With their understated, elegant design and affordable price, JBL’s $149 104-BT speakers are well suited to anyone looking for reference monitors at a low cost. A coaxial driver design allows JBL to keep the cabinets smaller than competing two-driver speakers, which makes them ideal for use in a small studio or on your desk. They deliver clean, balanced audio, though they lack true sub-bass and can’t push low frequencies to a subwoofer. We like their versatile wired and wireless connections, their easy usability, and their incredible volume output. Given their excellent performance and price, we prefer the 104-BTs to the otherwise similar Fluance Ai41s ($249), which makes the JBL’s our Editors’ Choice for affordable computer speakers.
Design: A Playful Look and Plenty of Connections
The 104-BT speakers are about the same size (and shape) as the dragon eggs featured in Game of Thrones and come in black or white. They have a rounded design with flattened front and back panels and are perched on a flat rubber bottom. Like an egg, the narrow, round base makes them a little unsteady, so you’ll want to place them somewhere they’re unlikely to get bumped. They’re satisfyingly weighty, but the seam that runs up the plastic casing of each speaker reminds us that they’re affordable and not necessarily for audiophiles.
(Credit: Mark Knapp)
Each speaker measures 9.72 by 6.02 by 4.88 inches (HWD). The primary speaker is powered, while the secondary is passive. This makes the primary speaker slightly heavier at 4.54 pounds, while the secondary is 3.81 pounds. The primary speaker houses all the connection ports and the amplifier. The speakers connect to each other with basic spring clip terminals and standard speaker wire. JBL provides a 6.6-foot wire in the box. For comparison, the Fluance Ai41 speakers measure 10.9 by 6.5 by 7.6 inches and weigh 8.5 pounds (primary) and 7.5 pounds (secondary).
The front of each speaker is fitted with a metal grille that has a fine mesh pattern. It’s flexible but sturdy and should protect the drivers inside from all but the most intense abuse. At a glance, it appears as though each speaker has a single driver, but the coaxial design includes a 4.5-inch woofer and a 0.75-inch tweeter that’s situated at the center of the woofer. The drivers are powered by a class D amplifier pushing out 30 watts per speaker. Reflex ports on the back of each speaker give the bass some room to boom. Although the speakers don’t come with stands to angle the drivers toward your ears, their coaxial design ensures a fairly clear sound, even without optimal positioning.
The primary speaker has inputs for both stereo RCA and quarter-inch balanced inputs. On the front, there’s a 3.5mm aux jack. There’s also a headphone output, which is handy if you want to switch your listening device without rerouting your source. The speakers support Bluetooth 5.0, albeit without any advanced codecs for high-quality audio. Unfortunately, there’s no output for a subwoofer.
(Credit: Mark Knapp)
A volume dial on the front provides quick and easy control over your listening levels, and it’s illuminated to show asleep or awake status. A power button on the rear of the primary speaker allows you to power them down fully. Lastly, an Input Select button on the front of the primary speaker cycles through the various audio sources, using LEDs to indicate which is selected. There’s even an option to play all of the sources at once. This feature lets me run audio from my guitar and an expression pedal into the speaker while it plays music from my computer or phone. And if my racket bothers the neighbors, I can keep jamming by plugging headphones straight into the speaker. Convenient.
The primary speaker serves as the right channel. This doesn’t matter for cabled connections because you can simply swap them around, but it may be an issue for Bluetooth and aux inputs, which don’t have a simple way of reversing channels.
Unusually for wired speakers, the 104-BTs go into sleep mode when they’ve been inactive for 20 minutes. They wake up when they receive a signal, but it can take a few seconds, so your audio may get clipped. This is a common problem with Bluetooth speakers but not wired speakers, so it’s a bit of a nuisance. You can disable this function, but it’s a process. Turn off the primary speaker, mute the volume dial, plug headphones into the headphone jack, then turn the speaker back on and quickly unplug and replug headphones a couple of times in a row. Or you can live with the clipping.
Sound: Full and Clear, If Light on Bass
The JBL 104-BT speakers have a punchy, full sound and can really push out a lot of volume. Dialed to 50%, they strain the limits of comfortable listening and can run substantially louder, easily filling a 200-square-foot room. They do tend to distort some at maximum volume, but not dramatically.
They hit hard in the midrange, and songs like Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty” start strong. The kick drum hit is impactful and the vocals come through loud and clear. The higher end of the treble is somewhat subdued and can get stepped on when the lower frequencies are busy.
(Credit: Mark Knapp)
That said, the speakers lack deep low-end. For example, they can only hit a couple of the notes in the sub-bass line introduced at the 35-second mark of the tune. Some sub-bass notes are virtually inaudible, while others are weak. The few in the speaker’s range seem to leap out of nowhere with too much force. Dialing back some of the low frequencies with an equalizer helps avoid the bursts of sub-bass, though it doesn’t make up for the missing frequencies. A subwoofer would help, but, as noted, there’s no output for one. JBL claims the speakers have a 60Hz to 20kHz response range, though I found they managed well enough down to 55Hz, after which the sound thinned out noticeably.
The speakers play more nicely with The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” where they provide a strong response to the bass triplets and sub-bass quarter notes that serve as a foundation for the track. The synth line comes through bright and clear, and the many little licks and effects that pop up throughout the track sound nice with distinct stereo imaging from the speakers. The vocals are a little bit lost, though. During the verse just before the two-minute mark, when the track is fairly busy, the vocals and higher harmonies are not as pronounced as they should be.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover” fits better with the sonic capabilities of the speakers. Callahan’s vocals shine through with authority, sitting nicely in the phantom center channel. The stereo imaging puts instrumental hits and fills effectively off to either side for a fun and dynamic listening experience. When the song swells at three minutes and 40 seconds, the speakers provide just enough weight for the drums without being unnaturally boosted. All the frequencies sound balanced and none loses any energy during the track.
(Credit: Mark Knapp)
John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary is another good fit fit the audio profile here. The speakers play the orchestral and vocal sounds cleanly. “Lazarus Rises From the Dead” has the whole orchestra build subtly and gradually to a final crescendo, and the speakers balance all the elements well—though, again, they could use a deep bass boost. The subtle stereo effects of the recording are distributed well by the speakers and help add extra dynamism to the music.
Verdict: Good Studio Speakers at an Even Better Price
The JBL 104-BT speakers are impressive, given their compact design and basement-level price. They pump out serious volume levels with a relatively balanced sound. We appreciate how simple they are to set up and use and how flexible the connections are, though we wish they included a subwoofer port. For the price, however, they are nearly unbeatable and earn our Editors’ Choice award for low-cost speakers for your office or studio.
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The Bottom Line
JBL’s 104-BT speakers are a good starting point for your mixing station or computer, offering relatively balanced audio and impressive connectivity at an affordable price.
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About Mark Knapp
Contributing Writer
