Home > Consumer Reviews > JBL CS6100BG Complete 6-Piece Home Theater Speaker System (Black Gloss)

A few weeks back, I decided it was time to replace my 12 year old Sony TV and 17 year old "stereo" system with its two cheap speakers.

End result, after lots of research, was the purchase of the following, all from Amazon.
- Samsung LN40A650 LCD TV
- Onkyo TX-SR606
- JBL CS6100 6-Piece Home Cinema Speaker Package
- Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote

Also connected are;
- Scientific Atlanta cable set top box from Time Warner
- Sony SLV-D300P DVD/VCR which is 2-3 years old
- Nintendo Game Cube

Installation was in a 20'x30' room.

My goals were to have a high quality TV with decent sound, and keep the entire cost under $2500 if at all possible. Goal achieved, even with the purchase of the incidentals; some speaker wire, banana clips for speaker cables, an optical digital audio, cable, etc.

- Speakers... even if you go to all of the places you can visit to hear speakers, you have no idea how they will actually sound in your own environment. And, speakers are an object thing. My concerns here were that the only review I could find on the audiophile web sites was for the smaller CS480 speakers. the CD480s have a single woofer and tweeter in satellites vs. the dual woofers in the CS6100 package. The reviews of the CD480s indicated that they were a bit bright, a bit lacking in mid-range under some conditions. I don't find that to be the case with the CS6100s, maybe because of the dual woofers. Having all the mounting hardware in the box is a real plus, and they give you two choices of mounts, fixed and swivel. Enough high quality speaker wire in the box for a medium sized room. Sub-woofer speaker cable included. A nice, classy look as well..

The opening sequence from Top Gun (with the windows closed and the wife gone)was the first test. No disappointment here. Next, a bit of Opera. Again, they performned well. Country and classical music, movies with dialogue... these do a very nice job and compare VERY well with speakers which cost twice as much.

A definite "I'd buy again".

I purchased the JBL CS6100BG Home Theater Speaker System for my bedroom. Overall, I've been really impressed with the quality of sound. The subwoofer packs a powerful punch. Installing the wall brackets for the rear channel speakers was really simple. It took me about 15 minutes. This system comes with fixed and adjustable brackets for the rear channel speakers. I used the adjustable brackets. It also comes with a wall bracket for the center channel speaker. One thing the product description doesn't say is that this system does include speaker wire for all 5 speakers and a 15' subwoofer cable. The speaker wire is black #18 gauge with polarity coding. The only negative thing about this system, which really isn't that big of a deal, is that it doesn't include wood screws needed to mount the speaker brackets. I highly recommend this system for a bedroom or a small to medium sized living/family room. For a large room, I would go with bigger speakers.

I was actually a little hesitant about these speakers. I was torn between these and the Harman Kardon HKTS-18's. I actually found these on eBay for an unbeatable deal. Well, anyways, on to the speakers....

Wow! I never thought these speakers could so good! I bought them to replace some old Sony satellites that just had to go. And boy, am I ever glad that I bought these speakers. I bought them along with Onkyo TX-SR606 and they sound incredible. I've played Blu-ray movies on them and heard DTS-HD MA, Dolby TrueHD, and PCM sound. OMG, I've never heard sound so clear. After hearing these tracks, I will never go back to standard DVD ever again. The speakers are so clear and have lots of punch. The subwoofer is amazing too. It pumps out some SERIOUS bass. I also like the design of the speakers. They have a glossy, aesthetically pleasing look that will fit almost any home. Probably the only negative thing I would say is that the mounting options that come with it are not the best. I prefer to use speaker stands, but I had to buy other brackets and screws in order for them to fit on my old stands. It wasn't too bad, but it would be nice if all manufacturers would agree on one design for speaker brackets....

Anyway, I've absolutely loved these speakers. If you want the best bang for your buck, get these speakers. They probably will not satisfy audiophile ears, but for those who are new to home theater products, they will blow you away. Skip Bose and get these magnificent speakers! JBL is awesome!

This is an amazing system for the price and should probably cost closer to the suggested retail price - the fact that it's half price on Amazon is awesome! The sub is seriously loud, I mean it bangs hard! You could have a serious house party with just this sub and a good receiver.

This is the best audio setup under $1000 bar none. I did tons of research before buying this and you won't find better sound for under 1k.

I plugged these in and ran the auto sound setup on my Onkyo 674 and it was love at first hear. These look beautiful too but the finish is extremely delicate and will rub off with very light use. I brushed one of these up against the wall and the black gloss was all gone in that spot. I didn't buy these for looks anyway so I don't really care.

They include TONS of speaker wire in the box also which is awesome. And the box it comes in is packed really well which helps because FedEx and UPS treat packages with about as much care as someone who just burglarized their house.

Buy this system and smile that you didn't waste $1400 on a Bose system and have speakers that sound just as good for under half the cost.

I just installed these a couple of days ago. I am replacing some entry level Sony speakers that were part of a DVD/home theatre system. Over a year ago I upgraded to a Samsung LCD screen television, so I had to scrap the 6 disc DVD player that came with the Sony speaker set to get a Sony receiver with HDMI connections for my television. I bought a 100 watt powered Sony subwoofer, but kept the Sony satellites & center speaker. I felt the surround sound & it sounded ok, but not as clear as I would like. The bass from the Sony sub was ok when it was turned up all the way which isn't good for any powered sub. I tell you what, the JBL's rock!! Literally... The 300 watt sub shakes the whole house. And I only have it turned up tad over halfway. And the satellites & center speaker sound very clear. I am getting a true surround sound experience now. I am picking sounds I never did before.

The speakers are very pleasing to look at with the high gloss black finish & they are very durable & heavy. The mounting kit is easy to use. I didn't use the speaker wire that was included because I had my wiring in place from the last configuration. The wire included is good quality too. The connections on the back of the speakers are user friendly because they screw out, but there is a hole to where you stick the wire THROUGH as opposed to having to wrap around the terminals & then screw in as I have had to do in the past. We all know what a pain it is to be on a stool trying to thread speaker wire on a speaker while supporting the speaker. This system is perfect for someone that wants a good home surround sound system that is definitely not entry level, & affordable with great sound quality. Not to mention the powerful 300 watt sub. And the speakers are nice to look at & they match most black LCD televisions & receivers. I would definitely recommend this system.