JBL speakers are they really that good?

[gonzomeep]

Few

You gotta admit that JBL has some really cheap junk with their name attached to it as well.

Read it again..... I wrote, yes there are some duds...agreed. Even the greatest home run hitters strike out some time too. :yes:

Google JBL DD66000 Everest. And.... Most of the cutting edge speakers are from JBL Professional, Northridge, CA. Their big box store models are not even made in the US, but they are still competitive within their respective price points. Chevy made the Chevette, but they also make the Corvette :yes:...SG-

 

[AudioGeek]

I mean buy them now and hang onto them for 30 years when they become vintage, would the 1400 arrays appreciate in value and sell like some other 30yo JBLs do today? I want to buy as new as possible for tomorrow's treasured vintages. JBL looks good from that standpoint.

Who's to say what people will like 30 years from now? For all we know, these speaker types could totally fall out of favor by then.

Given the tippy high end these 590's and the 1400's have, I can't imagine listening to either for very long on an Adcom, unless they were well EQ'ed and even then...the Adcom's are gritty/glarey IMO. But your ears would be the judge, of course. Not trying to bash your gear or preferences, just saying I couldn't get happy with any of the models I owned (555, 545, 535).

 

[Jeffery]

Google JBL DD66000 Everest. And.... Most of the cutting edge speakers are from JBL Professional, Northridge, CA. Their big box store models are not even made in the US, but they are still competitive within their respective price points. Chevy made the Chevette, but they also make the Corvette :yes:...SG-

Their cutting edge speakers aren't made in Northridge anymore, either. That ship sailed in 2010, the SOTO drivers are made in Mexico, not sure where the enclosures are made, but it ain't Northridge.

 

[AudioGeek]

Hecho en East Bumphuck for all the Harman suits care, as long as they make max profit. What else is new?


:thumbsdn:

 

[gonzomeep]

I

Their cutting edge speakers aren't made in Northridge anymore, either. That ship sailed in 2010, the SOTO drivers are made in Mexico, not sure where the enclosures are made, but it ain't Northridge.

I should have wrote that they are designed at Northridge.....probably actually made in some other country. But isin't everything? Or should I write....most everything? Point being; that some of the best speakers, albeit Professional, are still a product of JBL. Think of the difficulty that making PURE Be. foil diaphragms was. TAD has yet to do it and they are killer in their own right. Look at the 150-4C woofer. You can attribute the cast basket, big magnet,vented pole piece, big edge wound ribbon voice coil and other innovations to this woofer. Maybe it is that others made breakthroughs in similar pieces of the puzzle, but you can definitely thank the visionaries at JBL for producing the whole picture with models that still stand the test of time:yes:. I don't want to get into a dick measuring contest, I 'm just saying that we owe a lot to JBL for what they have done for over a half a century. More than almost any other brand on the planet. If you can wade through the big box Harman mire, you can still see a glimmer of that same engineering excellence to this very day. Besides a boutique custom maker, to whom else can you make that claim? If at all, it's gonna be an extremely short list and very,very expensive :yes:, regards, Steve G-

 

[Jeffery]

JBL gets the beryllium domes (not the entire diaphragm) from Materion Electrofusion, so they don't actually manufacture those.

 

[marysdad]

We have had a pair of LX44s as mains for our home theatre setup for 20 years (actually, all of our HT speakers are JBL). The LX44s do excellent with music as well. Had the large drivers refoamed about 6-7 years ago. Still sound as good as the day they came home. Not TOTL, but excellent speakers for the money.

 

[gonzomeep]

JBL gets the beryllium domes (not the entire diaphragm) from Materion Electrofusion, so they don't actually manufacture those.

Right, the tools and manufacturing may be outsourced, but the brains to design is American JBL. Like I wrote before, isin't most everything outsourced? Materion Electrofusion didn't come up with the engineering, they merely had the tooling in which to produce what the JBL gurus/engineers/designers contracted them to make. Big difference.

 

[gonzomeep]

We have had a pair of LX44s as mains for our home theatre setup for 20 years (actually, all of our HT speakers are JBL). The LX44s do excellent with music as well. Had the large drivers refoamed about 6-7 years ago. Still sound as good as the day they came home. Not TOTL, but excellent speakers for the money.

Cool :yes::thmbsp:

 

[gonzomeep]

Oh look!

How about these? What is in your listening room? Not these:nono: JBL 4348's

 

[1audiohack]

I have never listened to my 1400 Arrays on any of my Adcom power but I cannot imagine them sounding bright or harsh on any proper amp. In fact for me they are a tad subdued.

I am listening to one of JBL's latest stateside offerings, the 4365's and man are these fantastic. I have had them for just over a week now and I can't get over how good they sound. My old 4430's wouldn't stand a prayer in any catagory against these in fact I doubt my 4435's could best them even with two 2234's each.

Are JBL's really that good? The new good stuff is even better than that.

Barry.

 

[AudioGeek]

I have never listened to my 1400 Arrays on any of my Adcom power but I cannot imagine them sounding bright or harsh on any proper amp. In fact for me they are a tad subdued.

Well, I guess we hear things differently re: the Adcoms. Grats on the 4365's. That's one I'd really like to hear.

 

[1audiohack]

We all do don't we?

I don't have any of the Adcoms listed, just 565's and 585's. It would be interesting to move some stuff around and try them. They Arrays lost their place to the 4365's so maybe I will try them on one.

Thanks by the way. I hope you get to hear them.

All the best,
Barry.

 

[tubed]

I'm sure JBL was and is innovative in many aspects but I never was under the impression they were anywhere close to being avant garde in sound or style compared to other vintage speaker manufacturers of the day.
More like "the Tortoise vs the Hare"

 

[AudioGeek]

I saw your 4365's on LH (I have an acct. there), but unless Hi-Fi Buys here gets a set of them in, I doubt I'll be lucky enough to get an ear on them.

The 565 & 585 were later models, and an improvement over the original Adcoms IMO, so they may do well with your JBL's, sure.

 

[jomondz]

Well, it's JBL.
So it's good.

Heheheh

 

[chrisinsc]

I have stock 4410a's stacked on klipsch chorus ii's which have been recapped and ti tweeter diaphrams installed. The klipsch are powered by an mc240 and the jbls by a marantz thx av receiver. The pre out of this receiver goes to the mc240. I can balance volumes with the mc240 and switch between one set or the other or both. I dont like both. The jbls are run through an mk sub and xover.

Myself and others have listened and compared for a couple months now. All I can really say is that I like both a lot one at a time. General consensus is that the highs were better with the jbls until the recap and new tweeters on the klipsch. Now they are too close to call without using exactly the same rig to power them. As they are set up now the jbl/sub combo is more accurate by a small margin but the klipsch have more natural sounding bass and a much fuller soundstage. Its like the jbls were designed to monitor recordings and the klipsch were designed to play back recordings at home.

 

[AudioGeek]

So you're comparing a modded/tweaked speaker with a stock speaker; one is driven by a tube amp, the other an A/V receiver; one is going through a sub's x-o with the sub adding low end; not to mention different speaker positioning and perhaps different cabling...

Sounds legit. :twak:

 

[chrisinsc]

It is what it is, just adding my 2 cents which is just a valuable as anyone else's. Have a nice day.

 

[mech986]

It is what it is, just adding my 2 cents which is just a valuable as anyone else's. Have a nice day.

An interesting listening report. Would love to hear how the 4410's and the Klipsch sound with the amplification switched around. Many JBL's will really open up if the upstream components are optimized. Not sure though if 80's and later JBL monitors take to lower power tube systems although there have been positive reports.