Summary: I have one acoustimass 5 system from BOSE driven by one amazing Nakamishi RE-10 for more than 10 years and not so long time ago I got these JBL E-80
So I'm going to compare this 2 using the same amplifier since that, in my opinion, they come from the same "school" and sound filosophy but with a diferent target.
With the BOSE system, I could listen music with a very powerful bass, defined treeble and with an amazing sound distribution, but the mediums were poor for voice and at low levels of volume, the bass was gone. But with these JBL-80s I just have the whole package!
They have the same kind of treeble, perfect mediums and the bass, besides spreading less than the "invisable" boom from BOSE it has more punch and definition.
I've tested these babies till exhaustion and I have one very consistent opinion.
They are the BEST speakers for this price range!
From Mozart to Norah Jones, film soundtracks, or even hard rock, they make it all at low or high volume. They don't spread much but still they can reach a very good balance and tone separation when double wired.
I would just advise to take out the front cover. I had some shaking from the front plastic with a very looong and cavernous bass test at a very high volume, but it was a punctual and rare bass case. However, by taking them out, you get a very actractive look from the speakers and the only shake you will get is from your balls. The case is very well built and IT IS THE BEST speaker for this kind of sound filosophy and price range.
So I decided to leave the BOSE AM5 as main speakers for a YAMAHA HTR-6040 with a home theater set together with a JBL E series and take these JBL 80s as my maestro for music driven by the Nakamishi amp and feeded by a 24 bit CD-player and an M-audio Audiophile USB external sound card.
With all these speakers connected for one single sound source, I have the heaven after some trigging. But these JBLs are allways the boss arround my systems and they rule! Oh yes they really do!
Strengths: Atractive
Well built
Tone separation
Good highs, punchy bass and defined vocal frequencies when bouble wired.
Price / quality
Weaknesses: Nothing. Really. For this price? You have more than you pay.
Similar Products Used: Bose AM5
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Summary: Nice loudspeaker; unoffensive, detailed treble, clear, tight, too much upper and too few lower bass. Not as good for metal and rock than I think E90 would be. I recommend listening to E90 before buying this for a better bass performance.
Strengths: Unoffensive, detailed, well spread, nice sounding treble. Good, rhythmic bass performance. The amount of upper bass doen't swallow other frequencies. Middle tones come also well. The overall balance is fairly good: sounds crisp, middle is heard clerly and also a nice amount of bass.
Despite I compare this loudspeaker with other JBL speakers and find bad thigs about it, it must be remembered, that the comparison is for listening music without a sub, and because I find JBL loudspeakers very good, the comparison against other's would put these loudspeakers very high, because the treble is so nice, bass is rhythmic and the overall balance is good and the human voice also sounds nice and natural except a little too much upper bass.
Weaknesses: Too much upper bass compared with the amount of lower bass. Bass guitar doesn't sound powerful; there is no delicate growling of bass. Sounds too clean and tight. Probably this makes the loudspeaker to sound too clean and tight and the amount of upper bass compared to lower makes the sound irritatingly overwarm, though the overwarmth doesn't spread very high in tone, but still. Bass guitar sounds weak like wind blowing gently and warm or hot. Sounds also a little bit plastic (bad), is it because of the upper bass?
With larger woofers the bass could easily go lower without the upper/lower bass problem. So go for E90! I haven't listened to it, but based on reviews and technology, I'm sure they are much better!
Similar Products Used: JBL MRV308
An older version with similar technology. Sounds more rock (lovely) and gives a good bass growl.
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Summary: I am an audio enthusiast who both desire the stereo and home theatre performance packed together in a well designed box, with wonderful highs, clear mids and lows with enough adrenalin. In fact, the E 80s have great price/performance balance and I would strongly recommend to anyone who look for quality with a reasonable price. It's the second week and the sound is getting better and better day by day(thanks to my HarmanKardon AVR-430/works pretty good with JBL speakers). I generally listen to Jazz, classical and rock music. When it's all about stereo, the highs and mids sound pretty good, however, the lows are not satisfactory and I feed the lows with my low master E250. You just have to listen and compare both E100, E90 and E80. Their sound are so close to eachother except the lows. I spent plenty of time for comparison and for me the optimum product for front L/R is the E80s. It was a great feeling to be completely satisfied with my new home theatre pack(E80s,E35,E250,E20surround and E10 rearsur.and Harman Kardon AVR-430 second edition)when I first felt the true colors of sounds pumping a great joy around. (The price is for Turkey)
Strengths: Wonderful highs and mids.
Good design.
Tastefull sound.
Weaknesses: It would be better if it was a litle bit larger.
Sometimes need a sub to feed lows.
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Summary: I bought these JBL80 Tower Speakers to replace my Pioneers. The Pioneers worked pretty well with my old Sony stereo receiver but with my new Yamaha 5630 surround sound, they just sounded weak and had little clarity. I listen mostly to classical music and Beethoven sounded really bad with the Pioneer speakers. I bought the JBL because of their reputation, one five star review at this site and a short listening test at Best Buy. I narrowed down my choice to the 80s and the lowered priced 60s. The 80s were far superior. During the first few weeks, the speakers sounded worse than the Pioneers but now that they are broken in, the sound is fabulous. It is clear and highly musical. One way to test a speaker is by listening to music with lots of french horn. Horns tend to get lost in music but with the JBLs, the horns sound magnificent, even in soft passages. The JBL seems to be an all purpose speaker, good for movies and all types of music. If you cannot afford high end equipment, I would highly recommend the JBL 80s. But don't buy them at Best Buy. I saved almost 300 dollars getting them on the web.
Strengths: Sound, looks and price.
Weaknesses: The box could be a little wider.
Similar Products Used: None
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Summary: GREAT speakers for the price.
Originally heard the E90's and fell in love with them with an E25 center.
Don't really have the room for the slightly larger E90 (nor the discretionary funds at the time), so went with the E80's and the upgraded EC35 center. Glad I did.
Excellent sound, imaging and depth. Nuetral to warm sounding. Using a Pio VSX-811 receiver which is just ok. Can't wait 'till the VSX 1015tx comes out so I can hook it up to these.
Use a cheap 8" 75 W HK sub with these and really sounds nice.
VERY happy with with my purchase.
Only AThena's (at more money for the F2 can come close to these for the $$. Popped in a few DVD's and heard things I NEVER heard before, even at louder volumes-compared to my prior setup (which the same sub was used).
Strengths: Sound-Nuetral to warm
Styling-actually like the way they look.
Build quality seems very good.
Weaknesses: None really
Similar Products Used: Was using HK 5.1 cubes prior to these (still run 2 for surrounds until I upgrade soon). NIGHT and day difference in soundstage and detail.
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4.8 of 5
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