JBL EON Hiss and Factory Reset
When the Helix arrived, I borrowed a JBL EON 610 full-range powered speaker to work with, and I really liked the sound I was getting with it.
However, as I started to go through the many hours of work preparing presets for the Drop Daddies’ setlist, I found that the continuous hiss coming from the EON’s tweeter was causing significant ear fatigue.
The hiss is omnipresent- regardless of EQ selection, line/mic button, and channel/master volume position. I connected to the speaker using the EON Connect app on my iPhone and confirmed that the firmware was up to date, and everything was set to defaults.
At rehearsal and on stage, this hiss is unnoticeable – not a problem. But in a quiet room, with the speaker angled towards my ears, the hiss becomes pretty obnoxious. Here’s a recording:
I then borrowed an EON 612 to see if it was any different. To my dismay, the 612 just sounded terrible- fizzy and easily distorted. And even when dimed, it just wasn’t very loud – no where near the sound quality and volume of the EON 610. The EON Connect app could see the 612, but refused to connect to it. WTF? After a lot of head scratching and googling, I found the instructions to do a factory reset buried in the back of the EON Connect (Beta) User Guide:
While powering up the speaker, holding EQ+ and Boot buttons will return the speaker to factory default settings. When the reset begins all LEDs will blink on the speaker control panel. This procedure can be utilized as a backdoor to restoring reliable behavior.
The factory reset did indeed get the 612 working properly, and then it sounded great and loud as hell- so I guess its brains were just scrambled. But having to reboot my speaker doesn’t give me a great sense of confidence.
And after all that, the hiss was even louder than the 610.
So I guess the JBL EON series just isn’t for me. I’ll be on the hunt for something better.
Meanwhile, I’m using an old 12” powered 2-way Kustom monitor which is anything but flat (way too bright), but it’ll do until I find something better. Bonus- it has hardly any hiss.
August 22, 2017 @ 1:45 pm
indeed get the 612 working properly, and then it sounded great and loud as hell
And after all that, the hiss was even louder than the 610.
which one is it? Sounded great or the hiss was even louder? ?????
August 22, 2017 @ 1:49 pm
Haha! Aside from the hiss, it sounded great relative to the “terrible fizzy and easily distorted” sound I was getting prior to the reset.
-John
August 22, 2017 @ 2:25 pm
So it was an improvement?
I use the entire EON series…. for live work they’re good. I wouldn’t use for a studio setup though. Presonus has some affordable monitors.
August 22, 2017 @ 2:31 pm
Yes, it was clear that the 612 I had received was just in a wonky state. The factory reset restored it to how it was intended to sound- which was great, and definitely appropriate for rehearsal/stage use. But the hiss was comparable to (or worse than) the 610. Not so good for quiet-room/studio use.
I’m currently using an old Event 20/20bas or headphones for monitoring the Helix in the studio. And live, I’m running the Helix direct into the PA, and monitoring in my in-ears.
February 18, 2018 @ 3:42 pm
The JBL 6000 series bluetooth EQ control is one of the worst bluetooth implementations I have ever seen. It is buggy, does not always connect, and can leave the speaker in weird states with corrupted EQ (Buzz, HIss, you name it), requiring a hard reset.
Without the bluetooth, a great speaker. Just never enable the bluetooth control.
February 18, 2018 @ 8:03 pm
While it’s nice to know I’m not alone in my experience, it certainly doesn’t reflect well on the product line! Hope JBL can improve this in future products. -John
February 21, 2020 @ 6:17 am
Hi
We are having our own troubles with the 15″s
The cones,drivers,voicoils are terrible. I would not depend on these for live show, but small parties get togethers, just entertaining but these are not pro speakers.
THE BLUETOOTH ANTANNA IS INSIDE THE SPEAKER@!#%=%. and was loose. Had to screw it in. the app and speaker hate each other.
February 21, 2020 @ 7:40 am
Frustrating indeed! Thanks for the report of the loose antenna. That might be helpful for someone who finds this page looking for troubleshooting ideas.
May 3, 2020 @ 3:31 pm
Hi, did you have a hissing Static sound also ? And by fixing the antenna , did that fix the problem ? Where’s the antenna located ? Like John said, the hissing sound is very irritating , I’ve reset it numerous times but still can’t get rid of the hiss static noise. Seem to have gotten louder
August 25, 2020 @ 10:51 am
Can somebody help me with problem, I have JBL EON 615.
My problem is: after I do the factory reset, the led lamp (Bluetooth) stays on blink and the EQ preset do not workt anymore> I can not change to MAIN Or SUB …. mode.
Please help.
August 25, 2020 @ 10:58 am
Frustrating! I guess your best bet will be to contact JBL customer support.
August 25, 2020 @ 11:47 am
Ok thank, i wil do that.
September 6, 2020 @ 6:10 pm
Same problem encountered as stated by Mr. Khoun. Can somebody help us to fix this problem?