JBL E30s or 50s (1 Viewer)

Hey, as soon as i get my dayton 12" and can confirm that it can handle all the bass, with my speakers on small, I am going to take the plunge and upgrade my mains. I have the EC 25 centre channel currently, and some big garagesale speakers as mains at the moment. I wanna get a matching LCR. Now, They will all be set as small, so the question is, is it worth it to buy the 50s over the 30s ? it's an extra $100 on ebay. I am using a pretty cheap sony receiver, if that makes any difference.
On a related note, has anyone bought speakers from these Buyrite people on ebay? is it trustworthy?

thanks

also, does anyone who is in canada and has bought from the states, know how the whole sales tax and/or border tax works? Do we still have to pay the 15% sales tax? and is there a border fee ?
thanks

I've heard and like both the E50 (eventually bought them) and the E30 (a friend went with those) and would give a slight edge in sound to the E50s, which have a deeper low end than the E30s. I listen to music in 2-channel.

My friend uses his E30s with a Sony HT receiver and loves them. He also listens to his E30s in 2-channel, and they really do sound quite nice. But if you're going to use the sub for music, you might as well save some money and go with the E30s.

Additional ramblings: If space is a consideration for you, the E30s are smaller and might involve less of a challenge to place. The E50s are a horizontal design that I understand can be mounted vertically as well; I may have to do this in the very near future. (Not to hijack the thread, but if anyone has any suggestions on stands, etc., feel free to chime in!) The E50s are big but don't overpower a room, at least with the grills on. I put them up before I added the grills (they are not mounted in the box) and was surprised at how large they are for a bookshelf.

Then there's the matter of matching your center. The E50s are a 3-way speaker and technically match better with the similarly designed EC35 center. According to specs, your EC25 should match better with the E30s. However, I bought the EC25 to go with my E50s and love the overall sound. So unless you're really anal about it, don't worry too much about matching the center. The Northridge line is compatible across the board.

Finally, not sure if you're in the market, but the E10s are great surrounds and can be found very cheap; under $100 for the pair at J&R these days.

Hey Peter,

There are a few differences between the two that you should consider. The E-50's are mirror image which mean's they'll have to stay horizontal and at almost 20" wide make sure you have the room. You will also have to be more careful about placing them for the best imaging.

The E-30's of course stay vertical (which looks better but that's just astetics). The E-50's of course handle more power, are more sensitive, and are 3-way compared to 2-way on the E-30's. Some people perfer a 2-way design compaired to a 3-way design.

Either one will do fine with the sub.

Ok, feel free to hijack jerry i am done with this thread. My concerns were poor music, and 2 way matching with my centre. (although there is little difference)
I'll go with the 30s, i can get them for 250 at FS. FS doesnt even carry the 50 so i'd have to go hunting, or online, and then there would be the dreaded shipping involved.
thanks

You can get the E30s for $139 at B&H photo with free shipping. That was a great deal. I did it. I love my E30s I kinda wish I had gotten the E50s, but also realize that they would have taken up much more space. Depending on what color you want you may have to wait. The black finish is back ordered right now. I hope this helps.

free shipping to canada? probably not :frowning: That's the problem... but i'll check it out. Do they have the 50s there aswell?

yup, as always, shipping to canada is not free :frowning:

As an old guy, I like the idea of the larger E50s, especially if you are thinking of upgrading to a more powerful receiver in the future and will use them in a large room, but also think the E30s will work well too.

For stands for the E50s, I always thought that one would have to make thier own for these wide models, which is not a big deal (wood, clamps and/or some screws, black paint). Those stands that use PVC tubing and a long threaded rod to hold everything all together seems like a good idea too, for ease of assembly; & from an aesthetic point of view the round supports are a nice balancing counterpoint to the angularity of the speaker and the stand's base.

Just for perspective: these AREN'T bookshelf speakers (I'd think a 30" woofer would need a larger voice coil); and in Japan the biggies are still popular (and JBL's, Infinity's and other companies' modern large models are also still popular-in fact, sometimes those models are sold only there).

well, i wouldn't mind the 50s but 1) I've been spending like mad lately, and I really could stand to save the 100+ bucks, and 2) I am thinking long term, when I am not living with my parents and get my own place, i might wanna move on from JBL and if i only have the E30s its not so big a loss to just leave them at my parents place, and start over.
The size really isnt an issue, i got these sturdy octagon cabinets with mirrors on it to hold the mains. not a problem, but still, I really shouldn't buy the 50s, as someone said, if I'm running small anyways it wont make that much of a difference. I'm not that critical a music listener either.

With E50's you can run your cross at 60hz, has some benefits for sure.


But if your cross at 80hz or higher, the E30's will be golden.

i cant run the cross at 60 anyways, cause my center is the ec-25, and i can't set individual crossovers on my reciever, sony de597

Peter,

Based on various circumstances you've cited, it sounds like the E30s might be a better choice for you. The best part is that while you will be making compromises to go with the E30s over the E50s, one compromise you won't make is in sound. While they do sound different, and while there are technical differences between the models, as a more casual listenter (I would apply this term to myself as well), your enjoyment of the system won't suffer for choosing what might be considered an "inferior" speaker. ("Inferior" is a bad word, but hopefully you get my point)

I've heard the E30s with a Sony HT reciever and its a great combo. If my own circumstances were different, I would have been very happy owning them, instead of the E50s. Good luck!

ok, I might go buy them tonight. so, it says they are bi ampable. So since i'm obviously not doing that, how do I hook the speaker wire up? which posts? the top, bottom, one of each? I really don't know.

I have the E30's. They sound great and you'll definately enjoy them!

The top posts are fine.