JBL LSR28P
Our Score:	Imaging	9
C	Dynamic Performance	8
	Frequency Response	8
	High Volume	8
	Sound Quality	8
	Price / Performance	5.5
	Overall	75 C
	List price	Approx $2400/pr
	Web site	http://www.jbl.com

The JBL LSR28P is a biamplified nearfield that has caught the attention of a number of respected professionals both for its sound as well as its technological innovations. The LSR28P features an 8” woofer and 1” metal dome tweeter in a somewhat oversized cabinet. In fact the LSR28P, the largest speaker we reviewed for this article, might be a little large to be considered a “nearfield.” Nevertheless, the folks I know who use them put them on their meter bridges, so I guess if they fit on a meter bridge, then they’re nearfields.

The most immediately apparent design aspect of the LSR28P is the carbon-fiber front baffle. JBL claims this rounded, rigid baffle helps to reduce resonances. Probably the next things you’d notice about the LSR28P are the unique elliptical port and tweeter waveguides. But the LSR28Ps most noteworthy design attribute would also be the last one you’d see, and that’s the Differential Drive woofer. This remarkable design features three voice coils: two which oppose each other and a third which acts as a magnetic brake at maximum cone excursion. The net result is a controlled, efficient woofer with high power handling and almost no cone overthrow even at irresponsibly high power levels.

Listening tests to the JBL LSR28 revealed a speaker that was instantly recognizable as a JBL. It is difficult for me to describe the “signature sound” of a JBL speaker but I can recognize their sound immediately. This is a good thing if you like mixing on JBLs and a bad thing if you do not.

I found the bass response of the LSR28 to be powerful and accurate, almost as plentiful as the Mackies but a little more “tight” sounding. Midrange response was classic JBL all the way: warm, rounded, and present-sounding, and just a little boxy. Imaging was barely acceptable - I felt at times that the sound was coming from the boxes, not from a well-defined soundfield.

What disappointed me was the lack of treble detail. These speakers just didn’t quite tell me everything I needed to know about the top end, and were capable of covering up the harsh sound of the Supreme Beings of Leisure’s “Last Girl on Earth”. In fact, Steely Dan’s “Two Against Nature” didn’t sound all that crisp or trebly, two attributes I immediately apply to that song. I also heard some bass anomalies in the drums of Loreena McKinnett’s “Marco Polo” that weren’t there in any of the other monitors – not in the Genelecs, not in the Dynaudios, not in the Mackies. I’m inclined to suspect that it’s an issue with the speaker.

All things considered I was underwhelmed by the LSR28s. Again, this is an award-winning speaker that many top engineers swear by. Not me. However, if you prefer the classic JBL sound, then you’ll be right at home with this monitor.