JBL E80 or E90 - Is this it? (1 Viewer)

[Dan J]

Ok, decision time is here. I was ready to buy the Sony MF750H speakers until I heard the JBL's. The Sony's sounded fine until I heard the JBL's. Then I realized that the Sony's weren't as clear and that the E80 or E90 are worth double the cost and will be purchased.

Unless.

I would hate to buy these and find out tomorrow that I should have bought something else. So, can any of you audiophiles recommend something better? Price wise the E90's are about $225 each, and that's my limit. I'm sure that someone will suggest that I should save up and buy something that is only $300 more, but I can't. I can either spend the cash now or kiss it goodbye. If you're married I'm sure you understand why; if not, count your blessings :wink:

Anyway, the E80/E90 set and EC35 center speaker will be purchased tomorrow unless I'm making a mistake. Am I?

Thanks folks,
Dan

 

[Phil Iturralde]

No, not a mistake ... especially since you did audition and hear them personally!!!

FYI: Some reviews for you to read ...

1) February 12, 2004 JBL Northridge E Series E90 Reviewed by Steve Guttenberg for CNET

2) Product Review JBL Northridge E90 Floor-Standing Speakers - December, 2004 by Adrian Wittenberg

and

3) November 2004 JBL Northridge E Series HT Package Reviewed by Brett Johnson for Secrets of HT & Hi-Fi

Gives you an idea what some reviewers thought about the JBL E-Series.

Phil

 

[John S]

In this price level, anything anybody suggested to be better would have to be subjective at best.

JBL has a little bit of experience in loudspeaker design you know.

I run JBL speakers by choice regaurdless of cost.

 

[MikeyWeitz]

I have since upgraded from my JBL E80's/EC35, but you can not beat them for the $$$$.

My new Ascends (which I think are a definite upgrade) are 2xs the price.

 

[Ronn.W]

Me too. The current Northridge E Series speakers are great. Way better than those Sony's, and most others in that price range. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Dan J]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I'm making the right choice for my HK DPR2005. I was surprised that one store (onecall.com IIRC) had them on clearance. Are they being replaced or is Onecall not selling them anymore?

Also, I see they have a five year warranty. Has anyone actually used the warranty, and if so what do they actually cover?

Ok, one more thing. Biwiring, is that as simple as it sounds? From my understanding, you simply plug two wires into each "out" post from the receiver (a DPR 2005 in my case) and run one wire to the upper post and one to the lower post? Is it necessary and does it work?

Thanks again,
Dan

 

[John Garcia]

Onecall has just about everything on clearance. Probably among the lowest prices I've seen for most of the Northridge speakers.

Don't bother with bi-wiring.

 

[Dan J]

Yeah, biwiring has a small following from what I've found in my searches. Seems like the best thing to do is to run one wire and replace the supplied jumper with a short wire.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Gralen]

keep the jbl. sony is good with eletronics

 

[Dan J]

I'm still surprised at the difference I heard in the store. Even my wife had to admit there was a big difference (she hated that because it meant spending more money ).

Dan

 

[MikeyWeitz]

Forget biwiring.
Also, go to bhphoto.com for best JBL prices. Free shipping.

OneCall is like $100+ to ship JBL 90s.
I bought e80's from BHphoto for $358 shipped for the pair.

 

[John S]

Yeah, the bhphoto free shipping is what got me to order from them on my S-Series years and years ago if I remember correctly.

But certainly price shop the JBL three ways to Sunday, every now and then you just get lucky and score the screaming great deal.

 

[Dan J]

Free shipping is nice. At 40-48 lbs for each E80/90 shipping is killer. Of course it was $60 for just the Sony's.

Isn't the free shipping just JBL drop-shipping the speakers direct from their factory? If that's the situation then any store should be able to do free shipping, not just the JBL authorized ones.

But, I'd rather buy from an authorized store just for the warranty. Oh yeah, no one answered my question about using the warranty - has anyone had their E80/90/100 repaired under warranty?

Thanks again,
Dan

 

[balzac]

What's the best price you've found on these things? I've located them for $440 shipped so far, but no better. I was hoping to land em for $400 though.

 

[Ronn.W]

Check out pricing on jr.com as well, they often have free shipping too.

 

[Dan J]

balzax,
The only problem with saving $40 is that you aren't buying from an authorized dealer. However, since no one has responded to warranty issues the Northridge series may be trouble free so warranty issues may not ever come up. For me, $40 for a warranty is worth it.

dan

 

[Dan J]

Ronn,
JR does have free shipping too. I have an account with B&H Photo so I'll probably stick with them. They have price matched in the past so I'm sure they will do it again.






From what everyone says I think I'll be very, very happy with the Northridge series.

Thanks again,
Dan

 

[MikeyWeitz]

bhphoto usually has the best prices on the e80/90's. The ec35 can be found elsewhwere cheaper.

Doubt you will find the e80/90's cheaper then bh. They have had cheapest price for a LONG time now.

 

[John S]

Amazon says $207 free shipping....

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...197600-8047820

 

[Mark--M]

Cant go wrong with the E80/90's. I have the origional version of the E-100's and they sound amazing IMO. I tried upgrading to a set of JBL S-26's now that I have a sub but I had to come back, the clarity is just nowhere even close.

I think personally id go with the E-80's and spend the extra cash on a sub. With a good powered sub there really shouldnt be much difference in the sound of the two models. And the E-80s are cheaper, smaller and easier to ship. You wont be dissapointed either way.