Studio Monitors. Torn between JBL LSR308 MK2 and Yamaha HS8

  • I'm torn between these 2 Monitors.

    I can get the JBL LSR 308 MK2's for $150AUD less then the HS8's atm.


    Which would be ideally better as an all rounder?

    Will have the kemper running through them and also used for pc gaming and only a little bit of recording etc.


    Keen to hear your opinions before making a decision.

    The LSR308s atm are a great steal at $575AUD and the HS8 for $715AUD

  • Monitors are an intensely personal choice.


    it really comes down to what the speakers make you 'do' in your recording and mixing and how well that translates.


    But speakers that work great for one person often don't for another.


    Personally, in that choice, I'm JBL all the way.

  • Agree with the comments below. You really need to hear them both.


    For my personal monitors, I started with the JBL 308's, but I felt they were too clinical sounding for my taste. I ended up trading them for a pair of Yamaha HS7's, (I didn't need the extra bottom end from the HS8) and haven't looked back.


    Let me say, that I mixed in studios for many years, on Yamaha NS10's, so I may be a little biased.


    The JBL's to me, just seemed a little too polished. Great sound, but it didn't translate well on other systems.

  • I can't speak highly enough about the HS series. May not be true anymore...but when I bought mine (years ago), there was nothing that even came close to them in that price range. Had to spend a lot more money to do better. In this case (by better), I mean a good accurate response that allows you to hear little flaws and details in your mix. The midrange (at least on mine) is especially good, and using them to mix really helps me dial in that particularly dicey and busy frequency range. I felt pretty validated when I noticed that two of the top producer/mix engineer/studio owners in my town kept a pair of them in their bedroom setups.


    I don't take on mix work anymore, but do still use them for critical listening, remote session jobs, and dialing in Kemper sounds. I've found that the tones I dial in on them translate excellently to FoH systems when I'm out on gigs.

  • This is great to hear , I’m looking for monitors that will translate to a foh for praise and worship . Yamaha H7 is what I’ll hunt for