JBL Venue Balcony Mini-Review ---->56K Beware

[azjimmy]

Hello all,
As some of you might know, I was searching for a replacement for my S26’s that had been doing surround duty in my system. I looked at a number of brands and configurations, as well as bi-pole/dipole speakers. Either I couldn't justify the cost of these speakers, or they just didn’t live up to my expectations.
Enter the JBL Venue Balcony. I know that they are not in the same league as the Axiom QS8 or any number of the “higher-end” surrounds I looked at, but they are doing the job quite nicely in my setup, at 1/3 of the cost.



The Balcony is a 2-way wall mount/bookshelf, direct radiating speaker. Given that is has only a 4” woofer and a ¾” tweeter, it is really only suited for surround duty.





Though similar in construction to the E10, there are some distinct differences. The enclosure is longer by 1” and the speakers are vented out the top. As the drivers and crossovers are the same, I can only figure that the venting and the larger enclosure account for the lower frequency response (65 Hz-20 kHz on the Balcony vs. 75 Hz-20 kHz on the E10).



The front baffle is painted to resemble carbon fiber composite and has a silver grille.



Since the Balcony is intended to be a wall mount, it has 4-way binding posts (despite what the manual says). No room for banana plugs here, though spades would probably work. I am using bare wire.

Keyhole mounts come already installed. Wall bumpers are included as well.





I’ve been listening to them for a little over 4 months now and I have to say that I am impressed. They are far less localized then my S26’s. Pan and sweep effects appear to go right over my head. This may have more to do with the placement than the speaker, but I never had a wall mount option with my old speakers, so it’s hard to tell.

I have recently gotten into multi channel audio, and I can say that the Balcony does a great job there as well. They integrate much better with my mains than I could have ever expected.

So what does all this mean? Over all I am very satisfied with my new Balcony’s. Good construction, easy mounting, and that familiar “JBL sound” all combine to make a fine surround speaker. For the price, they are hard to beat
Jim

[Sonnie]

This is good to hear since I've just ordered up some JBL's. They seem to be a very popular speaker at a great bargain price. I can't wait to see the replacements for the Northridge line come January.

[khellandros66]

I remember my favorite JBLs the HLS series from when I first worked for Best Buy, I wanted a setup so bad, but didn't have enough money at the time.

JBLs are always great build quality, people seem to rack on them at times but its more then likely cause they are now a big box retail brand...

That series looks sweet and loved the mini review. I'd love to see an all out one when you get more done and the new line.

~Bob

[Kipp Jones]

Very aesthetically pleasing surrounds.

[rumonkey2]

....as I was doing some measurement research for a pair of Balcony speaks I am due to receive tomorrow! "Won" them on E-bay for $36 (+16 ship) from Harmon.
Looking forward to hanging them in my small "HT". Will complement 3 AV123 X LS across the front & an old cheap Sony sub driven by a "new" HK AVR240 (won off Ebay for $185 shipped!) Now, if Santa can just pull the trigger on a big screen today


Either way, I'm 1 step closer to having my budget/mini HT room complete!
New sub next up on the Audio end of things...likely X sub, maybe (soon to be released) X plosive. So far, all my "new" stuff is some sort of B-Stock & mostly flawless....I'm seriously going to look at some "open box/newly returned" TVs today...
man, am I cheap or what

[Exocer]

rumonkey2 wrote:

....as I was doing some measurement research for a pair of Balcony speaks I am due to receive tomorrow! "Won" them on E-bay for $36 (+16 ship) from Harmon.
Looking forward to hanging them in my small "HT". Will complement 3 AV123 X LS across the front & an old cheap Sony sub driven by a "new" HK AVR240 (won off Ebay for $185 shipped!) Now, if Santa can just pull the trigger on a big screen today


Either way, I'm 1 step closer to having my budget/mini HT room complete!
New sub next up on the Audio end of things...likely X sub, maybe (soon to be released) X plosive. So far, all my "new" stuff is some sort of B-Stock & mostly flawless....I'm seriously going to look at some "open box/newly returned" TVs today...
man, am I cheap or what

Woah, excellent prices! congrats!

[rumonkey2]

Hung mine Christmas morning as they were received Christmas Eve!
Really like this addition to my system. They blend rather nicely w/ my X LS across the front - better than I actually expected. (Xing XLS at 80 & Balcony at 100) HT/SS audio in my room greatly enhanced w/ these in place, I'm sure mainly due to positioning - which I couldn't do w/ "rears" I had been using before.
11.5x11.5 room - seating 1' off back wall I had to corner & toe Titans I used as rears previously - on rather tall, slightly unstable, definitely unsightly stands. W/ Balconies wall mounted facing each other, slightly behind & about 2' above head, very noticeable & dramatic difference w/ surround material. Placement is the key, I know.
But these allowed me to do it right for this room. So, getting this deal on a "whim" turned out to be a great improvement to my HT. I rarely listen to multi-channel music - so these fit the bill perfectly.

I will snap a pic or two shortly.
My next "budget upgrade" will be stuffing my 8 yr old Sony SA-WM40 sub w/ poly & playing w/ it's placement....

[rumonkey2]

Not the best shots of my "upgrades" & still some tidying up to do in this room, but this gives you an idea of tight space I'm working w/ and how mounting of Balcony improved my set-up:

"New" HK AVR 240 & AV123 XLS - still saving for a new TV...It appears my XLS are toed out when they are actually toed in...?!?
Corner shots of Balcony to give you idea of space. Cheap camera in a small room can't get very good perspective shot.