I Think the reason why there are so many mixed feelings as well as reviews about this product is most likely where the speakers are located. If you can find the sweet spot of these speakers, they will come truely alive. Another thing that will help them a lot, especailly with bass is putting them in a corner. When put in a corner, the rear-firing ports fire against the wall corner and reflect amazing bass back toward the listner. That is most likely why there are so many mixed reviews. As for the weak midrange, it is only a $200 (per pair) speaker lacking a midrange driver.

Stereo Review called them the best speakers for under $300. I agree, they are a very pleasant sounding, well balanced speaker with very full sound for the size!! I am very pleased with them.

Amazing midrange clarity and bass

NOTHING at this price

I picked up a pair of these for bedroom listening at Best Buy for $180. I simply can't believe the sound these speakers produce- the bass is very strong while the midrange and upper is clear as a bell. I'm driving these with a 6 year old Onkyo TX-905 rated at 60 wpc so it's clear these speakers are doing all the right stuff. I've got some high end B&W units for my primary home theater which sound better- but cost MUCH more. I simply can't understand why JBL would want to discontinue this model- a HUGE mistake for them because the newer units are not nearly as good.

CLEAN CLEAR SOUND. THE MIX OF THE ARTIST AND SOUND ENGINEER COMES THROUGH UN-COLORED AND UN-DISTORTED. THE COST IS VERY LOW FOR THIS INCREDABLE PIECE OF AUDIO EQUIPMENT

JBL COMPANY IS FOOLISH FOR DROPPING THIS LINE

I AM VERY HAPPY THAT I HAVE THESE SPEAKERS IN MY SYSTEM. I PLAN TO KEEP THEM FOR A LONG LONG TIME. A M&K SUB WOOFER PICKS UP EVERYTHING LOWER THAN 50HZ. I HAVE 5 IN MY SURROUND SOUND SYSTEM. I BOUGHT MINE FROM DAVE AT SPIDERGEAR.COM THEY WERE REFURBISHED BY FACTORY AND CARRY A 5 YEAR WARRANTY BY JBL. DAVE GAVE ME A GREAT DEAL AND IS A GOOD GUY TO KNOW AND VERY HONIST TO DO BUSINESS WITH. MUCH THANKS TO THIS SITE FOR GREAT INFORMATION.

I compared the HLS610 to other brands at Circuit City for DVD and music listening and were outstanding compared to others. They sound great at $260.00 a pair and plan on using them for rears and upgrading my FL and FR speakers with HLS810s. The bass is not desireable but if you have the budget for a sub, these are good speakers.

I bought these for a bedroom and am impressed overall. The highs cannot compete with my Vifa metal tweeters in my main system and the bass is not subsonic. Overall, the midrange detail and balance are excellent. I am very pleased for the money. They stand alone without a sub for music only.

I bought these speakers from Circuit City. These were the best sounding speakers that I could get for the little cash I had. These speakers are excellent (for their price and size) at the mid and upper ranges. The bass is not good. But if you are into classical music these are an excellent choice.

I hope they gave me a receipt cause I think I stole um!!!

None at this price

Sometimes in life, once in a great while, audio manufacturers get it right. JBL won the superbowl with these. I dont think that there is a bookshelf speaker that can ever come close to these at any price. Comfortably clear highs, smoothe mids and a suprising amount of bass from a small speaker.(I would recommend a sub with these)I should have bought 10 pair of these just incase something happens to them. Sound even better than the 12" 3-ways that they replaced.

Great with home theater, excellent for hard hitting rock, but warm enough for smooth jazz. Why if the tuned port were bigger I wouldnt have got married (just kidding!!) Shame on JBL for discontinuing this line.

Similar Products Used:

Acousic research, polk

Sound, Price

Excellent value for the money. Highly detailed and smooth high end, great imaging and excellent bass down to about 60HZ. I have HLS610s in the front along with the HLS centers and a pair of ancient (1st year) Polks in the rear which I recently replaced the tweeters with a pair of Peerless that are a perfect fit. The old Polks have a great sound but are not a good timbre match for the JBLs. Looking at various sites I found 610s at jandr.com for 129.99 which is 60 dollars less than I paid for them at the same place in December. I just ordered them today. I had originally ordered the rear pair from Tatum electonics which was happy to take my money but not to ship anything. At any rate if you are looking for great speakers at an incredible price go to jandr.com before they are gone. May 25th 1999

Similar Products Used:

Many, many different Bookshelf speakers over the years.

I love these speakers, have only had them a week. I was influenced by a year old rave review in Audio and the 179.95 price. These are the first speakers I have ever purchased without hearing first. The longer I listen to these speakers the better they sound, very detailed and involving with no listener fatigue. I Like them so much I bought an HLS center and an Onkyo AC3/DTS receiver. Too bad JBL has discontinued them.