When I first bought them from Sweetwater, they were $249 each.  Shortly after that they came down to $199 each (the current price at Sweetwater).  I contacted my sales rep and they refunded the difference as it was less than 30 days from the purchase date.

Recently my son wanted to invest in a set of active studio monitors and he was interested in the Yamaha HS7's.  We took some very high quality material down to a great shop here in Melbourne (Sound Corp) where they have many sets of speakers well set up. All the brands were there mentioned here so far and the Yamahas.
 
It was  very  revealing. Firstly one of my ref CD's was Steely Dan's 'Everything Must Go' which is a cracker of an album. I know it backwards.  I know how it sounds on my Mackie HR 824's.  I have heard it on $70,000 studio monitors too.  So I KNOW IT!
 
First KRK are absolute rubbish and I don't care what anyone says here.  They were crap.  I could not believe how bad they were.  They sounded like a blanket was hung in front of them.  ( I know many swear by them but in a continuous switch test it was amazing the difference. Cheese and chalk. I did teach a student once in his home studio who had KRK 8's and I thought they were pretty OK in fact, we were on the smaller KRK's in the shop)
 
The cheaper Mackies are not much chop either.  Only two speakers stood out.  The JBL's you guys are talking about here and the Yamaha's.  Both Yamaha and JBL's with the 5" drivers were also NOT great in the bottom end either.  The JBL's with the 8 " woofers were way better and much better balanced in the bottom end than the 5's.  The Yamaha HS7's were also much nicer than the 5" Yamaha's too. HS8's were slightly better (than HS7's) too but only by a very small margin.
 
Out of interest the Yamaha HS7's and 8's still out performed the JBL's over almost everything musically.  We listened to Steely Dan, Jazz, Hip Hop, folk, classical you name it.  (this is personal taste and I get that) We stayed within a certain price range and included many other brands too.
 
Bats you may be incorrect.  An 8" speaker will be fine in your room and it will sound way better than any 5" driver too.  The Yamaha's  (and others) have settings on the rear for controlling the low end.  An 8" driver set correctly will sound better than any 5" driver in any room.  Just ease some of the low end out and you will be fine.  Bats  my son was worried too like you about a 7" driver in his setup. He is in a small room too but after listening we found there was just too much missing on the 5" drivers and the larger driver just sounded so damn nice down there.
 
Right now the Yamaha HS7's or 8's are amongst the best value on the planet. (for the money)

I too had considered the Yamaha's as they had very good reviews.  But, I'm happy with the JBL LSR308's and glad my Sweetwater sales rep suggested them.  My sales rep seems to be straight with me and not just "sell what they want to push". 
 
All the reviews I saw on the KRK's were not good.

that's not the correct way to setup ARC (which is graphically shown in the manual/pdf)
 
you can interchange the speakers with each other, or change your height at which you sit in front of the speakers...
but because of the physical location difference of the speakers, you would have to run two complete analysis.
 
i basically a/b'd my older krk's in the exact location as the jbl's are now......
 

Jeff Evans
...KRK are absolute rubbish and I don't care what anyone says here.  They were crap.  I could not believe how bad they were.  They sounded like a blanket was hung in front of them...

 
Are you just referring to their Rokit range, or do you mean all KRK models?

Yes sorry for lack of clarity there. I was referring to the smaller KRK Rokit range as well. 5's and 6's. Certainly not the VXT range. They look a lot better and I am sure they sound it too.
 
We were in that cheaper price range for a pair of active 5 to 7's. The (cheaper) Mackies were not much better either. (compared to say HR824's which sound way different)
 
I did have a student with the larger 8" older Rokit and I did not mind the sound of that speaker at all. But I think brands like Yamaha and JBL get that mid range the way they do. I found the Yamaha mid range to be smoother overall and not like the NS10's in any way. The Yamaha's can sound like a pro monitor most of the time.
 

Jeff Evans
Yes sorry for lack of clarity there. I was referring to the smaller KRK Rokit range as well. 5's and 6's. Certainly not the VXT range...

Thanks for clearing that up.

http://www.krksys.com/med...bson-stanton-final.pdf