JBL 150-Watt Dual 4-Inch Center Channel Speaker
$229.99
$419.95
45% off
Reference Price
Condition: New
Top positive review
5 people found this helpful
Great for small rooms
By Mark on Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2021
I bought this on sale and I'm glad I did. I have a small room so this fits for better sound since the jbl has 4-inch drivers. I have a polk t series surround speaker set, but I also have a pair of older but good infinity primus 150 bookshelf speakers sitting on top of the polk towers, polk t15 surrounds and polk subwoofer hooked up with this center speaker. The front soundstage is spot on. This jbl 520 cbk sounds better than the polk t30 center by far. I'm hearing sounds I've never heard before. And it sounds clear and audible at a low volume, a very desirable feature. I'm powering all of my speakers with a yamaha htr 5840 6.1 natural sound A/V receiver. I think It pushes 65 watts per channel but will be adding an amplifier or equalizer later just because I'd like to play with the sounds and I'd like to fine tune it better than just bass and treble. This center is not for wall mounting but I didn't need to. I have it directly below the TV on a stand at ear level with about 3 feet clearance behind it and it sounds great. The highs are greatly improved over the polk t30 center and the mids are improved too especially dialog, and the bass is sufficient, tight and extended. I'm happy with the sounds coming from this jbl center speaker.
Top critical review
3 people found this helpful
Needs to much power
By ME on Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2021
With this speaker I have to almost max out the center to get it to sound decent but with so much power being sent to the center the rest of the system lacks because volume can't be turned up high enough to suffice for the small room. Granted this is only around 4 inch speaker compared to the 5 1/2 inches polk audio but to get comparable specks would have to spend almost $200 more Not for me I'll stick with the $119 speaker that fills my room with sound and has a lot better deep bass
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Great for small rooms
By Mark - Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2021
Verified Amazon Purchase
I bought this on sale and I'm glad I did. I have a small room so this fits for better sound since the jbl has 4-inch drivers. I have a polk t series surround speaker set, but I also have a pair of older but good infinity primus 150 bookshelf speakers sitting on top of the polk towers, polk t15 surrounds and polk subwoofer hooked up with this center speaker. The front soundstage is spot on. This jbl 520 cbk sounds better than the polk t30 center by far. I'm hearing sounds I've never heard before. And it sounds clear and audible at a low volume, a very desirable feature. I'm powering all of my speakers with a yamaha htr 5840 6.1 natural sound A/V receiver. I think It pushes 65 watts per channel but will be adding an amplifier or equalizer later just because I'd like to play with the sounds and I'd like to fine tune it better than just bass and treble. This center is not for wall mounting but I didn't need to. I have it directly below the TV on a stand at ear level with about 3 feet clearance behind it and it sounds great. The highs are greatly improved over the polk t30 center and the mids are improved too especially dialog, and the bass is sufficient, tight and extended. I'm happy with the sounds coming from this jbl center speaker.
This Center Channel matches my L80t Front Speakers perfectly. Lifelike Staging.
By Harold Childs - Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2022
Verified Amazon Purchase
I have had tested over 60 center channel speakers. All brands. The biggest issue was listening positions. 30° off axis you can hear the difference between the mid and high drivers. The JBL Studio 520 CBK has full audio Spectrum no matter where you sit. Was hoping it would timbre match with my L80t vintage Front Speakers. Amazing lifelike Realism Bravo JBL! Still setting the Standard
Clarity
By StillPissed - Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2021
Verified Amazon Purchase
This center is insanely clear. Even mismated with different left and right channels, the dialogue is crystal clear in my 3.0 setup. I set this center to “small” on my AVR with the crossover set to 80 Hz, and it made it even better, since their wasn’t as much low bass to muddy up the dialogue. Let your left, right, and subwoofer handle the bass, and this center has a lot of headroom.
Good value for the money.
By Baumli - Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2021
Verified Amazon Purchase
The sound is clear and quite adequate for our small room. For even a medium-size room I think it would not be enough. We don't listen at loud volume, so I hope those two little 4-inch woofers don't beat themselves to death before the warranty expires. Volume and focus could be aided vastly were this speaker ported forward instead of out the back--and over at one side. There aren't many options for experimenting with placement of a center-channel speaker, and having a forward-firing port would get rid of so many reflections from the back and side walls, also increase the volume of what the listener hears, and give added focus. All in all it's the kind of fine product, worth the money, which one expects from JBL. They delivered on this one, but could do better with just that one minor change!
Nice!
By Who Is Mr Wagenfeld - Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2022
Verified Amazon Purchase
Love this speaker. I use it at a center channel speaker for my home audio system. It sounds amazing.
Amazing sound at an affordable price
By Dennis - Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2020
Verified Amazon Purchase
This thing sounds better than some $1200 center channels. In fact, a friend of mine that owns one such $1200 center channel is buying this after hearing at my house. Good for both movies and music, but trueHD music is where it really shines, those vocals sound amazing. You do need a good receiver with power this thing is HUNGRY.
Impressed so far.
By Jeff - Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2021
Verified Amazon Purchase
Sounds much better than my 1994 jbl center. Lol. Looks good. Sounds good. Pretty chunky (weight) speaker. So far I'm impressed.
Clear dynamic sound.
By David A. - Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2019
Verified Amazon Purchase
I am a die hard JBL fan. I have been buying there speakers since the 80s. I have never been disappointed, and this center speaker system sounds awesome. Very clear and dynamic. Gets better every day. For a hi-fi enthusiasts who doesn't have thousands to spend, JBL is a superb choice. Juse my opinion. For me it's JBL every time.j
Great speaker for the price!
By Sandra H. - Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2022
Verified Amazon Purchase
I bought this speaker to replace a Sony SSCS8 center channel speaker. Nice speaker but a weak link in my 5.1 system. The fronts are JBL L100t's, a very large awesome sounding speaker. The problem, finding a speaker that could keep up with these monsters that didn't break the bank at $2-3k. The folks at JBL recommended the Studio 520. I was skeptical but they were right. The Studio 520 is an excellent fit. The sound is great, The compression horn has that crisp sound you hear in live music. The horn is a perfect compliment to the 1" Titanium tweeters in the fronts. I compared this with the Klipcsh RP-250C. A good speaker, bold and bright, but when listening to piano or complex string music it was muddled. Whereas the JBL 520 was very clear and defined even with the most challenging music. As for TV surround, again it sounds great. In sum the 520 is great for the price. I would recommend this speaker!
Great sounding speaker, JBL has kept up their qualtiy!
By jason - Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2020
Verified Amazon Purchase
It's a bad ass speaker!! Great compliment to the JBL LSR-308'S. Fast shipping and I'll I have to say is make sure you clear out some space. It's a big speaker. Mid level ranges are perfect.. Great sound and JBL Keeps up with the changing times. It's a must have if your into the JBL family
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