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berniegold
05-02-2009, 07:08 AM
I have a pair of JBL S312 speakers. Which JBL center channel speaker goes best with them? Was there a center channel speaker specifically made for the S312 speakers? I also have the JBL Powerbass PB12 sub. Please advise. I know these massive speakers weren't sold as "Home Theater" speakers but I love the speakers and want to make a nice home theater system.

Titanium Dome
05-02-2009, 07:27 AM
Welcome.

The intended mate would be the S Center or the S Center II, depending on the exact model number of your S312 (or S312 II) speakers.

Some folks here have used the EC35 or even the LC2 centers from JBL as well, as these are more commonly available, but several S Center and S Center II speakers are on ebay each month, so that's a good place to start.

For example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/JBL-S-CENTER-II-CENTER-CHANNEL-SPEAKER-BLACK_W0QQitemZ200335777888QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSpea kers_Subwoofers?hash=item2ea4f16060&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

and this poor thing

http://cgi.ebay.com/JBL-studio-series-s-center-speaker_W0QQitemZ380114657232QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSp eakers_Subwoofers?hash=item5880995fd0

berniegold
05-02-2009, 07:57 AM
Which came first, S Center Channel or the EC25 Center Channel? Which is better? Thanks for your guidance.

Titanium Dome
05-02-2009, 08:13 AM
Which came first, S Center Channel or the EC25 Center Channel? Which is better? Thanks for your guidance.

The S Center was released with the original S Series gear; the S Center II and S Series II gear came along after JBL/Harman lost a legal battle with Bose.

The EC25 and EC35 (which is the one I recommended) were part of the Northridge E Series which came along later. I'm definitely not recommending the EC25 or the Northridge N Series N Center from the same era. :no:

berniegold
05-02-2009, 08:27 AM
Glad you clarified. I was about to buy a new, sealed EC25 on eBAY. It seems that there are not a lot of S Center speakers available. Now I'm thinking LC1 because they're so available. As I get more into this, the similarities between JBL center channel speakers (at least sound wise) is all in the same ball park.

This is all new to me. And I'm admittedly not a big time hi-tech audiophile. I do love my JBL S312's. They're big, loud, crisp, and they rock. I've always been a JBL fan. I guess I can't go wrong on any JBL center channel speaker.

Just curious, why do you specifically not recommend the EC25?

hjames
05-02-2009, 09:05 AM
Glad you clarified. I was about to buy a new, sealed EC25 on eBAY. It seems that there are not a lot of S Center speakers available. Now I'm thinking LC1 because they're so available. As I get more into this, the similarities between JBL center channel speakers (at least sound wise) is all in the same ball park.

This is all new to me. And I'm admittedly not a big time hi-tech audiophile. I do love my JBL S312's. They're big, loud, crisp, and they rock. I've always been a JBL fan. I guess I can't go wrong on any JBL center channel speaker.

Just curious, why do you specifically not recommend the EC25?

No no - not the EC25 _ had one of those for a year, and when I decided to jump I went directly to an LC2 - much better resolving power for dialog and such!
But I wanted the Beech color, where I could have gotten one sooner in black ...

Of course budget is also a concern!
I waited for a few months until I got one for a deal.

berniegold
05-02-2009, 09:21 AM
I decided to go with the S Center, the one that was specifically made for my S312 speakers. It just seems like the right thing for me. I'm not advanced enough to start matching "timbres" from other models or brands. I know the S Center will sound fantastic compared to what I'm using how, a old JBL tiny satellite from one of their first surround systems called, "Movie 1" (I think it was called).

Thanks for all the help.

Rusnzha
05-03-2009, 01:00 AM
I got S412s and used the S-Center but IMHO, it wasn't up to the other speakers. I replaced it with an Infinity Beta C360. It works much better than the S-Center with Studio Series speakers.