JBL's Northridge Speaker Test Facility*

Yes, I took the grand tour of the JBL Harman campus around 1993-1994, when I wrote for a bunch of consumer electronics magazines. There was a large, acoustically-damped room -- kind of like a large recording studio -- where there was a super-thin curtain at one end of the room. Behind it, they had a couple of hydraulic lifts that would almost instantaneously (within 3-4 seconds) swap one speaker with another. With this system, a technician could hit a button and you could A/B different speakers back and forth. Sometimes, they'd drop in a $10,000 speaker and compare it to a $500 speaker. Sometimes, it'd be two $5000 speakers. It was an amazing system. [They did not allow photographs, and we had to sign a bunch of NDA docs for certain parts of the tour.]

The testing procedures are outlined in detail in Floyd Toole's book Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms, which to me, is a really interesting read. I know there are people who don't agree with all of Toole's theories, but all I can say is, JBL's speakers got a lot better during his 10-15 year tenure at the company, to the point where JBLs are once again the standard speaker used in a lot of recording studios in LA.

 

Used to work in the Northridge facility. I just talked to a tech friend, who still works there, two weeks ago and he did not say anything about that department getting hit. I was in a room that is right next to that room about 3 months ago and it seemed fine. But I can tell you that, in general, morale in that whole facility is not good.

 

http://www.stereophile.com/content/maserati-and-bw-pimp-each-others-rides

This article from Stereophile said that B&W sent the designs to Harman to build the speakers. I would think a testing lab would be important. I hope it is not true.

Don't they have a central research facility in Canada that a number of speaker manufacturers can us? It has to be a costly facility to man even after you have furnished it with all the necessary gear.

I'm constantly surprised at how many models of speakers JBL offers and sells. Seems too many to me.

 

National Research Council
In Canada they are the ones..
""More recently, the NRC has been highly influential in the field of audio. A great deal of research at the NRC has gone into the designs of many popular speakers from Canadian speaker manufacturers like PSB Speakers, Energy Loudspeakers and Paradigm Electronics. Some of their research has also influenced speaker designs around the world.""
A quote from page of Wiki..

 

The speaker design for this would be tested in the one of the 2pi or 4pi anechoic chambers. Those are different than the blind audition room that Sean Olive uses. When/if the 2pi and 4pi chambers go then it is TRULY the end for acouistic engineering at the Northridge facility. If that happens I will get wind of it. I can tell you that the top brass steered by Dinesh Paliwal would love, and have tried to get R&D going in China. It just hasn't happened yet. As smart and educated the Chinese are they don't have the expierenced, studied, tried and true knowladge that is contained at the Northridge facility.

Trust me, they tried, during my last weeks there, Chinese guys were tape measuring those 2pi and 4pi chambers. One of those, ahem-cough, priceless? moments

 

I will say that their JRX line of speakers and monitors are the best bang for the buck out there. When you compare them to their competitors it is not even close. Great sound for a PA environment.

I gave my little L-15's to my daughter the last time she was here and she loves them. Maybe I need a pair of bookshelf speakers from them this year.

 

I can reassure you that the loudspeaker research and testing lab at Northridge that includes 3 anechoic chambers and two listening labs are fully functional and being used for research and testing of loudspeakers. There have been no announcements that they are being closed.

Cheers
Sean Olive
Director Acoustic Research
Harman International

 

Looks like this thread has some traction.

 

BTW, good stuff still does happen there in spite of the muddling executives. I listened to the JBL M2 while I was there last. This speaker has unparalleled imaging and transient response. AND I only listened to redbook sources - still a stunner. If you ever get a chance to demo a set of these, DO IT!
http://www.jblpro.com/products/recording&broadcast/M2/index.html#.UcI4XPmshbw

 

This is my current favorite sounding loudspeaker that incorporates the best engineering minds and technology shared across Harman consumer, professional and Corporate divisions. Check out the measurements on the link: they are very linear across both horizontal and vertical orbits. They also include our room calibration EQ so that the bass is more consistent from room to room. This is very important if you want to produce or reproduce recordings that sound good in any listening room,

Cheers
Sean Olive
Director of Acoustic Research, Harman International
President-Elect, Audio Engineering Society
Audio Musings

 

The JBL LSR series loudspeakers are very, very widespread in the small-to-medium recording business here in LA. I see them all over the place. I think Dr. Toole had a large hand in developing those and overcoming a lot of resistance to JBL as a brand among pro audio people.

There has been news on and off that Harman has been cutting back a lot in Northridge, and I think the bulk of their manufacturing has moved to China, particularly with their Dandong Facility. It's fair to say that Harman/JBL hasn't been an American company for years; they're like a lot of multinational companies that design in America but then build all the products overseas in order to hit a certain price point. I understand why it's done, but it doesn't make me happy.

 

And they use the same woofers as my S4700s! Is that correct?

 

And the price isn't bad either. I hope the mags get a hold of these as well as the K2 9900s and S4700s. I think they'll be in for a big surprise...

 

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I hate it as it is dangerous for us to stop making more and more things here. But, most wanted that $29 VCR and DVD player and labor prices here will not allow that to happen. I used to Rep for a company that made these little $29, 1500 watt space heaters. There were made in our factory by college students who would come in during the summer and make the entire inventory for the whole year. Now they are made in China, look slightly better, but are now $50. I thought that employment strategy was a great one. My wife and I sold more of those heaters that any other rep agency in the US. I thought if those kids could make them, we could at least sell all we could.

It seems almost ironic that the city of Detroit is what, $2 bil in the red and someone is considering a new $650 mil arena for the Red Wings and the Pistons I guess. To keep calling them Pistons seems antiquated on some level. I am still surprised that there is still as much audio as there is made here. Of course much of it is expensive, but often still a good value.