Clean high and tight low frequencies

None

You would be hard pressed to find a better quality and sounding speaker in the price range or even a few hundred dollars more. It was funny, I was in Best Buy one day just browsing and the salesperson was telling me that he knew when someone was doing a test listen on the JBL speakers from the other end of the store due to the quality of the sound. He was right....as I could not belive what I was hearing when I did a test drive of the JBL N38 at home.
Incredible frequency response....I have re-listen to all my old CDs and DVDs now. I am hearing new sounds that I didn't hear before. The bass response on this speaker will impress anyone. I could not believe the rich and tight lows that the N38 provides coming from smaller woofer than 12 inches.
I am sold on JBL now so much that I bought the JBL S-Center channel speaker to match the front end of my home theater.
I searched CNET to find the best price on the JBL N38s and found them for $277 at a place called AOKNET. I had no problems with that company...nice experience.

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Cerwin Vega, Yamaha

see below

look elsewhere, 'cause they ain't here

yes, they're LOUD

yes, they "rock"

a lot has been said on this site about these spkrs, & i'd like to thank everyone here who helped nudge me toward them (also test-drove polk, paradigm, boston acoustic & b&w .. found these to be the best deal ... they sounded better than both polk & b&w)

BUT ...

i'd also like to add one thing i think is the hugest selling point for these little buggers & seems to have been largely overlooked here. the IMAGING on these things is INCREDIBLE for a spkr in this price range ... or in the price range just above it, for that matter. have had them over a month, they do justice to home theatre, DTS, DD 5.1, &c ... but here's a suggestion for those who are looking to take these for a HARD test-drive ... set your a/v unit to plain old two-channel mode, pop in Weather Report's "Heavy Weather" & turn out the lights ... you won't need a tv screen to see the things that wiggle past your ears & curl up around your head ... the sound SWIMS around you, even in good ole' stereo ... WOW

Similar Products Used:

acoustic research, marantz

Clean accurate sound,suprisingly good bass for 8 in. woofers

None at this price

Decided to replace my 15 year old EPI speakers after 3 months of looking settled on these. I dont believe you can find a better sounding speaker for the money. Any one looking for a good sounding speaker and not wanting to spend $500 or more should listen to these. I also found them to be front heavy as many others have mentioned if placed on a carpet. Just put a shim under the front and the problem is solved. Thanks to the people before me who wrote favorable reviews on these speakers I felt I should also recomend these to anyone looking for a great buy. Have a listen as I did and decide for yourself.

Price, Sound Quality, Sound Stage, Bass Output, Power Handling

Front Heavy Design

I just picked up these speakers this weekend, partially due to the reviews here by you folks. I only found this site a few weeks ago, but enjoy seeing a site devoted to home audio enthusiasts as it has helped to rapidly refresh my love of audio. Anyway, I picked up a PB10 last week to give my Amp a break, and decided a few days later to down size the footprint of my main speakers, but upgrade the sound quality. I thougth about NHT's but didn't want to spend the money. In my opinion these (N38's) are only a notch under them (NHT's). I thought the N38's had a slighly more natural and musical sound than even the more expensive JBL units beside them at the store. Coming from my CV's I was extremely impressed with the clean bass output. The mids are right on in tonal quality, and the highs are very natural sounding as well. I believe these drivers are well matched to one another. In HT mode they excel as well, as I use my main speakers in this capacity the most. Next I just need a center channel to replace my massive CV model with dual 6.5's!

My current system is:
Carver CMV-1185 Integrated Amp
H/K FL 8450
Old Sony 2 well Tape (rarely used)
CV center channel
JBL N38 Mains
PB10 Sub
NXG NX-6W in-ceiling surrounds (work well enough as my carver is just Dolby Pro Logic)

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Not Similar at all but these speakers replaced my CerwinVega RE-30's

Very detailed and complete range of sound.

A little tight in the highs.

I am very happy with the purchase of these speakers. I had initially purchased the N28 two way speaker for my fronts but did not find that they were a significant enough improvement over my previous speakers. Was willing to pay the extra for a more complete spectrum of sound. I purchased the JBL PB10 sub at the same time and my music and movies have been vastly improved through these changes. I have not yet gotten to the point where volume has caused distortion or buzzing of any kind from these speakers. I later purchased the N-center to complete my front soundstage and have a great sounding system.

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Sound Dynamics Titamium Series

Price, High Frequencies, Looks

Tips forward on Carpet, Not enough lows

Earlier I was using infinity RS4 with JBL S-Center. Though these Infinities have very sweet highs, they were not a good match with JBL S-Center. When a train goes from right to left, the sound tone would change as the center speaker come alive and then it would change again when it goes to the other main speaker. So I moved RS4 as my rear and after a lot of research and reading at this site, I decided on N38. A better match for S-Center would have been S-312, but those were too expensive. Also the difference is mainly on the low frequencies, and with a sub-woofer that should not matter. So I got these from etronics (a pleasant experience, it was delivered home at $300 within a week of the order) and now I am re-auditioning all those DVDs and music CDs. The RS4 have real sweet tweeters; so I can not say that I am hearing more high frequencies, but there is notable improvement in the mid-range. This is a perfect match for my Yamaha HTR-5250 receiver. An advice for guys who want to mix and match speakers --- Please get matching pair of main and center speakers.

I am thrilled to give 5 for value and 5 for overall rating.

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Infinity, Onkyo, Yahama, Sony, KLH

Clear mids and highs. Very strong base.

Speaker could be a few inches taller.

These speakers have unbelievably good sound! High frequencies are clear without being over-emphasized. The bass output from the 8 inch woofers compare to many 10 and 12 inch drivers! It is also tight and clean; not sloppy like less-expensive speakers. I was absolutely taken away by the bass output. Many lower priced subs would not even be able to compete with these. To optimize the sound, I would reccoment using 8 or 10 inch speaker stands as this will bring the tweeters closer to ear level. Overall, a great buy since you can find them for around $300 including shipping on the net (They are $199 each+tax at Best Buy).

Quality sound all over.

Front heavy on soft carpet

I had bought the HLS-610 speakers to replace some "nice" computer speakers. And it was just amazing the difference, but they lacked bass. So I started looking for better front speakers. I had originally planned on buying the JBL-N310s, but saw these for such a great price, I figured I could try them out for a while and if I didn't want them, I could even sell them for a profit. And these put my HLS-610s to shame. They are very lifelike. The only subwoofers that would do these justice would be the top of the line really low frequency subs. So I bought the JBl PSW-D115. Which is very very nice. I get better sound at home than going to a movie theater.

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JBL HLS-610, junky stereo speakers.

Strong Clarity & bass response

None

These speakers are simply amazing. I auditioned them against every speaker they had at Best Buy. Sony, KLH, Bose, Cerwin Vega, Yamaha. None of them could match the clarity & presence of them. I even liked them better than the S-38's and the ND-310 which is a 4-way 10 incher! They had a more laid back mellow sound, not quite as chesty as the ND-310's & a bit stronger bass than the S-38's. None of the other brands could even come close. I was initially skeptical when I was looking at them, but am a true believer now! I ran them through Jazz, Pop, Rap & some rock & they took everything in stride & put out the most accurate sound I have heard from a speaker not costing an absolute fortune in a long time. I got the N-Center at the same time & my home theater has never sounded better. Totally seamless. I am thoroughly impressed.

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Fisher Studio Standard 12" / Sony Maximum TV system

Crystal clear mids and highs and aolid and deep bass proformance.

none

i just purchased the jbl n-38's for 238 a pair at dbl distributing with no tax. that is where i get all my electronic stuff.before i bought them i listened to them at best buy and was amazed. the mid's and highs were sharp and accurate and the bass response out of a speaker driver that size was incredible. Deep, clean bass.i also listened to some acoustic research tower speakers in the same price range and sound nothing like the quality of the jbl's. i also looked at bose and even they seemed to have flaws. that's why the n-38's are my choice. they are the best speakers i have ever purchased. i am using these as my front speakers with a sony str-de425 receiver and they kick ass. i am now having second thoughts about buying a powered sub because of the bass response of the n-38's. i would definately recommend these speakers to anyone who wants high quality sound reproduction for a lean price.

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sony toshiba