Customer Reviews

Clarity

The clarity is most impressive; easy to focus in on individual instruments. I compare music tracks between my new JBL HDI-3800s and my Klipsch RP-8000F IIs, the JBL sound is more crisp, clear, and the bass really jumps out. This is my first experience with 4-ohm speaker, and I am suitable surprised at the difference.

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Fantastic speakers

Brought this for 7.1.4 setup as Front Left, Center and Right speakers to go with 165 inch acoustically transparent screen. Got a good deal on sale. Paired up with Revel M106 surround, Revel C783 Atmos speakers and JBL HDI-1200 sub along with Yamaha A8A Aventage receiver. Sounds great, fills the room with clear, detailed sound with ease. This is a monster of a speaker with awesome build quality. Highly recommend. Its a pity that it has to go behind the screens for its great looks.

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Superior

One of the best decisions I've made. Paired with a Marantz, these are simply phenomenal. Go for it.

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Close to live as you can get!

This speaker exceeds my expectations. Very clear and detailed. Clear highs, midrange with depth, strong bass that's not muddy. Easy to listen to all day! Crutchfield did a great job from beginning thru follow up. Looking forward to adding on to my system.

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Attention bargain, hunters!

It does everything I expected and more. I have a nine speaker system, (including two sub) and a Marantz 7015 and when I play on stereo. (two speakers.) I very often think I'm playing all my channels. These speakers fill my 25 x 15 room with sweet sounds even though I'm just breaking them in. About 15 hours of music and TV and They have a lot more to give. With crutchfield's present sale on JBL speakers, I doubt that the sonic quality could be matched for anywhere near this price and trust me, I tried!

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I like them A Lot, Very Pleased

I am not exactly a Home Audio enthusiast, I like car audio way more, especially focal beryllium components and JL 12' W6. However I bought these on sale for 1399 a piece which is a bargain as good as these sound. I was replacing Klipsch RP280FA towers in my living room which are a way cheaper speaker, these JBL HDI-3800's blow them out of the water, I find myself up late at night listening to soul, Tony, Tony, Tone, Korn, and Dire Straits ETC. These sound awesome on live concert videos off youtube too. I run a 2017 Yamaha RX-A3070 9.2 Channel AVENTAGE Receiver on these. If you have the money, in my opinion, and I do not know much about home audio, these speakers sound just as good as home speaker towers that cost thousands more. Anyways best wishes in your Home Audio purchase endeavors, Music/Sound is subjective and people have different tastes, what sounds great to me , may not be good for u. If I had to make this purchase again, I would do it in a heartbeat without a second thought.

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JBL HDI-3800

They sound terrific. Good bass response but not overwhelming. I eliminated my sub.

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JBL HDI-3800

Great improvement over my 40 year old Boston's which were good ??

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Love my JBL HDI-3800's

I can honestly say I am extremely impressed with these speakers. I've always been a JBL fan for quite some time. I've owned JBL's in various price ranges and could always find shining points in all their products. The JBL HDI 3800's have truly blown me away!!!!!! I am using a Denon AVR -X6700 set at 4ohms and these speakers are fabulous!!!! Best part is they are breaking in and I can hear them subtly improve as the time is passing. The ability of these speakers to replicate sounds together yet easily distinguished each individually is remarkable!!! I have my speakers in a 18'wide x 25' living room and they fiil the room with tons of sound and volume. When watching movies I have an older Studio Series Center Channel, Studio Series 3-38's on stands for the rear and a Klipsch 12" 200 watt subwoofer. For theater it all sounds fantastic... absolutely moving!!!!! As far as the HDI 3800's, if you're considering them... do your homework then pull the trigger, you most certainly won't be sorry!!!!!!

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First new speakers

First let's just say I am a JBL lover! I have 580's and I sold my 590'S. The 580's and 590's are they similar to the HDI- 3800. Absolutely, NOTHING in common. The 5 series are great sounding and detailed. With lots of bass and very easy to power. But the highs can be bright or fatiguing, and bass can at times be bloated. HDI is neutral to warm sounding. I can't stress this enough these are not Bright speakers. The HDI-3800 speakers are big but not big like the 590's that house two 8 inch drivers. And the HDI has three 8 inch drivers and smaller cabinet. The HDI build quality is far more superior then the 5 series. But it should be for the cost difference. I had my 590's hooked up to a Yamaha RN800a and it powered and drove the speakers to fairly loud levels clean. The HDI can be used with the RN800a but turning it up loud the RN800a was getting muddy and couldn't keep up with the power demands. So I got an Anthem Statement A2 power amp 300watts x2 @ 4ohms RMS. This brought the speakers to life. They need a high current clean power source to shine. The HDI also need a good music source. These are very revealing speakers you hear every detail. That's includes poor recordings. The bass is detailed tight and will slam you back. I thought I would go back to my 580's to try for a week. I definitely prefer my HDI. They have a wow factor when you walk into the room. They move air they move your emotions they move you. You decide if you want to make a move to be moved

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Awesome sounding speakers

Best speakers I've heard to date, great clarity and bass response

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JBL HDI-3800

Nice imaging, solid speakers.

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You won't be disappointed!

All I can say is WOW, these speakers will rock! They take whatever you can throw at them and just handle it. The Teonex HDI horn is an amazing tweeter if I can call it that but the definition of voice clarity and separation is outstanding. The low end is clear and strong and the first night I got them, my wife and I stayed up to 3am rockin' concerts on YouTube! You can't go wrong with these speakers if you got the room for them, and they are just beautifully finished.

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Great speakers!

Just upgraded from jbl studio 580's. The difference is night and day. I am extremely happy with these speakers. The sound quality is just fantastic. I was even able to get rid of my sub. A good sub obviously hits much harder but these do more than an adequate job. It is like a wall of sound that comes out of these and at times it sounds like I'm at a live performance. Imaging from left to right is great, certain songs I can point directly to where the instrument are being played. Vocals are locked in dead center, and this is with a room that has plenty of issues acoustically with it. When watching tv/movies the dialogue is crystal clear. I have yet to throw anything at these that they don't handle with ease.

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JBL HDI-3800

These sound great!!

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Great Stage

I have a curated stereo system: Panamax MR5 100, 3mm silicone turntable mat, Hana SL cartridge, Arché Headshell, Hitachi HT-550 Turntable, Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 w/matched pair-12AX7 Smooth Plate Telefunken NOS tubes, NAD T-758 v.3 AV Receiver, Anthem MCA 525 gen 2, to my JBL HDI-3800. The JBL are stunning at any level of listening. And I use them as my mains for listening to music, home theater and streaming. What I wanted was a sound. I'm from a generation who grew up with AM radio, FM Stereo, LPs to CDs, and now streaming. Most great venues use JBL sound systems. I get out to a lot of local joints too and yes, JBL is there. I live in Manhattan so I've heard the $30,000/pr speakers and I get it but at that price they will be in a huge home. I'm the average guy and these are in a 350 sg-ft family room set up with a theater. I've been listening to some of my collection for 50 yrs. The JBL replaced Definitive Tech BP-10's. The bipolar stage was good but the JBL's are so much better. At six feet apart, at any level, from all sources, the separation, detail, and depth are stunning. The JBL's sound like what I've heard my whole life. Properly set up, you'll think you're sitting in a club, movie theater or symphony hall. I use Dirac for room correction but turn it off and on like any other component. I like to play with source, decoding and processing. The JBL's sound great any way I use them. Great buy for me. I wrote this listening to The White Album, amazing.

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Big, Room-Filling Sound

I am loving these speakers. They replaced a pair of Focal Chora 826, which themselves are fine speakers. But I wanted a bigger / fuller / richer sound that better filled the room, and that's exactly what these have delivered. There's a smoothness and completeness to the presentation that's a little hard to describe, but I'll try: while the Chora's imaged nicely, they also felt a tad thin. The HDI-3800's seem to fill the entire space between the speakers, and then some. Oh, and the bass... no subwoofer needed. I also have them a mere 10" from the wall, with no noticeable boom/muddiness - being rear ported I was a bit worried about that but they sound amazing there. They also sound really nice outside the traditional sweet spot, which was important to me - my listening room/mancave is also my work-at-home office, and I work to the side of my setup. These sound wonderful from that vantage point, despite my being on the same horizontal plane as these (and much closer to the left speaker.) Speaker journey over the years has been restored A/D/S 1290 > Martin Logan Motion 40 > Focal Chora 826 > JBL HDI-3800. Each step has been a happy upgrade, but I'm likely finished. This feels like the sound I've been looking for. Shoutout to Crutchfield too - I ordered them on a Wednesday morning, and got them Friday.

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Balanced sound

WOW! you won't need a subwoofer. I have them paired up with my new Yamaha Rn800a. Crystal clear sound. The more you turn it up the sound stays nice and clear. Listening to live Led Zeppelin is incredible. The tweeter makes anything from Bjork come alive not to mention the walls are vibrating in a good way not annoying distortion.

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Next Level

Upgrading from a perfectly good pair of JBL Studio 590 to the HDI-3800, I expected differences but not night and day. Turns out I was missing an impressive amount of detail and precision. I wouldn't say my Studios 590's were bad, they just were not in the same class.

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Another JBL Winner!

WOW! Just WOW! Incredible clarity and sound dispersion. More than enough bass to satisfy me. Appreciate purchasing on sale and the quick and well protected delivery. These speakers are HUGE and HEAVY! Powering with a 30+ year old Adcom GFA 545II amp and preamp, rated at 100wpc. Since these speakers are 4 ohm and 92dB sensitivity, it doesn't take much to get loud. Whether at high or low volume, the clarity is outstanding. The sound is very rich. I'll assume they'll warm up a bit over time as my JBL HS810s and HS820s have done over the past 20+ years. CDs and re-acquired vinyl records (mainly classic rock) sound phenomenal!! The finish on these is really attractive, too. Big footprint, but thankfully I have a large gameroom with sufficient space to let these speakers sing. If you have the budget and the space, I recommend them highly.

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Beautiful craftsmanship

Best speakers ever at a killer price!

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JBL HDI-3800

WOW the sound just incredible

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JBL HDI-3800 Tower Speakers-Gloss Black

Received the speakers two days ago and I quickly unboxed them (perfect condition, no damage) and set them up. As a part of the process, I installed the spikes on both speakers (they screw into the hole in the center of each rubber foot). To protect our floor I used Pangea Sonic Saucers XL, solid brass, painted black. I bought these from Crutchfield several years ago and used them on my Polk LSIM 707 towers. They work great for protection from floor damage and provide more isolation from the floor. Cost, $60 for eight saucers. Compare these to any Isoacoustics products and you understand that they are great value for the money and simple to use and re-use. See the picture of the installed Sonic Saucers below. I connected the new speakers via my existing Audioquest Rocket 33 BiWire Cables. The cable connection at the speakers is shown in a photo included below. The speakers are a work of art, absolutely beautiful. Since I am in the "burn-in phase" now I can only say that they sound great and will undoubtedly sound even better after a few more hours. The soundstage it is fantastic. I was watching a YouTube video (non musical) on my Denon AVR X7200 using "TV Audio Source", which selects FL, FR, & SUB's. I had to get up and go check on the face of the Denon as I was sure that I was hearing my Center Channel only as when we watch network TV stations using the Dolby Neural X listening mode. Power to the JBL's comes from a Parasound Power Amp, model 2250 V

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Buy these. Amazing fir the miney

I grew up listening to music. My dad had old Sansui speakers and a big 24 band EQ. He listened to everything from the Beatles, Rock, country, hard rock etc. you name it. He played it. My first set up was with a Soney reciever abd a Denon power amp pushing a pair of infinity SM155s. Big 15 inch drivers . Pretty loud set up. I have owned Polk audio, Klipsch, Pioneer, Yamaha even SVS in my day. Let me tell you. These JBLs are in their own spectrum of sound. Like my dad I listen to everything. Even orchestra. Just do yourself a favor with these speakers. Feed them. Don't buy a speaker like this unless you have power. I hooked them up to my Yamaha RX2800 receiver and was impressed. I was curious how much difference power really does make. Then I hooked them up through my Yamaha MX5200 power amp. Bridged! Giving them about 375 watts each. It was a huge difference especially in the mids and punchy mid bass in that 70-250 hrz range. You have to get those 3 8 inch woofers moving!! I have been chasing that sound and speaker that I can play anything I want on and be happy. This is my end game speaker. I have heard Martin Login 7000.00 speakers, you name it. I have listened to a lot of speakers in my day. These have more output and will rock your world with clarity. Don't get me wrong. Those other speakers sounded good as well. Not near the output though!! Some were very bright too. These are not. For the price. You won't find better

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JBL HDI-3800

Fantastic detail and build quality!

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JBL HDI-3800

The JBL 3800 speakers are real gems. Soundstage is incredible; you can close your eyes and pick out each instrument on a well recorded vinyl record or CD - both front to back and side to side. Even streamed music shows a well spread out soundstage. These appear to be warming up quickly; each listen using the same music and source seems to give fuller and more pronounced soundscape. The bass response is absolutely amazing! I tested this using the Dave's Picks live recording of the Grateful Dead from Chicago (October 22, 1972) and also a Charlie Haden compilation. Haden's nuanced and precise playing comes through beautifully, and Phil Lesh's thundering intro to 'The Other One' just roars through these speakers! Speaker sensitivity of 92 db appears to be practically unheard of in this price range, and the response is wonderful. I power these with a McIntosh MA 5300 rated at about 160 watts at 4 ohms. I've never really spent much time listening to 4 ohm speakers, but these - with the proper amplification - are just spectacular. The sound is full and warm (and getting warmer). Increasing the volume seems to make the sound more balanced and full rather than just louder. I can't say enough about the 3800's and I can't imagine ever needing an upgrade. I heartily recommend the JBL HDI-3800.

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JBL HDI-3800

Out performs speakers twice the price...great soundstage!!!!

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Too soon to tell

I just got these speakers along with my other audio components (Anthem amp, Rotel preamp, Denon CD players, NAD AM/FM tuner))set up a couple days ago. Everything works. On the plus side, it's a pleasure to listen to music against a dead silent background. When the music stops or between, I can detect absolutely no hiss or noise of any kind from the speakers. On the other hand, the music doesn't sound quite like it has for years over my car stereo or ear buds. This will take some getting used to. One seeming oddity. I set the speakers up and set my listening position as directed by the JBL documentation, But whether from the tuner or from one of several CDs I listened to, the sound seemed biased to (soundstage was shifted towards) the left speaker. My solution was to move the right speaker no more than one foot towards the left speaker and now the soundstage sounds about right. I can't account for this with room acoustics.

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JBL HDI-3800

After hooking up these speakers I immediately noticed a great improvement in the highs over my older JBLs which were no slouches either. The highs are smooth and seemingly delivered with a more intense presence. I am still in the break in stage with these new speakers and can hardly wait for them to fully deliver their punch. Best speakers I have ever owned. Large beautiful speakers in the black finish.

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JBL HDI-3800

I love the dynamics and smooth vocals, don't require terribly expensive electronics. I drive mine from a crown xls 2502 and it gives you a solid soundstage that sounds live. good looks along with a super build quality great product!

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JBL HDI-3800

The JBL HDI-3800s are the first set of speakers that have been able to fully transport me into a recording. I'll give you an example. A week or so ago my wife and 8-month-old stepped out so I was really able to crank these puppies to see what they could do. I put on Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Tin Pan Alley," which is a great test of dynamics, soundstage, and atmosphere. Though Stevie Ray isn't in my normal listening rotation, I've listened to this countless times as a speaker test track but this time something changed. As my Gen Z brethren would say, "it hit different tho." After cranking the volume to concert levels I closed my eyes let myself see what happened. About 15 seconds in a weird thing happened and my sense of the speaker location kept moving further and further back until it felt like I was sitting on the top balcony of the venue and listening live. The tangible sense of space, the intense live music sound pressure, the clarity were all just incredible. I was fully transported into the venue until my cat walked up and meowed, which was completely disorienting because I was once again on my couch in my listening room and not front row of the top balcony at Fox Theater in Oakland, which is where my ears and mind had taken me. It's an experience I've been chasing for years of buying audio gear-that truly transformative experience. The JBL HDI-3800s did that.

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Buy These Speakers!!!

Awesome speakers. Provide a full, rich sound. Truly provides an immersive experience.

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