JBL, end of an era

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by misterdecibel, Feb 9, 2010.

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  1. nelamvr6

    nelamvr6 Music Lover

    Location:
    New London, CT USA
    In that sense I would agree...
     
  2. nelamvr6

    nelamvr6 Music Lover

    Location:
    New London, CT USA
    I never owned the L100's, but I did own a pair of the L110's:

    [​IMG]

    Then a few years later I blew a good part of my reenlistment bonus on a pair of L300's:

    [​IMG]

    I loved them both dearly.
     
  3. TONEPUB

    TONEPUB Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    This is really too bad to see happen. Hopefully there will be more positive news forthcoming about some of the staff staying on board, at least to build replacement drivers.
     
  4. kevinsinnott

    kevinsinnott Forum Coffeeologist

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    I went the other direction. I started with Advents, went through Vandersteens and then had an epiphany when I heard JBL's using Single Ended Tube amplification. One of my favorites of their more recent speakers is the S-38. They imaged so well, they virtually matched my headphones, yet very musical.

    Sorry to hear this news.
     
  5. soundboy

    soundboy Senior Member

    The S-series, or Studio series, was very underrated. I had the S-26 and it was a very smooth sounding speaker when matched with Onkyo electronics.
     
  6. darkmatter

    darkmatter Gort Astronomer Staff

  7. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey

    The L7's were designed by a guy named Chris Hagen. They, along with another JBL model I can't remember at the moment, were his favorite speakers that he's worked on, at least when I talked with him via e-mail in 2008. He told me he still used them regularly.
     
  8. Jay F

    Jay F New Member

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Are these speakers available today?
     
  9. kevinsinnott

    kevinsinnott Forum Coffeeologist

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    I think they are a few years old and discontinued. They are pretty available through craigslist and eBay.
     
  10. motorcitydave

    motorcitydave Enlightened Rogue In Memoriam

    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV, USA
    This is an email I received from my regional JBL rep...

    Hi David,

    "Harman has moved production plants for various brands/products several times
    before. They are not moving to a new facility – they are moving to an
    established Harman facility that already exists and does quite well. Harman
    management has the expertise and experience required to make a successful
    transfer. There are no plans to discontinue the 1400. Although that said, we
    are questioning whether to continue with the 1000 as that model does not
    sell that well compared to the 800 and the 1400."

    Sincerely,


    Eric
     
  11. motorcitydave

    motorcitydave Enlightened Rogue In Memoriam

    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV, USA
  12. McGruder

    McGruder Eternal Musicphile

    Location:
    Maryland
    I owned S-310's and S-38's from more recent JBL product lines - I wrote about this in a prior thread. The S-38's were particularly impressive, having better tone, and nicely crossed woofer-mid-tweet. Those were great speakers with excellent bass in a small package. Visually they draw inspiration from the S-100.
     
  13. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    And the entry on the Audioheritage.org website has also been pulled down. I suspect a spin control thing going on.

    It's true that all multinational corporations build products all over the world, and that goes for Sony, Panasonic, Philips... just about every mass-market brand you can think of. Still, it's a sad sign of the times that JBL speakers won't actually be built in America anymore.
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  14. HiFi Guy 008

    HiFi Guy 008 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    Never heard of that. Thank you for sharing. I know there's been a big "JBL were great Professional speakers but not as good Home speakers" argument going for a while. But this really piqued my intrerest. Esp. in light of my experience with Boston Acoustics early 80's models (which have fallen off the rim of "cool" in recent years without people understanding how amazing the early models sound.)
     
  15. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    But Krell is a small operation compared with JBL, which is part of Harman International, a sizable audio manufacturer with many venerable brands.
     
  16. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    I truly wonder if shareholders of the public companies that have done the most outsourcing have really accrued the financial benefits. BTW, the total returns of the US stock market between 1999 and 2008 were essentially zero or slightly negative and there were more outsourcings done during this lost decade (from an investment perspective) than any other times.
     
  17. rushed again

    rushed again Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Same here. Went to purchase a pair around 72 from Two Guys Dept Store as a close out. When I got there, they were sold out. :(
     
  18. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    This reminds me of KEF and Quad as well. :shake:
     
  19. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    McIntosh is not owned by a public company. As long as those private equity guys that own it are patient and long-term oriented like Warren Buffett, I see Mac having a good future ...
     
  20. JA Fant

    JA Fant Well-Known Member

    IMO, JBL pulled out many years ago...
     
  21. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    No kidding. This is probably the end of JBL as we used to know it. Going forward, there will be numerous look-alikes given where the new factory will be located ...
     
  22. utahusker

    utahusker Senior Member

    My first high end speakers were a pair of L300's, and I wish I still had them.
    I own a pair of Klipsch Lascala's now, ooops.:)
     
  23. Mike from NYC

    Mike from NYC Senior Member

    Location:
    Surprise, AZ
    Pretty soon, now that almost all consumer products manufacturing has been outsourced, there really won't be enough Americans employed earning a decent enough wage to buy the products imported by so-called US companies.

    The rampant outsourcing has diminished the consumer purchasing base in the USA, and formerly decent paying jobs are now replaced with barely minimum wage jobs.

    I don't know what the end game will be like but it's not pretty. Ever wonder why every recovery from recession has basically been a JOBLESS recovery since the early 90s? Why there were, for the first time in American history, less private sector jobs at the end of the decade than at the beginning of the decade? And this despite an increase of 10 million people in the USA.

    Does it sound like I'm excited? You're damn right and what's really scary is I hear more and more people agree with what I think :yikes:
     
    Bubbamike likes this.
  24. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    I have basically no experience with JBLs (more of a "New England school" kind of guy, for the most part), but here's a question: a while back, a pair of 4408 studio monitors came my way. They need refoaming. Assuming the drivers are otherwise OK, are they worth the hassle, or should I simply drop them off at the local thrift shop and let somebody else take on that project?
     
  25. Mike from NYC

    Mike from NYC Senior Member

    Location:
    Surprise, AZ
    Refoaming isn't hard providing you have some basic mechanical skills. I refoamed a few pairs of speakers and found it a rewarding experience and not expensive. I guess the hardest part is to make sure the cone doesn't hang up on the voice coil and rub.

    Good luck.
     
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