With the JBL 4305P Stereo loudspeakers and the L75MS music system, JBL has some amazing hi-fi solutions in house. The JBL 4305P is an active speaker set with built-in streaming audio functions, while the L75MS includes similar functions in one package. With built-in Google Chromecast, Airplay, Spotify and Tidal Connect, wireless music streaming is a piece of cake. And now JBL adds full ROON Ready compatibility. Just press the reset button on the back, search for audio devices in ROON and play! If you can’t figure it out, we still have Nick Ready and we’d love to hear from you.
Great news we think! Below, as a refresher, the complete news item of the JBL 4305P.
Actually, JBL does not make ‘ordinary’ speakers. JBL’s professional roots and 75 years of history reverberate in every model, with the Compression Driver – Horn technology being the most distinctive. Still, the new JBL 4305P is a very special one even for JBL. The first fully active JBL loudspeaker in the Studio Monitor series. Dynamics with a capital P where P stands for Power… An integrated streaming module and a variety of connectivity options coupled with the built-in amplifier make the JBL 4305P a completely self-contained music system. Place speakers, plug in the socket, connect to the network, start music stream and you’re done!
Power to the People
The 4305P is active. On the back of each sturdy cabinet we find a built-in amplifier that provides every driver with the necessary power. 125 Watts for the 13cm mid/low driver and 25 Watts for the tweeter to be precise. Thanks to the built-in streaming function, external equipment is actually not necessary – but it is possible. You connect the two speakers wirelessly or (preferably) with a network cable and the music chain is complete. Building in the amplifier has a number of technical advantages that should not be underestimated. Of course it saves a whole lot of cabling when the amplifier is directly ‘in’ the speaker, but it also creates the possibility to fine-tune the separation between tweeter and mid/low driver much more precisely. Something that is simply impossible with a passive crossover. It gives the JBL 4305P a ringlet frequency response, super linear and controlled over a huge opening angle. Generic to JBL but very well done with the 4305P!
Feel free to feel good
The 4305P is versatile. Connect your favorite analog source via the XLR or 3.5mm MiniJack inputs or opt for digital via the Asynchronous USB-B or Toslink optical digital input. This means that the connection to the smart TV is also made that way. However, we like the option to stream music directly to the 4305P. The integrated Streaming module supports Google Chromecast, Apple AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth audio. Digital music is processed with 24bit/192kHz resolution. Especially as a ROON endpoint, the JBL 4305P is a delight.
Integrated 125 Watt power amplifier and Google Chromecast Streaming module
Technology
JBL originated about 75 years ago as Cinema Loudspeaker in the professional world. The search for balanced music reproduction for everyone in the room, combined with the limited amplifier powers of the time, led JBL to develop a revolutionary tweeter: a compression driver coupled to a horn. By enclosing the tweeter at the front with a special small-aperture acoustic lens paired with a specially shaped horn, JBL was able to dramatically increase efficiency and project the energy to the audience much better. The result was much lower distortion, greater dynamics and control over the speaker’s radiating behavior. Over the years, JBL has fine-tuned this technique for pure hi-fi reproduction, of which the HDI horn in the 4305P is the latest evolution. It gives this small monitor an extremely convincing and energetic sound with a delicious bite and fine sparkle. The double port at the front makes the speaker feel very much at home close to the wall or even in a bookcase. If the bass becomes a bit too fanatical, you can easily tame it thanks to the Boundary Compensation function. Conversely, a little more impact in the bass reproduction is also easily achievable thanks to the subwoofer output.
The more than 30 cm high 4305P with its walnut or black veneer version is a tough appearance in our opinion. Like a little powerhouse he stares at you from the dresser and without having sung a note you know he’s not joking. Yet he plays a friendly singer songwriter ballad just as easily as a heavy dance track in which he sounds remarkably powerful and crisp. JBL always swings with an enormous amount of fun, but this little 4305P also hangs the streamers itself. That JBL has managed to bring that sound together in an active music system of € 2,399 and in this format is really a golden set with an HDI edge. Fantastic!
The new JBL 4305P is now available in Black or Walnut. Below is a link to the specifications.
