JBL 250Ti - Do they sound good?

johnnm

johnnm

Audio Enthusiast
I'm mesmerized by the physical appearance of the JBL L250Ti speakers. IIRC, I've seen them go from between $1500 to $2500. That's quite a hefty price for vintage speakers. Has anyone here that's heard them care to comment on their personal impressions? I'd love to hear them (your impressions of the speakers, as well as the speakers :))
 
Register to hide this ad
A very well rounded speaker. It has been said that this is one of JBL's best speakers.

They do sound great. I am in the middle of Charge Coupling mine!!:banana:
There will be others who will tell you their thoughts as well.
 
I own a pair of 250ti and they have that "big sound" and presence only large speakers have. With proper placement in a not too small room they can still compete with many new and more expensive speakers.
In spite of the large 14" bas driver they don't suffer from the bloated bass that you sometimes hear in CV og HT subwoofers, but they can really shake the room when the music calls for it.
The tweeters can be a bit hard on the ears but they give a very detailed reproduction of music.
Their efficency is is on the high side and you don't need at monster amp to get em going - but I recommend at least a solid 100w high current amp - preferably more if you can afford it. I've driven them with a 200w yamaha (M-70) amp and that was a good match.
 
The 250Ti is about the most-un-West-Coast speaker JBL made in the "glory days".

I've never found the 250Ti bright. If so, most of them have level adjustments on the rear (jumper plates) for the mid and tweeter. There's no reason for one of these to be bright.

As for their sonic character- there aren't many speakers that are closer to dead-on-neutral than these. Great bass extension, great high extension, very good balance. They do like a bit of power (200w/ch is about right) to get really dynamic... but if you feed 'em correctly, they will stun the hell out of you sometimes with what they can do...

Some who like the "forward" character of JBL speakers of the era with horns, won't like the "slightly more laid back" character of the 250Ti. Greg Timbers, the designer, will tell you that the 250Ti was far more accurate, in tonal balance, though...

Regards,
Gordon.


Regards,
Gordon.
 
the set i heard sounded great. I agree they are less west coast than any other JBL's and real balanced. Would love a set one day. :thmbsp:
 
kfa888 said:
the set i heard sounded great. I agree they are less west coast than any other JBL's and real balanced. Would love a set one day. :thmbsp:
Click to expand...
Just for the hell of it, name one JBL speaker that you'd characterize as "West Coast" that was made after the 4311/L100 era. I'm curious how much of this reputation is hyperbole repeated by those who wouldn't know a 4311 from a 4411, and how much is from actual experience on the part of those proclaiming this to be so. :scratch2:

:D No question the 250ti is an aspirational JBL, but I passed on a pair about a year ago. :yes:
 
Yep, a year ago last march, I had a unique opportunity to pick up a pair of 250Ti Special Edition Piano Black ones from a fellow member, for a fellow member. The surrounds on the LE14 woofers was beginning to fail. I did give them a listen albeit breifly hooked up to my SX-1250 I had at the time. I wasn't able to turn them up very much because of the surrounds, but what I did get them to, they were very impressive, just a smidgen on the colorful side to my ears, but still impressive. If another pair of these gets in my clutches again, it's unlikely that I will part with them :)
 
GordonW said:
The 250Ti is about the most-un-West-Coast speaker JBL made in the "glory days".

I've never found the 250Ti bright. If so, most of them have level adjustments on the rear (jumper plates) for the mid and tweeter. There's no reason for one of these to be bright.

As for their sonic character- there aren't many speakers that are closer to dead-on-neutral than these. Great bass extension, great high extension, very good balance. They do like a bit of power (200w/ch is about right) to get really dynamic... but if you feed 'em correctly, they will stun the hell out of you sometimes with what they can do...

Some who like the "forward" character of JBL speakers of the era with horns, won't like the "slightly more laid back" character of the 250Ti. Greg Timbers, the designer, will tell you that the 250Ti was far more accurate, in tonal balance, though...

Regards,
Gordon.


Regards,
Gordon.
Click to expand...

Gordon pretty much nailed it there. I did a fairly extensive listening comparison and writeup on LHF when I got my 250Ti's and as compared to my L112's, it took a while to get used to the 250Ti's neutral, laid back sound. They are truly the most un-west coast sound JBL's I have heard, limited to my meager collection. Properly setup 250Ti's will not be overly bright, overly forward, or muddy. They're completely non-fatiguing - I can listen to them at very high levels for extended periods.
 
BMWCCA said:
Just for the hell of it, name one JBL speaker that you'd characterize as "West Coast" that was made after the 4311/L100 era. I'm curious how much of this reputation is hyperbole repeated by those who wouldn't know a 4311 from a 4411, and how much is from actual experience on the part of those proclaiming this to be so. :scratch2:

:D No question the 250ti is an aspirational JBL, but I passed on a pair about a year ago. :yes:
Click to expand...

Sorry, meant to say that i have heard.
 
I would love to hear a pair of 250's, and see how much better they are compared to my current XPL-200A's.

I know that a pair of speakers were conceived in the early 90's, called the XPL-250's. This info can be found on Lansing heritage for those interested. http://test.audioheritage.org/html/history/legacy/32_1990s_home.htm There is a pic of them towards the middle of the webpage. They combined the titanium mid's of the xpl's with the woofers and midbass drivers of the 250's. I guess the weak point of the 250's must be the cone midranges. The tweeters were the same, I think.

They did build a few prototypes, but they never made it to production. Greg Timbers supposedly has the only surviving pair.

If I ever get the chance to pick up a pair of 250's for a reasonable price locally, I will be very happy.
 
GordonW said:
4612 Cabaret.

L40, to an extent.

Regards,
Gordon.
Click to expand...
Well the 4612 was not meant to be a full range cabinet. It was basically a cinema surround or fill application speaker. Add in a woofer or sub-woofer and they are fairly decent...

The L40.. well it wasn't too far removed from the L100 :D

The point I think he's making, is that the moniker JBL has for "West Coast" sound, is largely and perhaps even drastically over exaggerated. Much/most of what they built since the 70s has been pretty neutral, especially their upper level speakers..

Frankly, they have built some great stuff and the 250Ti may be the crowning achievement of their era, from all brands... They simply are very damn good..
 
JBL L250ti

Had the pleasure to hear a pair of 250ti with upgraded crossovers, IMPRESSIVE! The 250ti deserve to be used with TOTL amps/preamps/source either tube/SS, midfi or less will not do these speakers justice.
 
Cosmos said:
The L40.. well it wasn't too far removed from the L100 :D
Click to expand...

Are you thinking more of an L50? The L40 was a 2-way with a 10" woofer & a dome 033 tweeter...I just can't imagine that sounding like an L100. :dunno:

The L50 had the same 10" woof as the L40, but a mid similar to the L100 & a cone tweet that is (to my ears) an improvement over what's in the L100. Crossover was more complex than the L100's, too.

je
 
The 250Ti is probably one of my favorite speakers and definitely my favorite JBL.

Is there a link somewhere to the mods/upgrades that you can do to a 250Ti...wiring, bus bars, crossovers, etc.
 
250TIs are special. There aren't many cone/domes I'd take over them. I preferred them to NS-1000s when compared head to head at the fest a couple of years ago. There wasn't anything the NS-1000 did better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom