I am typing a review for a speaker that I bought recently. This is the first of the many audio equipment I’ve bought over six months.
I chose JBL because I’ve seen it everywhere my whole life. In theaters, clubs, schools, and even those mini portable ones that kids today can’t seem to live without. Not the headphones, but the actual mini-speakers. I don’t mind them; I just find it really strange. JBL is the acronym for James Bullough Lansing, an audio engineer and loudspeaker designer. It was founded out of a struggling company in 1946 into the worldwide brand that it is today.
JBL SRX835P Reviewed
This three-way speaker is 38.74 inches in height, 21.4 inches in width, and has a depth of 18.74 inches. It weighs 85 pounds. Its maximum SPL output is 137 decibels with a 60-degree horizontal and 40-degree vertical coverage pattern. It has a 15-inch woofer on the lower half with another two rectangular speakers on the upper half.
At the back of the speaker is a panel for better control over the output. The Power button is on the right side of the LED display screen. The controls are on the left side, with a Master Encoder button and a Back button. A small LED light atop the Power button will indicate if the speaker is powered on or not by flashing green light.
Below are two identical sets of dials and ports labeled CH1 and CH2. Both of them have an Encoder and Input for a female connector and a Direct Out for a male connector. Beside these is a Mix Out output connector so that you can send audio to an external source. Directly below the Mix Out is a slot for an Ethernet connection. Lastly, there are two LED light indicators for Data, which is yellow, and Link, which, in turn, is green. The ink used to label these are glow in the dark, which I find interesting.
The speaker cabinet is made out of plywood with an Obsidian Duraflex finish, trademarked by JBL. The grille is a perforated steel with a transparent black cloth backing. It can be mounted using its single 36 mm pole socket or 12 x M10 suspension points. It has one handle on each side of the speaker.
Care and Maintenance
The manual says that the speaker should only be cleaned with a dry cloth. However, I had a bit of an accident when my three-year-old came into the room and smeared some gunk onto the sides and the grille of the speaker. I found a solution by cleaning the outside with a wet cloth sprayed with a bit of dish soap. The grille is easy to clean. Thankfully, there wasn’t anything inside the actual speaker.
I learned two lessons that day. One is never to forget to lock the door to your home office or performance room. The second is that you can find anything on the internet these days. My kid now knows better than to go near the equipment. I talked to my spouse and kid and explained the importance of that room and the speaker in question.
Review
Since I have no other speakers or experience to anchor my review, I will be doing this according to what I hear and my actual experience with the product. First off, it is loud. Hear me out. There is good loud and bad loud. This speaker falls on the good loud side of the spectrum.
I’ve moved it thrice around my performance room, and it delivers every single time. For now, it is placed on the floor as my new audio equipment collection starts to grow. The bass it produces is topnotch. It’s like buying earphones or headphones. The first time I brought it home, I blasted songs in my library with the most bass.
I am happy to say that these speakers are excellent. No matter how loud the audio is, the bass isn’t all over the place. The sounds are rich and wonderful. Microphone feedback is another story, though. As rich as the bass is, the feedback is a nightmare. I configured the speaker so that it won’t happen again, but I am still careful when working with microphones.
Pros and Cons
My personal favorite about this speaker is the glow-in-the-dark ink on the back. It isn’t of much use when I do use it, but one never knows. Another pro is the rich bass wherever I place it. I guess it’s thanks to the vertical and horizontal coverage. I have yet to test it while suspended. Now that I have three speakers, I can safely say that this is on the lighter side of speaker weight.
My one complaint is the feedback, but that is something that falls upon my shoulders to learn. I really don’t have anything wrong to say about it aside from that.
Conclusion
JBL has been around for almost two generations, and it still delivers with the same energy as I used to remember. It isn’t all bark and no bite. It is a worthy investment for anyone still on the fence about buying one for practically any use.
FAQ: Frequent questions
? Which is the best?
JBL SRX835P Professional
? How did we test them?
We tested 19 products, researched 6 sources, evaluated 43 reviews and spent 9+ hours on our guide.
? What should you look at before buying?
When choosing it’s best to make a decision based on the price/quality, functionality and compatibility with other devices/technologies.
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