Hello all, this is the last resort for a plausible explanation.
In 2010 Audioholics did a review on a few towers. One of them was the towers I own and were purchased in 2009 - debuted in 2007.
They are 4 way JBL ES 80 series. Paired with an integrated amp pushing 110 RMS@8ohm, 165@4ohms, source is redbook CD's. They are Great and sometimes Jaw dropping with Jazz, EDM, slow rock, classic rock and female vocals, their weakness is when the pace pics up on faster tracks where male vocals and instruments get clumped.
However; after auditioning speakers form the likes of SVS ultra towers/Polk Audio reserve/ paradigm Founder 100f/ wharfedale 4.4, Lintons, Aura 2 / dynaudio emit 50/evoke 30, JBL 82's / 698/3600 Hdi, Dali oberon 9, KLH model 3/5 and Passif 50 all of them being 2.5 to 3 way. None of them sounded better only a different sound signature.
I realized to better what I have, I would need to spend in the ball park of 7000 USD. I paid 1200 for both JBL towers in 2009. Specification white page included form manufacture. P.S I called JBL California and spoke to a manager about their line up, he said if I still have my 4 ways and if they work great to keep them. Hmmm?
How is this possible?
What happened?
Thank you!
I think JBL hit it out of the park with their polyplas drivers with the rubber surrounds in the budget/value category. I am using a pair (two pairs of the same in two different setups, actually) now that are from around Y2k era and they sound superb with just about everything I put thru them. So much so, I upgraded the cabinets on one pair and am thinking of redoing the other.
Falling down on "faster" music? I'd tend to instead blame the recording quality of the music instead of the speakers, though. Something to consider is that many of the JBL consumer lines tend to be somewhat forgiving on mainstream music/sources as they are aimed at mass market variables of music tastes. As you move into more neutral modern speakers, they can be too revealing with less than stellar, mainstream recordings.
Reproducing "live" music accurately is somewhat of a misnomer. "Live" where, and what for starters? Indoors, outdoors, concert hall, lounge etc.? Part of that equation is going to be reliant on what the room the speakers are located in will allow. I prefer studio recordings over live, or live studio. "Band in the room" benchmark has been achievable for as long as I have been listening, going on 50 years by now and was perhaps my first 'wow' moment in hi-fi. Otherwise, the effects of say, a concert hall performance are lost on me about as soon as the music stops.
Finding a speaker design that does everything perfectly is a pipedream, in spite of what the measurements may otherwise suggest. The fact that the speakers you own does all, but one odd type of music situation well is a good score, IMO. Also, be aware that there is no shortage of dissatisfaction with even the most flat measuring speakers that are 'technically' superior on paper. You may notice a good amount of users these days in search of a "warmer" sound via tube amps, certain other amp sound signatures, DACs, and other EQ solutions.
Look also at who is designing the speakers and for who. Would they be caught at an AC/DC concert? Many of those so staunchly cemented into a single genre or two at most, will not know what say, classic rock is supposed to sound like, regardless of what their measurements and theories claim. It's not that they are incorrect, technically at least, but they simply cannot deviate from the measurements and understandably so.
Classic mainstream music sounded good back in the day because many of the speakers sold then, rather closely emulated the studio monitor types that were in use then. I asked a recording engineer, who used to mix pop and country western music in the '70s how to best hear what he intended in his mixes, and he said to get a pair of JBL L100s and listen to them in the near field. He also claimed the popular car speakers of the era were also a good match, along with common portable radios and boom boxes.
Me personally, I have multiple pairs of speakers. I have my more refined designs for the better sources and recordings, and I have my headbanging speakers for when I can't be bothered with fussing around. I'm simply not as audiophile as I thought, or ever really cared to be. At the end of the day, I'm after having fun listening to a broad range of music that sounds right, even if it's wrong. The JBLs I have owned, just tend to cover more of the bases.
