is that center an upgrade to the 235c and does it use the same tweeter as the 230s? ive sen that one sale for a couple hundred. also noticed it has much smaller woofers.
Hey,
the 520c is currently on sale for $180 on JBL.com. If I were you, I'd jump on that.
Is the 520c an upgrade to the 235c? I could be mistaken, but I think it's a successor, for what that's worth. Is it the same tweeter? Well, no, the 520c employs a horn-loaded compression driver, whereas the 235c uses a dome tweeter in a waveguide built to resemble a horn. I would guess it's close enough in tuning, though.
Sound & Vision's measurements of the 2xx speakers seem to demonstrate a pretty similar timbre to the
5xx line (or at least the 590 measured there). Re: smaller woofers, you would give up a little sensitivity and low end extension. JBL.com claims the 235c reaches 55 Hz and plays at 91 dB/w/m; whereas the 520c extends to 60 Hz with an 88 dB/w/m sensitivity. That frequency difference is negligible, though, equaling somewhere between a minor and major second; and the sensitivity difference probably wouldn't matter much unless you like to listen at reference volumes with mediocre amplification. But as a benefit, I would predict the 520c with its smaller woofers and lower crossover point would be less susceptible to cone breakup, and could probably play louder without getting shouty.
(When I say somewhere between a minor and major second, think of a solfege scale. Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do. Right? The difference between 55 and 60 Hz wouldn't quite stretch from Do to Re on that scale.)