<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: I'm glad I spent the money!
Review: I debated for weeks over whether I really needed new speakers (I'm a practical person with a limited budget) but I decided to splurge and buy these. All I can say is...WOW! I'm really glad I spent the money. I have never heard music or movie soundtracks sound better. I'm listening to each and every CD I own all over again and enjoying every minute of it. This is one of the clearest speakers I have ever heard and the sound is magnificent....smooth, rich and well-defined. If you're thinking of buying these, go for it...you will not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: A good home theater speaker
Review: I've had these speakers for about 7 months now. These speakers sound the best in a large room with vaulted ceilings, or in a room that doesn't readily absorb the sound as easily. The reason being - they're a tad bit bright and forward sounding. I've tried these speakers in conjunction with 4 different amps - 2 hifi, and 2 Home theater amps, and tested them in 3 different homes with different accoustical properties.Here's what's good about them - a great-sounding mid-range - female vocals sound astonishingly good. Also these speakers have the ability to effortlessly deliver loads of sound. Bass is good, even without the subs running. You get a flat (even)tonal response without the subs running, which is good. You get a drastic increase in bass output by activating the built-in subs. If you don't run a line-in to the subs portion, the sub-range will run passively through the speaker wire (down to 35 HZ), and the sound will still be good-sounding and even. Therefore, unless you're an absolute bass junky, I would recommend saving your money and getting speakers without the built-in subs. If you would like to activate the built-in subs in conjunction with a standard stereo amp (with no LFO, sub-out), you can run line from your pre-outs to the sub line-ins as long as you purchase an external low-pass crossover to place in it's path. There is no crossover built-in to the active sub, since it assumes this speaker will be used for Home Theater applications primarily. Weaknesses - no built-in low-pass crossover for active subs, but easily remedied by purchasing one and adding it on yourself (only for those using a standard stereo amp/receiver). Also, some prefer home theater subs to be positioned out of the cabinet, for more rumbling effect - whatever preferences may be.
Also, this speaker was designed with too many voice cones - could have easily been a 3-way design. However, as JBL knows, there's "marketing crossovers", and somehow people think that more is better, when in reality, it often isn't. Also, these speakers weight close to 90 lbs, and their plastic legs probably won't take too much abuse before they give out. If you have thick carpet, the pegs will completely sink down, effectively negating the effect of the pegs. Also, the front grill is extremely flimsy, which is pretty common these days. Musically, you may have to find non-bright/ non-forward sounding source components, preamp/amps, to make the sound more listenable for extended periods of time, or else find an ambient space in your house for these monsters - because they throw the sound right at you and wear you out otherwise. This is a great speaker for self-contained HT. Music applications - Does best with rap, R&B, and other bass-heavy music, if you don't want to bother shopping for additional subs.
Rating:
Summary: blow the house down!
Review: These speakers are straight out amazing. First, in response to the 1-star rating below, which says that the bass is "terrible"... that could not be farther from the truth. These speakers use a powered sub-woofer, and if it's not connected to a sub-woofer output, you will not get the sound you're buying. The little red lights at the bottom turn green when the sub-woofers are activated, which will let you know when eveything's working. Ok, to the review. These statuesque speakers carry all types of music beautifully. From the most crisp, tear jerking choral pieces, to the heaviest bass-blowing techno trance, to Dolby 5.1 soundtracks, these things sound so good it will make the hair on your neck stand up and cheer! And they look awesome- modern and classy with the screens on, or aggressive and mean with the screens removed (but note, the cases are not real wood... they're actually some kind of metallic plating). These speakers sound really solid at low volumes (maybe a slight bit too bass-heavy for some tastes on account of the sub-woofer which you can EQ out), but once you crank these speakers up... and don't be afraid to turn that dial up half-way or more... you won't believe what you just bought! The highs really come alive at greater volume, and when I say alive I mean "alive"... it sounds like the performers are sitting on your coffe table! Also, because they do include a powered sub-woofer, this is a great alternative to 5.1 sound for those that don't have the space for all those speakers (like me). You can take full advantage of the .1 Low Frequency channel with these sub-woofers, and let your amp convert the dolby output to stereo output and it will still sound amazing. You may not hear the bullets whiz by your head at the beginning of Saving Private Ryan, but you won't be disappointed when you hear helicopters flying right by your home! Spend the cash! You'll love them! They're big enough to hug, and make a great design statement in your living room!!
<< 1 >>
| 
