JBL 1 Series 104 Compact Desktop Speakers, Powered Reference Monitors - Bluetooth enabled (sold as pair)

I scoured the reviews online over this speaker and it was a very mixed bag of results but let me bust a few of those opinions concerning this very capable desktop speaker from JBL. I purchased my set from Amazon myself and am not a sponsored reviewer. Before I go into details I will say that this review is kept within this context of the class the speaker is in which is important. Firstly the build quality of the speaker is very robust and also refined, no sharp edges or rough finishes here from JBL. The grill is is very well fitted and strong again nothing rough here at all. The ABS plastic is not thin and gives a good solid all round feel. There is no side play in the buttons and volume potentionmeter, firm to press and a nice firm staged turn on the volume dial, very well housed with no wobble. The white leds are not overly bright and so don't distract as they might with some people. So no complaint here at all with the build quality, 10/10! A really good size for my 1m wide desk. Sound quality is where a vast amount of subjective opinion arises. Personally speaking I think they are spot on for the job which I bought them for which is a PC speaker that will be used for most contemporary multimedia purposes including Spotify, Apple Music, You Tube etc. The sound of these speakers are not lacking by any means as some have probably a little overly harshly judged. Saying the bass is non existent is utter silliness and I can only say that whomever said that must be using at least 8 inch Studio Monitors for the last 10 years. The JBL104 bt has plenty of bass in the context of the design and purpose and it is very nicely balanced too. These are a very upfront sound. The speakers seemed to loosen up a little after a few hours from new so it is worth giving them a little time. Everything about the sound is balanced clean and precise and really has plenty of volume to give out too. Getting these to half way on the volume and there was plenty of good clean sound flowing into my 5 x 5m room so these do get quite loud contrary to what some reviews might say. I mean if Mojaxx form DJ City liked these then that says something about the performance of the 104bt, he is a pro DJ who knows his gear and in whom I find myself in agreement over alot of tech. The stereo imaging is excellent and these are a very centric sound, much like the Rotel A11 Tribute where the sound centers in between the speakers and on a desk it shines and sounds like the band is directly in front of you singing live! Again, this contrary to some reviews saying the sound stayed inside the speaker, it certainly doesn't on my desk. The connectivity is generous with the balanced and unbalanced inputs are solid. I have not had chance to test them yet but I don't have any doubts about the performance there either considering what I have tested so far. The Bluetooth is excellent, very clean and without fault in sound quality and connection is stable so far using Spotify amd Apple Music on the PC. You tube testing to come a little later. The headphone received some criticisms on Reddit when the 104 was released but again unless the later models were better tuned I really found no fault here. I tested the headphone with my budget but rather good Stagg SPM 235 In Ear Monitors and again sheer sonic clarity! Very nice. I have not tested the Aux in but it is also probably just as good as everything else so far and baring in mind that it is an Aux in so will be dependent on the source material for performance. So have no doubts, this is a pro speaker, it performs like a pro speaker and in the context of design, sound and purpose the 104bt does it all very, very well. Now, are these perfect? No. There are a couple of issues that JBL could address in maybe a second version. Bluetooth is ahead of the video or in otherwords there is latency between the two. The audio hits you first followed by the video which for PC speakers is not ideal. For music is does not matter but for stuff like YouTube its not acceptable. I discovered the volume drops over wired connection, more so over the balanced connection so if you considering this speaker make sure you have at least 2vrms of output signal feeding the wired connections. Bluetooth is the loudest connection but with the lag. These are pretty much my only two gripes but I am afraid they are deal breakers as these are needed for video as well as music. I also recieved a faulty pair with the balanced connection not working on the main drive unit unless I pulled the red 1/4 inch Jack out by around 1/5th to make a connection so rather sadly I had to return the speakers via Amazon whom rectified the situation promptly. I would like to see a revised version of this speaker without bluetooth delay and better volume over wired connection as the sound quality of these speakers is excellent and would stay on my desk for years with the improvements if they were ever to arrive.

The JBL 1 Series 104 speakers are the result of a long trawl through speaker reviews in reputable magazines/sites and the trial of quite a few different makes. We wanted compact PC desk speakers that could play music to a high quality without costing a fortune. The JBLs really deliver that. They're very solidly built and completely feel like an investment that'll last a decade or more. The music quality is great: strong, confident and detailed. There's plenty of strength for an office room, bedroom or kitchen and it just depends how big your living room is as to what you'd get. That's fine - they have a wattage and they can do what that grants them. Very impressed. They've been doing great for games, too. One speaker is the master, containing the amplifier and PSU, and the other is a slave. The linking cable is nicely long enough to get good desk placement. It would be easy to extend if you need more. The only small concern I had was on their stability. The flat bottom area is not terribly large so, in my head, they feel like one knock and they'll be over. However, that's really just in my head as two sets have been on desks here for months and we've not had one wobble, despite desk knocks. So there's no proof to go with what's just a feeling, so don't be swayed by that - they haven't. And they're reassuringly heavy so they have a solid hold on their ground. After a month or so's trial of a first set, I was very pleased to order a second set for another desk. Great buy.

Recently, I bought the JBL 1 Series 104 and they are awesome! The sound quality is incredibleᅳhighs are clear, mids are clean and bass is punchy. They fit perfectly on my desk without taking much space which is good for my home studio setup and everything I listen to sounds much cooler.⁤ Compactness alone is a great plus as well. They sit on my table perfectly without occupying too much space. In addition, they look really sleek and the setup process was a breeze. The only inconvenience with them is that when you turn them on, they make noise and there isn’t a way that I know of (or can find) to turn this off. Highly recommended!

I like the way that they feel solid, sound good and not too big for my home studio. Same JBL quality that you expect too. Worth the money. Just plug them in and they work well. I would buy again.

These are brilliant reference speakers for a computer, and having various inputs adds to their versatility. Have two pairs of these in different rooms and they sound great in both. For mastering, heard things that previously hadnt on other speakers, lovely rich sound too

I recommend. So far, work great.

Arrived with an unfused, non-UK plug fitted and no adapter, therefore illegal to sell this in the UK.

For my requirement they are a disappointment and if I hadn't thrown the box away I would return them. I bought them to use with my Mac as near-field monitors for video editing - they sound great and are well built, but the problem is that they play a loud start-up sound that can't be disabled. My neighbours hear it. And the speakers go in to Standby mode if no sounds have played for 19 minutes - Standby mode is good in that it means I don't have to turn them off daily, thus avoiding the loud start-up sound. BUT it takes over 5 seconds of sound playing before they wake up from standby mode - because they are my computer's main output it means I don't hear message and email notifications and when I preview my video edits I have to wait for the speakers to wake up and then restart playback. I've been in touch with the manufacturer and auto standby can be disabled but then I am faced with using the power button and annoying my neighbours with the start-up sound. I don't understand why a start-up sound is necessary. Realistically I am going to buy something else right away and give these to a friend.

Muy buen producto, gran calidad y sonido.

Excelentes, buenas bonitas pero no tan baratas, pero suenan muy bien, lo valen

Perfect for desc setup! Sounds clean and loud.

Was playing Forza 5 and had these speakers turned to max... family members thought there was a supercar in our driveway! Music sounds really good and very dynamic, it doesn't lack in any sound spectrum. - 10/10 Sound - 10/10 Volume - 10/10 Bass - 10/10 Bluetooth and AUX connection Only small problem is the included speaker wire for the second unit can be a little short depending on how far you place them. Highly recommend over other desktop speakers!

I didnt want to spend a ton of cash on studio monitors for when I compose music to listen back to in ordinary environment. I watched/read tons of comparisons between the JBL and the ILoud Micro and after listening to a few samples decided that the extra (almost double) cost just didn't warrant it. So I ended up getting the JBL and man am I pleased with the result these little beauties give - honestly for the price I didn't expect a whole lot but as long as it let me listen to playback and general music then I would be happy - well they far far exceeded my expectations and can highly recommend them. If you have a small room and just need decent playback better than PC speakers then these will truly deliver - If you have a large room and need true Monitor speakers then probably the ILoud IN would be worth the cost. Great value I think the JBL are.