The Short Form

$3,098 / jbl.com / 516-496-3400

Plus

•Clean, uncolored sound. •Very good dynamics. •Excellent build quality. •Shallow cabinets permit wall mounting.

Minus

•Blunt, unembellished looks.

Key Features

•L820 front left/right ($750 a pair) .75-in supertweeter, 1-in tweeter, 4-in midrange, 6-in woofer; 12.25 in high; 19 lbs •LC2 center ($599) .75-in supertweeter, 1-in tweeter, 4-in midrange, two 6-in woofers; 121/4 in high; 29 lbs •L810 surround ($650 a pair) 3/4-in supertweeter, 1-in tweeter, 5.25-in woofer; 14.25 in wide; 14 lbs •L8400P subwoofer ($1,099) 12-in driver; 600-watt amplifier; crossover-bypass switch; 15.5 x 16.5 x 15.5 in, 58 lbs •Finished in black ash, beech, or cherry vinyl woodgrain •SYSTEM TOTAL $3,098

Test Bench

JBL's Studio L series main speakers all had uniform directivity in the horizontal plane and matched timbre, though there was some roughness in response above 1 kHz. The L8400P subwoofer could reach 109 to 112 dB at 2 meters from 50 to 62 Hz, but output fell at nearly 16 dB per octave below 50 Hz, meaning it's not a deep-bass powerhouse. Nominal impedance for the L820 and LC2 measured unusually low at 4.3 and 4.4 ohms, respectively - something to note when matching them with an amplifier or receiver. - Tom Nousaine Click here for full lab results

MUSIC PERFORMANCE One notable feature of all JBL Studio L series speakers is a horn-loaded "supertweeter" that is said to extend response out to 40 kHz. Human hearing cuts off at half that frequency (or less), so it can be reasonably argued that super­tweeters are better suited for dogs and other animals with more sensitive ears than our own. JBL, however, says the feature lets you derive the full benefit of high-resolution audio formats like SACD.

Thinking along those lines, I pulled out a Sony SACD of Bach: The Four Great Toccatas and Fugues performed by E. Power Biggs - a truly awesome name for a concert organist. Derived from master tapes used to produce a quadraphonic recording back in 1974, it features Biggs playing a four-organ setup controlled by a central console in Germany's Freiberg cathedral - an ideal environment for a surround sound recording.

I can't say with absolute certainty that the L series sats' extended highs made much difference in this case. What I can say is that when I listened to the Dorian toccata and fugue in D Minor, the diverse ranges of the four organs sounded distinct, and I could clearly hear the textures of the keyed notes. But clarity didn't come at the expense of other attributes: each instrument had an exceptionally smooth, airy sound, and there was a spaciousness and warmth that helped convey the cathedral's vast interior. But the most striking thing about listening to this performance on the JBL speaker system was the sense of being seated in a continuous, completely seamless, space. There was also a smooth transition between the low and high organ notes as Biggs made his virtuosic runs across the keyboard.

The JBLs also revealed loads of detail on acoustic folk songs like "John Wayne Gacy" from Sufjan Stevens's Illinois - possibly the prettiest song ever written about a serial killer. The speakers easily captured the raw, intimate tone of Stevens's voice. And the piano - also recorded in a church - had a wonderfully liquid and spacious sound coming from the front L/R pair of L820s. On a more rousing track, "A History of Lovers" from the Iron & Wine/Calexico collaboration In the Reins, the JBLs did a fine job of capturing the slamming, up-front sound of the drum kit while also clearly rendering the multiple layers of acoustic and pedal-steel guitar. And when a horn section kicked in midtrack, the Studio L system's effortless delivery proved it could rock just as hard as other JBL setups I've heard.

MOVIE PERFORMANCE It's not the Freiberg Cathedral, but in the movie Batman Begins, the Batcave serves as a sacred space of sorts. I especially like a chapter from the DVD where Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) rediscovers an old well leading to an underground cave - the site of a childhood trauma - and crawls down to confront his primal fear by standing amidst a cloud of swirling, shrieking bats. The JBLs did an excellent job of conveying this scene in all its unsettling detail. The L810 surrounds gave a realistic sense of envelopment, from the initial echo of water droplets in the damp, cavernous space to the swarm of flapping, beating batwings that gradually engulf Wayne. And in a scene where the sinister Dr. Crane talks to Carmine Falcone, the LC2 center clearly delivered the clipped, icy tone of Crane's voice and the crime boss's heavy (and unconvincing) Brooklyn accent, with only a slight variation of tone at off-center seats.

BOTTOM LINE The "studio" tag on the Studio L speakers is well earned. This system's robust build quality surpasses that of many speakers in its price range and makes a strong connection to JBL's professional line. The same can also be said for its clean, uncolored sound and impressive dynamics. While the satellites' extended highs didn't exactly make me stand up and say "Aha!," the system's performance with top-notch SACD recordings was nothing short of stunning. You can easily buy a better-looking system for several hundred dollars less, and it will make a more elegant design statement alongside your new flat-panel TV. But if performance is more important to you than the fussy stuff, you'll be well served by JBL's Studio Ls.