JBL LSR305: Is It Worth It? (Full Review)

Studio monitors are all the RAGE nowadays!

They help in sprucing up your recording studio/room! More than the aesthetic value, they serve as good sources of accurate audio replication.

Maybe you’re planning to purchase from JBL because it’s one of your favorite brands, or maybe you just resonate with all of the positive reviews given by other customers.

Whichever the case, make sure to read on to find out our stance on JBL LSR 305 speakers!

Overview of JBL LSR305

The JBL LSR305 is one of the products included in JBL’s LSR300 series.

It is essentially a 5″ Two-Way Powered Studio Monitor with a Magnetically-Shielded 5″ Low-Frequency Transducer.

It also has a 1″ Soft-Dome High-Frequency Transducer and Image Control Wave Guide.

For low frequencies, it has a Class-D 41 Watt RMS Amplifier and a 41 Watt RMS Amplifier for high frequencies.

Its balanced XLR and 1/4″ TRS inputs with Detented Level Control and HF and LF Trim Controls give you the power to adjust and manipulate sound in various ways.

Features

Whether or not you’re a technology junkie, we want to make sure you know what you’re getting into!

Make sure to continue reading to see how we’ve broken down the overview into digestible features and more detail.

Here are a few relevant points to take note of.

1. Image Control Waveguide

If you’re not familiar with the terminology, maybe the first image that popped into your mind was that of a submarine sonar.

However, this feature is quite different from that.

Instead of being used to navigate and measure distances, the image control waveguide focuses on controlling the sound coming from the speakers.

It does this by making sure that an accurate and neutral sound is heard by those at the listening position at the right volume for listening.

2. Linear Spatial Reference Design

One of the most important things every good producer, whether professional or otherwise, needs to test is the recorded audio’s sound quality.

Besides listening to the headphone output, a good way to test if your music will sound great when played would be to utilize JBL’s LSR Linear Spatial Reference design.

In terms of sound, JBL’s LSR Linear Spatial Reference design aims to help you pinpoint what your recording would sound like in your room.

Don’t worry about whether the size and shape of your room would affect the sound because this specific feature focuses on utilizing thousands of data to help produce accurate sounds!

3. 3 Series Efficient Class D Amplifiers

To identify if a speaker has a powerful impact and sound volume, you need to check its AMPLIFIERS.

In the case of the LSR speakers, this feature allows the speaker to accurately replicate various challenging audio styles.

The resulting output is dynamic and powerful, which is always a bonus if you aim to have your room practically resonate with the sound of your recording!

4. Professional Balanced Inputs

Just like the LSR 305, we all need a bit of BALANCE in our lives!

Their balanced XLR and TRS inputs ensure that you can connect your LSR 305 speakers to various signal sources without worrying about any interference to the sound quality.

5. Selectable Input Sensitivity

While the sensitivity switch present in the LSR 305 can’t exactly help us connect to other people, it serves a somewhat similar function in regards to the LSR 305!

The -10 dB/+4 dB sensitivity switch allows the speakers to be compatible with various sources.

This is a definite advantage because it ensures that you won’t have to worry about the possibility of input overload!

6. LF Trim and HF Trim “TRIM” Switches

If you’ve ever wanted to control the sound of specific instruments so that your room acoustics stand out, these switches definitely come in handy!

They can help you manipulate both low and high frequencies, ensuring that you can optimize the type of sound you wish to hear.

This type of experimentation can also help you be more hands-on regarding your audio recording, which will help you be more proactive regarding your work.

7. 100 Hour Power Test

JBL has a 100-hour power test for each 3 series speaker model to undergo before it can be deemed as a production-ready design.

This means that the speaker has to continuously play audio for 100 hours WITHOUT stopping at any given point in time!

Can you imagine these speakers playing recordings for 4 days and 4 hours?

Sounds like a technological marvel to us, as this is definitely no easy feat!

If you were uncertain about the reliability of their speakers before now, we can confidently state that these speakers would last for a long time!

Pricing

Considering its price, most customers have stated that they were pleasantly surprised at the LSR 305’s performance.

They can best reproduce an accurate interpretation of your audio recording in small room setups (i.e., at close ranges).

Still, they also work well in other enclosed spaces such as studios and home theatres.

If you’re aiming to create a good quality listening setup in your room or studio, the LSR 305 speakers are a good option to consider!

Technical Specs

Desktop Setup

Are you aiming to connect these speakers to your desktop to test your latest recording or mixtape?

Before connecting the speakers to your desktop, you’d have to figure out the type of cables needed.

In the case of the LSR 305, it accepts either XLR or TLS inputs, so you could use either cable to connect the LSR 305 to your desktop, and you’d be all set!

There are no specific desktop specifications to keep in mind; just make sure that your desktop can handle the speakers’ required audio input/output!

Audio Performance

In terms of instrumental sound, each instrument was very DISTINCT and could easily be heard.

This means that each guitar, violin, and piano could be heard by our ears and picked apart from the rest.

This aspect is more important than you think, as having a good combination of instruments really lends a unique signature to various audio recordings.

Having a messy and disorganized combination of instruments would simply confuse the listener and would not work well together.

But what about the background music?

You might be worried about the possibility of the instruments covering the background sounds, but rest assured that it is still possible to hear the background vocals.

Even the way the singer’s voices echoed was heard, which made us feel even more IMMERSED in the music!

Frequency

Did you know that our ears can hear sounds that range from 20-20,000 Hz?

Most speakers can cover a range of 45-20,000 Hz, but unfortunately, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they can provide quality sound for every frequency.

The frequency range for these speakers falls under 43 Hz-24 kHz.

Frequency pertains to the number of times the particles of a medium undergoes vibration when a wave passes through it.

This concept can also be applied to speakers and is called a “speaker’s frequency response range.”

The concept of a speaker’s frequency response range was created to measure the range of sounds a specific speaker could produce.

So how can you tell the type of frequency response that a speaker has? One of the things that you can take note of is a speaker’s variation from “flat.”

• If you’ve seen “+/-x dB” before, these are measurements of a speaker’s variation.
• If you have a “tight” or “flat” variance, the speaker’s response is more accurate. The usual range of variance can go from “+/-.5 dB” to “+/-3 dB”.

This means that if a speaker has a published frequency response at 50-25 kHz, +/-3 dB would be -3 dB below “flat” at 50 Hz and 25 kHz.

You can still hear any sound BELOW 50 Hz, but it might be slightly difficult.

Going back to the frequency response of JBL’s LSR 305, we can now analyze it and determine that it falls under the higher end of the sound spectrum.

EQ

In terms of audio, EQ is short for equalization.

It entails adjusting various frequency waves to replicate a sound that is as close to the original audio as possible.

Various loudspeakers already come with preset EQ modes such as “Surround,” “Jazz,” and “Party” and help highlight bass and treble notes.

However, more than anything else, the choice of using EQ is a highly personalized one.

While EQ helps you adjust your audio so that you can play it across multiple devices, the optimal sound that you’re chasing after is based on your preferences.

One trick that would help you experiment with various audio settings is to be familiar with various charts for frequency ranges.

While memorizing them isn’t a requirement, just being aware of the different frequency ranges will help you know more about your ideal setup!

For example, if you want to hear the guitar strings more clearly, you can amplify the 2kHz range.

Or, if you want to hear the upper harmonics a little bit more, you can play around with the 8-16 kHz range!

Tweeter and Woofer

These JBL speakers have a 5″-long-throw woofer and a 1″-soft woven composite tweeter that can reproduce powerful instrumental notes and smoothen out high frequencies.

But what exactly are the functions of these two terms?

The terms tweeter and woofer may bring images of a certain social media app to mind, but tweeters and woofers are types of speakers.

Tweeters handle the higher range frequencies of the sound spectrum, which is why the origin of their name can be traced to the chirping/tweeting sounds of birds.

They usually cover the range of 2 kHz-20 kHz, but some tweeters can go as high as 100 kHz.

A woofer handles the lower range frequencies of the sound spectrum, which means that they handle the deeper notes in audio.

There are various types of woofers, and their range varies as well. Here are a few examples:

• Standard woofer– can produce frequencies of 20 Hz-2,000 Hz
• Subwoofer– can produce frequencies >200 Hz
• Midwoofer– can produce frequencies from 200 Hz-5 kHz
• Rotary Woofer– can produce frequencies >20 Hz

Ports

Ports refer to the type of openings you can find in a speaker (often found either in the front or back) and come in various shapes and sizes.

Their main purpose is to create types of resonances and improve the speaker’s bass response.

Have you heard of JBL’s SlipStream low-frequency port design yet?

What’s interesting about it is that it utilizes a double-flared port design, which ensures greater low-frequency extension.

This means that the speakers can accurately reproduce instrumental sounds that fall under the lower end of the sound spectrum.

Alternatives to JBL LSR305

Just in case you aren’t sold on the idea of purchasing these JBL speakers, we also compiled a list of alternatives for you to check out so that you can gauge your options more thoroughly!

1. KRK Rokit RP5 G4

This is a 5″ Generation 4 (G4) bi-amp professional speaker with a DSP-driven Graphic EQ and matching drivers with Kevlar.

The DSP-driven Graphic EQ feature helps create a good acoustic environment while the matching drivers with Kevlar ensure consistent sonic integrity across all types of frequencies.

It is known for its compact size and is a few inches smaller than the other KRK Rokit G4 speakers.

This is convenient if your room doesn’t have a lot of space for a larger speaker!

They also have active Class D amps, which are good at handling deep instrumental notes and high-frequency notes.

On the backside of this speaker, you can find the onboard DSP processing, the balanced TRS/XLR combination jack inputs, and a power switch.

The padding found at the speaker’s base ensures the definite prevention of annoying sounds or disruptive responses!

2. Yamaha HS5

Are you looking for a speaker with excellent accuracy in terms of audio replication?

You might find what you’re looking for in the Yama HS series speakers.

These iconic speakers are designed to provide an ideal sonic platform that you can utilize to get honest audio references.

Their Yamaha HS5 speaker is an HS5 2-way bass-reflex bi-amplified nearfield speaker with a 5″ cone woofer and a 1″ dome tweeter.

It has a 45W LF, a 25W HF bi-amp system, and a frequency response ranging from 54 Hz to 30 kHz (-10 dB) and 74 Hz to 24 kHz (-3 dB).

It also has good room control and excellent high trim response controls. Their XLR and TLS jack inputs accept either balanced or unbalanced signals.

3. Adam Audio T5V

Does this name seem familiar to you?

If not, no problem. However, it may be worth noting that these speakers are recipients of countless awards!

These include, but are not limited to, the MIPA awards (2018), MusicTech Excellence Award, and DJ Mag Tech Award!

But what do all these awards mean?

What are the various features and technical specifications that make up the structural design of the Adam Audio T5V?

Did you know that this two-way nearfield speaker has an HPS waveguide that creates consistent audio dispersion and stable imaging?

It also has a linear frequency response of 45 Hz to 25 kHz (-6 dB), ensuring an accurate and unbiased audio reproduction.

Its DSP-powered crossover design is responsible for crafting a smooth frequency response without any disruptions from the drivers, and its high and low-shelf filters make for good room acoustics.

Final Verdict: Is the JBL LSR 305 Worth It?

YES!

This speaker is a great choice for beginners and experienced musicians who want to produce and listen to the best and highest quality sounds!

Whether in a small bedroom studio or a professional sound engineering room, these JBL speakers will provide you with everything you need at affordable prices!

Conclusion

Each studio (whether it be a recording studio, a filmmaking studio, or a radio studio) stands apart from other studios based on the equipment that it holds.

Choosing the best equipment for your studio room requires you to understand the type of music production style you want, and the same thing also applies to choosing a studio monitor.

If you want to ensure that the music you produce sounds as close to the original as possible, then using studio monitors is the way to go!

Make sure to consider various factors (i.e., cost of the speaker, size of your room, audio performance, etc.) in order to create a setup that’ll last you a long time!