Clear sound, value for money

A little large

Overall these are a perfect match for my overall JBL system (see other reviews on this site).
They are a 3 way design (thus big, but also sound nice).
They have a very good sound and speach capabilities, yet they are not 'pure mid range' like the Bose were.
They also are pleasing to look at, and can look very nice without the grill too. 5 years is a good number for warranty because the center speaker is working daily.

My system:
Denon AVR-4800
JBL S412P front
JBL TLX271P mid surrond
JBL S38 rear surround
JBL S Center

If you own JBL speakers, you can not go wrong with this one, especially not for that price.

Similar Products Used:

Bose center speaker

Clarity, Quality, Price

None

I love this speaker. For the price I love this speaker. It is connected to a Yamaha 2095 receiver and ATI 1505 amp, the mains are Mirage OM8, front effects Bose Satellites, Mirage HP150i sub, and JBL S312 rears. The sound is incredibly clear (something like crystal clear). The first movie I watched was Shakespere in Love (heck I thought I was one of the actors!) Then I had to try Matrix (what sound!!). The only thing needed is popcorn.

Good bandwidth, dynamics, clarity

Tends to exaggerate hiss (it's that little 1" firecat)

This is a real bargain. I paid $175 at Sound Distributors and I couldn't be more pleased. It integrated into my DIY system really nicely and brings some much needed clarity and snap into the center channel. Unlike some other reviews I have found it surprisingly keen to produce lower midrange and upper bass, and my ideal eq settings actually roll this off a little for optimum balance... but it's OK even with everything flat. I'm not a big JBL fan outside the sound reinforcement area, but this device has made me reconsider.

Similar Products Used:

cerwin-vega and polk

Awesome clarity and dispersion. Built quality and looks.

None that I can mention right now

Hello all,

I just got the S-center and I am really amazed with the sound. As many of you have already mentioned, JBL has done an excellent job with this speaker.

I am really glad I exchanged the HLS for this one, because even though I rotated the horn by 90 degrees, it still sounded dry. I know it's not the receiver either, because I'm also really happy with that too (Denon AVR-1800).

Perhaps the only downside to this speaker is that it's made in Taiwan. This is not really important though. It's just that JBL makes most of their products in the US, such as the HLS series...

Finally, I managed to buy this speaker for $136 at Best Buy, with my discount.

Overall, a very good center, which I highly recommend over the HLS center any time!!

Dimitri
U. of Minnesota

Similar Products Used:

HLS-Center

Very good midrange vocals and decent sensitivity

Style doesn't match with my other speakers (not really a weakness).

I just received it yesterday, I got it for $165 shipped from JandR music world. I was very pleasantly suprised that a center channel at this price can perform this well. I tested it out with mostly music DVD's and it held up very well. James Taylor's vocals sounded very natural and the same ocurred with Sara Mcluaglin in the "SUPER NATURAL" disc. I'm using an Onkyo 575x which has the capability of 5 channel stereo and the sound was stunning. My other option was the klipsch rc-3 (the refrence series center) but I was not going to shell out almost $300 for it and there really isn't much of a diference sound wise. Finally, I would recommend this unit to anyone who has a modest home theater and looking for the best center under $200.

Similar Products Used:

Pinnacle,Klipsch

Excellent sound reproduction and clarity, cosmetically appealing, inexpensive for its class

None

I was going to get the N-center from Best Buy when the guy convinced me to get this one by letting me hear it. At Best Buy they had this thing hooked up as a main speaker from a Pioneer receiver playing just regular music. The guy didnt even have it hooked up correctly, but wow, did this thing rock. Its got good bass response for a speaker not designed with bass in mind. Its a nice looking speaker, and it gives good presence. I havent come across any disadvantages to using this (unlike others on here, I dont think its too big). I have my TV right below it, and theres about a one inch gap between the TV and board that the speaker is on, and the board is about 3/4 inch thick particle board, so the bottom of the speaker is 1 3/4 inches away from the top of my TV and there is absolutely no color distortion. A great speaker, I kinda wish I would have gotten it cheaper at some place online, but oh well.

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Ive heard plenty of home theatre setups, but this is my first setup.

clarity, prescence

none so far

besides the low end pioneer center I have been using, I had originally bought the N-center from JBL. Was a definite step up from the pioneer, but when I decided to buy new fronts (chose JBL S-312's), the S-Center seemed the logical choice. I got good deal from Shop4.com on both, and after patiently waiting they arrived 10 days later. I havent looked back yet, and the center really shines. Dialouge has clear prescence , even at lower levels which forced to listen at since in upstairs apt.
I started out with center channel using any speaker I could find, since its only "dialouge" Expierenced HT users know that's bull, and the majority of the movie's soundtrack is ported to center channel. You have to have a decent center channel!!!!! Im sure there are better ones, but for my pocketbook, and electronics, the JBL is actually high-end. It defintely can handle center ported bass. Highly recommend.

Used with:
Kenwood 309 Receiver
Toshiba 2109 DVD
JBL S-312's (front spkrs)
Pioneer cx-580(surrounds)

Similar Products Used:

pioneer (low end model)

Great sound quality for the price.

not enough bass, but that's what subs are for:)

This is my first center after getting rid of my KLH speaker. Wow, what a difference! Definately a must for a budget system. I was planning to purchase a MB Quart center, but I went with this one instead. After setting this up, I'm planning to upgrade to the rest of the Studio line from JBL. For under $200, this center speaker is the best out there!

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KLH center

very very clean sound

lows only gets down to 80 Htz

very detailed voices sound accurate and forward im hearing things that i dont here on my brothers bose center speaker so that tells me alot i think it would be best if you set your reciever center to small so yor lows go to your sub any ways sound below 100 Htz is non directional well it's movie time gotta go good luck with yours

Similar Products Used:

none

Clarity, contrast, explosiveness, VALUE, asthetics

not applicable

Tickled as I was, to get a good deal on the center that sounded so good in the store...I was blown away when I got it hooked up, and going with my Sony STR DE845 reciever. As with other reviewers, I had to tone it down a bit, as it, all of a sudden, became the only good speaker I had, by comparason. I am not a Bose basher, but I know the difference now. I was bidding on a pair of S38's on eBay, but they were sniped. I was planning on getting a set of Mission 773e's, but I will wait for the matching S38's, after hearing the S-Center. OMG! For rears, I got the BIC DV52si's (augmented), and a Dalquist 400watt sub. On a side note...Lou from Ohio can't be telling the truth...

Similar Products Used:

Bose, Infinity, Advent