full and crisp sound, sound great for HT and music, look great, binding post

Need to be a little taller to be at the proper hieght for HT

I did a lot of research before this purchase and this is without a doubt, one of the best deals out there. I got them for $138 ea. at dynadirect.com. This site is great. They let you calculate your shipping and they charge you the actual UPS price. After you buy it, they make it easy to track. I bought my entire set of JBL speakers there. A killer HT speaker set up for around $700 delivered to my front door.

I use a yamaha HTR-5280 with 110watts/ch and these speakers go louder than I will ever need them to with no distortion. I listened to them at best buy and compared them to some higher priced JBL's and they sounded better. I was interested in the N310 also, but after I heard them side by side there was no comparison.

Personally I think they are one of the best looking speakers on the market. The speaker grills will only go back on for protection during parties and when I move.

I would definitely recommend this entire system to anyone. This package is about as good as you can do for less than $750.

Other equipment:
N38 138 ea.
NCenter $99
N26 $138/pair
PB10 sub $199
Yamaha HTR-5280 ($530)

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood, and some crappy RCA's (like RCA makes anything else) and a lot of profesional audio speakers

Crisp highs, bass is incredible, well built, binding post connectors, beautiful speakers.

Not really a weakness as such, but apartment dwellers beware, the bass output of these things could break your lease!

Stepped up from the S-26 to the N-38. Did a lot of homework researching these speakers before my purchase (including this site, of course), and it paid off handsomely. I am extremely pleased with these speakers. As metioned above, sound is fantastic. Crisp, clear highs, and LOW lows..I personally don't feel a sub is needed with these speakers.
(My opinion on this is strictly for music only..HT is another matter, of course.)
MY setup consists of:
Onkyo TX-8511 receiver
Onkyo DX-C370 CD changer
Onkyo TA-WR244 cassette deck
Philips CDR-880 CD burner
JBL N-38 speakers

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha NX-H100T, JBL S-26

Sound Quality and Accuracy. I especially like the fact that these speakers will still sound wonderful when I'm in another room.

forward tipping.

One of the nicest pair of speaker's I've listened to in soome time. For the cost - especially, with the discount you should expect to get as this speaker is soon to be replaced - it is truly exceptional.

Many of the reviews here seem to be by younger folks praising the speaker's ability to "rock." This was an atribute I was a little concerned over because it was more important to me to have a hiughly accurate spreaker that would reproduce a symponic experience, not just a high volume jam session.

I was very pleased to find out that I was not diappointed - if Issac Perman ever performs with Peraljam - this speaker wouldn't miss a beat duplicating that unique preformance.

One issue - and i hope JBL take note of it because there's no excuse for it in what is otherwise an outstanding design. The speaker is front heavy - literally, it wants to fall forward. I resolve this by wedge the front up.

And a word of caution - bewary of doing buisness with videoplusaudio.com - My wife origionally tried to purchases these speakers for me for Christmas. Vidiplusaudio lied with regard to price on a follow-up to respond.com, they misled on their web site, they are rude on the phone, they don't reply to e-mail... enough said.

Look for these speakers in the $250 or less a pair as they are being sold off and enjoy!

Great Sound, Great Price (closeout), JBL reputation, Great Looks

front-heavy on carpeting (as others have found), grills are a bit cumbersome to put on

Just bought these speakers from M.W. Saw these for a great price (40% off), and could not pass them up. They sound great, they look great, and they can stand on their own in high-volume situations. Highs sound great, lows are clean, and looks are nothing less than stunning. The only two problems with them that I have found in my 3 days of owning them would be the weight problem with the front of the speakers. Also, the grills take a little skill to put back on after removing. This only comes into play when I'm dusting them. Other than that, they stay on the speakers. At any rate, they are a top-notch speaker and I look forward to having these for many years to come.

Similar Products Used:

JBL J-2080 speakers (see review)

Great Sound, Great Price (closeout), JBL reputation, Great Looks

front-heavy on carpeting (as others have found), grills are a bit cumbersome to put on

Just bought these speakers from M.W. Saw these for a great price (40% off), and could not pass them up. They sound great, they look great, and they can stand on their own in high-volume situations. Highs sound great, lows are clean, and looks are nothing less than stunning. The only two problems with them that I have found in my 3 days of owning them would be the weight problem with the front of the speakers. Also, the grills take a little skill to put back on after removing. This only comes into play when I'm dusting them. Other than that, they stay on the speakers. At any rate, they are a top-notch speaker and I look forward to having these for many years to come.

Similar Products Used:

JBL J-2080 speakers (see review)

Great clarity, decent bass for an 8-inch woofer, great styling!!

Pretty short, and if you want any real bass, a subwoofer is definitely needed.

These were definitely a step up from my cheap pioneer speakers. I was pleased with these when I had my old JVC receiver, and I was blown away when I got my new Onkyo 8511 receiver and put 100 REAL watts into them.

I have decided to get rid of these for two reasons, and they have little to do with the actual speakers. One is that I live in dorm and I don't have much space to place these, and the second reason is that I found a pair of JBL S38 bookshelf speakers for less than I bought these.

Personally, If you're looking for a good set of front speakers, I would suggest trying either these or the s38...but only if you have a powered subwoofer to go with it. Bass is one of my main concerns, and the n38's did not quite cut it for me...but for some people the bass output is perfect. It really depends on your listening style.

The value for the money is great....Unless you want to spend double what you would pay for these...they blow away anything in their price range.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer floor speakers

Very clear, lifelike sound, small footprint

Yes, folks, they're front heavy.

Excellent speakers for the money! Better put some sort of shim under the front of these things, but once you've done that and hook 'em up, you'll be pleased with the clear sound. I'm sure better speakers could be had, but you'll be hard pressed to find 'em this good for $260 for the pair.

My "all new" system:

Onkyo 595 receiver
Pioneer CV603 DVD
JBL N-38 Mains
JBL N-26 AW (the only way to get white) Surrounds
N-Center

Similar Products Used:

Klipch, Bose

Very good bass and mids.

high's could sounds better, especially when you crank it. I'm sure part of it has to do with my reciever

Lets just say that my friend, who just bought $1000 worth of polks was disappointed about his after hearing mine. You get great speakers for the money. But i must say that the high's could sound crisper and more focused. Not so distorted. As i said before, a higher wattage amp would help a lot. Highs are good if you dont crank it. Dont get these if you live in an apartment...neighbors will hate you.
4 stars cause of the high's. The high's are good for HT though...so so for music.
Sorry if post sounds a little confusing.

Similar Products Used:

hls 610's

Great sound and depth

None

For the price, these are great speakers. I went to Best Buy to do a test listen. These N38 sounded the best of the JBL line, including the larger model (310?)

These definately won't have adequate bass by themselves, but then I don't think any mains will (except those w/ built in powered subs) But the highs and mids are outstanding.

Great great sound! get these unless you plan on spending $500+ per speaker. A great match with my Yamaha 5240.

Accurate sound, wonderful base, good for both classic and home theater

without a standard, it's little bit lower; And it appears unbalance -- front is much heavy than rear.

According to my 4 months comparing, I believe I can not find any other speakers can compete N38 on price+perfromance. Accurate sound, rich bass, lower price, what else can I expect any more? I really enjoyed them daily by playing operas, country music, and have fun with T2(DVD), bugs life(DVD). They are just perfect!

OK, Well, there's one thing bothering me -- the balance. Putting N38 on my deep carpet seems it's going to fall face down! I have to insert some thing under the speaker in the front part, which is obviously not a right solution. People says a stander could resolve this problem. Have not time try yet, but deeply believe!