KALI LP-6 or JBL 305P MKII. Which one should you get? Short comparison review



Today we compare Kali LP-6 and JBL 305P MKII studio monitors. Is it worth to spend a bit more and get Kali LP-6 over JBL 305P MKII? Let's find out!

Build Quality

Build quality is on similar level in both of tested monitors, but Kali LP-6 looks better in my opinion regardless of black or white finish. The glossy front panel in JBL looks tacky and scratches very easily. Big advantage of JBL is more compact size, Kali is cumbersome in comparison and takes up a lot more space on desk. One big advantage of Kali is the placement of reflex port on the front panel, that nullifies some of the cumbersome diemensions of Kalis cabinet. Kali also has more extensive tone controls that makes adjusting of frequency response to the room acoustics easier. JBL has more intrusive hiss levels compared to bigger Kali.

Sound Quality

Sound quality is strong side of both Kali and JBL and picking a winner in this category is not easy but I will try to do it anyway. Kali has smoother and more creamy sound quality which is great on longer listening sessions. JBLfeels more analytical and brighter thanks to a lift, relative to rest lower mids and treble, in area between 1.5kHz and 4kHz. This makes the brighter instruments come forward and gives them more presence. Kali on the other hand has a lift between 500Hz and 1kHz which makes it have more body to male voices for example.
Kali goes a few hertz lower and also feels a bit tighter and punchier in the bass range which is not very suprising. Smaller JBL on the other hand is able to throw more precise and expansive soundstage and can play almost as loud as bigger Kali.

Frequency response comparison. Measured in room at 1m:



Sound comparison video on my YouTube channel:



Conclusion

In summery both of these monitors represent a solid price to performance ratio, but if You can accomodate bigger and slightly more expensive Kali LP-6 than I would suggest getting LP6 instead of JBL 305P MKII. Kali will be also a great choice for anyone looking for neutral sounding active monitors for music listening either for near or mid field.


Komentarze

  1. Hi,

    Needed your help in deciding which speakers to chose.
    I have a Presonus eris 4.5 and I am really impressed. But looking for upgrade since I am looking for better low end and more precise and detailed soundstage. While 4.5s have a strong center image, I cannot place instruments. Also I had read in your JBL 305 review, and I see that the speakers basically disappear when listening to music. I want that.
    Now I am confused between JBL lsr 305, lsr 306 and kali lp6 (hearing a lot of good things). Leaning towards the bigger monitors thinking they will have a better low end response. Not looking to add a sub woofer.
    I will be using these speakers to listen to music, hooked up to my computer. If there is not much difference in bass response, I would like to go for the 5 inch so that i can save some space.
    Please help me with this dilemma. I follow your reviews and got the eris 4.5 based of them. Looking forward.

    Thanks,
    Nithin

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