JBL - Stage2 280F 2.5-Way Dual 8" Floorstanding Loudspeaker - Each - Espresso

Customer Images

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• See
  More

The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products or points for an honest, helpful review.

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Powerful with room filling sound!

  • Top 500 Contributor
  • Tech Insider Network Member

  These speakers are big, powerful, and they look absolutely great in my living room! I’ve been using them for a week now and I have nothing but good things to say. The JBL Stage2 280F floorstanding loudspeakers are a sound powerhouse that deliver an exceptional audio experience no matter what content you are enjoying. Whether you're watching movies, listening to music, or playing some game on your gaming console, these speakers are going to give you the sound that you’re looking for that really brings you into the game and lifts your contents audio to the next level. They feature dual 8-inch polycellulose woofers and a 0.75-inch aluminum dome tweeter, allowing them to produce deep, rich bass, crisp highs, and a nicely balanced mid range, and ensuring that every note and sound effect is perfect and precise. The speakers came extremely well packaged with thick foam at the top, bottom and mid section of the box. They are also double boxed in a strong heavy cardboard, ensuring that they arrive safe and free from damage. Unboxing them with just one person was a little tricky, but manageable for myself. Somebody smaller who has a problem lifting will definitely need help, if you want to preserve the box for future use if you ever move. One of the most impressive features to me is their ability to handle a wide range of audio content with no problem whatsoever. The 2.5-way design ensures that each frequency band is delivered smoothly, without any distortion, even at higher volume levels. These speakers are perfect for large rooms where you want to fill the space with immersive sound and they also work great in midsize rooms, like my living room, giving me a full audio experience that envelops me unlike any other speakers I’ve used. I really do love the design of the Stage2 280F speakers. They have a bold look with a sleek and modern appearance, especially when you take off the speaker covers to show off the speakers and design. The espresso finish looks great in my living room and matches my decor perfectly. I really think these speakers can add a touch of sophistication to any home theater setup. The speakers are pretty big, so make sure you take measurements before you order them. I have a midsize living room and they are almost too big, but I’m okay with that personally. However, keep in mind that JBL does make a smaller model, for smaller rooms, if you're interested in maximizing your space. Also keep this in mind when considering the placement of the speakers, in relation to any other speakers you are going to be using with your set up. I highly recommend these speakers to anyone looking to up their audio game to the next level of performance. Overall, the JBL Stage2 280F speakers are an outstanding pair of floor standing speakers that offer the perfect balance of power and precision with a touch of style, making this set a great addition to any serious audio enthusiast's home speaker set up.

  ...See More
  • 
  • 
  • 

  Posted 8 months ago by Orion

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  SPECTACULAR TOWER SPEAKERS!

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 25 Contributor

  JBL and Harman have been iconic names in professional and consumer audio for decades. Both names date back to the 1940’s and 1950’s. By the late 1960’s and early 1970’s JBL speakers were the premier speakers in Fender guitar amplifiers and speaker cabinets as well as many stage monitors. In the mid 1970’s the Grateful Dead toured with their famous “Wall of Sound” which contained a reported 586 JBL speakers. James B. Lansing was associated with a lot of great music. By the 1970’s Harman Kardon stereo receivers were a favorite among audiophiles. JBL and Harman Kardon were responsible for some of the most respected and popular professional and consumer audio equipment. Through the decades the companies experienced ownership and management changes wherein fast-forward to the present day, Harman International is a subsidiary of Samsung, and includes JBL and a collective of some of the most renowned and respected audio products companies. JBL Harman just released the new product line comprised of MA (Modern Audio) series AV receivers and JBL Stage 2 series speakers. Among the factors that attracted me to these new components is that the MA AV receivers and Stage 2 speakers are matched components. From my perspective, there are several compelling advantages to using matched components, particularly as compared to cobbling together a home theater system from components from various manufacturers or even various products from a single manufacturer. First, all of the speakers share the same physical appearance characteristics, including their modern, minimalist design style, and their availability in either an Espresso (dark) or Latte (light) woodgrain speaker enclosure finish, with complimentary colored black or gray, magnetically attached removable grilles. The MA receivers are available with either a black or white face on a black cabinet. More importantly, they are matched technically. All of the speaker enclosures share the same construction and sound shaping characteristics with similar tuned rear ports, transducer design, construction and electrical characteristics, similar crossover networks and matched impedance. These speakers are also technically matched to the new MA model AV receivers, including matched power handling, with the intention of producing outstanding sound reproduction. In fact, towards those end-goals, the new MA AV receivers and the Stage 2 speakers were all designed and engineered at the JBL Harman Acoustic Engineering Center of Excellence in Northridge, California. The speakers and receivers will perform optimally together, because they are purposefully designed and engineered for perfect integration and compatibility. Another important attribute of the MA series receivers and Stage 2 series speakers is that JBL designed and engineered them for simplicity of setup/installation and simplicity of operation. People who are neither devoted audiophiles, engineers or industry professionals are able to rely on these components being the perfect accompaniments for each other. There are enough selections available to get just what you want and need, but there is no overwhelming complexity to create a difficult or intimidating experience when selecting, setting up or using these terrific components. I am extremely impressed with the performance of my JBL Harman components, all of which sound terrific. My outstanding JBL Harman home theater system is comprised of: MA7100HP – 7.2 Channel AV Receiver Stage 280F – Floorstanding (Tower) Speakers – Front Channels Stage 240H – Atmos Height Modules (Atmos Caps) – Mounted on 280F Speakers Stage 245C – Center Channel Speaker Stage 250B – Bookshelf Speakers – Rear Channels Stage 220P – 12” 250 Watt RMS Powered Subwoofer This assemblage of perfectly matched JBL Harman components is a stellar home theater system which sounds absolutely amazing! I am incredibly impressed and completely satisfied with the Stage 280F Floorstanding Speakers that I am using for the front two channels. The 280F towers are the larger of the two floorstanding speaker models in the JBL Stage 2 series. SPECIFICATIONS – STAGE 280F (From JBL Documentation): Type: Floorstanding Loudspeaker System Low Frequency Driver: Dual 8-inch (200 mm) Polycellulose Ribbed Cone High Frequency Driver: 1-inch (25 mm) Anodized Aluminum Waveguide: Next Generation HDI™ Recommended Amplifier Power: 20-225W RMS power: 125 W Frequency Response -6 dB: 33 Hz-25 kHz Frequency Response -3 dB: 39 Hz-25 kHz Sensitivity @ 1 M, 2.83 V: 91 dB Nominal Impedance: 6 Ohms Crossover Frequencies: 1.1 kHz/2.2 kHz Enclosure Tuning: Bass Reflex via Dual Flared Racetrack Rear-Firing Tuned Ports Finish: Espresso or Latte Dimensions (H x W x D): 43.8 in x 14.1 in x 16.5 in (1113 mm x 357 mm x 420 mm) Dimensions (H x W x D) without Base: 43.8 in x 9.5 in x 16.1 in (1113 mm x 241 mm x 409 mm) Product Weight: 55.2 lbs. (25.1 kg) Shipping Weight: 67.5 lbs. (30.6 kg) Regarding the 1-inch tweeter and horn shaped waveguide in the 280F, JBL explains that “through intense research of previous waveguide designs, JBL has developed a new complex geometry that improves directivity, reduced diffraction, and an overall neutral frequency response both on and off axis. The Stage 2 HDI Horn is coupled to an anodized aluminum dome tweeter to enhance efficiency and dynamics”. This claim is validated when listening to the 280F. The reproduction of high frequencies is spectacular. The highs are bright and crisp, clear and undistorted. Listening to music with horns demonstrates the beautiful clarity and faithful reproduction of brass instruments. The distinct timbre of all high-frequency instrumental notes is well defined and accurate. JBL also furnishes some additional details regarding the crossover network of the 280F, explaining that the two and one-half way (2.5) crossover network is designed to cross over the top 8” woofer just below the 1” tweeter’s output, while the bottom 8” woofer crosses over at a different, lower frequency. JBL states that, “this creates a dynamic mid-range but both woofers still extend as deep as they can go for powerful bass. This produces cohesive balanced output with a robust low end that can be both heard and felt.” Obviously, I cannot technically validate that the crossover network operates precisely as JBL describes, however listening to the 280F speakers is a genuine pleasure. When listening to a variety of source materials, including different genres of music sources, I find that the full range of audio frequencies sound pure and realistic. The highs are beautifully represented, and the mid-range frequencies where many instruments and voices largely reside, sound clear and accurate. The low, bass frequencies are deep and resonant, without distortion or thumping or other inaccurate or unrealistic reproduction characteristics. JBL also claims that “the flared design of the dual rear ports reduces the velocity of the air when exiting the speaker cabinet, eliminating any chuffing or coloration of output.” A nice feature of the 280F speakers is the provision of connection terminals for the elevated Atmos speakers at the bottom, rear of the speaker tower, with an internally wired passthrough to a second pair of terminals at the top of the tower. If you mount 240H Atmos speakers on top of the 280F enclosures, as I am doing, this avoids having their speaker cables draped down from the tower. The speaker cable binding posts are recessed and configured at a 45° angle making connecting bare wire challenging, especially if 12 gauge wire is used. The Stage 280F base is easily attached with the four included hex-head mounting screws and wrench. Four carpet spikes can be optionally installed in the base. The Stage 280F speakers are obviously large and heavy enclosures which not only look great, but more importantly they sound absolutely fantastic with every type of source material that I have used and each music genre that I have played. They have excellent power handling capabilities, and remain clear and undistorted even at extremely high volume levels. Their large, 8” transducers and waveguide equipped aluminum tweeter project sound beautifully even in the large room where I am using this system. The Stage 280F speakers are mated to the JBL MA7100HP AVR which is a reasonably powerful receiver rated at 125 W RMS Rated Power @ 8Ω (20Hz – 20kHz, 2 channels driven, 0.5% THD max) and 175W RMS Rated Power @ 4Ω (20Hz – 20kHz, 2 channels driven, 0.5% THD max). The matched design and engineering of the Stage 2 series speakers and MA series AV receivers makes it extremely simple to specify a complete home theater system comprised of excellent, premium level components from an outstanding manufacturer, with a very long and rich company heritage. My home theater system is used extensively. We enjoy watching movies and enjoying music from a broad spectrum of genres and artists using a variety of media. Our listening and viewing experience has improved significantly with the Harman JBL home theater components. Whether playing streamed movies or music, or using my Blu-Ray player, CD changer, or turntable, we are now enjoying the experience more than we ever did previously. The Stage 2 speakers and MA7100HP AVR provide extraordinary, room filling, high resolution audio with incredible fidelity across the full sound spectrum. As soon as I had connected and configured the system, running Top Gun Maverick, with its powerful soundtrack and height effects, was really satisfying! A few movies and concert videos later I was beyond impressed with how outstanding the Harman JBL components are! The experience with these high-performance components is truly a theater experience! I am confident that the Stage 280F floorstanding speakers are the best choice for front channel speakers in this great home theater system. I am extremely impressed with them, and I am enjoying their performance immensely. They are absolutely incredible!

  ...See More
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 

  Posted 9 months ago by Curmudgeon1

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Fussy, but rewarding when calibrated properly

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 100 Contributor

  The JBL Stage 2 280F Tower speakers are high value, budget friendly giant speakers that provide a satisfying experience when well placed, configured correctly, and paired with the right equipment. The 280F has a single 1-inch anodized aluminum dome tweeter loaded into a huge wave guide. The horn loaded tweeter is followed by two massive 8-inch Polycellulos ribbed woofers. The mid-woofer is crossed over with the tweeter to offer a smooth transition between high frequencies and mid-range frequencies. And both woofers play down to the same 33hz bass frequencies at ± 6dB. The speaker is vented out the back via two adjacent ports. The port opening is what JBL labels their “Dual Flared Racetrack Rear-Firing Tuned Ports.” Audiophile marketer speak aside, the 280Fs keep up with my favorite music and movies without the aid of a subwoofer. However, I’m getting ahead of myself… The wave guide on the 280F is huge and takes up the whole top front of the baffle. The wave guide helps ensure the tweeter has a wide dispersion when playing higher frequency content such as female vocals, stressed metal in action movies, and instruments such as trumpets sound like trumpets. The wave guide also contributes to the speaker’s 91dB efficiency making the 280Fs easy to drive. Overall, I found the wave guide helped with imaging and provided a large sound stage that extended beyond the boundaries of the already large 280Fs. Finally, I matched up the 280Fs with the JBL Stage 220P 12” subwoofer. This subwoofer uses the same Polycellulos ribbed cone design as the 280Fs. The 280F speakers have dual vented ports out the back. This is to allow the 280Fs to extend their bass performance down to 33hz. Integration with the 220P 12-inch subwoofer will extend the low end further to 29hz and provide some real muscle behind your sound effects and music. The overall results are an easy to drive, high value, budget friendly 2.1 stereo experience. Oh, did I mention these were integrated into a fully loaded JBL home theater system? Keep reading. === Performance === The primary AVR for this system is my JBL MA710HP 7.1 AVR. The MA710HP is one of two flagship AVR’s in JBL’s MA lineup of affordable AVRs. For home theater, my test 4K movie for any new speaker or gear is Pacific Rim, Scene 2. This is the first fight between Gypsy Danger and a kaiju. The scene has everything from rain, splashing ocean waves, stressed actuators, ship horns, distressed metal effects, angry animal roars, screaming male voices, and action music! Sometimes all at once! This scene can really stress a system. The 280F towers did a fantastic job managing the cacophony. For my first run, I crossed over the subwoofer at 80Hz, the THX standard for home cinema. The speakers blended so well with the 220P that I really could not tell if the low-end action was coming from the subwoofer, the speakers, or both. For my second run with the same scene, I lowered the cross over to 40Hz and turned off the sub. Pacific Rim’s fight scenes were not quite as impactful on the low end without the sub. But, if no one told me I needed a sub then I would be blissfully happy with the performance I got. But, since I do know better, I did notice less power behind the action. For example, without the sub, Gypsy Danger’s low pitched boat horn was distinct and had good decay but lacked authority. The mighty kaiju roar was a bit smaller without the sub but still clear and menacing. And the heavy beat of the Pacific Rim theme music was punchy but did not carry the kind of weight that a subwoofer adds to the music. Overall, I missed the subwoofer. But could live with the speakers alone if I was on a tight budget. I did not notice any bloated or boomy bass during this or other bass heavy scenes. This may be due to positioning the 280Fs. I placed them 1.5 feet away from the back wall and two feet from the immediate side walls. These towers need breathing room to perform at their best. The tweeters, with the same movie, sounded distressed. There were a few times where I got some sharp, nasty, unpleasant notes. For example, the snapping of distressed metal drilled a hole in my temple. From the MA710HP, I was able to tame the tweeters by running another round of room calibration and then turning the treble down to -6. I also decreased the tow-in of the speakers to 5 degrees. This smoothed out the treble and reduced any harshness I was experiencing. Adjusting the tow-in also improved center imaging for content such as two-channel stereo and two-channel TV such as some Anime. For music, I played through a demo playlist that consists of Metal, Classical, Jazz, easy listening, Pop, Electronica, classic Rock, and much much more. I used the same room calibration and tone controls that I set up for my movies. I played Megan Trainor’s, “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” featuring John Legend. The sound was tight, well controlled, and spacious. John William’s, “Imperial March” from Star Wars sounded spacious, big, and menacing. The trombones were deep and meaty, and the trumpets exploded onto the sound stage with a wide and expansive sound. I also found that the 280F’s put out a good phantom center. For example, content such as Eddie Palmieri’s, “Muneca”, the 280Fs were able to vanish into the background and place phantom instruments all over my front stage. All I had to do was close my eyes and his band was in my room. The same is true for Megan Trainor’s music Overall, I found the 280F’s a bit fussy with room positioning and tone controls. My patience with fine tuning the system was rewarded with a fun and entertaining theater and 2.1 channel experience. === Construction and aesthetics === The 280F is a well-constructed speaker even by budget speaker standards. The vinyl espresso wood wrap is very well executed and matches that of my entertainment center. This helps unify my front stage’s aesthetics. The front baffle of the 280F is matt black. The baffle’s edges extend beyond the sides and top edge of the speaker cabinet by a few millimeters. This may be to help accommodate the huge wave guide. The oversized baffle helps create the illusion that the speaker is slightly larger than it actually is. The baffle also gives the speaker grills some depth by framing the grey grill fabric with a recessed black border. This gives the Tower speakers an extra sharp look when the grills are on. The speaker grills are smartly constructed, attractive, and help the speakers pop. The grill frame is constructed of a single piece of JBL Orange molded plastic. Gray toned textured colored acoustic fabric is stretched across the plastic frame. JBL brand is silk screened onto the front bottom of each grill. The fabric appears machine cut and glued to the back of the frame. The design and construction are very clean and give the speaker a professional look. The grills stick to the baffle with strong magnets. Simply brushing the speaker during a walk-by will not be enough to knock the grills off. The back side of the speaker grills have soft felt to protect the speaker baffle from scratching due to removing and replacing the speaker grills. Finally, as with all speakers, the JBL Stage 2 280F speakers sound best with grills off. In my opinion, these speakers look fantastic with the grills on or off. The binding posts are as no-frills and budget as they get. They will accept bar wire, spades, and banana plugs. I use banana plugs for all my equipment because I am constantly swapping out equipment and components. For the Stage 2 speakers, in general, a small plug needs to be removed from the top Tower of each binding post before the binding post will accept a banana plug. Please note, bare wire will make the best possible connection between your AVR/receiver and your speakers. I performed the knock test on the front, back, side, and top of each speaker. Essentially, knock on the sides of the speaker like you would a door. The top and sides sounded hollow as one would expect from a budget speaker. The front baffle sounds dull compared to the sides and top. This tells me that the front baffle is thicker and more inert than the sides and top. Which is what I would expect from a budget speaker. Overall, the fit, finish, and construction of these speakers are fantastic. === Conclusion === Normally, high value, budget friendly speakers look slapped together and cheap. The JBL Stage 2 280F Tower speakers look anything but cheap. These speakers are very well thought out, purposely stylized, professionally executed, and look fantastic in my room. The binding posts are the only thing I would call out as cheap looking. The overall results are handsome speakers that look great in my home theater. Sonically, the 280Fs are fussy speakers. At least in my room. Their performance was directly tied to how good the AVR’s room calibration worked, tone control settings, the speaker’s relationship to the walls, their degree of tow-in, and my relationship to the speakers. It may sound hard but really is not. One must put in the work to dial everything in to get the best possible performance. Even with high value, budget friendly speakers like the 280Fs. These speakers will sound great as the front stage of any budget friendly home theater system.

  ...See More
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 

  Posted 9 months ago by ITJim