I do appliance and electronics recycling, and one day I found these JBL's sitting in a pile of tvs's n other junk. They were a little scratched but looked like they still worked, so I brought them home n took a sub out to look at it, and home audio never messes with magnets this big... So I was looking up it's power rates , n read how other people loved these things.. hooked them up n wow! Very happy n impressed!!

In 1977 I was one of the project members who deisgned and constructed Motown's new offices at Hollyyood and Argyle in Los Angeles. The JBL speakers were reqested by Fuller Gordy ( Berry Gordy's Brother and head of Motown facilites) to be installed in every executive office. This included the offices Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson. After hearing the speakers perform and thinking that it they were good enough for those folks they would be good for me, I ordered a pair and have used them since then. These are great speakers allow me to enjoy my eclectic taste (Soul to Jazz to Pop to Big Band) i music. They have served my for 30 years. What a buy!

Well i first started my stereo out with some klipsch KSC-1 I believe. My dad use to build all his stereo equipment include amps, preamps, Klipsch Horns, La scala, bla bla bla. So when i was about 10 or 12 i asked him for a stereo for my birthday and he picked up some Klipsch from magnolia Hi-Fi for about $50 a piece which was a stellar deal considering their average cost was about $115 a piece eventually i picked up two more. Anyways i started there and then soon after that I wanted some base im not sure how i came up with that but i did. So him and I started researching and ended up copying the KSC-10w or something like that. Basiclly its a like a 200w down-fire subwoofer that match the senergy series Klipsch that i had. So i found a subwoofer amp on the internet and bought a 10" eminence woofer figured out the specs for a ported box size and went at it. I saved about $250 by building it. So now i had nice sorround stereo that beat all my friends stereo and their parents haha. anyways i ended up convincing him to trade two of my klipsch bookshelf speakers for the amazing 4312b control monitors (black) which was a great great deal. Still have them. great shape, and sound awsome. The reproduce the sound so accuretly. And I no they will last forever.

Actually this review is for the JBL4312 Control Monitors.
I have owned these speakers since 1982 and they were a direct replacement to the Bose 901 series II's that I bought at the PX in Korea after a BOSE rep was allowed to demo these things in the camp's auditorium
At the time I was powering these with a Pioneer SA-9800 Integrated amplifier. I was conned.

I was only dabbling but learned much especially after deciding that the BOSE 901s were junk.
I even had to rent an extra "hooch' in the ville just so I could listen to those horrible speakers in the "recommended" environment when I hosted parties with my fellow GI's They still sounded like crap no matter how or where I placed them.
Even my "non-audio savvy" friends noticed the difference after listening to the JBLs

After my discharge from service, I eventually became a "sound engineer" after lengthy tutelage from various friends and acquaintances..

I kept these speakers in storage for over 10 years and when I finally decided to invest in a home studio, I went ahead (again allowing myself to be conned) into a set of yamaha NS-10Ms (Still pretty good monitors if you can find them.) After one of the NS-10's blew up (oops! analog synthesizer) I dug out my old 4312's and placed them in my "control room" OMG!!! WTF???

I will NEVER use another reference monitor.. I agree with most of the other posts.
These things DO NOT LIE! You must have adequate power, and you can ecpect the "shrillness" described in this forum, but I have had much better mixes using these than any other speakers I have tried, PERIOD!
They will reveal EVERY glitch, mistake, dissonant tone, whatever. I agree that certain types of music do not sound very good with these and require some adjustments to tone and EQ. If you wanna know how crappy MP3's really sound play them through these. Sounds like 40 grit eardrum sandpaper.

Recently I found another pair at a local yard sale for $50. One of the midrange drivers had been boffed up by the seller's inqusitve and mischevious boy, but that was easily replaced with an OEM driver via an excellent vendor on eBay. The walnut (the 4312s were never covered in oak) veneer was in good to excellent shape and all drivers worked perfect after replacing the one mid.

I have used these for both studio monitoring and everyday listening and I LOVE THEM!.
Again I stress that the previous posts are abolutely correct about underpowering the 4312.
You MUST have CLEAN old school solid-state rated at least 100watts TRUE RMS preferrably with a high slew rate, and low THD, or at least 30 watts of tube amplification (pay attention to the load {OHM} rating on a tube amp as some may not like 4 or even 8 ohm loads, and never power up a tube amp without the recommended load connected.) The previous posters who complained of problems with the mid to high end response may actually be hearing the 4312s ability to point up the flaws in solid state (transistor) amplification circuitry???
Please correct me if you think I am off base here.

Any percieved inconsistencies can be corrected using a parametric or paragraphic EQ.With these you can isolate offensive frequencies and use a narrower band "notch" frequency to get rid of unwanted harshness.
Personally I do not like graphic EQ's because they detract from tone and can "color" the sound.
Also if you have one, a BBE Sonic Maximizer can greatly enhance the listening experience of any system if you carefully monitor your gain structure and properly adjust the BBE (lower settings on the "process" and "lo contour" work best, and you may want to roll off the sub freqs.)

I use an old Kenwood KA-9100 set totally flat in my studio with NO EQ OR PROCESSING when moitoring tracks and mixes.
I also use an SAE 4200 speaker swicthing system to go between the 4312s, the (repaired) NS-10s and a pair of the crappiest 6X9 POS speakers I coud find at the junkyard with beer flats as baffles. This helps me with mastering as nobody out there really has the same ears or systems or listening environment.

Also, if anyone has ever heard of or tried the "ZEN Triode" monblock tube power amps, you would simply not believe the warm, rich sound of the JBL 4312 on an "all-tube" system. The aforementioned shrillness and "mid-honk" completely disappears when powering these things with vacum tube amplification. I recommend listening to a MFSL half speed LP like The Beatles Abbey Road or Steely Dan's Aja on a good turntable with a good cartridge. HEAVEN!!

Just a note............

I HATE CDs. I understand the Nyquist Theory and all, but 16/44 is just barely enough to pass as a suitable format to listen to anything on true high fidelity audiophile gear. This alone renders most people's opinions of what's good and what's not as mearly opinions (not everyone's ears are ecactly alike) and also nearly moot. The newer 24/96 is a much better digital format, but it is still digital, and the better your gear, the more "digital" it will sound.

I would recommend the JBL 4312 to anyone who can find them. They have a character all their own and for those of us who can't afford the really high end stuff, they are a great bargain (again if you can find them)

Best regards to all, and happy listening!!


Brett


PS.
B buy
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It's just a great old speaker

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I purchased the JBL 4312B back in the early 90's to replace my old JBL 100 that I had. I've been using them for over 14 years now and they still kick A##. I mostly listen to classic rock and they are still as good as the day I purchased them. I purchased my first pair of JBLs back in 1977 and have never owned anything but JBL. The 4312's have been shipped all over the world in my traveling with the US Air Force and they have heald up great. Now that I am retiring from the Air Force I am looking into buying another set of JBL's but these old 4312's will still be hanging around some where in my house

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Seemless sound do to special croosover design. Tight deep bass, clean clear mids and top end. JBL 4312's sound best with amps with a high damping factor. This really helps in providing tight linera response below 50 hz. Ask any "audiophile" about JBL monitors, and he will probably go into a tirade and mention electrostats or what ever is the current trend for these fanatics. I just tell them all the music they listen to was probably mastered on JBL's.

None

A true glimpse of studio quality sound. Listent to old Hendrix, Stones,Mountain thru these speakers and you will then truly know what Glyn John's and his peers were really doing. This music just sounds right thru JBL monitors

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altec model 19

Pure Quality Sound. The Bass is Paramount with the 12" drivers. The 12" driver frequency response is rated to 30hz (Let me see those specs Bose!!!!!). Mids and Highs compliment the overall sound. Pure and Natural. I could go on but I won't.

The grill is flimsy, the ONLY weaknesses.

This is for the 4312Bs. My friend has had a pair of 4311Bs for years. These 4312Bs are the best speakers I have ever heard for the price. The Lows, Mids, and Highs are very crisp. The imaging is incredible. I got the black cabinets which is also rare. These speakes are turning into a rare breed unless JBL plans to release similar Pro Monitors in the Future. I have the S-38IIs and thought they sounded good until I heard the 4311/4312 series. Not to knock the S-38, they will become my rear speakers.

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JBL S-38II, JBL 12" Powered Subwoofer, S-Center. Yamaha 5550. A little bias with JBL.

Tight base, very smooth transition from high to low. Super price vs quality.

color.... all black

I purchased these speakers to replace and older set of 4-way Pioneer speakers. I had limited listening time in the store but purchased them anyway. To be blunt, these babies "KICK". I will not go into all the finer details but my listening preferences are vinyl and cds (in that order) From Louis Armstrong to ZZ Top. They continue to surprise me after 7 years.

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Clean detail. Remeinds me of older Klipch horn loaded speakers

None maybe a bit shy in the warm bass region around 100 hz

Im a director of enginering for a large radio company in Canada. I have been living with a pair or Cerwin Vega D9's for the past 12 years but lost a woofer a few weeks ago. We had this pair of JBL 4411B control monitors available so i took them home. I have a Bryston 3B, Pre amp, Pioneer DVD player and Technics Slp-1300 CD player. I was taken away by these mid size speakers. The stereo field is awsome, the bass clean and tight, and they sound very accurate. By that I mean they make good CD's sound good and bad ones sound awfull. They are duplicate a horn loaded speaker, some might call a dry sound. I took the woofer out just to see it. Its a JBL professional piece. Says it right on it. Even the magnet is screen vented so as the woofer moves the air cools the voice coil and it weighs about 30 pounds. I still will repair the Vegas because when it comes to certain DVD movies with explosions like the Matrix / Titanic etc they can really move a lot of air and the pictures but when it comes to music I think these JBL's have a new home.

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Cerwin Vega D9 Klipch la Scala

It's no wonder these monitors are used in a majority of recording studios. I picked up a pair of these used for $400 because of their legendary sound and craftsmanship. I was not disappointed. Performance is best described as clean and dynamic. Bass is tight, midrange and treble are precise. The sound is a definite improvement over my B&W's. For an used pair of speakers, this is what they mean when they say the don't make'm like they use to.