Where is JBL going?

[WaynerN]

I have been observing only what I can say is circumstantial, but it does seem odd that much of the JBL consumer lineup of speakers (Studio series, Arena series) are either out of stock or discontinued almost everywhere. Are we seeing JBL leaving the consumer market? Are they coming out with new models? Are they still strong in the pro market?

As a past and present owner of JBL (L100 back then, S109 Aquarius IV now), I have an inherent love for the company and its products, tho it has changed hands a few times (much like Marantz) and I (and I think many others) would feel bad if this happened.

I'm not trying to start rumors, it just all seems damn odd, unless they had a very successful Christmas sales or tax return sales (certainly could be an answer).

Anyone know whats going on?

 

[Jeff K]

I don't know either, but their acquisition by Samsung doesn't strike me as being good thing. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[BMWCCA]

I have over a dozen pair so I'm pretty well set for the rest of my life.

If they do crash and burn I'm hoping to pickup a $900 pair of 1400 Arrays and a $4000 pair of DD67000.

 

[wu6fiend]

I have no idea what JBL is doing, but I admit I'm pessimistic.

To me, the last several decades have been such a sad time for JBL, particularly in North America. I've loved their product since I became an audio equipment consumer in the 1980s (my first pair of speakers was a pair of L60Ts that I still own), and I currently own a complete 7.2 set of Studio L Series, a pair of L100Ts, and most recently I've been buying the Performance Series). I've also owned over the years many others of their models. Like BMWCCA, I'm pretty well set for life, regardless of what happens to them.

What is sad for me is, they make great product (and some dreck too, which is all you find at Best Buy and the like). Unfortunately, their best product is virtually impossible to buy in Canada, and even in the U.S., as they have practically no presence at the retail level. If you have mega bucks, you can buy JBL at Synthesis dealers, which are very exclusive stores and also very thin on the ground. JBL is wildly popular in Japan, and sells very well made, and beautifully performing stuff both there and in Europe. But in this part of the world, they only sell the cheapest stuff in their line.

They used to be the most dominant manufacturer of speakers in the 1970s through the 1980s. I wish I could, like back then, walk into a store and buy their product.

 

[soundboy]

JBL is wildly popular in Japan, and sells very well made, and beautifully performing stuff both there and in Europe. But in this part of the world, they only sell the cheapest stuff in their line.

I think that just reflect the type of product demand in North America. You can see the same type of "decline", in terms of products being offered, in the product lines of Denon, Pioneer, etc. in the US. Traditional home audio are much more appreciated in Japan, which is also the second biggest music market in the world, where over 80% of music is being purchased on physical media.

Back to JBL, I think it is going the way of Infinity....at least being a consumer speaker brand. Does Samsung really need JBL in its product portfolio? Probably only as a commercial/professional speaker brand. I think what will happen to JBL can be seen with what has happened to Energy and Mirage, after their parent company was purchased by Klipsch. Klipsch was itself purchased by Audiovox, which purchased Acoustic Research and Advent. Energy, Mirage, Advent, and Acoustic Research are already dead speaker brands....and I see Infinity joining them soon. JBL may very well be on its way too.

 

[savatage1973]

Let's face it folks--home audio (in the traditional sense) is continuing down the road to becoming nothing more than a "niche" market. Slapping a well-known old brand name (I refer to it a whoring it out) on consumer electronics--like phones, tablets, computers, car audio systems, etc. is where the money is. Bose, JBL, Infinity, Klipsch, and even Levinson (amongst others) are "pimped out" every day on some new piece of junk. Hell, even the laptop that I am using right now has Harman Kardon Dolby Advanced Audio--with two speakers the size of a quarter

JBL is still a formidable force in the pro-audio market, but I have to admit that their home offerings have (for the most part) been waning for decades at this point. Who knows what the future will hold...

 

[Old Guy8]

I don't know what the future holds for vinyl records and also 2 channel re emergence as mainstream. But I think JBL will go hand in hand with it. I see some, younger than me, shoppers in record stores. But still a nitch.

 

[hjames]

I dunno - Harman cut Greg Timbers and a lot of the folks who designed and built all the signature JBL speakers we know and love -
Paliwali showed a good profit by selling off Harman, but not sure what the future of JBL bodes without a team working on the next visionary systems ...

 

[KeninDC]

JBL makes great portable Bluetooth speakers in my experience.

 

[bowtie427ss]

There are really only two ways to bring products to market, either through innovation, or emulation.

I dunno - Harman cut Greg Timbers and a lot of the folks who designed and built all the signature JBL speakers we know and love

There went JBL's innovators. Somewhere in the not too distant future, "me too" will be the best their products can do.

I've been a fan of Selenium products for a long time, it's "bang for the buck" level gear. I've always considered JBL speaker components as premium quality, and most of them came with a premium price tag. So, i am at a bit frustrated to see this as some sort of forward progression for JBL:

 

[jetstream]

Maybe just reorganizing themselves. New anniversary Studio model and new (to me) site:
http://www.jblsynthesis.com/syn-home.html

 

[jblnut]

I have over a dozen pair so I'm pretty well set for the rest of my life.

If they do crash and burn I'm hoping to pickup a $900 pair of 1400 Arrays and a $4000 pair of DD67000.

Aren't we all - see you in line Bring beer...


jblnut

 

[BMWCCA]

Aren't we all - see you in line Bring beer...

They'll likely show up closer to Boston than here, so hold my place!

Two of my three pair of L5s came from Boston, and my 4345s came to me from Connecticut.

 

[ouimetnick]

I'm wondering what will happen with Boston Acoustics. Their parent company, D+M Holdings (owns Denon, Marantz, Boston Acoustics) was bought out by Sound United (also owns Polk).

But Boston hasn't had any new products in probably the last 3-4 years. It looks like they left the auto speaker business, no iOS compatible products, just dated boring speakers left.

 

[BMWCCA]

Also, maybe they are bringing in the designers from Revel into the JBL brand as Revel has been producing some stellar sounding speakers lately.

What makes you think those are two different sets of designers?

 

[HTWillie]

Based on two podcasts and a few reviews, a trend I'm seeing lately is the notion that high-tech and well-engineered speakers don't have to be expensive; ref: Pioneer, Elac, and Andrew Jones.

$129 speakers "competing with" $800 speakers, $500 speakers "as good as" $2500 speakers, etc. Having not heard them I can't judge...

The entire industry just seems more focused on value and convenience (portable/wireless/streaming) right now. I'm just hoping JBL and others can maintain a bit of the high end research and innovation instead of settling for across-the-board commoditization.

What a let down it would be if $500 was all it took to be "done" buying speakers.

 

[BMWCCA]

Because Revel was a MA based and JBL was well, west coast. It seems logical, just like Mac, S-F, AR, Wadia company. All are separate as they cater to different audiences.

Maybe, but since most Revel products are made in either China, Mexico, or a combination of both, it seems Harman may have long-ago merged the teams. I seem to remember some mention of cross-pollination between components and designers. It's all Samsung now anyway.

 

[Gazdatronik]

What a let down it would be if $500 was all it took to be "done" buying speakers.

I disagree, if I could get the best possible speakers for such a reasonable sum, i'd take that in a moment.

Some guys like to chase the end of the rainbow, but that is not my sport.

 

[Uncle Paul]

JBL started going down the tubes long before they cut Greg Timbers. They once had a great balance of visionary designers, marketing, engineering, sales, etc. Some years ago the bean counters took control and worked on maximizing profits while draining the life blood out of the company. They still found ways to keep making great products, but after they fired much of their engineering and production staff here in the US before moving most of it to Mexico things really started going downhill.

JBL itself is unfortunately destined to become a non entity brand like Altec Lansing only used for marketing and car audio like Infinity. Hopefully Revel and Synthesis will be left alone to keep making great things. I'm glad they kept Greg Timbers around long enough to finish a few masterpieces that will still be relevant for decades to come.

 

[jblnut]

You mean Mark himself didn't tune the audio in my Lexus-branded Toyota ? It's got his name on it after all! Boy those marketing guys at Harman sure are slick

And short-sighted, but I won't beat that horse again....

jblnut