Home > Consumer Reviews > JBL Venue Series Arena 6-Inch 2-Way Speakers (Pair)
JBL Venue Series Arena 6-Inch 2-Way Speakers (Pair)
See it at Amazon.com for $120.00Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share3 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU BUY !!!!!!
(1 out of 5) by Boris The Spider on Mar 7, 2008 (NJ)After reading ALL the positive reviews posted here, I decided to listen to them and purchase these speakers! I feel compelled to prevent anyone from making the mistake I did without reading a HONEST Review. Please read the entire review and look at the pictures I posted to determin for yourself if I speak honestly and have solid understanding of what makes a GOOD speaker. I have a 20+ year knowledge on speakers and on speaker building and have made audiophile quality speakers for a fraction of the cost to purchase from the High-end manufacturers.
They are nothing near a quality "Bookshelf" speaker. They have no low end nor low midrange to them and they are a good example of bad DRIVER selection and or bad Cross-over point and slope. At best they are fair rear surround speaker where fidelity almost doesn't matter! I got them as a quick fix to a sound issue ( delayed Speaker rebuild project of older custom made 5 way towers and new 60" Plasma is speaker-less ). I'll try to describe sound quality of these JBL's for you. The tweeter is very bright and tinny ( Bee buzzing around in empty soda can )and sounds better off-axis then straight on and are a great example of why I prefer to use soft dome tweeters over metal ones. Sound quality did improve when I put Scotch Tape across the middle to cause off-axis type response but then why am I even doing that in the first place? The 6.5" Driver is impressive looking but lacks almost any quality in sound. It's not a good 6.5" woofer, isn't even a good Mid-bass and has a very pronounced higher Freq output (1,500-5000 Hz Range)so it's a poor driver selection for a 2 way! Gets muddy fast if you increase the bass in a attemp to over power the efficient and tinny tweeter and you lose any lower frequency midrange sounds that are there. Vocals sound "sucked-in" between the harsh metalic tweeter and the 6.5 driver being asked to do something it simply can't! All in all they SUCK and shame on you JBL! I had higher hopes and was too lazy to go to a good Sound dealer and listen to a few Bookshelfs myself so I figured " well they're JBL so they should sound good". Boy was I wrong there! If u care about sound look elsewhere please!
Since I'm stuck with them; not sure about the return policy after box opened, they are a immediate speaker rebuild project! Look at my pictures ( BACK Button to Amazon, JBL Venue ARENA page and look under Speaker picture ) to show current owners my solution to the obvious sound problem. Parts are on order at the time of this posting and its about another $130 so facter that into your new purchase decision if ure looking for new speakers.( $130 for JBL/K-Mart quality Speakers and $130 to fix them = $260 ) So look at Bookshelf speakers in the $260-$360 a pair range if u care about sound.
3-13-08 For those of u who have these speakers and feel the same as I do then they can be fixed to sound as good or better than those costing way more. I had tried to leave very specific information with URL's but found it was in conflict with the Amazon "Review Guidelines" so I'll try to help u and meet their guidelines. You can get the replacement drivers from a few suppliers but 2 I like are "Parts Express" and "Madisound". I got mine from the 1st and they have 2 ( 6.5"ers ) that will do the trick. I bailed out of the JBL cross-over since it was too high for the driver I selected. If u're knowledge on speaker building is limited or not at all than here are 2 high quality 6.5" replacement drivers that u can use and will not have to change the existing JBL cross-over. If u need a Shielded one for A/V situations ( Speaker cabinets within 6" to the TV/CRT ect.) then the Vifa P17SJ-00 will be great and if u dont have the speakers close to A/V equipment, then the Dynavox LW6004PMR will be great with the added benefit of very high power handling (140 watts RMS/200 Peak!) Both will get you around 45Hz and shake the floor like a 10"er. Mine do! You will however have to solder the wires to the new replacement driver. Blue is (+) and white (-) FYI. Give it a try and u can thank me later. They're a whole new speaker with some real attitude!
They are nothing near a quality "Bookshelf" speaker. They have no low end nor low midrange to them and they are a good example of bad DRIVER selection and or bad Cross-over point and slope. At best they are fair rear surround speaker where fidelity almost doesn't matter! I got them as a quick fix to a sound issue ( delayed Speaker rebuild project of older custom made 5 way towers and new 60" Plasma is speaker-less ). I'll try to describe sound quality of these JBL's for you. The tweeter is very bright and tinny ( Bee buzzing around in empty soda can )and sounds better off-axis then straight on and are a great example of why I prefer to use soft dome tweeters over metal ones. Sound quality did improve when I put Scotch Tape across the middle to cause off-axis type response but then why am I even doing that in the first place? The 6.5" Driver is impressive looking but lacks almost any quality in sound. It's not a good 6.5" woofer, isn't even a good Mid-bass and has a very pronounced higher Freq output (1,500-5000 Hz Range)so it's a poor driver selection for a 2 way! Gets muddy fast if you increase the bass in a attemp to over power the efficient and tinny tweeter and you lose any lower frequency midrange sounds that are there. Vocals sound "sucked-in" between the harsh metalic tweeter and the 6.5 driver being asked to do something it simply can't! All in all they SUCK and shame on you JBL! I had higher hopes and was too lazy to go to a good Sound dealer and listen to a few Bookshelfs myself so I figured " well they're JBL so they should sound good". Boy was I wrong there! If u care about sound look elsewhere please!
Since I'm stuck with them; not sure about the return policy after box opened, they are a immediate speaker rebuild project! Look at my pictures ( BACK Button to Amazon, JBL Venue ARENA page and look under Speaker picture ) to show current owners my solution to the obvious sound problem. Parts are on order at the time of this posting and its about another $130 so facter that into your new purchase decision if ure looking for new speakers.( $130 for JBL/K-Mart quality Speakers and $130 to fix them = $260 ) So look at Bookshelf speakers in the $260-$360 a pair range if u care about sound.
3-13-08 For those of u who have these speakers and feel the same as I do then they can be fixed to sound as good or better than those costing way more. I had tried to leave very specific information with URL's but found it was in conflict with the Amazon "Review Guidelines" so I'll try to help u and meet their guidelines. You can get the replacement drivers from a few suppliers but 2 I like are "Parts Express" and "Madisound". I got mine from the 1st and they have 2 ( 6.5"ers ) that will do the trick. I bailed out of the JBL cross-over since it was too high for the driver I selected. If u're knowledge on speaker building is limited or not at all than here are 2 high quality 6.5" replacement drivers that u can use and will not have to change the existing JBL cross-over. If u need a Shielded one for A/V situations ( Speaker cabinets within 6" to the TV/CRT ect.) then the Vifa P17SJ-00 will be great and if u dont have the speakers close to A/V equipment, then the Dynavox LW6004PMR will be great with the added benefit of very high power handling (140 watts RMS/200 Peak!) Both will get you around 45Hz and shake the floor like a 10"er. Mine do! You will however have to solder the wires to the new replacement driver. Blue is (+) and white (-) FYI. Give it a try and u can thank me later. They're a whole new speaker with some real attitude!
1 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Save your money and upgrade to better speakers
(2 out of 5) by Lynn D. Walther on Jan 29, 2008 (Surprise Arizona)These speakers are made for low wattage. Anything over two hundred watts
of power and they fade away. I own a Carver Sunfure Pre amplifier and a Carver amplifier that produce four thousand watts when combined. I will send the JBL Venue Series speakers back and upgrade to the Polk Audio ten series. They cost more but there is no comparison in quality and clarity between the two brands of speakers. These speakers are to light in weight to carry any substain with clarity. I recommend upgrading to the dual eight inch three way JBL speakers if you wish to have a longer life span with more clarity with your speakers.
of power and they fade away. I own a Carver Sunfure Pre amplifier and a Carver amplifier that produce four thousand watts when combined. I will send the JBL Venue Series speakers back and upgrade to the Polk Audio ten series. They cost more but there is no comparison in quality and clarity between the two brands of speakers. These speakers are to light in weight to carry any substain with clarity. I recommend upgrading to the dual eight inch three way JBL speakers if you wish to have a longer life span with more clarity with your speakers.