Road Test: JBL EON710 and EON712

A funny thing happened when I went to audition very expensive rider-friendly speaker systems recently. I had returned to live production post-lockdown when I started hearing of chronic shortages of experienced crew and equipment. I bought a van PA, and have since been researching the next step up.

Alongside the ultra-pro system I listened to was a line-up of the latest JBL Pro series of speakers on poles, and on a whim I checked out the EON710 and EON712. Had I not eyeballed them first I wouldn’t have considered anything ‘EON’ as pro, as I have memories of those old weird shaped clunker EON ‘Dalek’ boxes of yore. Those I did not like.

Starting with the EON710 (10” and horn), I plugged in my reference mic, which for 40 years has always been a Shure SM 58. Dialling in gain and no EQ I uttered the universal test phrase and got plenty of well-behaved signal coming back at me. The EON712 (12” and horn) sounded very, very similar albeit with a little more low end, as you’d expect from the larger transducer.

I bought a pair of each on the spot and added on weather-proof covers as well. I wish I’d had these in January when I did gig after gig outdoors with plastic rubbish bags on high rotation through our wet mess of a summer. I’d used some other lower end plastic boxes on stands through summer and have a few different 12” and 10” boxes already in my collection, so I knew what I was looking for.

My primary use is stage monitors. Previously I did have some JBL 12” ‘cabaret wedges’, which were both heavy in weight and single use in that a wedge is a wedge. The EONs are multi-purpose, easier to stack high in the van, and don’t require the external amp. I was happy to free up space and weight in my amp rack.

Using powered speakers for floor monitors in rowdy pub gigs is a challenge since punters with overflowing beverages tend to frequent the edge of the stage, requiring some consideration regarding cabling. Then again rowdy pub gigs are where things like EON live, so I take that chance. And the floor wedges were not immune to taking a spray either.

The Bluetooth feature means nothing to me but would be useful for hirers. The rated output specification (650w rms) is approximately right, and the 14kg weight is awesome. The onboard DSP comes default set ready to go, and you can dial in up to 100ms of speaker delay for the EON itself or (this is handy) for the ‘pass through’ output.

What stands out to me is that DSP, manufacturing and design tech has come a long way. These being relatively new, they leap ahead of some of the other ‘current’ stuff that was designed earlier.

With a 2” voice coil (woofer) and 1” horn, don’t expect to melt any faces with EON700. It is a step up from entry level, and a step down from the next in line. For me, it is rental friendly, and it is pleasing the diaspora of artists I work with, from fine jazz to four-on-the-floor rock bands. At the price, it’ll deliver the 12-month ROI that every rental device needs to achieve and after that, it’ll make money for me.

If only I could find a hazer that does that……

Julius Grafton is Sydney-based, founded this publication, and celebrates 50 years in the industry this year. He can be found at juliusgrafton.com

The Specs

EON710

Custom-designed 10-inch woofer, 2414H compression driver, redesigned high-frequency horn

Power: 1,300W peak / 650W RMS

Frequency response: 52 Hz–20 kHz (-10 dB); 65 Hz–20 kHz (-3 dB)

Max SPL: 125 dB

Dispersion: 110° H x 60° V

Audio I/O: 2 XLR Combo, 1 XLR passthrough

Advanced dbx DSP: Automatic Feedback Suppression, ducking, 100ms speaker delay, parametric EQ

Built-in 3-channel digital mixer

Bluetooth 5.0 streaming and control

Dimensions: 587 x 332 x 300 mm (HxWxD)

Weight: 11.9 kg

EON712

Custom-designed 12-inch woofer, 2414H compression driver, redesigned high-frequency horn

Power: 1,300W Peak / 650W RMS

Frequency response: 50 Hz–20 kHz (-10 dB); 60 Hz–20 kHz (-3 dB)

Max SPL: 127 dB

Dispersion: 100° H x 60° V

Audio I/O: 2 XLR Combo, 1 XLR passthrough

Advanced dbx DSP: Automatic Feedback Suppression, ducking, 100ms speaker delay, parametric EQ

Built-in 3-channel digital mixer

Bluetooth 5.0 streaming and control

Dimensions: 669 x 382 x 324 mm (HxWxD)

Weight: 14.5 kg

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Product Info: jblpro.com

Distributor Australia: cmi.com.au

Distributor New Zealand: jpro.co.nz