I use these for stereo music (vs home theater).I replaced my original Klipsch RF-7 with these. What a huge difference!Everything is tight and clear - no muddy base, no missing midrange no harsh tweeters and no narrow listening position!Thanks to the waveguide tweeter, these have a wide horizontal listening angle - they sound good when seated at both ends of the couch and then some. People like to "crank it up and see what they will do". And I'm sure these will do fine, but these sound very good at "normal" listening levels - the level at which I listen 95% of the time (not all speakers do).I know it sounds trite - but I've heard things that I never heard before in my music, and I've heard other things clearly for the very first time. I'm very pleased with these.All floor tower speakers are basically "black towers" - but these look great also. The curved edges and the woodgrain finish really do look sharp. Also, the magnetic grills are a nice touch.If you operate a club out of your living room and just want muddy thumping bass that rattles your neighbors windows, you probably want other speakers.But if you are looking for an excellent set of speakers with a nearly flat response curve - that won't break the bank - and aren't "fussy" about where you sit these are the right choice.Caution: These are 6 ohms - they need extra power. So be aware that a lower power AVR may not be a good match for these. I'm powering these with a Emotiva XPA amp (300 watts per channel, both channels driven).

These were purchased as an upgrade for a pair of Klipsch tower speakers. Having never owned any JBL speakers I wasn't sure what to expect. Amazon had a great sale price on the speakers and reviews of the 698's overall are very positive so I took the plunge. The speakers are very well built and sound great. They are visually attractive although the grills could be a little bit beefier ( grills are held onto the speakers with magnets which is probably why they're a little on the light side). The dark wood color looks sharp and will blend in well with any other equipment or furniture you might have. Love the sound & would buy again.

With these JBL speakers I am now hearing nuances (true horns) in my music I've never heard before. I'm coming from Klipsch floor standers. I highly recommend these speakers.However, I tried their centre channel and I did not care for it. I kept my Klipsch Centre channel and the match is absolutely seamless

Don't let a review like the one for this speaker (giving it a one-star because boxes for the product were damaged) create any doubt in the quality of the JBL 698. It does not reflect whatsoever on the performance of the speaker and for me these kind of reviews shouldn't even be associated to the product itself.For the money, you will be hard pressed to find a speaker that performs at the level the JBL 698 does. In this price range, I'd put them up against any Klipsch, Polk, Emotiva, SVS, Paradigm, Wharfedale, or others in the same category. They are all excellent products, but something about the JBL just grabs me. I am a huge fan of live music, I've been to hundreds of shows, and maybe that's where I just think it has that "you are there" sound experience you don't get with the other brands.Looking at the build, compared to the Klipsch RP 8000F ii for example, right away you see a 20 lb difference in the weight of the tower. Why is that? A big advantage for the JBl is the cast basket frames on the mid-range and both woofers. This enhances the ability to control the articulation of the driver. It's more rigid, and has less resonance than a stamped basket you see on most mass produced speakers.Another big discrepancy between the JBL and the Klipsch is the size of the driver magnet. Probably 2 1/2 times larger than what is controlling the motion on the Klipsch woofers. This adds mass, but it also improves driver control.The cabinets are definitely nicer. The finish is one thing, but having the rounded edges is an attention to detail that gives the speaker a more refined look. They look great with grills on or off. The finishes are nicer as well than the ash black or even the walnut on the Klipsch Tower. It just looks nicer and more refined than the cookie cutter square edges of the RP 8000f ii.The high frequency compression driver in the JBL also has advantages from a distortion standpoint, as well as frequency range. In a side-by-side listening session, the JBL just sounded more neutral, more natural than the Klipsch. The Klipsch sounded good, but had more edge and sharpness to the highs than the JBL 698. The JBL's just sounded richer, definitely having an advantage of being a three-way over a two-way design of the Klipsch.Having had the JBL Studio 590's as well as several iterations of the Klipsch RP line, I can definitely say the JBL 698 is better than all of them. It produces a much wider soundstage for sure than the Klipsch, throwing sound everywhere in the room without as much directivity. There's kind of a more narrow, directed sound on the Klipsch. The JBL's just sounded more airy, and spatial, having a much wider soundstage. Depth was excellent as well. When positioned properly, slightly toed in, they just disappear in the room, giving you a "live" life like environment similar to what you would hear in a venue or live performance.I am using a Denon 6700 in preamp mode then going through an Emotiva XPA Gen 3 amp at 300 watts per channel. I definitely think the better the source for the processor and the amp, obviously the better the sound. These are 6 ohm nominal and deserve a good high current power supply.I love the Klipsch RP line, Polk R700s are excellent as well, but right now I would definitely say in the same price range, the JBL 698 just has a more neutral, spatial, realistic sound. They definitely love being driven hard too! Even at high volumes there's absolutely not even a hint of compression. At no time does anything in the frequency range collapse. It just keeps going effortlessly.These are very competitive with the JBL HDI series as well. The differences are very subtle. The HDI's do have an advantage definitely in design, components, and the cabinet itself, but not worth the differences in performance at over twice the price. You'll get 85 to 90% of what the HDI can do for a lot less money.If you are a fan of "you are there" sound, where you feel you're hearing a live performance, you will not do better than these JBL 698's at $850 a tower. I highly recommend, especially at this price point.

Ordered 2 of these JBL 698's at the same time and received them on different dates with numerous delay messages. Boxes on both speakers were extremely worn with large cuts and tears and it was apparent these boxes were taped numerous time; defiantly not factory new boxes! Upon opening the box I noted lamination separation on the top of the speaker, this area was large! Oddly the damage on the speaker did not match the location on the box concerning a weak spot, the box was not torn or smashed on the area of the speaker damage. Long story short I could not determine how many times these speakers have been shipped out and returned, all I knew is I'm not accepting them!

Great sound

Many speakers in this category are EXTREMELY expensive, however these are very cheap, yet very great sounding! The audio is very high quality, with very clear treble and clean bass. It also looks and feels nice too, with very nice premium wood that feels nice to the touch, it was also very easy to set up, I only had to connect my speaker wires to the amplifier and connect the other side into the speakers and I was ready to go. All in all, this is an absolutely amazing speaker for a very low price and I definitely suggest getting these if you are a person that has a low budget but wants high quality audio.