JBL EON 710

JBL’s latest EON speakers integrate powerful digital technology into traditional point‑source PA.

When choosing active PA speakers for smaller venues, the options usually come down to either a two‑way, ported speaker or a mini line array. Both have their advantages; as a general rule, compact line arrays deliver a very natural sound and they don’t block the sight lines in smaller spaces, such as pubs. They include a sub, so tend to have reasonable low‑end performance, and they also score highly on their directivity, which is typically very wide but shallow so that little power is wasted on the floor or ceiling and acoustic feedback becomes less of an issue. If you favour this approach, JBL can accommodate you — but a well‑designed two‑way active speaker can also deliver high‑quality sound, and to my mind its main advantage is its flexibility. In smaller venues, powered two‑way speakers can be used singly or in pairs, and where more power or more low end is needed, they can be teamed with a suitable powered subwoofer. They can also be used on their sides as stage monitors.

JBL’s EON700 series comprises three two‑way cabinets with 10‑, 12‑ or 15‑inch woofers, plus a subwoofer model. The EON710 is the smallest in the range, combining a two‑way, ported active speaker with integrated DSP, and a backlit colour LCD screen that provides access to a three‑channel digital mixer, output EQ, Bluetooth 5.0 audio streaming and Bluetooth remote control using the JBL Pro Connect app (iOS and Android). It also includes processing based on dbx DriveRack technology to provide automatic feedback suppression, ducking, limiting, speaker delay and eight‑band parametric output EQ. Protection limiting is also built in.

The 10‑inch woofer, which has a 2‑inch voice coil, is custom designed for the 700 series and is paired with a 1‑inch neodymium‑powered 2414 compression driver feeding into a waveguide shaped to provide a dispersion of 110 degrees in the horizontal plane and 60 degrees in the vertical....