It does play music.......

Muffled sound that lacks any resemblence of clarity across the board.

Purchased this speaker online without getting a good chance to evaluate it with other centers and learned first leason of home theater...never buy something you cannot listen to first. I originally purchased it for use in a JBL 5.1 system. Now this speaker is whats holding back a quality Paradigm 5.1 system and its days are numbered...just a few more paychecks. This speaker just plain sounds muffled. Even my roomate who knows nothing about HT systems thinks it sounds like crap. I might as well put the speaker in another room for all the clarity it gives me. This speaker is easily out played by the much older Paradigm CC-170 I grew up with. What a waste of money.

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Paradigm CC-170

Good clear midrange with no problems in crossovers.

Lack the crisp sound provided by higher frequencies. The lower frequencies are also lacking for a speaker of this price.

The speaker has a level and clear midrange. A male voice comes through nicely. This is a $250 speaker and I placed it next to a KLH Model 970A $15 speaker for evaluation. Only a slight variation in voice was detected and I cannot tell you which one was better. This JBL speaker lacks treble and bass clarity. I am told a center channel should only play the voice range. I say it should play what the music source and the center channel decoder tells it to play. For a $250 speaker I want more range. I want the speaker to assist a little in the upper bass. It also took more than normal power to drive it. I have a $15 KLH 970A speaker that out performed it using an audio oscillator and frequency meter. The $15 speaker matched it in a variety of music selections. It is a good speaker but it is not worth $250.

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I have a $15 KLH 970A speaker that out performed it using an audio oscillator and frequency meter. The $15 speaker matched it in a variety of music selections. It is a good speaker but it is not worth

Vocal clarity, stunning sound, Blends seamlessly with the larger Studio series mains.

Size (it is huge,) Plastic enclosure (not a big deal.)

I recently purchaced this center channel as an upgrade to compliment my S-310 II main speakers. I'll tell you what...it is everything these reviews say it is. It really opens up the home theater experience. I had to re-watch several movies just to hear everything that I had missed before. The S-Center blends seamlessly with the S-310 mains. When a sound "moves" across the soundstage, you don't really notice the speaker transition, like I used to. Dialog is very crisp and clear. Even at lower volumes, it is easy to disern whispers or mumbled voices in movies. The midrange is VERY present, and some vocal movie scenes with screaming or loud crashes can get slightly harsh. My S-310's display similar traits...so I have to assume it is part of JBL's design philosophy....albeit one my ears don't entirely agree with. I will say that the tweeter is excellent. Watching glass breaking in T2, you can distinctly hear every piece hit the floor with uncanny realism. It was very impressive. Overall, the S-Center is very impressive. It has brought my home theater experience to a new level. For the money, I doubt it is possible to find an equal. As for the plastic casing...I am undecided. It is a departure from the rest of the Studio series line. It is extremely sturdy, but doesn't say "quality" like my S-310's cabinet. I am sure they were able to optimize sound production being able to free form the enclosure though.

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Onkyo Center...not even in the same league as the S-Center

Separates out sound well. Works well with the S-38II mains....

Cheap Plastic/Size

This speaker is impressive. I replaced a old center speaker I was using for a long time. I first got the N centerII but was not all that impressed. I Plugged in the S-centerII and the sounds just came alive.

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Yamaha, Kenwood

Crisp clear sound at a very affordable price. I got mine on eBay for $153 ($128 bid, $25 shipping). The mids hit where they need to and the highs are right on target for me.

Haven't really found one. It's quite heavy, but sits well on my 36" HD RCA TV.

This review is for the S Center II. Well, I've only had this puppy for a week, but man has it brought out the best in my DVD's! I bought this after reading reviews from here and I'm glad that I did!! I also listened to it at BestBuy, but wasn't going to pay their price for it! I didn't realize I needed a real center channel speaker until I watched the Superbowl in HD at my cousins place. I'm not sure what kind he had, but it wasn't one of those small satellites like I had. I got a free Yamaha speaker package with my Sony receiver and figured that was good enough for me until I heard better. The dialogue is crisp and clear and when the music plays I hear more clarity in that as well. Now my only problem is that I'm still using the small satellites as fronts and rears. I think I might try the S310II's or the S38II's to complement my new center channel. I live in an apartment and my neighbor has been home every night this past week, so I haven't been able to really crank it up to hear what else comes out of this beauty. One day soon I will just not give a darn a let go! I'm a beginning audio enthusiast so I don't know all the technical talk. I just know that I like what this speaker has done for my home theater experience.

Clear Vocals

grill pegs

Was looking for a good value center speaker - first spotted at best buy. It retailed there for $299 (obviously bogusly inflated price) and got it online for 115. Hooked it up right away to my Onkyo receiver and...WOW. Incredibly clear dialogue in DVD's that I never thought possible. Being on a tight budget, I was just using my even cheaper JBL main speakers for all sound. Basically, this JBL is a beefy speaker (nice and heavy) and is very clear. Has solid gold binding posts to accommodate 12 gauge wire (I have 16). I highly recommend this product to anyone, even with a high budget. You will NOT be disappointed.

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non

Dialogue. Mids, highs.

None

This is just a fantastic center channel speaker! Dialogue is outstanding. I did have the JBL HLS center channel, but decided to upgrade my front three speakers with JBL S38 and S center. While the HLS was a good center channel (4 star), the S center is one star better. The midrange and highs are excellent. There is never any difficulty hearing any dialogue that previously had been hard to hear without cranking up the center setting on receiver. Every nuance and detail is heard clearly without strain. It definately seems much more like the sound at the movie theater! This spaeker has a very high sensitivity rating also. I had to actually turn my center setting down a few db to match my S38 fronts. I really don't see how a center could really be any better.

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JBL HLS Center. Have heard Polks

Effortless sound High Sensitivity 3-Way design Matches my TV well

none I've noticed

I bought the S-CenterII becauseof the excellent reviews here and the fact I could get a good price on it. I like the was it holds down the action on movies and makes the dialouge come alive and jump out at you when it is supposed to. The 3-way design reproduces the full range of sound pretty well, lacking a bit on the bottom end perhaps but thats not a huge issue for a center channel as its backed up my a large sub in my set-up. It effortly reproduces my dvd video and audio at louder than sane volume levels, never sounds distorted or strained. I have it crossed at 60hz via my ES recievers bass management matching it well with my JBL S-26 fronts and my Sony/Fosgate Hybrid "subzilla" (see my SA-WM40 review for details) I am very impressed with this center channel and think its a good pick for a home theater buff on a tight budget

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JVC mini system center channel Bose VCS-10 (YUCK) JBL N-Center (good for a smaller budget but not enough oomph for my taste) Sony HTIB center (Uhhhhh no!)

Great tone quality at all volume levels

I have noticed some TV distortion at high volume levels.

I just purchased a JBL S-CenterII center channel and it's wonderful. I've owned a pair of JBL Studio L80T's for a number of years and have been totally pleased with their performance. My current setup is: Yamaha HTR-5550 Sony DVP-NS715P DVD Player JBL N24II Rear JBL S-CenterII Center JBL L80T Mains

Great power handling at 150 watts. Superb Mids & highs. Killer looking appearance. Great buy for the$$

Tweeters seemed a little bright at first but settled down quite pleasing

I went with this Center Channel to complement my Jbl S-310's. I purchased this back in April 2002 & I can't beleive how great it sounds now that it's been properly 'broken in'. I haven't heard a hint of strain or distortion from this speaker at all. For a plastic casing it has a surprisingly rich sound. The mid-range is full & wide. The pure titanium tweeter I'll admit was a tad bright to my ears at fisrt. But now that it's settled down the highs are crisp,clear & clean. For the money I'd recommend this anyone like me who is on best bang for the buck budget. Plus it's a killer looking speaker IMHO !! This can handle all the range of sounds from soft dialogue to explosive gunfire. Since JBL is the choice of over 80% of movie theaters around the world, you know you can't go wrong for the $$. My Gear: Harman Kardon AVR 220 a/v reciever JBL S-310 mains JBL S-Center JBL N-24 rears JBL Pb-10 subwoofer Panasonic DVD-RP62 prog scan player Panasonic PT-47WX52C 47" 16x9HD RPTV Technics 5 disc CD player

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listened to polk, paradigms & bose