This is an overview of the JBL Synthesis built-in speakers. A JBL Synthesis system is made up of a home theater receiver or processor as well as the incredible SCL and SSW series of JBL Synthesis speakers. JBL is one of our favorite brands at Audio Advice. When you want the best possible home theater audio experience, JBL Synthesis sets the bar at each of the price points. Unlike most brands that either make speakers or components, JBL Synthesis is an entire system including electronics and speakers designed for delivering reference level dynamics, frequency response, and fast slam that you expect in the most amazing theaters.

If you want to dive deeper into the JBL Synthesis concept, check out our full in-depth JBL Synthesis overview.

Since its beginning in 1992, JBL Synthesis has evolved to cover a wider range of home theater sizes and budgets. JBL has pushed the envelope at the top end of the Synthesis range to incredible levels, but better yet, by using some trickle-down technology, there is now an expanded series of Synthesis components that greatly reduces the price of a complete Synthesis system.

The SCL and SSW models are the meat of a complete Synthesis system. These are a series of speakers and subwoofers you would use for all of your speakers in a Synthesis home theater system.

We will take a look at the features and technology all of these models share, then dive into the differences between them to help you pick the best ones for your dream home theater.

When you are thinking about the preliminary design of your home theater room, we have developed a great tool for you, and it's free! You can enter your room dimensions and play around with different types of speaker configurations to see what types would work best for your space.

Audio Advice is the only dealer in the US authorized by JBL for online sales and support. Our team of experts can help you design your ultimate JBL Synthesis home theater, then using video chat and remote login, help you perfectly configure and calibrate your system. Now let's look at some of the reasons we love the JBL built-in speakers.

Designed For Acoustically Transparent Screens

To recreate the true movie theater experience, it is always best to locate the main front three speakers behind an acoustically transparent screen. This makes the audio appear to come right from the action, which is so much more immersive than speakers to the sides, under, or above your screen.

All of the SCL models are either designed to be mounted in a wall or slender enough to fit behind a movie theater-like screen.

D2 State of the Art Speaker Technology

JBL designed a new type of speaker for touring sound using a new type of compression driver they call D2. It has received 3 US Patents for its unique technology. Their VTX touring system with D2 compression drivers and waveguides can deliver a very consistent sound across a large area, making it perfect for both large and small-scale concerts. When you pair a compression driver with a horn-type waveguide, you also greatly increase its efficiency when you compare it to a traditional dome or cone driver found in most home theater speakers. Most dome tweeters are about 5% efficient whereas the JBL compression driver coupled with its patented waveguide gives you anywhere from 20-50% depending on the model. That is a huge difference!

JBL has taken the normal type of horn waveguides and looked at ways to improve their linearity. They developed what they call their HDI waveguide which delivers completely linear sound in all directions from the guide. Not only is the sound linear, but there is far less distortion than a cone or dome type driver with the ability to play far beyond the range of human hearing.

This same driver filtered down into the Synthesis models with JBL developing 4 different versions of it that share the same tech. The dynamics you experience from a JBL D2 driver paired with the HDI waveguide are just spectacular! Nothing we have ever heard can produce the dynamics and slam you get from a JBL Synthesis system!

We love the fact that JBL makes all of their own drivers, plus they put a name on each one so it is super easy to compare models rather than wondering just what driver a speaker company used. In the individual speaker overviews, we will go over each one specifically.

Extremely Well-Built Bass Drivers

To mate up with the D2 drivers, JBL has designed some of the most stout-looking woofers you will find. These all use cast frame baskets with massive magnet assemblies. In the case of the in-wall and in-ceiling models, the frames they are mounted to are incredibly solid. Some of the drivers used in the subwoofers weigh more themselves than you would expect for an entire speaker. Just like with the D2, JBL is taking tech from their professional speakers and trickling it down into their more affordable consumer products.

Designed To Complement Each Other

We really like that JBL now gives us a really wide range of choices for their Synthesis SCL speakers. With all of them using a version of the D2 driver with similar woofer tech, you can mix and match combinations to come up with the best setup for your environment and budget.

Now let’s take a look at each model in the SCL and SSW series.

JBL Synthesis In-Wall Speaker Models

Wide Surround Speakers

With new Dolby Atmos speaker configurations and the latest processors, including those from JBL Synthesis, you can now add a wide surround speaker that goes on the left and right walls in between your main front and main surround speakers. The 15-degree angle makes them perfect for this position when you mount them vertically.

Center Channel Above a Screen or Flat Panel TV

If you are using a large flat panel or projection screen that is not acoustically transparent, the challenge is putting the center channel speaker in a position where it will direct the sound at the main seats. The SCL-7 can be positioned above the screen which will angle the sound right at the listening area. It can easily cover three rows of seats and by angling the sound downward, you get far fewer sound ceiling reflections as compared to a conventional front-firing in-wall speaker.

Main Left and Right Speakers

If you have a situation where you have to spread your left and right speakers very far apart compared to how far you are sitting from them, the angled waveguide on the SCL-7 will direct the sound more into the main seats, while also minimizing sound that might reflect off the near side walls.

Surround or Rear Channels

In some situations, a speaker that fires totally on-axis may not be the best choice if you need to position your surround speakers in front of or behind the main seats or if you have to spread your rear channels far apart.

As you can see, the SCL-7 is a super flexible model designed to overcome issues that used to be problems.

Surround and Rear Channels

These will also be great for an entire system, using them for all the channels; or they would be great surround and rear channels for a system with the more expensive front three. Their very wide and linear on-axis dispersion makes them well suited for surrounds and rears when you can position them as you normally would in a typical home theater room.

Compared to the SCL-7's rear surround coverage, the SCL-6 covers 40 degrees to both the wall and inside angles. With this configuration, you get more sidewall reflection and slightly less coverage.

These have the same applications as the SCL-6 for your main speakers and surround and rear channels with upgraded sound.

We see using these as the main front three paired up with the less expensive SCL models for surrounds, or these can mate up with the next two models up for the surround and rear channels.

The SCL-2 fits into the same family of applications as the SCL-6 and SCL-4 making them great left, right, and center channels, and surround and rear channels for a very serious home theater. Just bear in mind you need 6” stud bays to build them in.

Even though these are not inexpensive, there are plenty of home theater speakers that sell for more than double their price that can not deliver the amazing home theater sound these are capable of. We do suggest if you are going to invest at this level that you go ahead and bite the bullet to bi-amp them using a JBL Synthesis crossover/Arcos EQ system and two great power amps.

JBL’s patented CBAS™ enclosure was used to house this incredible speaker. This system combines the benefits of both sealed and vented enclosures. JBL uses 1” thick MDF with extensive bracing inside the cabinet. Another side advantage of their Complimentary Bass Alignment System is the fact the vents are on the front making it ideal for built-in applications.

We see the SCL-1 being used primarily as an LCR speaker, paired up with the SCL-2 for the surround and rear channels.

Like the SCL-4 and SCL-2, the SCL-1 will benefit from bi-amplification.

We know the SCL-1 will not fit into most people’s home theater budgets, but we can say if you have the ability to consider these there is no question you should bi-amp them. Once these are fine-tuned in your room you will have a huge smile on your face every time you turn your home theater on! And it is not only about a system with lots of impact that can play incredibly loud. This speaker (along with the less expensive JBL 4367 floor stander) has silky smooth highs with the ability to resolve tiny little details only the very best high-performance speakers on the market can do. If you want home theater sound that is second to none and will make any audiophile completely jealous, look no further than the SCL-1.

JBL Synthesis In-Ceiling Speaker Models

Main In-Ceiling LCR speakers

For family rooms where there is no place to mount speakers in front of your TV, the SCL-8 is great when you use three across the front-mounted in the ceiling near your TV. Their dispersion pattern will send sound deep into your family room for great coverage

Atmos Height Speakers

This will probably be the most common use for the SCL-8. They will be a great match to whatever SCL speaker you use for your lower channels and when used either as a single pair or two pairs of height speakers completely cover up to three rows of seats with ease

In-Ceiling Surround Speakers

While we normally recommend you keep your surround speakers at ear level, we do realize there are some rooms where that is just not practical and the surround speakers must be placed in the ceiling. You can turn the round speaker to direct it towards your seats and their wide dispersion will assure you of good coverage.

JBL Synthesis HDI Series Speaker Models

We wanted to point out a pretty neat fact about some of the new SCL models. When JBL introduced their HDI line of in-room speakers based on the 2410H-2 high-frequency driver, we fell in love with their sound. However, we asked JBL, when they would have matching in-ceiling and in-wall speakers for a complete surround system. The answer is now with the new SCL-6, SCL-7, and SCL-8 as these are perfect matches. Thank you JBL for adding these to compliment one of our favorite in-room speaker systems.

We wanted to point out a pretty neat fact about some of the new SCL models. When JBL introduced their HDI line of in-room speakers based on the 2410H-2 high-frequency driver, we fell in love with their sound. However, we asked JBL, when they would have matching in-ceiling and in-wall speakers for a complete surround system. The answer is now with the new SCL-6, SCL-7, and SCL-8 as these are perfect matches. Thank you JBL for adding these to compliment one of our favorite in-room speaker systems.

JBL Synthesis Subwoofers

Bass is the foundation of music, and great, impactful deep bass is the key to a fabulous home theater system. JBL has four models of subwoofers in their Synthesis lineup.

We should let you know, none of these come with an amplifier as JBL makes a series of amps you can use with them. The power level you need will depend on both the subwoofer you choose and the size of your room. Your home theater installation company will know exactly how to match them up. Give us a call or stop by one of our stores if you have questions — Audio Advice experts can easily help you select the best JBL amp for any of their subwoofers.

Rear Subwoofers

At Audio Advice, we love a room with 4 subwoofers. You not only get the ability to play much louder, but by having 4 subwoofers in a room, you greatly reduce bass peaks where the bass sound builds up and colors the sound. We can see a pair of SSW-4’s being coupled with the SSW-3 as the 3rd and 4th subwoofer for a system that can deliver super even deep bass.

Two of these coupled to the right JBL Synthesis power amp will rock most home theater rooms.

The use cases we see are just like the SSW-4 where two of the SSW-3 could be used as the main front subwoofers, or you could add two for in-wall 3rd and 4th subs if you were doing either of the next two subs in the lineup.

The next two subwoofers in the lineup are some seriously large subwoofers with the ability to put out full and clean deep bass that will literally move your pants legs! These are large and that fact will need to be considered when designing your room. While most systems will use the SSW-3 or SSW-4, or the HDI in-room subwoofer, these are just so cool we had to go over them briefly.

Overall Recommendation

We hope this overview of the JBL Synthesis SCL and SSW lineup has helped you get started on thinking about having Audio Advice design your own custom JBL Synthesis system. Be sure to check out our incredible 9.4.4 JBL Synthesis Home Theater Install Customer Showcase to see many of these products in action!

At Audio Advice, we've been designing and installing high-performance home theaters & smart home systems for our customers in Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, and surrounding areas for decades. In fact, we've delivered more custom theaters than anyone in the Southeast! We are now offering Home Theater Design no matter where you live in the United States! If you are interested in a custom home theater or upgrading your current system, give us a call at 888.899.8776, chat with us, or stop by one of our world-class showrooms. We can't wait to help you build your ultimate home theater!