JBL - Stage2 245C 2.5-Way Quad 4.5-inch (114mm) Center Channel Loudspeaker - Each - Espresso - Open Box - Excellent

The Stage 2 245C is JBL's budget friendly home theater center channel. This speaker is meant to be paired with a set of JBL Stage 2 speakers (260F or 280F) for the front three channels in a home theater arrangement. Overall I found this speaker excellent in its center channel duties. I purchased this item during the holidays to complete a the front arrangement of Stage 2 I was building. I have 2x260F floor standing speakers handling left and right duties. Due to their size, they were greatly outclassing my old center channel, and my assumption is that the 245C would pair nicely with them. I was not disappointed. Upon opening the box, you will find pretty simple contents. Paperwork, a well packaged and wrapped speaker (in thin foam to protect it, with the grille packaged separately). The speaker itself includes no real mounting hardware, but rather just the rather supple construction measuring at 8.5" deep, 6.1" tall and 29.1" wide. 4 4.5" full range drivers flank the central aluminum tweeter. These are a 2.5 way design, with a crossover that helps blend the frequency smoothly from the tweeter to the adjacent woofers, allowing them to blend the mids down with the outer-most woofers to handle the lower frequencies. This design keeps the sweet spot nice a large for this center channel. Around back are dual bass ports, and 5-way binding posts... I just used banana jacks. The espresso finished matches my 260F's well. Again my application is a home theater, and to pair with other JBL Stage 2 speakers. I was quite pleased with the 245C. Not only did it provide crisp clear audio, it provided a volume and completeness of sound I never got from my original 3 element center. Dialog doesn't get lost, but the mids and highs flow through quite nicely in movies. Calibrating these speakers is a must, and my Marantz receiver w/ Audyssey did a fantastic job of getting the most out of this speaker. I love the capabilities of this center. I feel like the 4 main speaker drivers and tweeter provide the sort of volume you need for a center. In a lot of movies, the center channel is the main speaker, and you rely on it for more than even dialog. I will say this was a great purchase for me. The JBL Stage 2 series is not cheap, but the quality from JBL seems top notch. In my fairly wide home theater setup, the 245C hauls its weight and fills the room with great dialog and effects. It blends seamlessly with the 260F floor standers and isn't overpowered by them at all. It packs a punk, and as long as its driven by a good amp, you will be happy with it.

Very happy with the whole system. I picked up the two bookshelf's, MA720, 12 inch sub, and this center speaker. I must admit I am very new to the component home theater space. I was planning on picking up a JBL partybox Ultimate since I love my 110, but I realized that I have no where to really store that behemoth of a speaker. Then I remembered my dad has a Kenwood component system that I always loved. I started doing my research and little did I know JBL recently came out with this package. It was like God himself put the idea in front of me. I am very happy with this purchase. The sound is very enjoyable. I have am not huge on watching movies at loud volumes, I purchased this more for music listening - the movies with some real bass is a great experience I will say - and I must admit the money is well spent. I have a $2000 Sony audio system in my truck that was my preferred music listening experience, but this JBL component system has just become my favorite escape from life. In regards to performance I have enough loudness to reframe from turning past 85%. My expectations were met as I wanted stupid loudness available, without having to hit max volume. When I have the input to ALL Stereo, I get that access. The best part is when I get to that 90-100 range it's clear, I do fear to damage these speakers but they so far have seemed capable of handling it.

Sounds great for the price. 5 drivers for the price of 3! I compared with the the HECO Aurora 30 and this one. Paired with KEF Q350s (LR) and Speedwoofer 10S MKII and a Onkyo RZ30.

I upgraded my Vizio sound bar and this speaker hits harder and is 20x louder!! Sounds superior!!

Got rid of my soundbar and started building a better home theater system using JBL speakers. The sound is amazing. The center channel speaker slid right into the opening of my fake fireplace.