JBL Venue Series Arena 6-Inch 2-Way Speakers (Pair)
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The Venue Series Arena is the ideal choice for a home, office or dorm room stereo system where space is limited, but outstanding performance is demanded. Arena is also the perfect solution for main or surround channels in a high-performance home theater system. Arena performs like a pro, utilizing technology derived directly from JBL’s Professional products. Equipped with JBL’s tried-and-true titanium-laminate tweeters and PolyPlas woofers, the speaker reproduces the high notes with extreme clarity. The lows and mids, assisted by the FreeFlow flared port, are loud and clear, without unwanted distortion or boominess. The Elliptical Oblate Spheroidal (EOS) waveguide ensures that every seat is the best seat in the house for sweet music and intelligible dialogue, or for just rocking out.
Features
- 2-way speakers with frequency range of 50 Hz to 20 kHz
- Peak dynamic power handling of 280 watts
- Sensitivity of 88 dB
- Uses FreeFlow flared port for bass response without distortion
- Woofers constructed of PolyPlas for clearer audio output
- Dimensions (W x H x L): 29 x 13 x 20 inches
- Weight: 34 pounds
Sound very nice for price…
I love loud music, bottom line____. Wasnt on a huge budget just didnt want to spend a lot of money on me when i have a newborn son, but i am happy with this purchase. They handle my request for loud guitar very well, of course you need a sub…thats why i have one and thats why anyone who wants bass should have one, people who said ” they dont hit lows very well”…well no crap they handle mids and highs nicely. You wont be dissapointed….JBL duh….
A great value for well-mannered sound
After shopping for a set of bookshelf speakers for quite a while, I decided to purchase these from Amazon. I’ve owned them for several months now, and can provide the following feedback…
Pros:
-The sound on the low end is not boomy. These speakers do not try to overextend themselves, and do not go into ranges where they cannot provide quality sound. This is one of the reasons I enjoy listening to them more than other speakers I previewed (Bose 301, for example).
-The treble is crisp, considering that these speakers are not overly large.
-Also considering these speakers’ size and relatively low cost, I’ve found the sound transparency to be better than I expected.
-The speakers I received were in perfect condition and appear to have been made very well.
Cons:
-These speakers do not overextend themselves to become boomy, but as a result, they also do not provide an overwhelming amount of bass. Thus, I’m currently looking into the possibility of purchasing a subwoofer. If you’re looking for a good, comprehensive sound, you may want to add the price of these speakers with a good subwoofer. If the cost of this is more than purchasing a nice pair of floorstanding speakers, you may wish to look into that option as well.
-I wouldn’t mind a little more in the mid-range out of a pair of speakers. Since you get what you pay for, I’m not disappointed in the value for my money. However, this may be something to consider if you’re carefully weighing your options.
All in all, I think this is a very good set of speakers, especially for those who like good sound but aren’t willing to part with a large amount of money. I use mine primarily for music, but I imagine they would be a good part of a home theater system as well if you so desire. Since sound preference is a highly-personal thing, please take my comments only for what they are – just one person’s opinions.
Great speakers!
This was my first speaker upgrade from my old sony 500W home theater sistem bought way back in 2002. It came with 5-100W bookshelf speakers and a 50W sub. I wanted to try better speakers and a bigger sub, before upgrading to a new reciever. So I decided to begin with these and positioned them in the front right and left channels. Most home theater sistems come with very small speakers in order to give you a better price, but if you really want to get the best of it, you need better quality speakers and this is a good option without spending a lot of money. Standard speakers almost always come the same size and you can’t tell wich one is for the front, center and surround channels. This speakers are much bigger and heavier than my old 2 lb bookshelf speakers included with my sistem, so I needed to change the position to a lower point, but not on the floor because they are not as big as tower speakers (my opinion). I also got new 14 gauge wire, because the connectors were too big for the old 18 gauge wire used on the other speakers, and of course they were going to need more power. Their performance is what I expected, electronic, heavy metal, classical, pop, live concerts, movies, etc. they all sound great in these, I can increase the volume and not hear any distortion, I should have done this upgrade a long time ago. My old sistem came to life!, cant’ wait to get a new reciever!. In conclusion, it is better to set up your sistem by buying the reciever, front, center, surround speakers and subwoofer individually according to what you want and how much can you invest. Of course there are much better (and expensive) speakers out there, but this is a great deal of a purchase if you ask me.
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU BUY !!!!!!
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!
Perfect for smaller spaces – great for anything else
Just redid our kitchen – a 13′ x 13′ space – and I bought these to provide sound (sourced by an old but adequate notebook computer through an Audiosource AMP 100). I’m a JBL fan; have a nice older pair of 4412 studio monitors as well in my “office” so I knew what to expect: extraordinary clarity and flat response from the titanium dome tweeter and solid, tight lows. That’s what I got. The clarity and volume (much to my wife’s dismay) in this relatively small and relatively enclosed space is extraordinary for the price. For rock, dub, jazz, even classical music these speakers (while not the most attractive in the world) produce.
Great quality for size/price
We bought a different brand of speakers that had great reviews but they were quite tinny and didn’t have a well rounded sound, so we went to a brick and mortar store and tried some JBLs. These here were the same price as the cheaper model at the other store, so we bought these. Because they have more of a bass range, they have a better, more well rounded sound than the ones we tried in the store. We have only one set of speakers for our tv/stereo system and these are working quite well for us. I think they are the best you’ll find for the size and work well as a stand alone set. If you want better sound, I feel you would need to buy a surround sound system or huge floor speakers.
Save your money and upgrade to better speakers
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.
Awesome
Great value and I wouild recommend to anyone. The sound is crisp, clear and loud. I was very impressed with the overall quality of these and cannot wait to add the subwoofer and channel speaker from JBL.
Why I HATE these speakers…
I recently recieved my JBL arena’s and paired them with the JBL voice center channel on a Harmon Kardon AVR247 Amp. WOW! The sound is very very nice. Unfortunately every other piece of audio equiptment I own now sounds like complete crud.
I was previously very happy with the sound system in my car, my headphones, even the suround sound setup I have on my PC. Unforntunately they now all sound weak and distorted in comparison. DO NOT BUY these excelent speakers unless you are preapred to upgrade your car, your headphones, and everything else you own. After listening the JBLs they will all sound pale in comparison.
In all seriousness these are great speakers if you are upgrading from a HTIB, or a Bose system of any kind. Your ears will thank you, and they are a bargain at twice the price, but still be prepared for evrything else to take a back seat to these speakers.
Excellent Speakers
I purchased these speakers a few months back and have been nothing short of amazed. My main speakers are 10inch JBLs I bought back in 91. They still put out good sound but they needed a boost on the high size. Enter the Arenas!!! The Arena speakers gave me the boost I needed and suprised me with their sound. If you have a smaller place you could easily use them as your main speakers. I have a pair of 8in Sonys I use as satelites as well and these blow them away. The sound clarity and quality are outstanding. The only thing that I hated about these speakers is I didn’t check Amazon first, so I paid waaayy too much for them. However, they were worth every penny. So if you need a boost or simply need some great small speakers, click buy and you’ll be happy when they arrive!
Excellent sound from small speakers
If your want excellent sound but only have space for small speakers — or are on a limited budget — please consider purchasing these JBL speakers. Admittedly they will not give you as much deep bass as larger speakers may, but the bass they deliver is very clean and tight and and their midrange and highs are outstanding. Overall, the sound of these speakers is excellent — far superior to most larger speakers in this price range, and also to many more expensive speakers of any size.
Promise Delivered
These speakers are absolutely awesome for a small space like mine. Quality stuff. Just read the description and that’s what you’ll get. Highly recommended.