JBL MS-8

[mrbojang 8]

So I've been doing some googling on the ms-8 and it looks pretty cool. Have any of you heard it in action before? Worth the $800? Thoughts?

[Impious 1,476]

It's been out all of a few weeks, there aren't a whole lot of of people who've heard them.

From the reviews I've read, it performs as advertised when the proper methods are used when taking the auto-measurements. By all appearances, it seems to be more advanced than the Imprint system Alpine uses, it has 8-channels of routable outputs compared to Imprint's 6 channels, and to my understanding it's user adjustable after the auto-measurements are taken which Imprint isn't. All-in-all, it seems to be the best auto-tune system on the market and given it's advanced algorithms and internal tuning capabilities, it should be capable of achieving better performance with a couple minutes of measurements than an individual could get themselves given several days or weeks (or months) of tuning time with standard measurement equipment. It simply has more access to more features with the auto-tuning than most processors allow a user to adjust.

From what I've heard, it can be finicky if the proper steps aren't taken prior to taking the measurements. For example, the speakers need to be relatively level-matched and the system can not be too loud or it'll throw off the measurements, turning your head too far or not far enough will throw off the measurements. So it's not completely idiot-proof.

I've been debating whether or not I want to ditch my H701 in favor of the MS-8. From the initial reports, the tuning is very good and it's incredibly quick and easy. To me, the time savings and end results may be worth the premium. To others, it may not be. Or someone may be happy enough with their current system that the added cost isn't worth it. However, to get comparable results for less money expect to at minimum need a decent audio processor (H701, Audison Bit1, etc), access to measurement equipment and a whole lot of time.....it's not something you will accomplish on your own in a weekend tuning the system yourself. But usually, there are minor bugs that get worked out or minor improvements made after the initial release; so I may wait a year, let the street price come down some (or find a used one) and see if any changes get made before I spring for one.

There are several hundred pages of info on DIYMA as well as several reviews.