SOUND REPRODUCTION, DYNAMIC RANGE, LOUDNESS CAPBILITES ONLY TO BE HAD ON MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE LOUDSPEAKERS.

NONE FOR THE MONEY!

FIRST LET ME SAY THAT I AM NOT ANY KIND OF EXPERT ON AUDIO EQUIPMENT. I DO HOWEVER RESEARCH ALL POSSIBLE AREAS FOR THE BEST VALUE FOR THE MONEY. MAGAZINES (STEROPHILE, SOUND AND VISION, ETC. INTERNET SITES (ANYTHING I CAN FIND ON A SEARCH TO DO WITH THE SUBJECT.) ANY SITES LIKE THIS ONE TO SEE WHAT PEOPLE THAT HAVE PURCHASED THE ITEM THINK. FINALLY WHEN I HAVE SOMEWHAT NARROWED DOWN THE POSSBILITIES I GO TO THE LOCAL STORES TO ACTUALLY LISTEN TO THE DIFFERENT ITEMS. SO BY THE TIME I ACTUALLY BUY THE ITEM I USALLY FEEL CONFIDENT THAT IT WAS A GOOD CHOICE. ABOUT BUYING, I LIVE IN PHOENIX, AZ AND ALMOST 90% OF THE TIME CAN FIND A MUCH BETTER PRICE INCLUDING SHIPPING ON THE INTERNET. I USE SITES LIKE MYSIMON.COM, ROBOSHOPPER.COM, DEALTIME.COM, ETC.

MY SYSTEM:
TV: MITSUBISHI WS-65857
RECEIVER: SONY STR-845
DVD: TOSHIBA SD-2150
FRONT SPEAKER: JBL S-38
CENTER SPEAKER: JBL S-CENTER
SUBWOOFER: JBL PB12
REAR SPEAKERS: JBL S-36
I ALSO HAVE THE SATELLITE, VCR, ETC. HOOKED UP TO ROUND OUT SYSTEM.
FOR THE S-36 I USED OMNIMOUNT'S 53 RWX UMK UNIVERSAL MOUNTS.
FOR THE S-38 I PURCHASED STUDIOTECH'S ST-24 SPEAKER STANDS.

REVIEW: THERE ISN'T MUCH MORE I CAN SAY THAT ALL THESE OTHER FOLKS HAVEN'T. ALL SPEAKER WHERE PERFECT IN THE BOX NO TROUBLES AT ALL (A GOOD START). THE S-38 ARE BIGGER THAN YOU WOULD THINK FOR "BOOKSHELF" SPEAKERS. THE SOUND IS GREAT AT LOW OR HIGH VOLUME. THEY ARE CLEAR, CRISP, AND RIGHT ON THE MONEY WITH SOUND REPRODUCTION. I HAVE HAD PHASETECH, ADVENT, CERWIN-VEGA WHICH ALL WENT WITH MY EX-WIFE. LASTLY THE BOSE SYSTEM SPEAKER. NONE HAVE COMPARED WITHE THE JBL'S. THE JBL'S I MY OPINION ARE THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK OUT THERE. GOOD REVIEWS ABOUT THE S-38 SPEAKERS ARE IN "STEROPHILE" JUNE 2001 AND FEB 2001. DO YOUR RESEARCH AND FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF I THINK THEY'RE WINNERS.

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JUST RETIRED BOSE CUBE SYSTEM (THEY ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE)

Bright highs, full-bodied mid-range, and a bottom end that punches hard without sounding sub-woofed......

Not a one.......

The cleanest, most full bodied sound I've heard from any speakers under one thousand dollars a pair. I've currently got them in a large family room(20x30), and they absolutely fill up the room...Even perched on top of our enter-
tainment center there's enough bass to make the floor shake....AWESOME!!!!!!!!

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There's nothing on the market like these jbl's.........period.

Bass is strong and natural

HUH!

WOW I just hooked up a pair of S38s to my Yamaha 595a receiver and my first thought was where is the drum set? I could almost see the drums the sound is that lifelike the treble and bass seem very smooth to me which I like, the vocals seem so real that my eyes keep searching for the singer. love these speakers can't believe I am going to give them to my brother for a bithday present when he hears them he will think I spent at least a thousand bucks on him.

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Bose Energy Klipsch Paradigm

sound. good looking

a little big for bookshelf speakers but thats OK my speakers are on stands where they should be

I only use these speakers for movies and for my rears i have the S312 for my fronts WOW!!! but thats another story the S38 is a very good rear speaker it handles bass and it's very detailed i kmow im getting the fullest sounds my reciever is sending to it. well to make things short the S38 is awesome i like these alot. well good luck with yours

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none i knew the S38 was the right one i did my homework

sound, clarity, sound, bang for the buck (did I mention sound)

none

Simply put, these speakers are awesome. I'd recommend them to anyone. For those of you who mention bass (or the lack of) as a weakness...come to my house and you'll get all the bass you could want (without a sub-woofer). If you can't get enough bass, chunk the piece of garbage reciever you are using. I'm running a Yamaha RX-V800 with S38's as the mains, S-Center, N24's as surrounds. What a combination this is. All you could ask for and then more (without using the bass boost).

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polk, sony, kliscph

Highs, Mids, Bass are clear, definitive, seperated...everything about them are strengths.

None, well maybe they are big for bookshelfs, but they fit in my entertainment center perfectly.

These are some seriously BADASS speakers. I spent a good month listening to and reviewing various speakers from various manufacturers. I listened to High end, middle of the road, and low end speakers trying to find the best overall sounding speakers and the best price I could find. My budget was limited to $1200 - $1500 for the pair. I started out listening to Polk Audio (range $300 - $700, I forget the models). They sounded very good, but I wasn't ready to spend the money. I then listened to some Definitive speakers (at Home Theater Store), various models. I was really set to purchase a Bi-Polar model priced about $1000 for the pair...But I still had a doubt. I decided to read some reviews and found these JBL's carried at Best Buy, so I went and listened to them...And I am glad I did. They are priced at about $450 pr there, but I found them for $320 (pr + shipping) at www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com and couldn't pass that up. These are amazing speakers, they sound just as good as its big brothers the S312 and S412 (the S412 carries a lot more bass). I bought these over all the towers I auditioned and I am quite happy with my decision...You can't go wrong!!!

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Polk, Definitive, Infinity, Bose, Yamaha...

phenomenal highs, midrange, and lows

LARGE bookshelf speakers

Having owned Cerwin Vega and Infinity Sterling series speakers, these "bookshelfs" are phenomenal...they can be purchased from a reliable internet vendor for $320 with tax and shipping included...there must be a catch, right? I haven't found one...the ONLY drawback is the size...to place these vertically or horizontally (which they are designed for), substantial speaker stands are required...otherwise the speakers and price are near perfect...congrats to JBL for an excellent product...

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Cerwin Vega, Infinity,Bose

Can look very attractive placed horizontally....

.... provided you can figure out how to do it!

This is my second review and I do not mean to stuff the ballot box on these speakers --- but designating ratings are required to post a review (although I suppose it really is a moot point at this stage)--- and I forgot to mention in my first response the other area where I may be of help to someone purchasing these speakers.

In response to the question of speaker stands and JBL's suggestion to place the speakers horizontally:

As so many have mentioned these are LARGE bookshelf speakers with good weight leaving one more than just a little nervous about what kind of stands to use that won't leave them vulnerable to tipping over and crashing to the floor (although I am well convinced that with their quality build they could probably take the fall and brush it off without much trouble at all--- but I'll let someone ELSE test this theory with THEIR pair!) If you have the room (preferably a dedicated two-channel stereo listening room) and don't mind the "museum look" you could do what I ended up doing.

[I do not remember seeing this mentioned before on this page by someone else, but it is possible.]

I went to a "concrete place" (I'm not sure of the professional term) that makes ornaments and artifacts for landscaping and gardens and found two solid concrete pedestals that stand a little over 2 1/2 feet tall (perfect for seated listeners once the speakers are placed on top) and have a 9" square base and platform. These things are rock (concrete) solid which is good but require either two people to carry them or one especially strong person willing to risk a back injury. The good news is that I can now place my speakers out away from the (shared with neighbors) wall and not even worry about regular size kids or dogs running into them since the kids and dogs (unless they're just really extra big for their age) would probably have more "give" than the stands meaning that.... the SPEAKERS ARE SAFE!

And, best of all, the pedestals only cost $19.00 each. Definitely a solid and sturdy solution to the problem-- if not the most understated. But for a TOTAL outlay of only $38.00 for the pair it works for me.

Good luck!!

This is an update to an earlier review. After breaking in my S38's, I am even happier with them. I find myself searching for more CD's in order to bring out their amazing sound. I sat down an listened to the first CD of the Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds Live album and was astounded. I had never heard all of the detail of the expert guitar of Tim Reynolds before, simply incredible. Even my girlfriend, who sounded less than excited when I informed her of my purschase, was highly impressed. My advice to anyone who just purchased these speakers, find your favorite CD's and listen to them all again--you will hear sounds you never knew existed. Also, a great way to place these speakers sideways and and in the correct location is to use small shelves. They will safely hold the speaker and add a little bit of storage space--great for CD's, DVDs, remotes, etc. You can pick whatever you like or even build your own.

Hate to pad the ratings, but I have to give a review...

Everything

NONE

Let me start off by saying that I am NOT an AUDIOPHILE, BUT I do know what I like....and these speakers are truly one of the best. Like most of you, I've spent several months auditioning all sorts of speakers trying to get "the best for my buck". I've listened to B&W, Paradigm, PSB, Polk,Yamaha,Sony, and others, and sure the higher end B&W, Paradigm, and PSB sounded "better" BUT these speakers also cost THOUSANDS of dollars more than MY JBLs.

I went to Best Buy after reading all of your reviews (thanks)and listened to my JBLs (about the only place you can go to listen to these) and I was not very impressed. Fortunately, I found a HiFi place locally that carried MY JBLs and was VERY impressed.....so why the big difference??? My guess is that the Best Buy speaker room isn't an "acoustically sound" room where as the HiFi place built a room so that the customer can truly experience the speakers.

I bought them online and was still a bit skeptical about the speakers because of the Best Buy experience and you know what they say "you get what you pay for". I also bought the S-Center because of the reviews here for that center speaker and how it was a perfect match for the S-38s. I let the speakers break in for a few days and during the break in period, I was a little nervous because they sounded more like the Best Buy speakers rather than the HiFi speakers....BUT after the first couple days, I began hearing improvements and as time passed (passes) by, they are sounding more and more like the HiFi speakers and I AM TRULY IMPRESSED! Like all of you, I'm hearing things on my CDs that I never realized were there and let me tell you...DVDs with DTS are AWESOME!!!!! For the money, there is nothing that comes close to MY JBLs!!!

WHAT?!!??! Are you still here?!???!?!?! Go and get these speakers!!!!! NOW!!!!!

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Sony, Aiwa