Great surround speaker.

None, at least as surround speakers

I recently upgraded my system to Dolby Digital / DTS from pro-logic. While using the pro-logic format I never thought it worth the time to install surround speakers. Especially since my wife does not like the idea, and surround speakers in pro-logic are week.

I started out with some real cheap surround (black) speakers thinking they don't really matter. My wife hated the look and they did not sound good. I could immediately tell surround speakers play a much bigger role in 5.1 format. My receiver has a 5 ch. stereo mode which also exploited these cheap speakers. (they were advent marble's from costco $50 pair)

I ran across the JBL N-24aw (all weather, white) speakers and decided to get a pair.

These speakers sound great. The sound they put out is very clear, crisp and surprisingly full. My wife thinks they look so much better so she's happy. They come with a very versatile mounting system, and are a breeze to install.

I am very happy with these speakers and see no reason to look further. They sound great as surround speakers in HT, and sound great in 5 ch. stereo.

I do agree with others though, and would not call upon them to serve as front speakers. I currently have Mission 733's as my fronts with a AR powered sub.

I would recommend these as surround speakers to anyone.

Similar Products Used:

Polk, Bose

Price, Clarity, Included brackets, JBl warranty.

None so far

I got these from BestPriceAudioVideo.com through an e-bay auction. at $60/pair I couldn't pass them up. I have since matched them with a 10" JBL sub and the sound is extraordinary. I never exepected these speakers to have booming bass, but they do have very clear midranges and sparkling highs. For the small apartment that I live in they will play plenty loud and they bring a high level of realism to both my music and my movies.

Now I just need to get a matching center channel and another pair for the rears.

A great sounding entry-level speaker for movies and some music. Small, compact design, easily mounted on a wall.

A noticeable lack of presence in most classical music listening. Poor bass output. Best when used with a subwoofer.

I am currently using two pairs of the JBL N24's. One pair serves as the mains, and the other pair is being used as surrounds. I have a very small listening space and so I am using a Yamaha YST-SW45 subwoofer for the low end, and an Acoustic Research C225 center channel. This speaker ensemble sounds terrific on movies! One DVD that stands out in my mind as being a terrific movie to test out a speaker ensemble is "Snow Falling on Cedars", because there is a fine balance of loud and soft signals being distributed through all 5.1 channels. The JBL N24's shine in movie performance, effortlessly producing both louds and softs with great response and clarity with little distortion. They are also well matched (to my surprise) with the Acoustic Research center-channel.

The N24's wall mounts are stable, quiet, and easily adjustable. You have no idea of how much floor-space I've saved by selling my towers and opting to go with the N24's! Considering the small size of my apartment, it was a necessity! The appearance of the speakers on the walls are nice to look at. Though I prefer to keep the grilles on, they are removable, and the speaker looks just as attractive with or without the grilles.

In terms of music, here is where all of the weaknesses come into play. Bass response is VERY poor with these speakers, but that is quickly remedied with a decent subwoofer. Though small, the Yamaha YST-SW45 does a good job of making up for the N24's poor bass response. These speakers do a wonderful job at reproducing jazz, or rock and roll, but in terms of performance with classical music recordings, the N24's are seriously lacking in presence and depth of sound, even at high listening volumes. Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" conducted by Bernstein didn't have the barbaric "punch" needed to achieve the musical effect of the work. Also, these speakers have difficulty faithfully reproducing classical piano music. For my classical music listening, I'll upgrade to a better set of main speakers and hook them up to my Speaker-B outputs.

In conclusion, the N24's are a wonderful bargain-priced speaker. For a little over two-hundred dollars, you can have a pair of mains and a pair of matching surrounds that don't wimp out on movies and most music cd's. For under $1000 dollars, I've accumulated a very competitent 5.1 Dolby-Digital, DTS surround system and if it weren't for the JBL N24's I would not be able to make such a boast. If home theater is your thing, then the N24's are a sure bet! If you're listening demands are more music-oriented (especially classical), then I would look elsewhere for a better pair of mains.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, Sony, Optimus.

VERY Clear Highs/Mids, very good price.

Needs subwoofer, bass response is weak.

I purchased the JBL NS24's as part of the JBL NSP1 five speaker Northridge system and a JBL PB12 subwoofer, and I must say that I am EXTREMELY HAPPY with my purchase. This system sounds especially good on movies. For the $300 price I think you would have a hard time beating these speakers. AOKNET does not sale JBL speakers anymore, but the NSP1 system can be purchased at http://www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com for about the same price. Every place else has them for $450 to $500.

Similar Products Used:

yahama bookshelf speakers

3/4" Titanium laminate tweeters on all 5 speakers, coupled with JBL's latest technology, the Elliptical Oblate Spheroid (EOS) waveguide; seamless soundstage and wide dispersion @ REF Level

None

(The following N24 review is really part of the JBL NSP1 [qty -4- N24s & qty -1- N Center] package*)

CD Music: (Technics SL-MC410 110+1 Mega Changer - SPL no higher than 92 dB Fast SPL peaks)
Brent's review @ etown (see below for link) briefly comments how the N24s "out-imaged any other mini I've used in a wall-mount configuration. I didn't think a wall-mounted speaker could image so well. Voices levitated in the air in front of me; the hand percussion in Holly Cole's "Train Song" floated about between the speakers; and I got much more sense of a soundstage than I'm used to getting."

I've confirmed Brent's review by sampling my favorite and familiar Music CD's by Bob James, David Benoit, Joe Sample and The Rippingtons. Cymbal crashes, rides, attacks were all solid, sharp, & airy (like my son's Zildjian cymbals - Tama Rock set); the Piano & Keyboards were as accurate as my 6' Yamaha Grand & Yamaha Electronic Keyboard; the Violins were smooth, sweet & solidly placed beyond the speakers; Acoustic Guitars sounded like my "1976 (Rosewood side & back) Allegro" hand made Classical Guitar!; and Brent already commented how great the mids were, but let me add that "Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim*" were in my living room when I played the Music CD with the same name! (*great 1967 Digital remastered) DDD Music CD's really shined & the JBL NSP1 didn't disappoint! (Sampled w/Pro-Logic on & off)

A/V Receiver: Yamaha RX-V995

Highly recommended

Read Brent Butterworth's JBL N24 Review @ etown http://www.etown.com/categories/product_review.jhtml?bodyinclude=product_review&productID=3637)

*My entire JBL NSP1 review, is posted @ my website http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/3401/JBL_NSP1_RV.html

NOTE: The JBL N24 Speakers, would be considered not very efficient due to the Sensitivity Rating 86 dB @ 1w / 1m. This means, if you plan to run this set without an powered sub, I would recommend an honestly rated 80w x 5 A/V Receiver, or higher. If you have an powered sub, then 70w x 5 minimum would be required!

See my webpage "Is 100w x 5 Really 100w x 5?? @ http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/3401/ratevsac.htm

5 stars!!!

Similar Products Used:

DCM TF250, JBL ARC Center, ARC 10 and JBL "J" series, J820M Mains, J520M Surrounds and SC305 Center (same 14mm Ti Tweeter w/J820M)

Looks, cost, sound.

I had to turn them up on my receiver compaired to my other speakers.

I needed to replace the crappy sony's I had for surrounds but wanted to match my infinity (rs-5's and cc-2) in the front. I tried the qps-1's and us-1's and wasnt compleatly satisfied. The n-24s are great so good infact that my wife's response changed from "what the hell do we need new back speakers for" to "well they don't sound to bad" when we watched the first few minutes of id4 to "I didn't realize how bad our old speakers were, why didn't you get these a while ago" by the end of the movie. She was also impressed with the price $88 shipped thru www.liquidprice.com after $30 in rebates. Even though they took a little more power than my sony's I still give them my highest rating.

Similar Products Used:

qps-1, us-1 from infinity and sony rears.

small size, big power, very well finished, great audio quality

none so far

I decided for JBL N24 for surround speakers in my HT due to practical reasons: very small size speakers, with a great audio quality. Lows are deep, highs are crisp. Speakers come with wall mount adapters, making installation possible almost anywhere. They look as good in the wall as they sound to your ears. Buy it and you will not regret.

Similar Products Used:

Gradiente surround speakers

Great surround speaker

No real bass

These are great surround speakers. I wouldn't recommend them for anything else though. They are just too small to produce any real bass response, but then again, I bought them for surround speakers. Wall mount brackets are a nice touch also.

Similar Products Used:

None