Hey guys. Im a long time lurker and wanted to share my experience with the jbl 305's.
Ive been making music for years, since I was 15 (the good ol acid pro days). Its been my hobby ever since. Ive messed around with many genres, currently experimenting with "edm" and hip hop. I have a pair of event tr8's since 2006 or so (now part of my 2.1 stereo system in my family room). They have an 8 inch sub but are too damn big for my "studio" ( what i call the other room with my gear in, but lacks sound treatment, etc) in my apt so i was in the market for something smaller. In February I purchased a pair of jbl 305's. I had read and heard so many good things about them, i just needed to check them out. Their price fluctuates a bit in amazon, it has even reaches $100 per speaker, I got them for around 215 for the pair.
So. Got em. First impression? They look awesome, kind of a plastic feel to them, but feel well built. Do they stand up to all the hype? Well yes. They provide an excellent stereo image (although i feel the stereo image I had from the events was better) and clear/smooth highs and mids. The lows were impressive for a 5 inch woofer. Over all, for the price they are great. Now. Let me tell you why I think they suck.
So i got my first pair and started listening to random music genres. Like I said, I was impressed. About 5 hours of use later, i heard a snap ,crackle ,and pop coming the left speaker....then a ground noise........then silence. Switched power outlet and switched the inputs, however still got nothing. After a few minutes, the sound was back! Only to be gone in a few seconds.
Amazon was great. They replaced them without many questions asked (love that company btw). So a week or so later, got the other pair. They worked flawlessly for a few months, until about 5 days ago. The right speaker. Snap. Crackle. Pop. Silence.
Fuck.
Yup. The exact same problem.
I googled to see if this was a common problem, and was surprised to find that there are many posts of this issue around the net. The people at amazon (Alejandro at the amazon chat, you the man!!) offered a refund as a exception because it was the second time this shit happened.
So, am i gonna get a new pair of the great sounding/great value jbl 305's?
Hell no. Im done.
Was it a bad batch? Could be. Still poor QC.
So in conclusion, if you are lucky to get a good pair, these speakers are great for the money. Are they the best? Hell no, but they offer a good VALUE. I can't find myself to recommend these due to my experience but , if i did , id probably recommend them to someone thats starting out in production or hobbyist not willing to spend a whole lot of money for good sound. If you do get them, make sure they have a warranty.
Probably gonna get a pair of Yamaha hS5's. Although i must say, the hs7's are tempting. Anybody out there has tested these monitors out? Im interested in what you guys have to say.
Take care guys
Submitted August 31, 2016 at 11:41AM by thejohnstocktons https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/50hiab/my_bitter_sweet_experience_with_the_jbl_305/?utm_source=ifttt