Melomaniac retro is in vogue today, but JBL developers do not have to deal with stylizations: the brand has been making speakers since the 40s of the last century, so they only need to flip through their own catalogs of past years for inspiration. And, of course, to combine a stylish look with the most relevant technologies of today. Actually, this is how the heroes of our today's test were born - the JBL 4309 shelves.
Younger brothers
The new compact monitors are created in the same development center in Northridge as all other JBL speakers in this category, as well as devices from the older lines. The JBL brand itself is part of the huge corporation Harman International Industries, which, in turn, became part of the very vast Samsung Electronics five years ago.
However, judging by the stability of the model range and the invariably high class of equipment, global market changes do not affect the identity of the audiophile brand. Which, of course, cannot but rejoice.
The idea to offer modern music lovers professional monitors in retro design originated from engineers for a long time. Perhaps the most striking embodiment of it was the columns numbered 4349 that appeared last year .
These are imposing (74 cm high x 44 cm wide) two-way speakers with a 12-inch woofer and compression tweeter loaded onto a huge, intricate horn. The speakers turned out to be really interesting, but not everyone can afford this format of "floor-standing shelves" tested at the price of $2000.
In short, the need for a more democratic and truly shelf version was just in the air. Finally, it materialized in the JBL 4309 Studio Monitor.
Domesticated Pros
It is enough to take a quick glance at these speakers, and the soul is captured by nostalgia for the good old days and full-fledged studios. The 4309 itself was created as a replacement for the 4306 - and became the most compact in the Studio line of speakers with a compression driver.
However, if we talk about real historical prototypes, then the design of the 4309 reminded me of the home model Everest DD 55000, released in 1985, rather than the studio model. True, despite the similarity in layout, the dimensions of the "Everest" differed radically.
These were 145 kg "cabinets" with 15 "woofers. They did have similar full-size horns that JBL uses today for the most part in high-end cinema acoustics, both home and commercial.
Spectacular JBL Everest DD 55000
Unlike floor-standing or "low-sitting" prototypes, our small speakers are rack-mountable. The instructions even indicate the optimal height of the supports - 61 cm.But they can also be called shelves by right: the front-mounted bass-reflex ports and the small depth of the case make it possible to put them even in a bookcase without any problems. Of course, if such a decision suits you in terms of the nature of the sound.
By the way, the width of the speaker, which exceeds the depth, is an extremely rare phenomenon in our time. Many developers believe that the speakers should be as narrow as possible, so as not to be an eyesore to those who do not understand anything about sound. Well, the JBL 4309 is clearly aimed at a very different audience.
Mouthpiece of the era
So, the wide (about a third wider than the midrange / bass driver!) Front panel is trimmed with a dark blue coating that is not pretentious, but clearly visible in the interior. In addition to the two bass reflexes, there were quite large holes for attaching the grill - everything is exactly like in the speakers of the 70s-80s.
The body is assembled from MDF boards 18 mm thick and covered with natural satin veneer. There are two finishing options: black or natural walnut. The square grill, which does not catch the horn, is also black in the first case, and blue in the second. In my opinion, the “nutty” version looks much more lively and interesting.
A miniature regulator is installed on the bar separating the bass section from the high-frequency section, which can only be turned with a screwdriver or a coin. This is a potentiometer that allows you to adjust the high-frequency part of the frequency response within ± 1 dB.
It seems to be quite a bit, but, firstly, such a small range hints at a careful attitude to the phase structure of the signal, and secondly, if a room needs serious acoustic correction, then it certainly should not be carried out by means of columnar crossovers.
As conceived by the developers, this regulator should be especially useful during the warm-up period, which for the JBL 4309 is several weeks. According to official figures, the ratio between the sound output of the speakers can float slightly during this time, and the potentiometer is a great way to keep the sound under control.
The JBL 4309 has a 6.5-inch woofer with a cast basket, a 1.5-inch coil and a proprietary Pure-pulp cone for the lower and, in part, the mid frequencies. It is made, as you might guess, from pure cellulose pulp.
The tweeter is also original design - this is the 2410H-2 compression driver. It is armed with an inch annular diaphragm made of Teonex film, that is, from polyethylene naphthalate - a polymer characterized by increased strength, durability and dimensional stability.
But the most noticeable element of the driver is of course the advanced patented High-Definition Imaging horn. The sophisticated internal profile provides a wide radiation pattern: 100 ° horizontal by 80 ° vertical in the range 2-17 kHz (-6 dB).
In addition, HDI technology helps combat the characteristic horn sounds. Moreover, according to the developers, it does it so effectively that the creators of acoustics were not afraid to lower the crossover filtering frequency to 1.6 kHz.
Boring monitors
The test setup was based on Mark Levinson components: a preamplifier with DAC # 526 and a dual mono power amplifier # 5302 (2x135 W into 8 ohms). The digital transport was a MacBook Pro laptop with an Audirvana player, and the speakers themselves were connected with a Nordost FREY 2 cable.
With an impedance of 4 ohms, the JBL 4309's sensitivity is 87 dB / 2.83 V / 1 m - the figures are quite standard. As for frequencies, the passport promises us bass up to 42 Hz and high up to 30 kHz at a level of -6 dB.
Let's start with the basses, since they were the first pleasant surprise. The area of the listening room was about 40 squares, but 4309 was not at all embarrassed.
It is clear that they did not cause ultra-low tectonic tremors - nevertheless, the bass, as they say, swayed. Moreover, they turned out to be surprisingly energetic and collected. The blues of Amanda Fish (the album "Free") sounded quite solid and weighty, although the key theme in them was the beautifully brutal voice of Amanda herself.
By the way, about the vocals. Chris Isaac's baritone on the "Wicked Game" compilation was lively and bold, but the upper overtones seemed a little tight, so I decided to check the doubts on the higher voices. I play Mozart's Magic Flute and listen to the high air soprano Fabienne Konrad. Nothing of the kind: it sounds easy, clean and bright in an amicable way. Great sound!
Along with Fabien's vocals, of course, I also analyze the sound of the orchestra. The strings play sharply and in sufficient detail, while the flutes, on the contrary, are rather sophisticated and soft. Trombones do not just stand out in the mix, but are distinctly different in key. Timpani and bells scatter sparks throughout the room.
In other words, everything is as it should be in the presentation of high-quality high-quality acoustics. The only nitpick is a slight unevenness that seems to arise at the frequency section. But you can feel it only in those rare moments when the characteristic overtones of a vocal or a wind instrument fall on a very narrow section. As it happened with Chris Isaac.
When the word “horn” is used, two typical flaws of this design emerge in the minds of many: overtones and a narrow directivity pattern. However, if we talk specifically about the developments of JBL, it seems to me that these problems have remained in the distant past. And in general - in our time, putting horns in audiophile acoustics is only a risk for those few brands that really masterfully own their development.
One way or another, I did not catch the notorious color in the sound of JBL 4309 at all. As for the focus, it can be characterized as average in its class. The significant offset from the centerline between the speakers does affect the perception of treble - but not more than most dome tweeter systems. And if your room is narrow, then this moment can be completely turned into a plus: with correct positioning, early reflections will be done away with.
In general, following the results of listening to a very multi-genre playlist, the summary is the following: despite the words Studio Monitor in the title, the speakers are not dry and boring. The sound is lively, moderately sharp, with good relief and fairly accurate tonal balance. Please note: all this with a hefty horn. The music scene for this price class is wide enough and extremely detailed.
Conclusion
It looks like the compression tweeter in the JBL 4309 is paying off. It does not try to compete with extra-class tape recorders in terms of micro-resolution, but it produces sound that can be called lively, sparkling and at the same time harmonious and comfortable.
That is exactly what audiophiles of past generations dreamed of. Horns and purely paper cones in those years, of course, also existed, but there was no technology to get such a clean and tonally even sound from them. And now we have.
JBL 4309 Specifications
Number of bands: 2
Number of speakers: 2
Acoustic design: Bass reflex
Reproducible frequencies (-6 dB): 42 Hz - 30 kHz
Sensitivity: 87dB / 2.83V / 1m
Crossover frequency: 1 600 Hz
Impedance: 4 ohm
Rec. amplifier power: 25-150 W (RMS)
Rec. post height: 609 mm
Dimensions (WxHxD): 260x419x227 mm
Weight: 10.98 kg (each)
Stylish nostalgic design, very impressive bass for this cabinet size, energetic and at the same time tonally balanced sound.
It is for studio monitoring that it is better to choose a stricter model, the real element of the JBL 4309 is drive and aesthetic pleasure.
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