JBL N II series - reviews ? (1 Viewer)

[ozric_smith]

I have seen the N II and S II series on Ebay and other places as of late. Has anyone heard these? I like the looks of the N38II's as compaired to the old N38's any takers? I want some new fronts for my NSP1 setup.

 

[Ron_L]

I think JBL came out with the " II " series because of the lawsuit with Bose, over how JBL violated some patented Bose design or something.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Ron_L is correct, upon a little investigating, the "N" & "S" Series Mark II speakers have a redesigned FreeFlow™ port, the subject of Bose lawsuit based on ’721 patent . . . Bose is the owner of the ’721 patent, relating to porting in a loudspeaker system covering an invention of Brian Gawronski and Gerald Caron, both Bose employees.
If you compare the dba newsline JBL S-Series news releases,
JBL STUDIO SERIES
JBL INTRODUCES UPGRADED STUDIO™ SERIES MARK II
the only difference, design wise, is the FreeFlow™ port. To help the consumer to visually see the difference between the original "S" & "N" Series vs. the Mark II "S" & "N" Series, JBL also did some minor cosmetic changes with their speakers.
No, . . I don't work for JBL, . . . it's amazing what can be learned thru the internet!
So, . . . Does it change, improve the performance of the original speaker?
Contrary to dba JBL news release, I would have to say 'No'! If you go to Crutchfield's website and compare the S-Series vs. S-Series Mark II(or N-Series vs. N-Series Mark II) Speaker Spec's, the ratings for each equivalent model is identical respectively!
Because of the original models blow out price, I just bought 'four' JBL S26's and JBL S-Center ($554.86 including 3-Day FedEX, no CA tax) and I'm taking my JBL NSP1's up to my vacation house!
Besides the cost, original S-Series looks, . . . my upgrade was also based on Mark Knight JBL S36's and JBL S-Center speakers review (replaced Atlantic Technology 270 THX Speaker System)!
Phil

 

[JohnnyG]

I thought I remember reading that the speakers that infringed on the patent haven't been on the market for several years?

 

[Phil Iturralde]

U.S. Application Serial No. 843,858.
Bose brought suit for patent infringement against JBL claiming that its loudspeaker enclosures using the “Linear-A” curve or the “Exponential” curve included the port technology of the ’721 patent. JBL asserted non-infringement and the affirmative defense of invalidity. JBL moved for summary judgment of non-infringement, both literal and under the doctrine of equivalents, for speaker models N24, N26, N28, N38, ND310, S26, S38, S312, SCS125, ESC300B, and ESC350.

Phil

 

[LowellG]

Phil, how do you like your Studio Series set up? I am driving myself nuts with all the combo's I am looking at right now.

My local Def Tech dealer has a 25% off sale coming up, but I still can't beat the price of the JBL's. I just listened to the Def Tech PM 500's and PM200's today with the C2 center. Both sound good. The 500 have a little warmer sound.

I have listened to the S-Center and like it, I haven't heard the 26 or 36. I don't see a huge advantage of the 36 over the 26, in fact I think the frequency response of the 26 is better. However, it is larger.

Please let me know how you like your setup.

Thanks, Lowell

Second Question:

Please compare it to your NSP1 setup. Do you know when the Mark II series is coming out?

 

[Phil Iturralde]

I have listened to the S-Center and like it

Well, I didn't audition the JBL NSP1's and bought them based on my previous experience with their titanium equipped "J" Series! I just knew that I'd like/love the JBL NSP1's, and you know what, . . . I do!!! .
So, I have not auditioned the S-Series at all, but I know I will love the crystal clear dynamic Cinema Theater sound that the S-Series will deliver. I expect the highs to be better than the N-Series based on it's size and material, though the N-Series crystal clear highs w/pinpoint stereo imaging have impressed me, professional reviewers, my family and friends for the last 2-years.
**Fortunately, JBL uses the same titanium tweeter from their satellite up to their flagship floorstanding model in each "N" & "S" Series respectively.
Phil

 

[Ron_L]

for you guys that have listened to the S-Center...how does it sound in the low end? I was reading the specs on it and I wasn't impressed because it rolls off at like 70Hz or something like that.

I'm looking at a PSB Center channel that rolls off at 45Hz.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Do you know when the Mark II series is coming out?

Some Mark II speakers are available now thru some internet dealers like Link Removed and from the internet webstore I bought the S-26 & S-Center, Consumer Direct Warehouse.
Phil

 

[Chuck C]

how does it sound in the low end?

Ya, I'd say it rolls off around 65-70Hz via the AVIA DVD. It's crystal clear, perfect for dynamic dialogue, and integrates well with a subwoofer. Oh, it's also nice to look at too.

 

[MikeKaz]

LowellG- with the s36 you'd be getting the midrange driver which is on all other s-series except the s26. the majority of positive comments of the jbl s38 deal with "i love the clarity and detail of these speakers, i heard things i never heard before" etc, and thats all from the midrange driver. the fact that you like the s-center is probably because of its clarity, and that's from, you guessed it- the midrange driver. so you might not be getting that performance you like from your L and R speakers with the s-26's. I would personally say go for it and get the s-38's, but if you're low on space the s36 is probably your better bet. another bonus is that theyd be your surrounds too so youd have matching speakers all around. s-26's are ported so they have lower response, but that doesnt really matter when they are set up in a system with a sub.

RonL- it's frequency response doesnt really matter, as long as it gets to the 80hz crossover point of most receivers, which it does. for rolling off at 35 to mke any difference, itd have to keep rolling all the way down to say 20 something with the output level of a sub, with you setting it as large and being confident you werent missing the smallest amount of bass material from the center channel that way. as long a speaker makes it to the crossover frequency, its fine. i mean look at m&k audio- they make some of the best professional studio theater speakers in the world and they dont have a single one that goes below 80hz.

on the S38 series II's- The biggest thing that has been changed are the enclosures. They are completely different, different shape, size etc, and have a nicer, less plasticy looking finish to them. im also willing to bet the grilles are higher quality this time around also. plus they state that they've redesigned the tweeter surround, and the black surround on the front of the midrange is not as wide as that on the old s-38, much more like the one on the old s-center. (if you own these two speakers you know what im talking about. the s-center has a midrange surround material thats just rubber where the s-38 has a kind of thick fiberish rubbercoated thing going on, and they look different also) oh, and the freeflow port's opening curvature is based on a linear decay model of friggin e^1.3204 instead of e^1.3202 to make bose happy, if you wanted to check that out.

gawsh them new speakers shure look purty. I reckon i might gets me some of these jusn' a'cause a that. uh haw haw.

 

[Ron_L]

I'm interested in having a centre channel that plays low because it's more realistic with an actor with a deep, bassy voice like Morgan Freeman. I love the sound of his voice in Full Range, I'm just hoping that my receiver ( Yamaha Rx-V800 ) doesn't roll it off at 80Hz.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Phil