Jbl A/b Test Perfomed...

[avliner]

Hi,

before hand, I'd like to say that upon finishing my new HT set up (see some attached photos), I invited some buddies for a movie & concert session and that's where starts my story. Just as a guide line, my current gears are:

receiver = Denon 3805
main DVD = Pioneer 563 A
speakers = all JBL, being:
a) fronts = ND 310 (made in Denmark)
b) center = S Center (made in Taiwan)
c) woofer = PB 12 (made in Taiwan)
d) surrounds = S 38II (made in Taiwan)
e) surr. back = N 28II (made in Denmark).

Well, one of my friends has a quite similar set up (same receiver & DVD), being the speakers the only difference; I mean, they're all JBL, but newer models, as per below description:

a) fronts = E 100 (assembled in Mexico)
b) center = EC 35 ( ditto)
c) woofer = E 250P (ditto)
d) surr. + sb = E 50 (4 in total - ditto).

My friend has always said that my speakers sounded far better than theirs, so we decided to perform an A/B test, using the 2 FRONTS ONLY, so yesterday evening he brought the 2 towers (E 100) to my house and...

WOW.. the difference was absolutely astonishing in terms of overall sound reproduced!! There was really no comparison, specially at high levels.
We both came to a conclusion that my old Northridges (ND 310), just kicks *** if compared to the E 100 (also Northridge Series).

I recall that I've bought those speakers in Europe (precisely in Spain) some years ago (the 310's + the N 28's). The sales guy said that it was a limited european special edition of the Northridge Series and so on... I really enjoyed the sound (powered by a Marantz AVR, but don't remember which model was), so I just bought it and tell you what: so far, so good.

According to some recent reviews, JBL's popular ranges may be considered as crap by many. Have heard also that in order to reach the popular segments (BB, just to mention one), they've sacrificed a lot in terms of components quality and perhaps that reflects their actual score.

What seems weird to me is that JBL seems to be in the opposite way of products development; there is, at every new launching of a DVD, or AVR, for example, you find more & more options, FOR LESS, if compared to previous models.

If I had to buy a new set of speakers now, I would probably go with another brand rather than JBL.

One last opinion: as opposed to MADE IN... whenever a manufacturer states that the product IS ASSEMBLED IN..., they're meaning that such product is manufactured with several parts from several places, right?
It is correct to assume that the Danish components are that better, if compared to the Mexican or "anywhere else" components?

Would appreciate to hear your toughts on the above mentioned subject.

Cheers / Avliner

 

[T2T]

Interesting test. I'm sure your ND-310s would sound even more impressive if the tweeter levels were aligned more closely to the ear (when in a seated position) as opposed to sitting elevated on the entertainment center. How high are the tweeters right now in your configuration?

In regards to JBL, keep in mind they are a Harmon product. I'm quite sure what you've stated that in order to get the current Northridge series to a cretain price point (e.g. BB) they had to cut more than a few corners. Also, Harmon features Infinity and Revel brands. I recently read a review comparing a pair of Infinity Beta speakers to the Revels. For a bit more money, it was quite impressive how much better the components were in the Revel speakers.

 

[jaxvon]

Very interesting. As far as "assembled" goes, I would assume it means just what you thought, that a product was put together and connected with parts made in different places.

 

[Swerd]

One last opinion: as opposed to MADE IN... whenever a manufacturer states that the product IS ASSEMBLED IN..., they're meaning that such product is manufactured with several parts from several places, right? It is correct to assume that the Danish components are that better, if compared to the Mexican or "anywhere else" components?

After reading too many posts where people obsess over real or imagined differences coming from disc players, receivers, cables, etc., it's a pleasure to see you've concluded that speakers make for a big difference in sound. It may seen obvious, but it never hurts to repeat it - the biggest audible difference comes from different speakers.

Your question about assembly in Denmark vs. Mexico or elsewhere raises the issue of what goes inside a speaker. For clarity, I'll use the word "driver" to mean a woofer, midrange, or tweeter, and "speaker" to mean various drivers linked by a crossover and assembled into an enclosure. What matters the most is the quality of the drivers and the design of the crossover. Commercially available speakers in the more popular price ranges use the cheapest components. Even inexpensive drivers can sound good if the crossover is carefully designed. Yes, the enclosure also matters, but not as much as the drivers and crossover. Where the assembly was done should not matter as long as the quality of the various components are maintained.

As the cost of various electronic audio components, such as DVD players or recievers, gets lower and lower, the cost of good speakers goes up and up. Large manufacturers like JBL, who sell speakers in the popular price ranges, try to keep costs down by using cheaper labor (as in assembly elsewhere), and after that by using lower quality drivers, less expensive or poorly designed crossovers, and cheaper enclosures. You could hear the difference.

I now like to build DIY speakers. It is interesting to compare the cost of a pair of DIY speakers to a similaly priced pair of retail speakers. For a well-designed small 2-way speaker, with a 6.5" midwoofer and a 1" dome tweeter, you will pay about $45 each for the midwoofers and $30 each for the tweeters, or about $150 for drivers for a pair of speakers. The crossovers and other assorted parts could cost as much as $100 more for the pair. Enclosures may cost a little if you build your own, or about $125 if you buy some nicely finished boxes. That adds up to $250 to $375 depending on your woodworking ability. If you buy retail, similar quality speakers cost 3 to 5 times as much. That's roughly $1,000 to $1,500 a pair! For the same price as the DIYs, $350 buys significantly lower quality speakers on the retail market.

 

[avliner]

Jbl A/b Test

T 2 T =

yes, you're right. I've noted that either. The tweeters are about 5 1/2' higher than the listening position. When we performed the test, the towers were at floor level. In order to avoid getting the rack area jammed ( I need access to the drawers), I prefer to keep the towers over the rack (they sound pretty good also), although the right plece should be at floor level.

By the way, I forgot to mention that for those speakers (N310's + N28's) I had to drop something about $ 2K, almost 5 years ago ( in US the price would be lower though).


JAXVON =


that's the only fair explanation I could find to explain such a difference.
A bit off topic, but I have a friend working in a Ford plant (overseas) and he said that they're constantly swapping parts at the assembly line that sometimes they got themselves confused (funny, isn't it?).
That's the global economy ruling the world and once again a very well known motto comes to my mind: you got what you pay for!


SWERD =

very interesting your comments about the cost of a good speaker (always going up & up, as opposite to AVR's, DVD's, etc...).
I always thought they were in the same boat!
I totally agree with you that the speakers are the responsibles for the biggest audible difference in sound performance. Period!

Cheers / Avliner

 

[chikoo]

just a beautiful system....with a 20" regular TV?

 

[jeffvee]

Jbl E 100's

I have a pair of JBL E 100'S powered by a Harman Kardon AVR 630. My center is an EC35, and my surrounds are JBL studio series L 810, and an L 8400 subwoofer by JBL. My system rocks. Very happy with my purchase and I was able to purchase virtually anything in this price point. I've listened to Definitive, Paradigmn, and the like, and I'd say these speakers are a very close match.

 

[avliner]

just a beautiful system....with a 20" regular TV?

Thanks Chikoo,

it's a regular CTR JVC model, but is 34" (with component video input).
I'm planning to upgrade it for a bigger screen in future, but for the moment it's performing quite well.

Cheers / Avliner