Super high quality midrange and high sounds, superb crisp bass. Great looking high-class "beech" colour finish.

Looks a little awkward with the grills on (probably won't look bad with the black ash finish but it does look wierd with my "beech" finish). Still needs a sub.

What can I say...you can't find a more perfect product at this price range. The S310s produce sound that you would only expect from speakers triple its price. And I am not alone with this opinion, Stereophile also had a similar opinion in their review of the JBL S38s.

Super clean and crisp highs & midrange, while the bass is a little "british". It doesn't exactly give you that aftershock bass response but it does produce very crisp and tidy ones, which is fine with me.

I had a little scare with these speakers when I discovered there were very minuature hairline cracks/scratches on the surface (the surround) of my midrange driver. I thought my midrange was doomed for good, but some really nice audiophile sorted things out and suggested that this is pretty normal for paper-type (in this speaker's case Polymer-Coated Polyplas fiber) surrounds to have little scratches/cracks during its break-in period. This seems like the case, because first, they are very new. And second, I notice there isn't any distortion coming from the speakers at all (which there will be if there were cracks).

This system deserves a 5 in every category. You just can't find a better series of speakers than the JBL Studio line in the entry to mid hifi range. As Stereophile said about the S38... the Studio series puts JBL onto serious audiophile map.

My Sound System
===============
JBL S310 fronts
JBL S-Centre
JBL S26 rears
Harmon Kardon AVR110 AV receiver
Sony CDPCE275

Similar Products Used:

JBL Northridge, Yamaha, Paradigm, Sony (bad decision here)

I paid $440.00 from Etronics, shipping included ($80 shipping) DO NOT buy from Etronics, see below. Very nice bass response from a 10". I was concerned I would not get the low bass I wanted, but it is more than adequate. Has a very "accurate" sound, not being a audiophile, that is the best way to describe it. Seems to have a "flat" response, not as colored as other speakers, or maybe they are and I just like the JBL sound. Excellent and strong mids and highs.

None at this time.

Overall these are excellent speakers. I did not realize how bad my old Akai speakers were until I got these JBL's. The bass response is much better and the JBL's go much lower, as now my 13 year old Akai CD player skips a lot when I turn it up due to the bass response ! Time for a new CD player and also a new receiver. I however, DO NOT recommend Etronics to buy anything from. One of my speakers came without a grill, and after 3 emails to them and 3 weeks, I still have no confirmation that they are shipping me a grill. I also found these speakers a little cheaper elsewhere after I bought.

Similar Products Used:

Had some big Akai speakers for 13 years now, w/ 12" woofers and a 12" passive woofer, and these JBL's have better and way more accurate bass, size is NOT everything in speakers ! I only looked at Best Buy, their Cerwin Vega's, Yamaha's, etc. and the JBL's really stood out. I admit a main reason for buying them was that I could get them in a light color, (wood like "beech") color as JBL calls it.

nice looking

recessed highs, bloated bass

I bought a set of these because I wanted some new JBLs. The sound was a disappointment from the start. The bass was so bloated that it over powered the rest of the sound range. I called the JBL factory in CA and actually got to talk to Greg Timbers, the chief designer of the series. He admitted that the entire Studio series is voiced for the typical Best Buy/Circuit City customer who doesn't know squat about good sound. He said the bass is tuned for an over damped alignment, hence the muddiness. He also said that the marketing department dictated that costs be cut quite substantially, which means cheap drivers and construction.
Sadly, JBLs home speakers are now a very far cry from the Studio monitors. It used to be that the home speakers were simply jazzed-up studio monitors.
I picked up a pair of L60T's on ebay and this little 8-inch, 2-way kicked the snot out of the S310...unless you guage a speakers performance solely on how much thumping bass it outs out, then the 310 wins. But the L60 has tight bass, wonderful highs (much better than the 310), and is finished in real wood veneer. Not that plastic crap on the 310.
If you want Jbl hunt up a god used pair of the older ones, there simply is NO comparison.

Similar Products Used:

JBL L60T's

Medium volume

Low volume - i.e., the desire for 60 hz base boost button.

Have a two channel 100 watt/channel Technics recever. Time to upgrade. Bought a refurbished Harmin Kardin. Not as great as expected - Features missed the boat and brought it back. Want A/B speaker output select, bass extension, A/V inputs in front, clean high power. Going with the Yamaha Rx-V800. Seems like best bang for the buck !!!!

Similar Products Used:

JBL L50's

Strong bass (fairly accurate for 10s), mids are clean. stylish beech wood color

slightly metallic highs, packing (see below) and heavy, consumerized sound.

I originally bought Polk RT800i s as my computer speakers. I was a bit dissappointed for music. The lacking bass, and overly bright sound caused ear fatigue. I got them for a low $600 (thaks to price matching), but I returned them.
I was shopping around and found the JBL S310s. I debated the extra cash for the S312s but the ONLY difference the woofer. I paid around $198 per speaker, which seemed like a steal after using pricewatch. I devated between the MD310s which featured dual 10s (all the same drivers and slightly smaller tweeter) for a cheaper price but not as good casing and wiring. I ended up getting the S310s.
JBL needs to rethink the packing scheme. They use styrofoam bits which managed to find there way ito the "FreeFlow" bass holes or commonly known as front baffles. I happened to have a wooden skewer for BBQing to snag all the bits out. It'd only take a cover on the baffles to fix the problem when shipping or at least include a skewer for all the poor soles who don't keep 'em on hand.
My gripe about wieght isn't that with positioning, its with shipping. Since I couldn't find a local dealer who carried them, I had to deal with paying $80 for my shipping for the pair ($40 a speaker)
The JBL speakers sound more pleasing for music than the Polks I had with less tiring sound. While by no means are these the greatest speakers ever, I doubt I could get any better for less than $400.
The slighly metallic sound is due to mainly a lacking tweeter. Nothing to cry about, and the sound is consumerized (Overly done highs and bass, but even audiphiles are guilty of using the "loudness" on their recievers). I'm happier with my purchase than my Polks, and I saved $120. Not bad, not bad at all.

Similar Products Used:

Polk RT800i, Sony something 420 (older speakers)

Great sound, great price

None so far

First of all, I totally disagree with the 1 star review from “audiophile” Rick Hudak below. The S310 is just about the best sound you can get anywhere for under $500/pair (got them on the net). Either he got a rare lemon, hooked them up wrong (polarity), has a weak link or possibly works for Bose (just kidding). The very 1st review on the S310 has them hooked up with JBL L60T’s (which Rick says “kicked the snot out of the S310”) but - the 1st reviewer’s system now sounds, “100x better”. Also, even if you include the JBL S312 reviews, his review is the only 1 star rating – every single review besides his is mostly 5 stars, a few 4 stars and not even a 2 or 3 star appears… If you look at all reviews carefully, most seem totally legit, and I’m not working for JBL. It also doesn’t make sense how the chief designer at JBL would even remotely admit about serious shortcomings with “cheap driver/construction”. Straight from the horses mouth, or the other end? I know a good pair of speakers when I hear them - and the S310’s sound fantastic! Besides, should I listen to him and take all other reviews with a grain of salt?

I also have a sub to compliment the S310’s – the Adire Audio Rava sub (20-160Hz +/- 3dB) 250 watts and only $399 (adireaudio.com)! The Rava sub is as good a deal as the S310’s! The Shiva driver on that sub sure is no slouch. Adire Audio also has complete inexpensive, no brainer D.I.Y. sub (as well as speaker) kits; some are selling their $2,000+ subs for them. The S310’s are 40-20,000Hz +/-3dB, sensitivity 91dB (that alone has to tell you something about the S310’s performance). Kudos also to the Toshiba SD-2200 DVD player, which plays CD’s better than many reference models ($199 at sneetch.com). Also my Harmon Kardon HK 3470 stereo receiver was a steal too (quality/price point), otherwise if I had more cash I’d pick the NAD C370 stereo int. amp. My whole budget audiophile system was less than $2,000 and I know it sounds better than much more costly 5.1 systems (for music/CD's) - now all I need is that 27” Sony Wega Trinitron…

Oh, the reviews on the German Physiks Tiebreak (main speakers/$250,000) really cracked me up – even though I don’t believe in “bogus” reviews, I had to laugh.

My system:

Monster MP-HTS2500 Reference power center
Harmon Kardon HK-3470 stereo receiver
Toshiba SD-2200 DVD/CD player, twin tray
JBL S310 Studio Series main speakers
Adire Audio Rava 12" subwoofer
Vantage Point ALAW-409 4 shelf audio stand (w/spike pads)

Acoustic Research HT-222/50' 12 gauge speaker cable (beats $1,000 cable w/DeoxIT & ProGold)
Acoustic Research HT-407 banana plugs/2 pair
Channellock wire stripper & cutter
Acoustic Research 3' RCA-RCA/HT-130
Acoustic Research HT-152 12' sub cables/2

Caig DeoxIT D100L/25ml & applicator (contact cleaner)
Caig lint-free cotton cleaning cloths
Caig G100L ProGold/7.5ml & app. brush (contact enhancer)
Auric Illuminator & Pen/Audience (great CD tweak)
Allsop 50100 CD Fastwipes/20
Allsop 51000 CD/DVD radial cleaner
Allsop 56500 CD/DVD lens cleaner
DiscRestore 3680 DiscRx Pro Series II (works most of time!)

Similar Products Used:

Polk, Epicure 5(70's), friend has electrostatics

Clarity, Bass output, great midrange, sheer volume level, build quality

ummm, not so great looking with the grills off (don't like the gold, my wife hates em too, but she doesn't complain after she heard them), thats the only weakness, but they look sharp with the grilles on. They also pointed out how many things in my house are capable of rattling

WOW, thats the first thing i had to say after trying these speakers out for a while. I just got them today, and couldn't wait to get them hooked up. I read all the great reviews here. I was a little dissapointed at first, but these things need to break in a bit. Now they sound absolutely wonderfull. I listened to every genre of music i could get my hands on today. From sounding very warm and natural when listening to accoustic recordings, to shaking my house to some of the heavier stuff that i listen to. It handled everything very well. I was especially pleased with how well they reproduced voices. I was worried about the small size of the midrange driver giving me problems with this, but i have no more worries. They didn't seem to be overly bright to me at all, very balanced actually. Also some people complained about the lack of bass output, well i suggest you check your equipment because these things pound better than some powered subs i've heard. Its late now but i wanted to share how great i thought these speakers were, check out the site i got them from thats 440 WITH shipping, and the service was excellent took me 8 days from the time i mailed my money order to get them, granted i'm in missouri and they're in ohio but still it was great service. There customer service people are also very nice and helpful with any questions i had. Good night

Balance

Color choices - Would like olk choice.

Very true quality re-production of flat (0 Db gain) frequencies. Shop the net and save big bucks. Mine are comming $480. shipped. I listened to them at a nearby Harmon Outlet which had same speakers for $276. each, and then add on taxes. I was considering reconditioning some old 70's JBL L50's but decided on the S310's after realizing I was into $250. to rebuild the woofers and midranges. Take care and have fun. Don't be afraid to experiment with components !

Similar Products Used:

Home built.

Clarity, Power handling, Value for the money

None

This is a great speaker with a lot of bang for the buck! I have tried them with a variety of sound sources including Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS and the speakers handle it easily and accurately. The low end response is very good with a nice tight sound even without a subwoofer!

I have recently added a subwoofer to my system using my old Advents with the woofers replaced by Audiobahn car stereo subwoofers and a Yamaha P2200 pro series power amp. Don't laugh, this setup kicks serious booty and then some! I have set the receiver's speaker settings to small for all of the speakers including the 310's. My receiver and speakers now has a lot less work to do resulting in a cleaner, tighter and more open sound especially with DD and DTS DVD's. The Advent's are a well made acoustic suspension cabinet and with over 200 watts RMS per speaker, it transformed my HT system from being a great one to audio heaven!

You also might want to try raising the JBL's off the floor about one foot even though they are floor-standing speakers. This brings the tweeter and midrange drivers closer to ear level and tightens the bass up. I used my old homemade speaker stands for this and it sounds much better without the boominess while on the floor. Let your subwoofer(s) take care of the deep bass. I have one sub in front and the other in the rear so when you listen to DD 5.1 and DTS which have full range sound in all speakers, there isn't a gap in the sound field from the rear.

All in all, this is a great speaker for the money ($398 pr. + shipping from Bestpriceaudiovideo.com). If the 310's are too big, they have the S38's for $298 pr. which is another great sounding speaker and they would make excellent surround speakers as well. You need these speakers! Buy them!

My setup:

Yamaha HTR5150 receiver
Toshiba SD1200 DVD player
JBL S310 (mains)
OHM D (surrounds)
Advent Legacy (retrofitted for use as subwoofers)
Yamaha P2200 power amp for subs (left over from my bar band days)
JVC 3800 SVHS VCR
Panasonic 27" monitor (15 years old and never broke once!)
Monster Cables for the entire system (even their low cost cables will make a difference)

Similar Products Used:

Advent Legacy, Ohm D

A step above the rest...

I don't want to repeat what has already been said about these speakers a dozen times over. Sure they're great, but I feel I need to add something that hasn't been mentioned yet. When auditioning speakers it's easy to find ones with crystal clear highs, and tight pounding lows. The S310s don't come up short in either of these catagories; however, where they really shine is in their full and rich midrange. I auditioned all sorts of speakers in this price range and I just couldn't stay away from the S310s. Anything from a human voice to a blow on a sax to an acid break. EVERYTHING that I listen to on these speakers sounds much more life-like and if you close your eyes you feel as if are actually there.

To get the most out of these speakers I would suggest an amp with less than .1% THD, some good quality speaker wires, and, if possible, a digital connection between components.