Customer Reviews

JBL Northridge E50 3-Way 8-Inch Horizontal/Vertical Bookshelf Speakers, Pair (Black Ash)

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

 

 

I have been a JBL fan for years. I am a professional Audio Engineer, and I am familliar with the tonality and durability of JBL products.

I purchased a pair of JBL Northridge E50 bookshelf speakers to do a shootout with a pair of Polk Monitor 40 speakers for a client I am desigining a home stereo install for. The client paid approximately $250 delivered for each pair of speakers.

After several days of testing within tolerances, I could still differentiate between the two, but it became nearly impossible for the client to tell which speaker was which in a blindfold test. Both television and CDs were tested through the speakers, and the music ranged from Josh Grobin to Stevie Ray Vaughn. It should be noted that the Polk Monitor 40s and the JBL E50s both required the use of a subwoofer in order to sound complete. By sheer weight, the JBL wins hands-down. At 25-lbs. each, it is a much heavier box than the 17-lb. Polk.

Through much of our testing, the 3-way JBL seemed more transparent in it's tonality, but when switched back and forth between the 2-way Polk within the same piece of music, it sometimes sounded a bit mid-rangey through the 800-1600 Hz range. I'm not sure whether the Polk was missing through that range, or whether the JBL was adding, but the Polks sounded more like what I was hearing in the AKG headphones. Also, the JBLs seemed to be lacking a bit in the lower range, through the 60-160 Hz range. This was the most surprising result, because the 8" woofer in the JBL looks as though it should be kicking the tail of the Polk 6" dual woofers, but the Polks had a deeper, richer bottom end.

The JBL E50s are rated for greater power than the Polk Monitor 40s, so if you plan to rock the house, the JBLs are probably a better choice. When pressed to their Continuous Power Handling rating, the Polks began to sound as though they were suffering from distress. They didn't distort, but they were obviously uncomfortable, while the JBLs never winced. However, for the purpose of this comparison, my client stated that the listening area (15 ft. X 20 ft.) would never tolerate that much volume, and confessed he would never be listening to the JBLs as loud as they were tested, so keep in mind the space where you will be using them.

In the end, it was decided that the Polk Monitor 40s were smoother and did not inject their own tonality onto the music. The JBL E50s would have required a physical change to the shelf on which they were to reside, so the client made the choice for the Polk Monitor 40s, but if you have a good sturdy shelf with room for the E50, and a listening space large enough to turn them up, you may make a different choice.

The build quality is excellent and the E50s image well. The sound is warm and smooth, very easy to listen to. Bass response is adequate but not strong. The treble could use a bit more air as well.

Since the E50s are bookshelf speakers, they seem best suited for a small to medium sized room or for use as surround speakers. If used as main speakers for a large room, I suggest adding a separate subwoofer. Overall, an excellent speaker at this price point.

I was replacing floor speakers and wanted a pair of speakers which had a smaller footprint (my wife didn't want a room filled and dominated with speakers)...yet still provided performance. I got what I wanted by purchasing the JBL E50.

I am using the speakers primarily as the front main channels (5.1 configuration) in a room that is 15'x15' with a 10'ceiling plate. The room is filled well with sound. The audio is clean and provides good spatial depth to the movie sound tracks. This in tandem with the other (center, subwoofer) JBL Northridge speakers.

Playing music from my CD player....sounds good and inviting. Good definition. Good reproduction.

I believe I made the right choice and very pleased with my purchase. I would recommend JBLs.

I purchased these speakers to be the left and right front speakers in my "small" 7.1 home theater system. Alone, they sound a bit colored in the midrange (as many JBL speakers do)and the bottom end is so-so. What I would like to point out is that this speaker model is part of a line designed to be implemented as a system. The JBL Northridge E Series has several models that are designed to work together to form a whole. My system has the two aforementioned E50s as left and right fronts, an EC35 (excellent!) center channel speaker, E20s as the surrounds, and E10s as the surround back speakers. Filling out the bottom is an E150P powered subwoofer.
This system is incredible! The dynamic range and sound pressure levels developed are amazing. The imaging is very transparent (even in my small room) with crystalline highs that are not too tinny or harsh. It has an overall warmth and presence similar to my other system (which cost five times more). I'm pushing this with a Harman Kardon AVR-7300 receiver, which I also cannot say enough good things about, but I do recommend using a high quality speaker cable. Something in the Monster "M" or "Z" series, as well as other cables available from MIT, Nordost and Audioquest would be good choices. Happy listening!

***REVISED*** 10/13/06 (see bottom)
12/13/06 (see bottom)

When I got them they where "black ash" as advertised (amazon pic from JBL website) but the woofers have a metallic look to them as well as the front main trim. I guess the picture is taking at a bad angle to the light or something. The woofers are no-ware near as black as in the picture (I think they look better actually).

Ok onto the good stuff, man good speakers for this price they are where it's at. I'm a fan of JBL but not their price that's why I buy online and at discount. These speakers much like the newer L830 have a great mid range and a fine clear top end. The low is pretty nice as well, it sounds realistic like I'm actually listening to a bass guitar, piano, or chello. The dynamic range is vary good and they don't discriminate individual tones, you can hear instruments and off tones clearly. The vocals are clear as well, nice and pronounced. They image well (I guess is the word)you have to get over to one side of the set up before you notice an imbalance of the sound (in a big room mind you). When watching a movie it's like I'm in the theater minus the surround sound. They are a good solid par of speakers.

Some bad things, I've been listening to them for a little while now and decided to hook up one of my KLH 970A to the center channel on my receiver. Well now it sounds perfect, they seem to lack the "front or middle" vocal definition for tv/movies when placed a normal tv distance apart (say over 3-5 feet). A center channel (or small high Hz speaker) really rounds them off and makes them sound complete. Also, there is no lack of deep lows. Unless you really want to hear some rumbling a sub-woofer is almost not needed. They are relatively heavy (25 Lb each). You would need good sturdy shelves/stands that can take weight at the edge. They are pretty big, well not big but shaped a little odd, you almost have stand them on their side if your putting them in the corner of a smaller room. That's about, other than physical things it's a top notch speaker. I haven't played everything through them or as loud as I dare but I have liked what i've herd so fare...

(All this was done in a 10x10x8H room with a Yamaha HTR-5940 useing 18 guage wire, two conductor, all copper speaker wire with chepo banna plugs all around.

***REVISE*** 10/13/06
In big rooms.
I recently had a chance to try them out in a good sized room. I didn't take a measurement but I would guess around 25x30 feet, with part of the ceiling high (maybe 14 feet) and angled, the other part (where the speakers where) was about 10 feet. The room was sort of two rooms the low room cut into the big one blah blah blah the room was shaped odd, and they still sounded good with less echoing than you would think. This room was bare, only had half finished cabinets and a hard wood floor.

***REVISE*** 12/13/06
In small rooms (like the above mentioned 10x10x8)
If you can, place them so they face away from you (the wall you most in front of). They get kind of boomy at times, I've found letting the sound reflect of the wall in front of you may give some echoing but improves the sound realism in smaller rooms.