Where is JBL going?

jblnut said:
You mean Mark himself didn't tune the audio in my Lexus-branded Toyota ? It's got his name on it after all! Boy those marketing guys at Harman sure are slick :)

And short-sighted, but I won't beat that horse again....

jblnut
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There is legal ruling from years back, late 80s maybe, because of a falling out with Madrigal Audio (who had previously bailed out Levinson's business) that says Mark Levinson cannot brand anything audio-related as Mark Levinson/Levinson.

That is why in the later years products by Mark Levinson were of the Cello, Red Rose, and Daniel Hertz brands.
 
Mister Pig said:
Be interesting to see what you think of them. Have heard good things about the 590, which have one size up in woofer is all it seems. Those horns look to bear some similarity to the main horn on the 800 ARRAY.

Regards
Mister Pig
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I found them on a site as a close-out, for half their usual price, so I thought what the heck, why not try them out. I haven't bought many speakers new (I do like vintage, American made stuff, like AR, JBL, Empire, Dynaco (I Know Dynaco made by Seas, but for Dynaco) but I thought these would fit in my digital room next to my Martin Logan reQuests. They are supposed to go down to 45hz, so we shall see. I hope the quality lives up to my expectations. The seller will let me return them and he will even pay the return shipping, so that is pretty hard to beat and a pretty confident seller..........

Thanks for the interest, Mr. Pig.

Wayner
 
whoaru99 said:
There is legal ruling from years back, late 80s maybe, because of a falling out with Madrigal Audio (who had previously bailed out Levinson's business) that says Mark Levinson cannot brand anything audio-related as Mark Levinson/Levinson.

That is why in the later years products by Mark Levinson were of the Cello, Red Rose, and Daniel Hertz brands.
Click to expand...

Bob Carver got caught up in a similar "trap".
 
WaynerN said:
I found them on a site as a close-out, for half their usual price, so I thought what the heck, why not try them out. I haven't bought many speakers new (I do like vintage, American made stuff, like AR, JBL, Empire, Dynaco (I Know Dynaco made by Seas, but for Dynaco) but I thought these would fit in my digital room next to my Martin Logan reQuests. They are supposed to go down to 45hz, so we shall see. I hope the quality lives up to my expectations. The seller will let me return them and he will even pay the return shipping, so that is pretty hard to beat and a pretty confident seller..........

Thanks for the interest, Mr. Pig.

Wayner
Click to expand...


I've had the 580s and now the 590s. Also coincidentally owned the M-L CLS IIa's back in the 90s and listened to the Sequel, Quest and ReQuest many times at Altair Audio in upstate NY. Not to worry, I'm sure you'll like the 580s. I think the size of the 580s is perfect for my room and they look great but I just wanted that extra bit of low end extension.
 
WaynerN said:
I have an REL subwoofer on my system.....
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That'd be perfect I'd say. REL is one of my faves, at least in powered subs (coincidentally again, believe it or not I've owned the Stadium II and Stentor III as well - excellent units especially the Stentor). You could bring the sub in at a fairly low X-O point (say high 30s/low 40s or whatever the -6dB point is in your room) and the 580 will do fine.
 
WaynerN said:
X-Over is about as low as it goes. I do not like speakers and subs overlapping or sharing the same duties. The sub should start where the mains can't reach.....
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Yes that's what I was saying - trying not to overlap much but covering up to where the mains begin, which for me was usually better around -6dB down. Ballpark range and listening of course determined the best frequency. Well depending on the model, idk how fine the X-O adjustment is on yours but on the older models I had they were 2Hz increments down to the 20s.
 
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analog addict said:
Some of us trolls might argue that JBL went downhill once James B left Altec.......:p
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Pretty hard to argue against your point (in fact I may agree with it). However, he did pass on a design philosophy that seems to have anchored itself thru a couple of decades anyway. JBL drivers were (and some still are) built like battleships, die-cast frames, great big ass magnet assemblies and simple (but effective) X-Overs. Their later year cabinet and vinyl coverings were a turn off for me, perhaps others too.

I got rid of my L-100s back in the late '80s, replaced by a pair of Polk SDA-SRS 2.3 signature speakers (which I don't have any more either). I wanted one last pair of Gerbils and that is what started this whole parade. I grew up with a couple of companies that became very dear to me, They were Dynaco, AR, JBL and Marantz. I still have some of my Dynaco stuff (A25XLs, whats left of a Stereo 120, now an AVA Insight 170), I had a pair of AR-2ax and AR-5s now gone, but still have a Marantz 3300, 115b and 140 amp.

I had these pieces when I was young and going thru some bad personal experiences. They became my friends. So when I see them fall, I get pretty upset about things like that. Its like losing your best friend.

'ner
 
I can't completely slag JBL. I still do have one pair, my original pair, the pair that got me restarted down the slippery audio slope, and that's a pair of 4301b's....:beatnik:
 
Is Greg Timbers working for someone else or started his own firm?
 
The JBL Studio 580 speakers have arrived. All I can say is WOW!!!!!! Fit, finish and above all, sound quality are pretty awesome. I will post photos tomorrow.
 
jlovda said:
Is Greg Timbers working for someone else or started his own firm?
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Not that we have heard of - I gather he was happy at JBL until the job ended.
He may have decided to enjoy his retirement for now ...
 
WaynerN said:
The JBL Studio 580 speakers have arrived. All I can say is WOW!!!!!! Fit, finish and above all, sound quality are pretty awesome. I will post photos tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear the speakers show promise. This late model pair of JBL I have had since December have been really quite nice. The company seems to build a very good product for the money. The price you got them for makes them look like a remarkable value.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Coolio. Who's blowing them out? A quick Google search isn't showing me any major deals.

I wonder how they'd compare to my 4425s.
 
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