JBL, end of an era

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=27692

Looks like manufacturing at the Northridge site is being phased out.

Condolences to Motorcitydave.

 

...and, of course, on JBL's forum, they(JBL) shut down the discussion.

 

I condole thee, Dave.

 

Terrible news, of course.

Well, I better buy those 1400 Arrays fast before Japan (and the rest of the world for that matter) snaps all of them up (if they haven't already!) The question is, will there be replacement drivers anymore? I'm not counting on it!

 

Ouch...

 

Damn.

 

Sad news...

 

I remember in 1972 when a pair of JBL L100s was my holy grail.
A moment of silence...

 

For over 20 years I enjoyed a pair of JBL L150 towers. (I wish I hadn't sold them) Truly sad news.

 

Sad news indeed. My first hifi speakers were floor standing JBLs (can't remember the mode #, each speaker had 2 10" woofers, mid and titanium tweeter). Sounded great in their price range.

 

Listening to my office L36's as I write this. End of an era, I guess.

 

Basically. But, JBL will live on (posthumously) as one of American hi-fi's true greats.

So, what am I gonna turn to, Klipsch? haha.

 

Very sad. There were good people out there, like Dr. Floyd Toole, who had headed up R&D there for many years. Their studio surround monitors were really good; I'm assuming they'll ship out the manufacturing to China, like everything else.

I got a tour of the Northridge plant (partly care of Michael Riggs, my old editor from High Fidelity magazine) in the early 1990s, and I was really impressed by how huge the place was and how devoted they were to good sound. Their blind speaker-testing room was incredible: where you'd sit in dim light in fronot of an acoustic screen, while unseen robot arms swapped out different speakers and they'd test you to see if you could tell the difference between speaker "A" and speaker "B". When you can't even see the speaker, it's a lot harder than you might think.

 

Cool, thanks for sharing your experience.

 

I'm not familiar with JBL products, and so I'm probably missing something here. This thread reads like an obit, but the web page linked to in the first post only suggests that they are moving their production offshore. I understand the sadness for the loss of the "Made-in-USA" status. But I'd think that this news can be a cause for optimism. The move would make JBL cost-competitive. B&W has done it for most of their lines. I think the JBL name is strong enough to retain the professional customers.

What am I missing here? [Or you can simply tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about ]

 

what ??? NOooooooooooooooooo !!!!!!!

- Sushimaster

 

From my recollection, they were every one's holy grail... I never did score a pair of those

 

I think when you have something that's been around as long as JBL have, to see them ship mfg out overseas is akin to them closing their doors, IMHO

 

Man, this really sucks. First Krell, now this. What's next.

 

Optimism for the shareholders perhaps but not everyone else who used to be and made the company and whose jobs and possibly careers and any input in the products are ended as the reward for all their investment.

 

Wow sad news indeed; unfortunate for many. I'll always have fond memories of my 70's era'd JBL's.

Bob

 

Sorry to hear this. I love my L7's.

 

I still have the very first loudspeakers I ever bought. JBL L88-Nova, bought in 1970 for I think several hundred dollars which seemed like a small fortune back then. I have no idea if they still play, but I just could never let them go, they mean to much to me.

 

I never had a pair of JBLs. I had a roommate who had a pair of those big ones with the foam fronts that look like the bottom of an ice cube tray, and he played them so loud, I grew to hate them. My next speaker a pair of original Advents.