Clean, Crisp, Loud and Rude

are you kidding

Have used JBL for 20 years. These speakers are so worth the money and more. Clean, clear, great highs, mids and lows. Buy these speakers.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Cerwin Vega, Klipsh, Polk

--Excellent bass
--Smooth response
--Natural sound, not fatiguing
--Great on ALL kinds of music and sound sources (i.e. CDs, TV, DVD, FM etc.)

None

A remarkably well balanced tonal package from a speaker this size. Rivals much larger tower speakers in terms of deep bass, accuracy of sound reproduction, smoothness of response and overall naturalness. I had used the Bose Acoustimass 7 Speakers (or should I say they "used me") for 4 years. After recently purchasing a new Onkyo 575x digital receiver I noticed that my Bose System simply could not keep up with the accuracy and precision required by the digital receiver. They sounded weak, lacked quality bass response and the bass module was just simply overworked trying to provide bass/midrange to 5 discrete channels. They sounded just woeful on TV sound, slightly better on VHS tapes and perhaps best on CDs. I would strongly urge anyone interested in Bose products to first consider the JBL S38 & matching S-Center channel speakers. Price is the roughly same and its like comparing a Lexus to a Chevy product.

Similar Products Used:

Bose Acoustimass 7 speakers

Best bookshelf speakers

A bit on the large side

If you read the Stereophile Guide to Home Theater, February 2001 issue you will see a full review of the JBL S412p, S-Center and S38 speakers.

The author is using the words 'astonishing sound', 'incredible value' and others words to describe how accurate the speakers are and how well they blend with each other and how well they are suited for stereo and for home theater applications. He also stated that this combination actually sounded better than a subwoofer / satellite combination.

He compared the ATC ($93,000) speaker system to the JBL and said that the JBL came close and indeed JBL did a magnificent job with those speakers….

My full review was posted here some time ago, check it out.

These speakers are incredible. And certainly are the best value for money on the market (at least compared to many other speakers I heard).

I love them (and I do not work for or related to JBL in any way).

good highs and bass, better than most speakers that cost over $2000

NONE

these speakers are sweet!!! they even have mirror image design! this allows it to have a wider range sound field when the tweeters are pointing outward or a tighter sound with the tweeters pointing inward. this is rarely used in home speakers and they just sound really sweet! they sound even better when used with other JBL Studio Series models. right now i use the S-Center with them and i'm going to get the S310s or S312s sometime later for my mains, and replace my Sony's with these S38s as the surrounds. the only weakness i noticed was that they don't sound as good with rap music when not using a sub-woofer. if you've got a sub then that shouldn't be a problem. other than that these are probably the best speakers i've ever heard when watching DVDs.

Similar Products Used:

JBL N38, JBL S26, S310

I get alot of email about where I purchased my backets for these speakers that I listed in my review somewhere below. I got the Vogels from www.electroshops.com. Call them cause the site does not list them. Hope this helps.

clarity, imaging, accurate base

awkward size and weight

Well, I can't believe I'm actually doing a review for a JBL speaker, but here I am. I have always considered JBL to be a "has been" brand of the audio world and not in the same class as the brands listed above. I was looking for some speakers for my business and the salesman at ayselectronics.com had recommended them. So, I read some reviews here and decided to give them a listen. I was totally surprised at the quality of the sound. They sound very rich and easy on the ear. The coloration is minimal in all of the varied types of music I have sampled on them, from Mirwai to Pink Floyd to Happy Rhodes (Her CD "The Keep" sounds fantastic!). I am totally satisfied with my purchase, which is rarely the case for me. I couldn't expect much more for the very reasonable price. Also, I have to put a plug in for the guys at ayselectronics.com they worked with me on the price, carry lots of great brands and endured my 25 minute phone call with much grace.

Similar Products Used:

klipsch, Polk, Paradigm, B&W

Very clear reproduction of highs and low ranges. Vocals are crisp. BASS and TREBLE are well blended.

A little awkward to place (horizontal placement makes it hard to place), but sounds great!!

Great product!

These are my first JBL loudspeakers (next to my JBL 12" Sub): However I am completely satisfied with these babies.

I currently have them hooked up to an AIWA mini system (NSX-MT90, supposid power rating 330WATTS), and they sound absolutly amazing! I can't believe how it made my mini-system sound.

I can assure anyone who purchases these will be happy. If they sound good on my mini-system, I can't imagine how good they would sound on a component system.

If there are people out there who just want better sound and have a mini-system already, I strongly suggest buying these and see how they make your mini-system sound before spending the extra cash on a component system (thats all if you don't have enough money to buy the component system).

GREAT SPEAKERS!!!!!!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Diffinitive Technology, ADVENT, BOSE, AIWA (not even close in quality)

BIG BASS,vocal highs,value

ugly as hell

I never remember JBLs sounding this good.I went to Best Buy to buy a cd and wandered over to the listening room and these were already playing.Wow,what bass what vocals.I think the sampler was playing Carmen Mcrae's Punch drunk,it sounded awesome.I did'nt like Best Buy's price so I found them at Consumer Direct for $120.00 cheaper and said what the heck,if I don't like them I can always sell or trade them for something else.I still have them and they sounded great from day one,no break-in needed.They are very ugly and don't really blend with any decor(honest, I have never used that word before)and no stand looks right supporting them.Everyone that sees them asks why I mounted them side ways.Looks aside,these are nice speakers and do not seem to be challenged by any type of music or any source,analog or digital.They rock hard and soothe right.Money well spent.

Similar Products Used:

PSB 7pt.Paradigm monitor 9,polk rt25i

Huge, rich soundfield - bass in the league of floor standing speakers. Goes very loud without losing composure.

With music, best imaging confined to sweet spot. Once you hear the quality of sound in the sweet spot, you dont want to be in the side seats.

Very good speakers, but what do you expect from the richest audio company in the world (Harmon K.), who have the most sophisticated testing facilities, hundreds of millions of dollars in R&D, and speaker designers, scientists, and acoustics engineers with PHDs (Dr. Floyd Toole). Well recorded CDs sound superb. These speakers even breathed new life into my Lp collection, which I had just about written off. The warmish analogue LP sound complements the detail and transparency of the speakers quite well. They seem to have extracted another layer of sound I never noticed, even on some albums/CDs I've been familiar with for years. Reach very loud levels without strain, but on low frequencies when loud, I can feel vibrations through the couch which can be distracting. I dont have a sub and dont think I need one since my listening is primarily music. For stands, I'm using 28" high equipment racks. The width of the speakers, 17.5", is the standard size of components, so they give a coordinated look on the equip. racks.

Similar Products Used:

AR, Polk, Paradigm

BOTH AWESOME SPEAKERS- This is comparison of POLK vs. JBL

Power wanted by polks as well as price.

Well... we went speaker shopping, yep we sure did. Got it down to TWO speakers (I'd say). I am for the JBL's that sounded awesome (http://www.jbl.com/homeaudio/products/category/product.asp?product_id=549&cat=HomeCinemaMusic&ser=Studio) They were much cleaner than there 2 way brothers of the northridge series. Nice hit and clean highs (thanks to that 4" woofer and separate tweeter) The Polk's sound nearly as good, with less bass and a little stronger mid. It was a tough call between the two. Yet the polks want 200 watts, the jbl's could live with 175. that's the problem... power. We listened to the polk's on an HK unit that cost around 1400 or so w/ 100 per channel stereo RMS power. The polks sounded great, awesome bass... clean sound. Then we listened with a HK 60 watt per channel stereo RMS receiver... the bass dropped a lot and the mids got mushy, something to consider. They sounded alright, but not as nice as the JBL's did w/ a lower RMS running on a YAMAHA amp. You can see the polks here http://www.polkaudio.com/publish/RT55i-specs.htm They have two drivers and a tweeter. The JBL's are a tad cheaper coming in at 500/pair rather than 570-600. I am sure you could find cheaper online (SCOTT I have plenty of sites if you don't for speaker buy'n). The receiver/amp is another story. Yamaha looks like the top contender right now w/ the widest variety of watts vs. cost/options selection. As for cabling and future upgrades... the Yamaha allows for a PREAMP of any kind w/ RCA's... so that is a nice option. Yamaha also has a very nice THD rating, opposed to other brands such as PIONEER or even kenwood. The yamaha has about .04% THD @ 75 watts RMS, a nice thing to know. Mine is about .03% @ 85 watts here at home... a nice feature. Much lower than Pioneer's (even high end stuff) that comes in w/ a nearly .1% or higher THD (noticeable, I had one of their amps for a while). Awai is worse with over .1%, but never listed. Cerwin vega's FULL range series is quite nice too at only 150 a piece and very low power consumption . . . but scott I believe is going to get a SUB later (another QUEST).

AS FOR LOUIS' stereo... KS recommended line filters (Which we kidna knew about). I've called places, done more research, talked on the net and snooped under some peoples hoods (and seats) at amps. We are doing everything the right way. The other problem could be the wiring or the SPARK plugs, etc in the engine itself. There are many possibilities LOU LOU. Whatever it may be... its gunna be tough to diagnose ourselves... and you may just need a new head unit if all that doesn't work... so... in all... we're in trouble... I guess. Get out the $$ for a pro installation ... sorry.

Alright... for now... I am out... if you hear of any other speaker/audio info I'd care about... lemme know

hope i didn't bore you all too much!

Similar Products Used:

HLS810, HLS610, HLS410, HLS Center, JBL Arc Series, JBL Decade, EV Systems, Cerwin Vega, Bose and Cambridge Soundworks.