Customer Reviews

JBL ES20BK 5.25-Inch 3-Way Bookshelf Speaker (Pair, Black)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I use these as rear channels in a 7.1 setup. They perform very well with the rest of my speakers which are JBL Studio L Series. They have excellent high-frequency responce and fantastic stereo imaging. The low-end is lacking, but I wouldn't expect much of 5.25in. woofers. These would be okay for a small bookshelf system, and they make excellent surround speakers.

I needed a couple of reasonably small but powerful speakers to pair with my frankestein Home entertainment system. The new set up incliudes a new panasonic 42" S2 plasma and panasonic Blu Ray paired with 25 year old analog NAD 7220PE Reciever, and B&O turntable). My old Bose 301s which still sound great didn't fit on the new TV console.

Long and short is that these speakers put out plenty of sound through the NAD. They are ok on the base but not as deep as the Bose. As far as the high and mids go they are accurate and crisp. They sound good whether I am watching an HD movie or listening to vinyl.

I settled on JBL because I had a pair of Northbridge bookshelf speakers that I'm quite pleased with in another room and the Amazon deal for $205 couldn't be beat.

I bought these for a Yamaha DRX730 and I am really impressed of the perform of these speakers, I just can not believe how clear is the sound and the frecuence response is awesome, I can imagine how these would work with aditional channels and a subwoofer...

wound up buying these for a space limited environment that didn't allow a 5.1 + setup. vocals and overall sound are excellent, there are no high points around 1khz as i had found in other speakers and there is no wom-wom mid bass which i also found in two other pairs i tried. overall this is a very balanced little speaker that would be something i would like to compare to an nht zero or klipsch b2. as others have stated, low end is lacking, however, i expected this. 5" drivers do not produce solid lows. the nice thing is that it rolls off smoothly and you do not get the wom-wom bass that many bookshelf speakers produce under power and lower bass notes.

I have known JBL for 3 decades as a speaker company who's speakers can take at lot of power and sound really good. I bought without hereing them, as other reviewres have stated Im glad I did. The speakers I listen to in college that played rock very loud and clear have not changed in all these years.
The engineering is assume. The front is curved at the top and the front is wider than the rear. The speaker is ported in the back for a low range of 40dbl. This is a 3 way bookshelf speaker that is large for todays speakers but small and narrow for bookself speakers of the seventies.
I mounted them on 17" metal speaker stands for a strong visual presents and to get the tweeter to ear level when I am seated. I was delight to see that these speaker can be biamped. In short, there are two sets of terminals(gold) on each speaker. From the back of your amp use your A speaker conection to power the tweeter & midrange. Use the B terminals to power the woofer. This does away with the speakers internal cross over. The tweeter & mid range pick up the frequencies they use from the A trminals and the wooker picks the frquencies from the B terminals. Remember to take the gold attachment off the speakers terminals before you biamp. You can ruin a channel on your amp by doing so.
The sound in assume. The ES30's are rated at 125 watts max./channel. My new receiver is rated at 100 watts/channel.This makes them loud.
Before I bought my speakers I already had a powered sub woofer made by Yamaha. This sub woofer(10" & 200 watts) produces sound from 40 dbl down to 140 dbl. This is deep warm base. So if you bi amp and have a sub woofer you will need a receiver with a separate out to the sub woofer.
If you are interested in a musical 2 channel receiver I purchased a Yamaha RX797 which I wrote a review for.
I am in my mid fifties, I have put togther two other systems since December 1980. In my home I've always had really good quality sound. I thought a integrated amp with floors speakers was a good bench mark. The invention of the self powered sub woofer is wonderfull for really great base > pressing the bench mark forward. With the JBL ES30's and a sub woofer you hear all the music. Play it a bit loud and it is still very clear not distorted.
My last comment is >A sub woofer should be heavy , very heavy, this makes warm base not punchy base.
Enjoy

3 1/2 stars

After purchasing a new LED Tv for my Bedroom, I decided to replace sub-par tv sound with either a soundbar or a pair of bookshelf speakers. I tried one soundbar, and decided to piece together my own sound for now. I decided to go with these speakers due to the reviews, woofer size, and dimensions.

For reference, I'm running these speakers with an old Sony Rcvr I had handy and a new Outlaw M8 subwoofer.

The speakers are really attractive and smaller than most of its type, but I'm just not 100% sold on its performance. Look, I wasn't expecting a huge sound for its size, but I am still let down. I'm not a audiophile, so its a bit difficult for me to describe exactly what I don't like, but I'll try.

The sound isn't very dynamic or full, even for its size. A little too bright, so I adjusted my receiver as such, but they still fall a bit flat at low volume levels. I have a really good 8" sub paired with it, but I'm still not exactly happy with the sound.

These may fair better on surround duty, however I don't have a use for them their. I may end up adding some small surrounds to get a better sound, but I really didn't want to go that overboard in my bedroom.

Update:
I had these speakers set up in my bedroom with a subwoofer for about a month. And while, I did seem to get used to them, I was still not exactly happy with the ear fatigue it consistently gave me. During that time, I purchased an older set of Boston Acoustics speakers (CR67) from fleabay, which have the same woofer and tweeter size btw. The BA speakers, hands down, outperformed the JBLs in music, tv, and movies, paired with the same subwoofer & receiver.

The difference may be that the BA CR67 have a better frequency range (62-20hz). They seemed more dynamic and less fatiguing as a result.

So, for me the winner was clear for my 2.1 small room needs. I returned the JBLs, and hope to find more of the dated BA CR67 for surround duty for another set-up.

The product picture on the website seemed to be a little tacky.
I kind of regretted buying this before receiving the package.

But when I opened the box, they looked way better in real!
Doesn't feel as plasticky as pictures shown on the web.

Sound exceeds most entry models which has higher price tag.

Lows are solid, and delivers balanced mid-high range.
Surprisingly speedy,accurate, and spacious considering the price.

But it has its limits, if you are classic lover, you should avoid this.
Part from that, very steady performance throughout.

This will stay with me for a while.

I have two JBL speakers that I bought in 1967 and they are still serving us quite well. Yes, that's right, 1967. So when I recently needed a pair of bookshelf speakers for another room, I researched, found lots of good speakers, and big differences in price, and once again chose JBL. They are small but have a big sound, a good, accurate range, and a good price. Well satisfied.

These speakers have great depth of sound, and was a great deal for the price. I bought this item as lighting deal during the black Friday sale, and I couldn't be happier.

Having my amp repaired so haven't really opened them up yet so to speak ... but sound great at average levels