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JBL Stage 135C Review (Center Speaker)

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 168 88.4%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 20 10.5%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther

    Votes: 2 1.1%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    190

fordiebianco

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It's undoubtedly a pretty wee thing. Space under TVs has already been sparse, so I can see the attraction. Shame about the results though.
 

voodooless

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now these are obviously produced for big distances, I am still curious how this would behave. sitting on the left you would be totaly isolated from the right woofer, for example
I'm not sure that is actually a good thing. You'll still get lots of lobing and interference effects.
 

abdo123

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the woofers need to be isolated, so the lobing ocures above the crossover, like done in line array modules:

007_HDL-6-A_open.jpg


now these are obviously produced for big distances, I am still curious how this would behave. sitting on the left you would be totaly isolated from the right woofer, for example
This doesn't really isolate anything, as seen in the JBL Array 880

 

TNT

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the woofers need to be isolated, so the lobing ocures above the crossover, like done in line array modules:

007_HDL-6-A_open.jpg


now these are obviously produced for big distances, I am still curious how this would behave. sitting on the left you would be totaly isolated from the right woofer, for example
Sound dont behave as you think - me thinks...

//
 

dasdoing

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This doesn't really isolate anything, as seen in the JBL Array 880


it's a diferent layout.

see this one (750Hz crossover btw): https://www.rcf.it/en_US/products/product-detail/hdl-26-a/1000993

1638181409043.png
 

dasdoing

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Sound dont behave as you think - me thinks...

//

I am not 100% sure how it works, but I have seen several graphs like the one above. the more you go off-axis, the less the farer woofer contribuits I guess.
And while the vertical in this example might not be enough, I have seen 20 degree verticals maintained in the top-end...which would be enough to target any seated person
 

Morpheus

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Strange that we haven't seen more of this budget center channels with a BMR center driver, eventually waveguided, plus cheap small format tweeter depending on the BMR ... seems a cheap and effective way to get much better directivity behavior in a much wider range and speech region in a low cost, low height enclosure, avoiding an expensive quality coax or a larger box to cram a bigger midrange+tweeter in the center.
Limited loudness probably depending on where you crossover too, but at the budget sector or smaller rooms that is a minor sin compared to this mess...
 

Robbo99999

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I voted this one "Poor", nearly voted it "Not Terrible" in lieu of the quite low price of $170, however you really need this speaker to at least do it's job properly after EQ but I don't see that with this speaker - the terrible horizontal directivity & no bass (as well as chewed up frequency response), I can't see it working.
 

Ata

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Can such a form factor -- thin and slim low volume enclosure with >2 very small base/mid drivers -- be made to work well? The beaming and comb filtering from all these drivers looks as bad as it should be.

My guess is in a centre speaker application it will be hard to beat a smaller coax driver aided by dual woofers in a 2.5/3 way config. Heck, just a coax crossed over to a sub can do remarkably well, as that is what I have. Of course, 3-3.5 way discrete drivers as in the SVS Prime center should be good, but at the cost of small added height.
 

sarumbear

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I despair...

Just because stand manufacturers do not produce a stand to accommodate a standard size 2-way bookshelf speaker we are stuck with these Frankensteins. A TV is always mounted higher than the height of a 2-way bookshelf speaker and such a speaker is miniscule in width than a TV's. All we need are shelves with a tall centre section to allocate such a speaker.

Even when there is space people tend to buy those atrocities. See below. Why not use the same speakers for LCR?

SFC22b_SFC18b_SF22b_LS_570px.jpg


But it can be done. Here is my secondary system.

IMG_2356.JPG
 

sarumbear

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They are totally cute, but sadly that still would not fit my system :mad:. Nor will this hit very high SPL levels (nor will the JBL for that matter) unless one would accept limited bandwidth.
I was commenting on the stand concept failure. However, there is nothing stopping you to use a floor-stander that can produce high SPL and still can fit it below a TV.
 
Last edited:

voodooless

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I was commenting on the stand concept failure. However, there is nothing stopping you to use a floor-stander that can produce high SPL and still can fit it below a TV.
You must not be married then :eek: Also physics prevents me from putting anything below the TV that is more than about 15cm in height. Not because it's 15cm from the floor, but because there is a cabinet in between.
 

KxDx

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Looks like the engineers are being given a price point, then a form factor, and having to operate in those constraints.

Would this be a situation where oval drivers could excel? What about a theoretical oval midwoofer with a concentric tweeter?
 

voodooless

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What about a theoretical oval midwoofer with a concentric tweeter?
You mean these:
550x208.jpg

Loads of oval car audio coaxes to be found. They probably mostly suck... maybe not as hard as this center. Still, most are 6" high, and this center is only 4" in total, so not really a fair comparison.
 

Ra1zel

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Do yourself a favour, and save up for a good 3-way center-channel.
Or even better, center channel same as your LR and get acoustically transparent screen... or cry if you have a TV.
 

sarumbear

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You must not be married then :eek: Also physics prevents me from putting anything below the TV that is more than about 15cm in height. Not because it's 15cm from the floor, but because there is a cabinet in between.
My entire comment was on how unsuitable cabinet designs are. Thank you for proving my point (on a round about way).
 

sarumbear

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You mean these:
550x208.jpg

Loads of oval car audio coaxes to be found. They probably mostly suck... maybe not as hard as this center. Still, most are 6" high, and this center is only 4" in total, so not really a fair comparison.
So far we have seen that practically all centre speakers suck. Maybe these are the solution. Then we can rank centre speakers on how bad they suck? :)
 

beagleman

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I was commenting on the stand concept failure. However, there is nothing stopping you to use a floor-stander that can produce high SPL and still can fit it below a TV.


Sure there is, the very fact that most people have no room under the TV. My TV is about 33 inches off the ground mounted on a wall.

And when seated I am looking up somewhat.

All the cable boxes and receiver and Blu ray player and all are on a shelf.

What floor stander would even fit and not block the view of the TV, unless you have the TV like well over 4 feet above the ground??

I have a 33" floor stander and even it blocks the view as my couch has me sitting down lower than the TV itself.
 
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