Specifications
- Finish: Black Ash, Beech, Cherry
- Frequency Response: 60Hz – 40kHz
- Crossover Frequencies: 3.3kHz – 24dB/octave; 12kHz – 18dB/octave
- Power Handling: 60 Watts Continuous / 240 Watts Peak
- Max. Recommended Amplifier Power: 125 Watts
- Low-Frequency Transducer: 130mm (5") PolyPlas™, shielded
- High-Frequency Transducer: 19mm (3/4") Titanium- laminate dome, shielded; EOS waveguide
- Ultrahigh-Frequency Transducer: 19mm (3/4") Polyester-film ring-radiator, shielded; EOS waveguide
- Sensitivity: (2.83V/1m) 86dB
- Nominal Impedance: 8 Ohms
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 318mm x 174mm x 203mm / 12-1/2" x 6-7/8" x 8"
- Weight: 4.6kg / 10.3 lb
Note: This information was taken directly from the manufacturer’s website.
Product review#1
Highlight
Pros
The super tweeter makes treble response exceptional. Bass surpasses expectations.
Cons
The speaker tends to reveal shortcomings of other components in an audio system.
The Verdict: 8.07/10, This is an awfully good small speaker that performs better than its specs suggest.
JBL is an iconic source of loudspeakers for both home and professional use. The company has been around since the 1940s and its products are well known in recording studios, concert halls and the listening rooms of folks with a lot of money to spend on cool gear. While bookshelf speakers aren’t as likely to be the stuff that legends are made of, the JBL ES20 is, nonetheless, a terrific speaker that will be a great addition to many home systems.
The JBL ES20 provides rich and satisfying sound that covers just about the entire audible spectrum. Cosmetically, they give the look of bookshelf speakers that are substantially more expensive than their moderate price would suggest. They also have the distinction of being the only entry in our survey of entry-level bookshelf loudspeakers that includes a separate super tweeter.
The most obvious distinguishing feature between these bookshelf speakers and all of the others that we’ve reviewed is the presence of a super tweeter, or an ultrahigh-frequency transducer, in JBL parlance. It, combined with the tweeter, is responsible for the terrific treble response that we observed.
The bookshelf speaker’s 86dB sensitivity specification makes it relatively inefficient among products we’ve compared on this site. The characteristic is typical of speakers from this manufacturer and is likely the main reason that they tend to reveal deficiencies of low quality electronic components. In short, that is to say that these are great bookshelf speakers if your amp can drive them properly but that there are better choices if the electronics can’t make the grade.
The stated average power handling of 60W and maximum input wattage of 125W tends to mask the fact that high-quality input is extremely important for these little bookshelf speakers. JBL states that the maximum recommended amplifier power for these bookshelf speakers is 125W. They don’t quote a minimum input figure but, as we’ve pointed out above, they’re rather power hungry. They can withstand transients up to a very respectable 240W.
The JBL bookshelf speakers are magnetically shielded so they can be placed in close proximity to a CRT television without causing interference. The five-way connectors are gold-plated to prevent corrosion.
The JBL ES20 is the only 3-way speaker featured in these reviews. The majority of the sonic content is handled by a single 5-inch low-frequency driver made of a polymer-coated cellulose that JBL calls PolyPlas. It reacts quickly and smoothly across its frequency range creating smooth, accurate sound.
The first crossover is set at 3,300Hz sending content to a 3/4-inch version of JBL’s recognizable titanium dome affixed to a waveguide. There’s a second crossover at 12kHz routing the highest frequency signals to a 3/4-inch polyester-film ring super tweeter with a deeper waveguide.
The JBL cabinetry has the look of more expensive bookshelf speakers. The front surface curves into a dark gray vinyl. The sides are available in black ash or cherry wood grain vinyl. The speaker is of the bass reflex design with a rear-firing bass port.
JBL ES Summary: 8.1/10
The JBL ES20 is an all-around bookshelf speaker that we particularly like for music reproduction with the single caveat that it is more power hungry and inefficient than other speakers within our review. It’s also well-suited for use in a home theater setup as front speakers or teamed with a great pair of floor standing speakers.
By Jonathan Knoder, Top Ten Reviews
Product review#2
JBL ES20BK Bookshelf Loudspeakers
One of the industry's most enduring loudspeaker brands, JBL, even while flourishing mainly in the professional audio realm, continues to produce a wide range of consumer loudspeaker products spanning many different categories and price points. Part of its 'ES' series, the $399 per pair (MSRP) ES20 is the second of three bookshelf models (ES10/20/30).
Additional Resources
• Read more bookshelf speaker reviews on HomeTheaterReview.com.
• Find a subwoofer to boost the bass in your system.
Weighing in at 10.3 pounds, the ES20 offers a unique, interesting, and appealing appearance. With the side panels finished in either a pretty Black, Beech, or Cherry vinyl, the top of the speaker curves directly into the baffle, all finished in a lighter, brushed dark gray. The speaker's enclosure elegantly tapers from front to back, which also provides a sonic benefit by reducing internal standing waves and, in turn, the cabinet's vibrational sonic signature. More and more loudspeaker companies have been employing this type of cabinet design. The black grill extrudes from the front baffle, with a top and bottom finished with a neat strip of silver. The ES20 provides gold-plated 5-way binding posts with a textured finish for easy gripping. The ES20 provides a high level of fit and finish, with pretty looks and seams and holes lined up and fitting solid and tight. A three-way design, the ES20 employs a 5-inch PolyPlas woofer crossed over at 3/3kHz (24dB/octave) to a ¾-inch Polyester-film ring radiator mounted in JBL Elliptical Oblate Spheroidal (EOS) waveguide, which crosses over at 12kHz (18dB/octave) to a ¾ inch Titanium-laminate dome super tweeter in EOS waveguide. According to the company, the super tweeter plays out to 40kHz. PolyPlas employs a special lightweight polymer coating to increase stiffness, while EOS improves high-frequency dispersion. The ES20 employs a rear-firing port that fits neatly into the top of the back panel with a silver outer ring.
Sound
The ES20 presents a nominal 8 ohm load with an 86dB efficiency. The speaker needed a good-quality power source to perform its best, with average quality receivers failing to measure up. Moving up in scale to better quality receivers and separate amplifiers, the sound improved significantly. I listened to the ES20s with music sources, mounted on stands in a stereo setup. The ES20 offers no on-board mounting hardware.
The ES20s sounded terrific right from the outset, when driven properly. They threw a deep, wide soundstage with very good imaging and focus. In particular, the bass exhibited real punch and excellent depth, with minimal port noise. The extended highs sounded very smooth, and blended into the upper midrange nicely. The midrange had surprising realism, with a bit of honk but overall a solid tonality with both male and female voice. Piano sounded delicate and crisp, and had a nice, woody feel in the lower registers. The ES20 stretched very well across all types of acoustic and electric material, and could play very loudly when pushed (although their low efficiency requires some very good quality power to do this right). Closer to a wall, the soundstage compressed a bit, and the mids, in particular, lost a bit of their depth. But, overall, the ES20 retained a large portion of its great sound even in this position. It must be noted again, however, that the ES20 requires a good receiver or amplifier to really shine. Budget products dragged it down quite a bit. But with the proper power source, the sound quality of the ES20 makes quite an impression, as it draws a great balance and never overexposes any given range of frequencies. The high end maybe could have been a tad smoother and the upper midrange a bit more lush, but those kinds of requests usually are reserved for much more expensive speakers. For the price, the ES20 delivers all the goods and then some.
High Points
• The ES20 provides excellent performance and a very well balanced and enjoyable listening experience.
• The ES20 performs well over all kinds of music material - classical, jazz, rock, vocal, etc., and can play loudly without breaking up.
• The ES20 looks terrific with or without the grills, and comes in two different wood finishes in addition to Black.
Low Points
• The ES20 needs good quality power to perform its best, and didn't sound nearly as good with budget receivers or amplifiers.
• The ES20 doesn't provide any on-board mounting hardware.
• The ES20 needs to sit at least 10-12 inches from the wall to sound its best.
Conclusion
The JBL ES20 offers sound quality on par with the best speakers in its class. It's smooth, detailed, punchy, airy, and transparent, with tiny flaws that never overly intrude into the presentation. Its coherence and balance really shine, and its versatility over many types of music material doesn't hurt either. Potential buyers must consider, however, that a good quality receiver or amplifier is a necessity to get the ES20 to perform its best, as well as a bit of space around the speakers. That said, the ES20 deserves a spot on the short list of high performance, affordable bookshelf speakers to audition.
Reviewed By: HomeTheaterReview.com, December 5, 2009
Where to buy:
JBL ES20 High-Performance 3-Way Bookshelf Speakers (Black, Pair)
0 comments:
Post a Comment