IMO&E it makes foggy midrange regardless of box tuning.
Do JBL speakers live up to their hype?
- Thread starter Wooferman93
- Start date
IMO&E it makes foggy midrange regardless of box tuning.
hwirt
Super Member
That sucks.
BMWCCA
Addicted Member
I don't understand the first part of your statement but my statement is based on the premium, deserved or not, JBL speakers demand...an extreme example would be a pair of HPM-100s and a pair of JBL Hartsfields.
The Hartfields win the $prize$ however the Pioneers actually sound better(IMHO) believe it or not
EDIT: I own neither
You stated:
" . . . from what I've seen and own, I'd have to pay up to 2X the amount for a comparable pair of JBLs...maybe much more"
My simple question was, so what do you own and what did you pay for them? It was your comparison, I'm just asking you to be more specific. In English, one more time: what do you own that would require two-times (or much more) their cost to equal with a JBL? And don't just compare antique JBLs commanding extreme value for their collector status. Why not a pair of L7s with current street value at or below $500 with those HPMs? HPM-100 sales on Ebay in the last 30-days range from $225-$435. The low price gets you corner dings filled with plastic wood. L7s in the same period has asking prices between $200-$400 (Craig's List asking prices since there were none sold on Ebay during that time). That same range is covered on asking-prices for HPMs confirmed by a country-wide CL search a few minutes ago. Some with dented dust-caps and black paint spills, about $150-$375.
The common JBL-bashers' mantra is the L100 compared to the HPM-100. Notwithstanding the JBL engineering involvement with the Pioneers, even JBL fans don't put the L100s up on a pedestal for much beyond their marketing success. We all know they were derived from a control monitor designed to mimic the ubiquitous Altec studio monitors of the day. That's like saying someone's painting of a scene in the style of Impressionism isn't as acccurate as a photograph.
So, since it was your example: what do you own that's so superior to JBLs and what did you pay for them? Simple.
hwirt
Super Member
Stereophile thought differently of the Array 1400 which uses the latest version of the LE14:
The 1400 Array featured an impressive accuracy of midrange timbre. It allowed me to hear subtle differences among individual members of choirs, as well as differentiate the characteristic reediness of different orchestral wind instruments.
JBL's Synthesis 1400 Array BG impressed me with its three-dimensional imaging, impressive transparency, ambience retrieval, capacity to "disappear," and fine timbral detail.
Note also that the JBLs are generating full output down to 25Hz. But, good grief! Look at the in-room.
But what do they know... :lmao:
I'll say one thing for the JBL guys; when you criticize JBL they don't say you "need to use tubes".
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I don't give a hoot in Hell what Stereophile thinks, never did.
Funny thing; all those years Stereophile hated horn speakers and we hornys thought they didn't know what they were talking about, now, all of a sudden they do? That Stereophile now likes some JBL horns kind'a makes me think those JBLs must sound bad not good. It's like Stereophile is a reverse barometer, as Custer said in Little Big Man.
hwirt
Super Member
Perhaps you should contact them and explain the finer points of speaker testing..
I think their problem is with speaker listening.
And you know that speakers can test good and sound bad AND test bad and sound good. Then we have the problem of defining what good is supposed to be in the first place....
hwirt
Super Member
"Cold hearted orb that rules the night Removes the colours from our sight Red is gray and yellow, white But we decide which is right And which is an illusion" Moody Blues
OR MAYBE
"I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind" Lord Kelvin
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That you think the Moody Blues profound is no doubt one reason we don't get on.
I know what sounds good to me and what doesn't with or without Lord Kelvin's approval.
Is that why you like JBLs, because they measure well?
hwirt
Super Member
Like this one, beats the LE14 by a country mile but costs about three times as much and is thirty+ years newer technology. :
1500AL
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Regardless of the brand, I can bet there are a large percentage of buyers who have drouled over a particular brand (say, JBL and/or Mcintosh) for years, buy them, and are very happy with them .... until some "golden ear" friend comes over and tells him they have poor "soundstage."
You guys do realize that the LE14A (L220), LE14H (L220A), Le14H-1 (250ti et al), and LE14H-3 (1400 Array) are different drivers, right?
It's like saying you don't like Fords because they are all Edsels or don't like Chevy's because they are all Corvairs.
It's not the first time I've had to roll my eyes at a poster in this thread for dismissing the "LE14" out of hand since, well, all LE14s MUST be the same driver!
You stated:
" . . . from what I've seen and own, I'd have to pay up to 2X the amount for a comparable pair of JBLs...maybe much more"
My simple question was, so what do you own and what did you pay for them? It was your comparison, I'm just asking you to be more specific. In English, one more time: what do you own that would require two-times (or much more) their cost to equal with a JBL? And don't just compare antique JBLs commanding extreme value for their collector status. Why not a pair of L7s with current street value at or below $500 with those HPMs? HPM-100 sales on Ebay in the last 30-days range from $225-$435. The low price gets you corner dings filled with plastic wood. L7s in the same period has asking prices between $200-$400 (Craig's List asking prices since there were none sold on Ebay during that time). That same range is covered on asking-prices for HPMs confirmed by a country-wide CL search a few minutes ago. Some with dented dust-caps and black paint spills, about $150-$375.
The common JBL-bashers' mantra is the L100 compared to the HPM-100. Notwithstanding the JBL engineering involvement with the Pioneers, even JBL fans don't put the L100s up on a pedestal for much beyond their marketing success. We all know they were derived from a control monitor designed to mimic the ubiquitous Altec studio monitors of the day. That's like saying someone's painting of a scene in the style of Impressionism isn't as acccurate as a photograph.
So, since it was your example: what do you own that's so superior to JBLs and what did you pay for them? Simple.
What are you talking about?
Are you saying JBL speaker systems are incomparable but don't command a premium?
Nevermind.
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BMWCCA
Addicted Member
Another one bites the dust.