Clear smooth sound, almost like a regular speaker. I compared it with a Wharfedale Pacific series with the kevlar drivers and the rotating tweeter and it was close if not better.

other than the tweeter modification and the finish, can't think of anything.

I agree, with the 90 degree rotation of the tweeter, since I have small room, and had to sit in front of it at about 7 feet, and before I had to sit right in front of it to hear the action, and now when I sit 3 feet away from the center I hear everything very clear. This makes it a 5 for value and overall rating.

Similar Products Used:

Wharfedale Pacific, Modus Music.

Great price; matches great with my HLS 620's up front, and HLS610's in the rear. Crisp, clear and strong voice.

Similar to others, I too, have noticed the narrow dispersion
horizontally.

Let me make this clear first- the only reason I call myself an audiophile, is simply because I am a musician with over 25 years of experience, and I know what instruments should sound like when they are reproduced. I do not eat, breathe, and sleep A/V gear- but really dig quality stuff. I just know what I like to hear, and know what SHOULD be heard. Now, having used JBL's of various applications for a long, long time, yeah, bias may be a bit of an issue here, but still, there are other brands I like and respect very much. Polk and Infinity immediately come to mind. Not to mention the "boutique" Rolls Royce level gear. McIntosh is still one of my faves-especially the old tube stuff.
That said, I really like my HLS series speakers. The only gripe I have, is that they could be just a tad more "airy" on the top end; and I can also vouch for the narrow "sweet spot" with the center. What were they thinking? Yeah, I set mine on end too, just to see if it was BS, or my imagination, and got a great side to side sweep of center channel. Somebody screwed up, that's for sure. But I am gonna take mine apart, and see if I can rotate the horn 90 degrees. I don't care if the JBL logo shows or not.
A bit of warning to all who may be a bit harsh on the HLS line, or any other, for that matter; my question to those so inclined would be " what kind of reciever did you run them through?" I had initially picked up a Pioneer 508A/V receiver, with my JBL speakers. Not an elcheapo-but certainly not anywhere near top of the line.
I had been a Pioneer user for two decades-a dedicated fan.
I was not happy with the sound of my new sys, which includes the mondo JBL 12" 250watt digital powered sub. Something did not sound right, and with what I know about amps and such, could tell that my dynamic range sucked, the system sounded "constricted", and had absolutely no headroom whatsoever. The center channel HLS was not very distinguishable, either. Sweet spot, or none. I spent three weeks grilling these issues. And everything is connected via MONSTER cable.
I decided to take back the Pioneer, and just today- bought an Onkyo TX-DS777B. And of course, the difference is like night and day. Stunning. The speakers sound absolutely incredible-not to mention it's not unlike looking out of a clear window, instead of a filthy one. I am not surprised one bit. High-current makes all the difference in the world.
I'm glad I didn't have to pee when the "THX" theme ran at the beginning of a sample DVD I ran for a test run. The results would have been very damp. WOW!
Weak HLS center? Not here! I had to drop mine about 3db lower than the HLS620 fronts, because it barks out such nice warm, bold clear mid/highs-right where the voices need it. My wife was stunned at the difference.
I'll brag on the merits of my Onkyo elsewhere, ( no, mine DOES NOT HUM, thank you); but the lesson here is, when you hear a speaker you don't like, can you tell WHY you don't like it? Is it the speaker, or is it something lacking in your receiver? Honestly, you can buy speakers that add enough coloration to fool you, if you don't know what to listen for.
Buy those HLS' while you can- Best Buy still has a bunch of them. I'd give the HLS center a perfect five (wrapping up the sound, projection, clarity, volume, and VALUE) , but with that tweeter/horn installation being as it is, well, that's just not 5 star, any way you slice it. But you can MAKE IT SO, I believe, If ya turn that horn 90 degrees.

Similar Products Used:

HLS 620 fronts, HLS 610 rears ( surround), JBL 12" powered subwoofer. All new stuff here ( Yay!) First new sys in over 20 years for me.

Solid sound, matches well with 610's up front.

"Sweet Spot" is not as wide as it could be.

I got this the same time as my 610's. I have been more then satisfyied with it. My only real issue with the HLS Center is that you almost have to be sitting right in front of it to get the full effect. I was concerned for a while that it seemed to be producing a lot more bass then the 610s up front, but after a few adjustments and finally adding a subwoofer I have no compaints.

Similar Products Used:

None

good full sound reproduction

slightly small sweat spot not nearly as noticeable with good amp

for the money its hard to beat good sound even at higher voulumes and music dvd's like eagle's hell freezes over in dts i would recommend it to some one in the 180.00 and under price range

This is not a review of the JLS Center: rather, I'm writing to point out an alternative to the JBL center for those who don't like it for whatever reason.

I'm a really big fan of the HLS 610, and I own 2 pairs. I think at the size/price catagory they're awfully tough to beat, especially at the $125/pair I paid. They do more right than they should at the price, and any music lover on a budget should try to dig a pair up.

Monitor Audio of England is my current favorite speaker company. I was playing around with a pair of Bronze 3s normally used in one of the upstairs bedrooms one day when I decided to see how bad they kill my old HLS 610s. I placed the JBLs on top of the floor standing Bronze 3; since they both use banana plugs it's relatively quick and easy to swap the cable between them. This speaker cable is fed from a high-passed THX-certified amp, with a pair of subs providing the bass. This way, the speakers produce only material above 80hz, levelling the playing field.

To my surprise, the Monitors DIDN'T wreck the JBLs. On the contrary, I was surprised at how similarly they are voiced. Granted, I've listened to both of them extensively without a sub, and there the Bronze is definately superior.

Therefore, I recommend the Monitor Audio Bronze Center as an excellent match for the JBL HLS Series. I can attest that in my listening test with the JBLs and the Bronze center (from the aforementioned bedroom system) that the sound was impressively seamless. Can't say I've ever heard the JBL HLS Center, but by the posts it seems to have very poor dispersion. However, the Bronze has excellent dispersion.

Hope this helps any prospective JBL HLS buyers.

Horn tweeter, midrange.

Not enough midbass, too hard to find.

Don't believe the bad rap! The imaging is perfect with this speaker (without rotating the horn). Vocals sound really good and the speaker is at its best during an action or shoot-out scene on DVD.

The accuracy of this unit is great although it does lack some midbass punch during explosions.

Perfect match for other HLS series speakers!!!

Couldn't find this speaker anywhere locally and picked it up on Ebay for $140. A bit expensive for a discontinued speaker, but it matches my other 4 HLS speakers...

JBL HLS Center this is a very inexpensive center channel and gives a good clean sound and it seems to out perform the Polk Audios Center channel at the same class. This is one of a great product. This center channel can be mixed match with any other JBL product, Polk Audio, Infinity Audio, and DCM products. It is also functions great with Lexcon Decoder and Merantz Mono block.

The HLS Center is a great product for the money. Its best feature is the tweeter. It really captures the highs accuratly, for both music and home theater. It can also spread them evenly with the its unique horn shape. The only thing I dislike is it's low volume. Compared to other speakers, it just isn't loud (sensitivity is only 88 db). I usually have to add 6-8 db to the center to ensure an even mix. It would probably mix a lot better with the rest of HLS series (also low in decibels), but I'd never buy a left or right channel with a bottom end of 40 hertz.

I have JBL HLS Center with Definitive BP-30 main speakers. The sound is excellent in my home theater. I recommend this product for use with others good speakers, in all surround modes for music and movies (Dolby Surround, Dolby Digital and DTS).

I have HLS speakers all around for my HT system. I gave a bad review of the HLS 610s, which really stink with music, but are merely acceptable for HT-use. The HLS Center does a little better. My only complaint is that it suffers from the somewhat-common plague of many consumer-grade centers - it is freakin' BOOMY! Aside from that, it does fairly well.I think spending a little more on stuff by Energy, NHT, and similar stuff is a better way to go. I wish I had.