JBL Venue Series Stadium 8-Inch 3-Way Speaker
By: JBL Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 39
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 On: 2008-06-24
When I ordered a pair of these, I figured I was "settling" for less than the best because of my limited budget. They had the best tech specs in the price range, but I was coveting something a bit pricey. When I got them set up, I was utterly blown away with the accuracy, depth, and range of sound, even at very high volume. Im currently driving them with a Sony STR-DG2100, with a Playstation3 as the primary media player. After watching a bunch of my blu-rays and listening to a pile of CDs, I was so impressed with the performance-to-pricepoint ratio that within a week, I decided I had to buy another pair to finish off my home theater. Now my neighbors hate me and Im in love with my speakers. Ive listened to some higher-priced setups recently, and most of them sound inferior to these. I am convinced that you would have to pay much more than double this price to get better speakers... and to all the pretentious "self-professed audiophiles" out there: Klipsch is NOT the second coming, end-all be-all of speakers. Theyre good, but theres better, and Klipsch dont sound any better than these.
On: 2008-06-19
Excellent product, fast shipping. Will not be the last or first time I purchase from Amazon.
On: 2008-05-16
These speakers are all I hoped for - great bass, high end is crystal clear. Price was less than half (including freight) of the current price at Best Buy. Almost like cheap speakers that I wouldnt have considered a few years ago. I have been using four Sansui SP2000 speakers for 39 years (since I bought them in Japan) but these have relegated them to side and rear speakers and the old speakers are still fantastic. I would buy more of the JBLs in a heartbeat if I didnt have an attachment to the old speakers.
 On: 2008-05-05
Bought 2 front speakers for my home theater setup. Cabinet is cheezy but sound is very good. Not as good as my Magnapans but the Maggies cost $4,500 and these only $250 (although they have since gone up.) Im waiting for the price to go back down and will buy 2 more for surround speakers. Bass response tight and good but, admittedly, Ive got the crossovers set so that my 12" sub handles the really low frequencies. My ears lost their highs years ago so I am not qualified to critique the high end except to say they are not muddy and have improved the clarity on most content. Excellent value and delivery was perfect. Unless you want to go to the really pricey high end stuff, I dont see why anyone would want to pay more.
On: 2008-04-19
Exellent product, worth every penny. Much better than my older Boss speakers in hi end and low end frenquenies. Very happy with it.
Only complain is that the front cover is less than perfect.
On: 2008-04-02
Im stepping up from a $400 Sony 5.1 Surround Sound that came all together...First I Purchased the Sony STR-DG910 7.1 Channel that puts out 110 watts per channel....Thats whats these speakers handle continously... Got these in today, hooked them up to the two front channels by themselves and was very impressed... Highs are crystal clear, very surprised how much bass these speakers put consider Im going to get the JBL 12 inch subwoofer...But these speakers are incredible.. anyone who rates these bad either dont have the right power source or theyre tryin to get something out of these that isnt made to be gotten out of such as ALOT OF BASS! Get a subwoofer and dont turn the bass up on these.
On: 2008-04-02
I had read the reviews right here on the jbl speakers but I wanted to hear them before I bought them. Best Buy had them but weren`t on display for some reason. I told them I wanted to hear them so I helped open and hook them up. By now it was near closing and the place was about empty. I brought my own CD to test the jbl`s. I got to crank them up and R.E.M. never sounded so good! I figured if they sound this good in a large, open space, they are going to sound great at home. And they do! They wanted $250 each plus tax and tried to force my hand. I went home and bought 4 of them right here on Amazon for only $124 each. They came on time and I couldn`t be happier. The bass is excellent and the mid-range and treble sound wonderful. For the money, you just can`t go wrong with these! They even shipped them to my door for free. What a deal!
On: 2008-03-26
I consider myself an audiophile because I listen to Infinity IRS Beta speakers in my main system. These speakers are rated 15Hz - 45kHz, and are bi-amped with Aragon (made in USA) amplifiers - 400 watts on the low end and 200 watts on the high end. These speakers also cost me $12K back in 1990.
Recently I was shopping for speakers to use with the TV and DVD player in another room. Was initially interested in the Infinity Primus but then found the JBL Stadium speakers with slightly better specs and less money. I must say they are a great value for the money, much better than what I expected for $250 a pair.
They sound pretty decent when cranked up, but are a little "stuffy" and "muddy" at lower volumes. They didnt have quite the bass I was used to so I ordered the JBL Venue 12" subwoofer too. Havent received the subwoofer yet but when I do get it, I dont expect it to sound as good as the Servo controlled IRS Beta Woofer towers (4 - 12" woofers each) because the JBL subwoofer is rated only down to 25Hz versus 15Hz on the former (where I normally have the bass at -3dB because todays CDs are engineered with too much bass in them).
Overall, cant beat the sound of the JBL Stadium speakers for the price.
 On: 2008-02-10
Id like to set the record straight about these speakers because part of why I purchased them was because they had good reviews. I bought these for a stereo setup to listen to music 90% of the time and to watch movies the rest of the time. Im something of an audiophile with a Pro-Ject turntable and a Harmon-Kardon receiver. I listen to a wide variety of music from jazz to hip hop to punk and heavy metal on vinyl, cds and mp4s. I will say these speakers do have a lot of bass with the dual 8inch woofers, but it sounds muddy and clumsy. The highs are distorted and the mids are weak. the overall sound of these lacks warmth. I ended up going with Polk Monitor 60s. For only a little more dough these are a world of difference.
The JBL speakers look ridiculous too. They look kinda cool in the picture but once you see them in person they are huge (10 x 40 x 15"), the silver looks like imitation aluminum, and the silver grilles are really cheap.
On: 2008-02-07
Hello, I dont know what came over me. Wait I remeber... I thought I was getting TWO speakers for $189. I have a set of Dbx that totaly trump these in every possible way. The old Dbxs I have are 15" and 8" and 4" and a reed tweeter in each unit. I figured these Jbls would at least fight a good fight sitting on top of Jbl 500 watt subs but alas no. Its typical chinese knock offs.The units seems like americans manufacturing aka "Cathy Lee" looking over Ok speakers and then making our chinese friends copy them. What I received were a set of Ok speakers that dont hold a candle to well balanced car speakers. The units sound like crude speakers at low volume and kinda crappy at modiest levels and fusy at loudish levels. Im not saying that the speakers are unacceptable at this price although I wouldnt be wrong to...Im saying YOUR YOUNG DAUGHTER WOULD BE OK WITH THEM BUT YOULL BE EMBARRASSED TO HAVE YOUR FRIENDS OVER TO LISTEN TO YOUR LATEST GARY MOORE CD WITH THESE TURKEYS. I could sell these and Id never regret not having them.
On: 2008-02-02
I was skeptical about ordering such heavy speakers on-line because of the delivery risk (i.e. miss-handling, etc.). They were delivered quickly, but as predicted; one of the two (shipped separately, one per box), was damaged and had a cracked housing...no way of keeping that one. After I called Amazon and explained the problem, they quickly shipped a replacement and that one arrived in perfect condition. They are heavy, but that adds a good stability factor, and they look great with or without the silver grills.
Now, for my review...These speakers replaced a twenty year old pair of Polk Audio Monitor series 3-way bookshelf speakers, which still to this day have great reviews as excellent, full-range and true sounding speakers. I hooked up my new JBL Stadiums with thick Monster audio cable to my twenty year old 2x40watt NAD receiver that also has "best in class" ratings from many audiophiles. WOW! I can only crank my volume level dial up to level 1 (out of 10) without worrying about disturbing the neighbors.
The sound quality is, in my opinion, superior to my Polks and the detail these new Stadiums provide in full range of lows to highs is amazing. One of my Kitaro CDs starts with one single large (liberty bell size) bell being rung once...I had my volume up to level 2 and have never heard such a rich, crisp, perfect sonic reproduction of sound in my life. AMAZING!
The manufacturing quality is equally good. I always check speakers to see if they have rubber or foam gaskets around the woofer cones. Rubber gaskets are known to last longer and not disintegrate into dust after a few (or many) years. This small detail is actually significant. The flush mounting of the speakers and tweeter to cabinet is also unique and adds a much sleeker, more modern, and well thought-out appearance. My favorite details are the silver brackets with silver screws holding the speaker cones in place onto the cabinet and also the "carbon fiber" pattern material, that covers the entire front of the speaker, which you can see when the grilles are off.
I could easily rock these out at level 3 or 4 and still hear non-distorted sound...due primarily to the Stadiums low resistance and quality speaker cones. All in all, Ive warmed these up for over 60 hours (recommended to "break-in" speaker cones and internal wiring) and now intend to enjoy movies, music and TV through them for many years.
JBL has an interesting "About Us" history on their web site. The story of the company from the early days until now is really interesting, and adds to the appreciation of their products.
On: 2008-01-29
I purchased these on sale here a while before Christmas and have been completely happy with them. At first I had them at home with my parents pioneer VSX-814, which doesnt have a built in equalizer. They sounded alright, but as soon as I hooked them up to my VSX-815 and got the equalizer set right, I havent looked back. Everything is just amazing. The sound is crisp and exactly how it should be. The bass is surprisingly good, putting out just as much as my 8" sub. Note though that these dont hit the rumbling low bass, but hits almost all of the audible frequencies. These are an excellent buy if you are looking to put together a system. Do, however, make sure that your receiver has a built in equalizer or that you invest in one.
On: 2008-01-28
I was looking to upgrade my system, and upon listening to several in this price range at a local big box store (that is supposed to have the best buys around) i was initially torn between these and the Klipsch - Synergy III, but after hearing movies and music, the JBLs had a much larger sound, while maintaining crisp highs.. the 2 8" subs do deliver a robust sound, but dont expect it to shake your house like a sub.. speaking of I just ordered the Venue Sub12 to add to my system.
also good to note is the way these sound in your room. The Klipsch are very distinct, meaning you can tell exactly where the sound is coming from. But with the JBLs, these speakers fill the room very well, so the sound "wall" comes from the area of the speakers, which is much nicer to listen too.
overall you will love these speakers.. but remember to give them time to break in, and youll love them.
My Speakers include:
2 Stadium (L/R)
1 Voice Center
1 Venue Sub 12 Subwoofer
Rears are some Bose I had, soon Ill change them to JBLs!
On: 2008-01-22
Great speaker for the money, made a big difference in the sound of my system. I had the Stage speakers for the fronts and when I purchased these made a big difference. Superb sound with clean crisp highs good bass responce, would be a great addition to any system
On: 2008-01-12
I bought these during Christmas for 123/piece, around $300 delivered to my door. Not bad when retail is $500/pair. I wanted a reasonably priced, solid speaker, and that is what I got. I love these I paired them with my Sony STR-DG810, PS3, Sony LCD, and Motorola HD DVR and love it. Cant wait to finish my surround sound for the living room. My wife just thinks that these speakers are shake our bedroom floor directly above our living room. Wait until I get the subwoofer to go with it.
On: 2007-12-27
I am still in the process of evaluating these speakers. Since the last floor standing speakers I bought (Genesis) are 28 years old you can see that I dont make snap judgements. I had replaced the drivers on the Gs a few years ago but they have not made the comeback I had hoped for.
I am using these with a Pioneer 110 watt receiver running in stereo mode. I was planning to buy more expensive speakers but I couldnt pass up the bargain price on these. My son and I have been using small JBLs for abt 5 years and have been very pleased with the sound of those.
I have been pleased and surprised by the bottom end. I have turned down the volume on my subwoofer. I am not using an equalizer since the Pioneer receiver I am using only has a pre-out. I may insert an equalizer and run these through a power amp. I have reduced both the treble and base on the receiver because these have lots of capability at both ends. You could probably run these in a "dead" room with a small amp and still get a good sound from them. These do require some break-in time before they sound like they should; you cant listen for a day or two and make a judgment.
Since the next step up in speakers will cost about $1,000 more than these I am going to wait for a while and enjoy the sound of the JBLs.
On: 2007-11-30
Well upon delivery after waiting 11 days thanks to UPS. My speakers arrived with a big hole in the box, but thankfully no damage. Anyway I took them out of the box to find a very well crafted speaker but was skeptical about the sound. Well it didnt take long and I was blown away. I actually had to turn the bass down to a negative setting because of the earth shaking bass these produced. This I have to say is a first for me when it comes to floorstanding speakers. I am actually considering just selling my sub now. A JBL 10 inch. If I hook it up with these things I will probably get evicted, considering the complaints I have already recieved from the office. Anyway I would have to say these are a must buy. I got them off of Amazon for 144.00 a piece. It was supposed to be free shipping but due to a glitch in there system I had to pay 76 bucks, I went ahead and payed it because I didnt want to wait any longer. Amazon said I would have to refuse them at the door and then make another order. ???? This was the dumbest thing I had ever heard, so instead of being a jerk about it and having to go through the hassles involved I just took them. It was worth it!!! Buy these speakers and save some money and time shopping, There is not a better deal out there. I looked for a long time and would have had to spend alot more money for something else and probably wouldnt have the sound qaulity of these. GET SOME!!! GET SOME!!!
On: 2007-11-29
Im driving these things with a Onkyo 805 amp along with 4 other JBL Balcony speakers, a JBL Voice center channel and an older Infinty 12" sub for my home theater.
Pros:
I truly love the sound from a 8" woofer, fast and accurate!
Really a great sounding speaker . they play everything from action movies to hip hop and everything in-between. The drum battle at the end of the movie Drum Line is amazing at high volumes, it very life like. The speakers never complain once. Oh wait I did knock the voice coil lose on the Voice center channel on this video. I called JBL and they sent me a new driver in a few day.
Cons:
The speakers look better with out the curved silver grills
Not THX certified speakers.
On: 2007-11-29
I got these speakers today and hooked them up. I was a little disapointed when i heard them for the first time, because I expected top quality from JBL. But when I turned them up they sound absolutly great!! They extremely clean crisp sound and a pretty good deal of bass. So for the price(which is amazing) you absolutly cannot do better. I give them an A over all. But if money is no object Klipsch is a better speaker, but then again they start at about $900 a pair.
On: 2007-11-26
Nice all around sound. Not quite as much bass from it was i hoped for but the 12" sub makes up for it. I recommend it for anyone building a jbl home theater!
On: 2007-11-20
The recent price drop in these speakers, plus the rash of good reviews basically made me an offer I couldnt refuse. I grabbed a pair before the dealers changed their minds. You must realize what an outstanding bargain the free shipping is, considering that these are worth about 40 bucks (each) to send UPS ground to your next door neighbor.
Anyway, JBL has always had a good philosophy on how a consumer wants a loudspeaker to sound, and these certainly deliver. The combination of adequate cabinet size, selection of drivers,and carefully chosen crossover frequencies add up to a very pleasant listening experience. The large cabinet volume serves to to extend the bass quite low, while also smoothing out the resonant peaks inherent to bass reflex enclosures. (especially those with too big woofers in too small cabinets). The midrange presence is good to the point of Carrie Underwood being in the room with you. Convincing also are the male vocals, which seem very natural, without any false boominess to them. I think this is due to the low midrange crossover frequency (300 Hz). Any discussion of bass (or lack thereof) in a speaker system must also consider the room as it will have a greater effect on bass response than the other ranges. Suffice it to say that you can hear every note in the bass of these units, and for any peaks or valleys, the room is probably the culprit. The Stadiums are very smooth sounding, not tiring or irritating, and are just the right height to place all of the important stuff directly at ear level. The efficiency of these units is given as 91Db. This is adequate (and average)for home entertainment designs, and probably is one of the keys to their listen-ability. But be forewarned, theyre plenty loud, but arent designed to produce sound reinforcement volumes. Besides, if these arent loud enough in the average room, youve probably already ruined your hearing, so whats the diff.
JBLs high end offerings are second to none in construction and sound quality but are priced well beyond the average persons means. These, and other offerings in the "Venue" series give the average Joe a shot at quality sound reproduction at a price that is more than fair.
Im very happy with my purchase of the Stadiums. These are being used in conjunction with JBL Venue "Voice" (center) and a pair of "Arenas" for the surrounds. There is no sub yet as its not needed for music, but since 5.1 dolby surround shunts the low bass to the LFE channel (Sub) it might improve the system for movies to add one.
If youre looking for a decent pair of fairly priced front speakers, you certainly cant go wrong with these.
On: 2007-11-19
The recent price drop in these speakers, plus the rash of good reviews basically made me an offer I couldnt refuse. I grabbed a pair before the dealers changed their minds. You must realize what an outstanding bargain the free shipping is, considering that these are worth about 40 bucks (each) to send UPS ground to your next door neighbor.
Anyway, JBL has always had a good philosophy on how a consumer wants a loudspeaker to sound, and these certainly deliver. The combination of adequate cabinet size, selection of drivers,and carefully chosen crossover frequencies add up to a very pleasant listening experience. The large cabinet volume serves to to extend the bass quite low, while also smoothing out the resonant peaks inherent to bass reflex enclosures. (especially those with too big woofers in too small cabinets). The midrange presence is good to the point of Carrie Underwood being in the room with you. Convincing also are the male vocals, which seem very natural, without any false boominess to them. I think this is due to the low midrange crossover frequency (300 Hz). Any discussion of bass (or lack thereof) in a speaker system must also consider the room as it will have a greater effect on bass response than the other ranges. Suffice it to say that you can hear every note in the bass of these units, and for any peaks or valleys, the room is probably the culprit. The Stadiums are very smooth sounding, not tiring or irritating, and are just the right height to place all of the important stuff directly at ear level. The efficiency of these units is given as 91Db. This is adequate (and average)for home entertainment designs, and probably is one of the keys to their listen-ability. But be forewarned, theyre plenty loud, but arent designed to produce sound reinforcement volumes. Besides, if these arent loud enough in the average room, youve probably already ruined your hearing, so whats the diff.
JBLs high end offerings are second to none in construction and sound quality but are priced well beyond the average persons means. These, and other offerings in the "Venue" series give the average Joe a shot at quality sound reproduction at a price that is more than fair.
Im very happy with my purchase of the Stadiums. These are being used in conjunction with JBL Venue "Voice" (center) and a pair of "Arenas" for the surrounds. There is no sub yet as its not needed for music, but since 5.1 dolby surround shunts the low bass to the LFE channel (Sub) it might improve the system for movies to add one.
If youre looking for a decent pair of fairly priced front speakers, you certainly cant go wrong with these.
On: 2007-11-19
Give them 10-20 hours to burn-in. The treble will become more defined and clear (not harsh) and the speakers overall sound will improve dramatically. This is really a VG speaker for the money. Like most shopping via Amazon, I dont have a lot of excess money to throw around so I like to get the most value possible for the least spent. These units are sold single (ea),$144 at Amazon is the cheapest Ive seen (and w/free shipping).
Love the black as it matches my TV and audio components. Black/silver combo seems to be the style these days. When I was younger the brown colored veneer was the rage. Would be nice to see a well done cherry. I thought about spray painting the grills black but Ill leave it enough alone for now. They are new and I dont want to ruin anything.
Yes, they are large and fairly heavy. Im not crazy with the feet on the bottom, there are no carpet spikes just plastic runner things that dont provide the most stable base on carpet. They wont fall over by themselves but they COULD tip over if you have rug rats in the house so be careful.
I run these with a 10" subwoofer at medium settings for movies, less for music. Polk R15 surround, polk csi3 center and sony rear. Powered by a 105 watt / channel AV amp. Sounds VG, not bass heavy, not treble heavy. Fairly clear sound on the cheap. Yeah, you can spend more to get more but I have other things like food, mortgage, gas, utilities, and the holidays approaching.
I listen to ZZ Top, Nickelback, Keny Burrell, Johnny Hartmen, Janis Joplin, and the emotionally expressive strings of Sarah Chang and the power of Perlman. Wife enjoys opera (yeach) of some kind. We both find the system plays beautifully and we are happy with the purchase. Other speakers may sound better but we dont know because they arent in our home...
On: 2007-11-17
Well you can talk about crossover frequencies and dB and hertz and anything else that makes your audio-geeked out heart go pitty pat. Personally I love the great, big, wonderful JBL sound delivered (free) to my house for $150. This would be funny if it werent real. I went to Best Buy and a few other big box stores and they wanted to sell me all kinds of crap. Then I looked at Amazon and the price of these and then I heard them and... well... my reco to you is to stop reading this and the other reviews and order these incredible speakers before whoever is selling them sobers up and realizes they are giving away the deal of the frikkin millenium. I own other speakers that cost $5000 and theyre probably better but they sure as hell arent 33.3 times better. So punch the ORDER button now and order as many of these as you can because youll never get better sound at a better price. And besides they LOOK damn fine. That plus the fact that Mr UPS has to drag these 55 pound boxes to your door for FREE... come on, why are you still reading this!?
On: 2007-11-16
Well you can talk about crossover frequencies and dB and hertz and anything else that makes your audio-geeked out heart go pitty pat. Personally I love the great, big, wonderful JBL sound delivered (free) to my house for $150. This would be funny if it werent real. I went to Best Buy and a few other big box stores and they wanted to sell me all kinds of crap. Then I looked at Amazon and the price of these and then I heard them and... well... my reco to you is to stop reading this and the other reviews and order these incredible speakers before whoever is selling them sobers up and realizes they are giving away the deal of the frikkin millenium. I own other speakers that cost $5000 and theyre probably better but they sure as hell arent 33.3 times better. So punch the ORDER button now and order as many of these as you can because youll never get better sound at a better price. And besides they LOOK damn fine. That plus the fact that Mr UPS has to drag these 55 pound boxes to your door for FREE... come on, why are you still reading this!?
On: 2007-11-12
Exactly what I was looking for, for movies and stereo music, is just a great sound, for all the JBL speakers system bought from Amazon.
On: 2007-11-10
These speakers have crystal clear highs and booming lows. Puts a new touch on all my movies.
On: 2007-11-05
I would not characterize myself as an audiophile, but i do enjoy listening music and i do want (need) a system that is better than the average boombox.
These speakers are really nice. Sound is clear and not too heavy on the bass. Maybe they could use a subwoofer if you use them primarily for the movies (not my preferred way, but some movies do benefit from a strong bass), but for the music they are nice. Not to be wrongly understood...they do not lack bass, just that bass is not overwhelming.
Just one warning...these speakers are huge. I mean, really, really huge. I had to rearrange my living room because i couldnt fit them esthetically with the TV system. Also, they are shipped with "silver" front grill, but IMHO, they look much better without it. If the grill would be black...maybe.
I wont say that these are the best speakers that i have heard, but for the price, they are certainly one of the best deals. I have paired them with Yamaha HTR-6030BL receiver and they are a good match...this one is topping my "Im so happy with this purchase" list.
Highly recommended
On: 2007-10-09
I have to agree with the reviewer that had to turn their sub woofer down. The first thing I had to do was turn down my Infinity 12" sub. The bass from these units is remarkable in my townhouse. The mids and highs are just as nice. When shopping on my budget I found all the reviews very helpful. I drive these with a HK AVR240 7.1 amp. Great sound and matching. The remainder of my speakers are the JBL Northridge series which compliment these that I use as the front speakers. Make sure you have a good center speaker if you are into the surround scene. I have the JBL EC35 (Obsolete but great). Perfect setup for the fronts.
My setup is complete with these and now all I have to do is find a house so I wont bother the neighbors. BUT, at low levels the sound is perfect also.
No I am not a professional audiophile but I do like well built and good sounding units like these.
By the way, I was worried about the silver grills too but I found it matched my 52" DLP Toshiba perfectly.
On: 2007-09-25
clean sounds, handles fairly deep bass, mid-range is good, even the highs there is no distortion or clipping, I had to replace my SUPER old Radio Shack "Mach 2" which I got them in 1984 they FINALLY died. One more perk smaller foot print for such big daddy sounds.
On: 2007-09-19
For the sound that comes out of these speakers im truly blown away. It sounds like I have a movie theater in my house now. Abosolute best tech buy for me of the entire year. Bought these at bestbuy for $120 more PER speaker, plugged them in and was BLOWN away. Went online to puchase ANOTHER pair as a gift and saw them on Amazon for $120 cheaper PER SPEAKER. Returned mine to best buy and bought 2 of these AND THE center and SAVED $50 I LOVE YOU AMAZON!!!
On: 2007-09-18
Their names says it all. I read several of the other reviews before buying and was a bit skeptical about spending so much for speakers I hadnt heard. I had looked at the Boston Speakers, for a lot more money, and almost decided to buy those. Im so glad I didnt. The JBL Speakers, in my opinion, are the better speakers. I wanted a rich deep clear bass and a qaulity mid range with the volume. I certainly got that. These speakers past my expections. Im very pleased. Therere priced right and the shipping was FREE.
 On: 2007-09-12
JBL... I have like JBL products for about 20 years now.. so when i got these speakers from amazon, at a great price, I expected JBL. Well you can read the other reviews as far as the sound goes. I have mine in a 3 car garage not the best place to evaluate a pair of speakers. On the back of the speakers you will see a tag MADE IN CHINA. I just thought you all deserved to know before you buy. If you say you dont care, I understand. But dont let you kid chew on the speaker cabinet, it probably has lead in it.
On: 2007-07-06
I had expected to get less bass with only an 8" speaker. But this thing has loads of bass. Very smooth and not boomy. I wanted to get something like my old Advent speakers with a 10" woofer. Its a reference speaker. I am running the JBL with a 100 watt stereo amp. This thing is power hungry. It fits right in and has a good sound for videos. It sounds fine for playing CDs and mp3s too. I compared this to Klipsh at Circuit City and a Polk speaker at Frys Electronics. Both the other speakers were similarly made but cost more. The Polk seemed to have harsh top end. The Klipsh had a wider sound field, but again had harsh top end. This was definitely the best buy.
On: 2007-06-25
I recently purchased these speakers to upgrade my surrond system. First off they sound GREAT and for the price you cant beat them. The speakers they are replacing are a pair of JBLs I purchased back in 91. I just couldnt find any speakers that gave me the sound these do in this pricepoint. I was a little skeptical about ordering them, but I couldnt resist the price difference. In local stores theyre $299 a piece, I bought them through Amazon for 173 a piece w/free shipping. Let me say this again EXCELLENT SPEAKERS. They can work as your main speakers in a home theatre set up or if you just want to listen to music they really shine through. Before I needed my main JBLs and a satellite pair to get the clarity I get from this one pair. Highly recommend!
by: liwwu88 On: 2007-05-31
woo!!!, I could not believe how good it is... I upgraded my speaker from Polk r300 to these. Big difference!!!, Now I can hear more details, which I could not hear before. My favorite music Andrea Bocellis Under the Desert Sky sounds sooo wonderful from these speakers.
I was a bit worry about the look before I got it. It turned out they are NOT that bad. With the silver cover, it matches most TV stand. And it was NOT that bulky as I orignally imagined.
On: 2007-05-30
woo!!!, I could not believe how good it is... I upgraded my speaker from Polk r300 to these. Big difference!!!, Now I can hear more details, which I could not hear before. My favorite music Andrea Bocellis Under the Desert Sky sounds sooo wonderful from these speakers.
I was a bit worry about the look before I got it. It turned out they are NOT that bad. With the silver cover, it matches most TV stand. And it was NOT that bulky as I orignally imagined.
by: Anonymous On: 2007-05-14
From a sound standpoint, these are really great speakers. I am using these as the main speakers for a home theater and regularly watch DVD music concerts. They accurately reproduce the music very well, and dont have brassy highs like many speakers in this price range have. I am a big fan of the double-8 inch woofers instead of a single larger one; they are "fast", accurate, and dont have a muffled sound like my last 12 inch speakers. I should note that I am also using a powered sub-woofer, but have it turned pretty low.
Unless you are a professional speaker critic with a perfect environment to play your stereo in, youll be happy with these speakers. The factory packing/boxes are very sturdy and protected the product well during the shipment period to my home.
The only thing that I am really not very happy about are the front screens. In the picture, you see the raw speakers, but do not see the screens, or covers. They are a metallic silver, instead of a more traditional black. I am not real happy about that, but the sound quality pretty much off-sets that.
by: avraamjack On: 2007-02-05
Seems like the JBL Venue series replaces the JBL Northridge series so sound quality should be ok - but you could get cherry and beech cabinets with the Northridge series - cherry looks FANTASTIC. Last time I had black ash it was easily marred and looked like it belonged in a funeral home! Bring back cherry and a 3 way center channel like the JBL Northridge EC35!
by: Anonymous On: 2007-01-18
I was concerned about purchasing through a third party source however everything went very well! Product arrived in great condition and very quickly. Would definitely do it again.
by: Anonymous On: 2006-12-25
Im in the financial bracket that doesnt usually allow me to spend lots of "toy" money. So when I was shopping for a home theatre system, I had to be very picky. I spent countless hours in audio showrooms and listened to just about every combination of audio equipment known to man. I even had the pleasure of hearing some Mcintosh A/V equipment (that was only a pipe dream though).
If price is not a factor, there are a lot better speakers available. However, if youre like most people and dont have an endless supply of cash lying around, you will be hard pressed to find speakers in this price range that reproduce sound so well.
I purchased an entire JBL Venue series 6.1 setup with these being my front right and front left channels. I use them for listening to music, watching movies (and television), and playing video games. They perform superbly on all fronts, and always amaze anybody that listens to them with the clarity they have at peak range.
Im the kind of person that likes it loud, and this is where they realy shine. You can realy pour the power on these things and it seems like they just keep asking for more. I cant say enough about the clarity of the sound reproduction at very high levels.
If youre looking for a home theatre system that wont break the bank, but sounds like you did. The JBL Venue series fits the bill.
P.S. If you like floor shaking low range performance, I highly reccomend an independant JBL 10" or 12" sub box. One of these will greatly enhance your experience while watching movies. All said I spent around $2500 (including my A/V receiver) and couldnt be happier. My Dad is still listening to a set of JBL L-65s he bought in 1978, If mine last that long theyre worth twice the money.
On: 2006-12-24
Im in the financial bracket that doesnt usually allow me to spend lots of "toy" money. So when I was shopping for a home theatre system, I had to be very picky. I spent countless hours in audio showrooms and listened to just about every combination of audio equipment known to man. I even had the pleasure of hearing some Mcintosh A/V equipment (that was only a pipe dream though).
If price is not a factor, there are a lot better speakers available. However, if youre like most people and dont have an endless supply of cash lying around, you will be hard pressed to find speakers in this price range that reproduce sound so well.
I purchased an entire JBL Venue series 6.1 setup with these being my front right and front left channels. I use them for listening to music, watching movies (and television), and playing video games. They perform superbly on all fronts, and always amaze anybody that listens to them with the clarity they have at peak range.
Im the kind of person that likes it loud, and this is where they realy shine. You can realy pour the power on these things and it seems like they just keep asking for more. I cant say enough about the clarity of the sound reproduction at very high levels.
If youre looking for a home theatre system that wont break the bank, but sounds like you did. The JBL Venue series fits the bill.
P.S. If you like floor shaking low range performance, I highly reccomend an independant JBL 10" or 12" sub box. One of these will greatly enhance your experience while watching movies. All said I spent around $2500 (including my A/V receiver) and couldnt be happier. My Dad is still listening to a set of JBL L-65s he bought in 1978, If mine last that long theyre worth twice the money.
On: 2006-06-08
While JBLs speaker performance hasnt been quite as awe inspiring as the products from companies like paradigm and definitive technology, they have still produced quality speakers to those that dont desire to empty their lifesavings on recreational music listening and movie watching.
Personally, I am very picky and spend several weeks reading reviews, company websites, and magazine articles before deciding on what to buy. But when I lucked out by getting the opportunity to purchase these speakers for wholesale, I couldnt resist. I was worried about not seeing reviews for the speakers on any website except JBLs own site, but I took the leap of faith none-the-less. In the end I am very pleased with my purchase.
There are a few key points that should be noted with these speakers. Bass is generally not much of a concern to someone with a dedicated sub, but for those that dont have the option of causing their own 5.0 quake, the bass presence is satisfying enough with only the extreme lows being missed. Mid-range sound is fully present and adds substantial depth to the soundstage. The treble is nicely reproduced with these speakers. Almost no directionality is heard providing a clean crisp listening experience no matter where you are located in the room.
The bad sides to these speakers are few and far between, but still present. Personally I would have liked to have seen biwiring capabilities, but that is just me being picky seeing as how the speakers still reproduce sound very well. Next, I must say that the silver grills look really nice but good luck trying to match it with anything else in the room that isnt black. The easiest way to rectify this little problem is to just take them off, the speakers look awesome without them anyway (Which is probably why every picture you see online has the grills off).
In all honesty these speakers sound a lot like the JBL Northridge Series E90s, and have a striking resemblance; the only difference being the silver colored accents. So for those of you that dont trust my review or want more opinions and knowledge on the speakers, I suggest to check out the reviews posted on the E90s. My opinion to those who are looking to get their feet wet into the bliss of owning a home theater, or those that want good quality floorstanding speakers, look no further.
On: 2006-06-07
While JBLs speaker performance hasnt been quite as awe inspiring as the products from companies like paradigm and definitive technology, they have still produced quality speakers to those that dont desire to empty their lifesavings on recreational music listening and movie watching.
Personally, I am very picky and spend several weeks reading reviews, company websites, and magazine articles before deciding on what to buy. But when I lucked out by getting the opportunity to purchase these speakers for wholesale, I couldnt resist. I was worried about not seeing reviews for the speakers on any website except JBLs own site, but I took the leap of faith none-the-less. In the end I am very pleased with my purchase.
There are a few key points that should be noted with these speakers. Bass is generally not much of a concern to someone with a dedicated sub, but for those that dont have the option of causing their own 5.0 quake, the bass presence is satisfying enough with only the extreme lows being missed. Mid-range sound is fully present and adds substantial depth to the soundstage. The treble is nicely reproduced with these speakers. Almost no directionality is heard providing a clean crisp listening experience no matter where you are located in the room.
The bad sides to these speakers are few and far between, but still present. Personally I would have liked to have seen biwiring capabilities, but that is just me being picky seeing as how the speakers still reproduce sound very well. Next, I must say that the silver grills look really nice but good luck trying to match it with anything else in the room that isnt black. The easiest way to rectify this little problem is to just take them off, the speakers look awesome without them anyway (Which is probably why every picture you see online has the grills off).
In all honesty these speakers sound a lot like the JBL Northridge Series E90s, and have a striking resemblance; the only difference being the silver colored accents. So for those of you that dont trust my review or want more opinions and knowledge on the speakers, I suggest to check out the reviews posted on the E90s. My opinion to those who are looking to get their feet wet into the bliss of owning a home theater, or those that want good quality floorstanding speakers, look no further.
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