This product has been discontinued. However, used examples may be available at Reverb.com
When deciding what type of speaker you want for your home or DJing/music business, the first thing you want to be on the lookout for is the price of a speaker and whether that price and its value can be justified.
Here, we are taking a look at the 10-inch speaker, the JBL EON 610.
This speaker purports itself, as a member of the great JBL family, as able to give tremendous value while at an affordable, reasonable price.
Let’s take a look at it and see if it can deliver on that promise.
Is the JBL EON 610a Good Speaker?
Yes. It is designed to deliver high-quality audio. The 10″ JBL EON610 is a highly flexible, user-friendly, portable, 1000W powered PA speaker for modern-day DJs, music producers, musicians, artists, and mobile DJs.
JBL EON610 Speaker Specs
- Pros & Cons
- First Impressions – They Physical Build
- The Specs
- Spec Breakdown
- The Design
- Taking A Deeper Look – Features & Sound Quality
- Sound Quality
- What It Does Right
- What It Doesn’t
- Features Offered
- Connection Options
- Tuning Options
- Final Thoughts – Is It Worth Your Time?
- What Others Have Said
- Conclusion
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Super Durable Design
- Has Great Sound Quality
- Uses JBL’s Waveguide Technology
- Has Some Useful Tuning Options Available
Cons
- Bluetooth Can Be Spotty
- Volume Can Be Too Low In Open Settings
First Impressions – The Physical Build
Coming fresh out of the box, the first thing I notice is the design. Not good.
Well, it’s more accurate to say that the design is boring. You’re not getting anything new or special with this bland, standardized speaker setup other than a bit more sleekness on the sides.
Its actual build, on the other hand, is much more solid and impressive. You can tell that the JBL engineers didn’t skimp on the materials here, as it physically feels quite capable to play without having an issue.
And, despite just using a higher quality plastic material, the reason the EON 610 feels so tough is due to their customized injection molding techniques along with the enclosure cabinet and body.
The Specs
The JBL EON 610 is a fairly impressive two-way speaker with a Class D amp. It has around 1000 watts to play with, 700w of which go to the low frequencies while the other 300w is set for the mid and high frequencies. While it can push up to 1000 at its peak, to prevent burnout, you’ll want to safely play these at a continuous 500 watts.
Internally, the 610 has a 10-inch woofer as well as a 1-inch neodymium compression tweeter driver. This allows it to hit between 52Hz and up to 20kHz, offering great coverage all the way around while also shooting sound out at a 110-degree angle based on its grille design.
At its max SPL, the JBL EON 610 can go up to 124 dB, giving it plenty of volume range to cover a small or medium-sized space.
However, this is at the higher volume levels. Played in its more natural settings, the sound can be a bit quieter than you’d like. In that case, either go down on the venue size or consider adding in some subwoofers.
In terms of its size, the EON 610 sits at around 26 lbs. This may seem like a fair amount of weight, but in reality, for a 10-inch speaker setup, you’re getting away with a lot.
Most other speakers in this KG range can weigh considerably more, this feels like a feather in comparison!
In this case, instead of its weight being due to shoddy materials and a lot of hollow places, the EON 610 is instead just properly and intelligently structured.
That means, not only is it lighter than it should be, but it also keeps its impressive durability and longevity.
Spec Breakdown
- Length: 21.9 inches (558mm)
- Width: 12.6 inches (322mm)
- Depth: 11.6 inches (295mm)
- Weight: 26 lbs. (11.7kg)
- Woofer Size: 10 inches
- Tweeter Size: 1 inch
- Power Wattage: 1000 Watts
- Max SPL: 124 dB
- Frequency Range: 52Hz – 20kHz
The Design
I’m personally always paying attention to a speaker’s design and overall appearance, as this is what you’ll be looking at whenever you’re playing your music. As such, I think having something that looks unique and interesting always trumps standard, bland, or stale.
Though there are a lot of great things about these speakers, the JBL EON 610 just doesn’t cut it from a visual perspective. Now, don’t get me wrong, its clean and professional design certainly does earn it some points.
However, outside of that, it’s literally just any old speaker with handles on the side. It doesn’t have anything that makes it stand out from the crowd or seem particularly innovative.
I recognize that this can be subjective, and there are probably people that love it for its simplicity and the fact that it holds itself very professionally and without a lot of extra frills.
For me, that’s just not enough to give it an aesthetic recommendation. If they had some other colors or wraps you could put on it, that would be one thing. As it stands, from a visual perspective, it’s pretty par for the course of bland speaker designs.
This product has been discontinued. However, used examples may be available at Reverb.com
Taking A Deeper Look – Features & Sound Quality
Since we’ve had a chance to look at the EON 610’s physical build and how it’s designed, let’s take a deeper look at what these speakers have to offer and whether they can give you a good enough value despite their impressive affordability.
Sound Quality
JBL speakers have always been pretty impressive, and the EON 610 is no different. Leveraging its 10-inch speakers, the 610 has some great sound quality all the way around, whether you’re looking at their highs, mids, or lows.
What It Does Right
The good news is that it pretty much does everything right while getting next to nothing wrong. As mentioned earlier, all three aspects of the sound quality are very good with virtually no imperfections.
The 610’s high-end frequencies are both crisp and clear without any additional harshness grating against the speakers or causing listening fatigue.
The mids are equally well-done, with the frequency sounds coming across as full-bodied. What’s more, they manage to perfectly blend in with the highs, so the transition is incredibly smooth and without any jarring jumps.
The 610’s lows are probably the weakest of the three (no surprise there), but even here the quality is still top-notch.
The low-end packs a respectable wallop, especially when the bass drops, giving you a respectable gut punch for a 10-inch speaker.
The 610 also offers several EQ presets
to cycle through based on what you’re looking for. Whereas some speaker presets can be a little bit of a headscratcher, here they make sense and are usable, which is something I don’t normally say.
The biggest area where the EON 610 does right is by how it leverages JBL’s waveguide technology. Here, the sound coverage can move through a full 110-degree range without any dips or drops in the sound frequency.
As a result, you can expect a much more comfortable and even sound display when listening to virtually any track.
What It Doesn’t
I said it earlier, and it’s more true now after listening to everything it does right. The JBL EON 610 doesn’t have any blind spots or weaknesses.
The one area I can say it should do better on is its low-end frequencies. While those are “pretty much” perfect, as is often the case, they are the weakest of the three.
This is because most speakers have to decide whether to balance the excellent sound quality out or put specific attention to the low-end bass.
This is especially true for more affordable speakers, as their price can oftentimes be well below the cost of ensuring all are at their best.
Still, the EON 610 gets close enough on its own and only needs a subwoofer if you want to rock the house. This is also true for its overall volume. In personalized settings, the volume should be fine.
However, if you want to have this in a larger-sized room or an open space, you’ll want to consider investing in a good pair of subs to supplement the bass and master volume.
Features Offered
Connection Options
The JBL EON 610 has two connection ports to work with. These channel ports are a combo jack, thus working universally with either XLR or TRS cables.
They can also be set to take in Line or Mic cables while also offering a specifically dedicated gain knob. There is also an additional TRS connection that you can use to tie the 610 to other speakers for a stereo sound experience.
One thing to keep in mind is that most beginner DJ controllers will only have an RCA cable available. As such, if you want to connect it to your speakers or portable system you’ll need to use an adaptor.
Tuning Options
When going over the JBL EON 610, one thing I was on the lookout for was any tuning or EQ calibration options. A speaker that has tuning options can much more effectively be heard without having to put the speakers right in front of a wall.
Generally, while most speakers at this price range will have “some” tuning options, they’re quite small and don’t have any preselect options to play with.
Thankfully, the 610 does come with some good options to play with, even if they are a bit sparse for my liking. The speaker comes with two ranges of tuning options. The first is available only to the speaker itself.
There, you’re able to transition between four different EQ presets, Main, Monitor, Speech, and Sub.
The “Main” preset is used to help build up the speaker itself while the stage “Monitor” preset is great for when you plan to use the speaker as a stage monitor as opposed to the main focus of sound. The “Speech” preset is used in relation to spoken performance or when the speakers should cater to a vocalist over music.
Finally, the “Sub” preset is set up for when you plan to install an exterior subwoofer to the speaker.
In addition, there is also the option of using the JBL app and a Bluetooth connection. The ios and Android apps are available in both app stores and, when installed, let you go further in-depth with altering the EQ settings.
You can manipulate the master volume as well as several of other settings like the gain or the center frequency.
You can save whatever settings you’ve created and have it logged into your speakers as a preset later on through the “EQ+” button. This is found on the 610 itself so you never have to worry about not having access if something happens to your phone.
Again, neither of these options is particularly perfect and both have their shortcomings.
The speaker preset method is great for quick, popular choices but does not work with customization. On the other hand, the Bluetooth function option does grant a deeper level of customization, but, because the connection can be faulty, establishing and maintaining a connection can be difficult.
Final Thoughts – Is it Worth Your Time?
JBL has a reputation for making some homerun speakers with excellent clarity and a strong design. Here, the JBL EON 610 is right at home. It misses slightly in terms of the sound volume, but makes up for it in spades with the sound’s quality and build, all comfortably couched in a surprisingly affordable price range.
So, to answer the question, “Is the JBL EON 610 worth your time?” I would have to say that it is.
Absolutely and without hesitation, the JBL EON 610 does so much right and comes at such a crazy low price, you feel almost obligated to get at least one set for your home.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you’re a working professional or someone only just now getting started in the music listening world, the JBL EON 610 is, at least, a great starting speaker set, if not one to hold onto just in case your main set has an issue.
JBL EON 610: The Verdict
The JBL EON 610, simply put, is just a good, user-friendly, sound, and quality speaker set that manages to perfectly thread the needle between a fair price and incredible quality.
Between its impressively build quality construction, its lightweight body, the variety of presets offered, and its Bluetooth connectivity, the JBL EON 610 offers perks that are generally only on sound system solutions that are considerably more expensive.
Even ignoring all of those things, the EON 610 excels in the most important area, and that is the sound quality.
As a result, no matter what type of situation you’re dealing with, whether you’re just starting or you simply want a good set of backup speakers, the JBL EON 610 does what it needs to while at a bargain.
This product has been discontinued. However, used examples may be available at Reverb.com
