photoscan

i didn't note the date of the article ... i do not follow closely the industrial news ... sorry lol

btw, jbl pro series could still be good as far as I learnt from the web, but it isn't good looking anymore lol:
https://jblpro.com/en-asia/products/m2

There are however many competitors at that price range.

其實樓主篇文, 係2016年的
https://www.audiophilenirvana.com/audio-companies/goodbye-american-icon-jbl/

只係你話JBL 仲有無說服力,
有些 model 或者都仲有的, 只是不是如以前一樣就是另一回事.

最失望都係sonus faber

自從franco賣左盤,品牌既靈魂都冇埋..

呢兩代既sonus faber除左皮革,我都聽唔到同以往sf有咩關聯..

小弟由早期既concertino一路玩到小名琴...

lfyeung兄
的確,harbeth賣左盤之後聲音走向都仲係ha仔風格
我之前玩過m20.1(即p3esr)
都係一對好好聽既喇叭
但比較起老ha仔,聲音係活潑左
佢低音物料係專利技術,
呢幾代喇叭都係將分音同speaker plug升級,換下木皮
整體既音色都冇咩走樣.

BTW.

I heard some paragon clone.. They sound fine.. Look so real.... Haha

I am also tempted to get one as a functional furniture piece haha... Hook up a hidden amp... Etc..




最後修改時間: 2021-03-05 17:02:09

hahayanyan hing is as usual, practical, cynical, and enthusiastic all combined into one. I could understand what you say. That's the reality.

I actually am not knowledgeable in the change of owners of various brands, though from time to time stories of reputable brands being bought by China or co. with no 'heart' in making hifi were repeatedly told on the web.

How about KEF? I didn't know the stories behind. Depending on your taste, one may have different feelings about their recent embracement of digital and active technologies into speaker designs. The LS50 series comes to the fore, which seems no other old brands have started doing yet. Goldmund is selling their active speakers in the million-dollar circles and not relevant to most of us.

On the other hand, many new companies with owners at their 20s to 40s emerge (although they will get old for sure one day, facing similar problems). The pro companies started to be making more 'consumer' friendly products. Let alone Korean companies which become more famous since the early 2000s. Kii, D&D, Buchhardt, etc, are only a few examples; Buchhardt's pricing is much lower and get very popular worldwide and now they have Buchhardt user groups just like JBL vintage.

Yes, I still like JBL vintage a lot and I dreamt of having a room with Paragon just for the look! But in reality I already don't look into many old brands ... since they seem to lag so far behind from today's powerful digital technology. Of course, my dream is to have an old vintage system, and a state-of-the-art full digitalized system.

師兄，Harman 以前係車機賺錢，HiFi 都係good to have，現在Harman啲產品真係一般，但佢地業績唔錯，啲人見到JBL三個英文字就覺得好聲。

Hi-Fi市場係小眾玩意，好難有一間大企業會投資落呢個行業，有錢都做電子煙或無人機好過。

關於McIntosh，雖然已經唔係以前間公司，但佢地出產嘅產品聲音都算好，但當然無咗60-80年代那種McIntosh聲，小弟心中老麥仍然係一個好的音響品牌

做契弟搵得仲多呀不如去做契弟啦

It is a business and also a hobby not a love affair...

Accroding to some of my old friend who was those engineer at Herman group.. Etc.. When they still made those no.32 etc

Car audio business made much more money than hiend audio department..

Keeping those hiend department.. Did help them to keep some better quality image for higher price car audio etc..

Break even.. From the R&D cost and initial batch of production... Was quite lucky.and not difficult but.. They they have a sensible return from their time and money investment. It is rather waste of resources... Even not losing money... A group of good engineer may not even enjoy by working yrs.. Of. Not making money business too.. Sensible engineer will also enjoy money contribution to company too


It is a business and hobby.. But really not a love affair.. Haha

That make those vintage and good sounding classic.. Even more valuable... AND MAKE SENSE TO hold on to them.. Who can sure those new material for thsoe drvier.. Sound as musical as those old one.. Apart some measurements.. Haha


Haha...

最後修改時間: 2021-03-05 15:04:06

點都衰唔過麥景图，新產品SACD机MCD85竟然仲係行24bit/192Hz,拾幾年前DVD規格，時光倒流

最後修改時間: 2021-03-05 13:38:29

當我見腦場有jbl的喇叭賣時, 已覺jbl 根本已同原本的jbl 無太大關係。

Hoishun 師兄：

你啱，我都唔記得咗Alan Shaw係好多年前買入Harbeth。Alan Shaw本身都係一個音箱設計師，所以公司路線都可以保持。

音響產業由70年代開始蓬勃，好多創辦人都老了，我係CES同佢地傾計，佢地都好煩惱接班人的問題，賣咗自己畢生心血比基金佬又唔捨得，因為基金佬凈係睇數字。我睇feversound ATC的factory visit，見到老闆兩公婆好開心嗰仔肯接間公司，仲搞得有聲有色，睇到都開心，自己聽咗音響咁多年，對不同品牌的signature sound都有感情。

Harbeth 都曾易手，現任老闆唔係founder本人

師兄，持有McIntosh Brand間公司嗰名改咗做McIntosh Group，原有班底早已完全没有。話說回來，咁多年一定班底走哂，而McIntosh現在不是由Founder的家族擁有，90年代McIntosh 賣了給D&M, D&M又賣咗比Bain Capital，後來又把McIntosh 賣比Fine Sound，再把Fine sound 公司名改返做McIntosh group，咁樣做法仲係唔係原本間公司和班底呢？

還有好多其他例子，有興趣可以慢慢傾下。總之，我好尊敬啲音響品牌仲係由founder持有，和堅持自己生產線。例如：Linn, ATC, PMC, Accuphase, Air tight, Cyrus Audio, Harbeth, Proac...

小弟所知的不一定全對，萬望各師兄指點下。

No. McIntosh owned by Mcintosh themself.

過去三十年，歐美國家把生產線搬到中國，再關掉生產線直接跟OEM工廠買貨，剛開始時利潤是很高的，慢慢地核心技術和生產管理都流失，只剩下品牌，最後連品牌都賣掉。Harman 現在是三星的，高管都是中國人。Tannoy 賣給Music Group。McIntosh, sonus faber 都賣給基金公司。令人不勝唏噓。

IT APPEARS THAT THIS IS THE END FOR JBL AS WE HAVE KNOWN IT. – GREG TIMBERS

James B. Lansing founded JBL one year after leaving Altec Lansing as their Vice President of Engineering in 1945. The company was first called Lansing Sound, Inc., from 1 October 1946, and later changed its name to James B. Lansing Sound. James Lansing was noted as an innovative engineer, but a poor businessman. For the next three years Lansing struggled to pay invoices and ship product. As a result of deteriorating business conditions and personal issues, he committed suicide on September 4, 1949. The company then passed into the hands of Bill Thomas, JBL’s then vice-president. Lansing had taken out a $10,000 life insurance policy, naming the company as the beneficiary, a decision that allowed Thomas to continue the company after Lansing’s death. Soon after, Thomas purchased Mrs. Lansing’s one-third interest in the company and became the sole owner of the company. Thomas is credited with revitalizing the company and spearheading a period of strong growth for the two decades following the founding of JBL. In 1955 the brand name JBL was introduced to resolve ongoing disputes with Altec Lansing Corporation. The company name “James B. Lansing Sound, Incorporated” was retained, but the logo name was changed to JBL with its distinctive exclamation point logo. In 1969, Bill Thomas sold JBL to the Jervis Corporation (later renamed Harman International) headed by Dr. Sidney Harman.

JBL is best known for the now legendary L100 Century loudspeaker that was first introduced in 1970, and went on to sell over one million units. It’s an important part of the history of hi-fi, but only a small part of JBL.

JBL designed and built loudspeakers for cinema, recording studio, arena, automobile, and home use. As a manufacturer of loudspeakers it was second to none -bypassing Altec-Lansing in the 1980s.

JBL drivers and transducers are renowned world-wide, not only for their excellent sound, but extreme reliability. This is, in large part, due to their incredible staff of acoustic and electrical engineers. Dr. Floyd Toole, Greg Timbers, Don Keele, and Jerry Moro are but a few of the people behind what everyone knows as JBL. This is because, at its heart and soul, JBL was an audio engineering company. They designed and built everything in-house. Their world-class acoustic research facility allowed them to delve deeper than anyone had into the nature of sound, and its accurate reproduction.

In February of 2010 JBL began shutting down its Northridge, California facilities and moving production to Mexico and China. Many of the craftsman that had built the drivers and cabinets for over a quarter of a century found themselves unemployed. As of June 2010 JBL products were no longer made in the United States. Not long after this, replacement parts for virtually all of JBL’s most iconic loudspeakers were no longer available. Prices for original tweeters and woofers skyrocketed on eBay and other sites. Demand is now so high for some of these speakers that people are gutting old JBL cabinets and selling the parts.

On September 30, 2015, Greg Timbers, the engineer responsible for many of JBL’s most popular loudspeakers over the past 40 years, was let go. He posted the following to the Lansing Heritage forums: “I was unceremoniously separated from employment by Harman following a 90 second explanation. My position was eliminated!”

Then, on March 17, 2016, Timbers again posted to the Lansing Heritage forums:

JBL (Harman Luxury) laid off 3 more employees yesterday. Their seniority totaled over 70 years. The big hit was Jerry Moro. Jerry’s work is legendary and his transducers have been featured in most of my designs for years. He also has done transducers for Revel, JBL automotive product, [and] some really fine subs used by Synthesis and JBL Pro just to name a few of his many, many accomplishments over the years. His latest products, not yet to market, are a pair of stunning in-wall systems using a compression driver and horn. They still fit into a standard 4″ wall. I worked with him on these products a bit before my demise. They are absolutely outstanding.So this brings an end to any world class engineers at JBL. Jerry and I were the last two. There are only 3 guys left, and although they are competent, they are no where near the knowledge, success or capability of what they just dumped. The senior Model maker left last week to go elsewhere, which means that Consumer no longer has any model making capabilities, either.It appears that this is the end for JBL as we have known it. The Lab equipment is in total disarray with much of it not working properly. If it weren’t for [JBL] Professional’s need for, and use of the lab, I doubt that it would function at all. There will be no more internal transducer development, no world class engineers, no more internal model making capabilities and no more real JBL product. It is just going to be me-too product copied from somebody else and designed and manufactured in China or equivalent.

For audiophiles and studio guys the changes at JBL are both alarming and disconcerting. Parts for some of the large and expensive monitors are no longer available. Some of these loudspeaker systems cost tens of thousands of dollars. They were a major investment for the studios that use them. They relied on JBL’s long history of parts availability to keep them functioning. Now, these large investments can be turned into worthless wooden crates due to the failure of a single driver.

As a country, the United States, continues to lose its manufacturing capabilities, and devalues the people who made our companies the greatest in the world. While the Japanese design and build excellent quality audio products, they covet American made JBL loudspeaker systems. This alone should stand as a testament to the value and quality of the loudspeakers produced by JBL over the years. As a culture the Japanese prize what they deem to be the pinnacle of quality. JBL speakers are still among the most highly prized items in Japan.

Goodbye JBL as we have known and loved you. It’s a sad day for music lovers around the globe.

Great Plains Audio, as many of you know, rescued the vintage Altec Lansing products, and now it’s trying to do the same with vintage JBL.

#JBL #AltecLansing #VintageJBL