JBL is one of those brands that just keeps evolving, you only have to attend a major rock concert or watch the Oscars to get an earful of what JBL is good at, sound and lots of it.
From their
new JBL Flip wireless audio speaker for consumers to their Pro range of
speakers which musicians swear by JBL is one of those audio Companies that love
to innovate. Sometimes it works out with the release of a leading edge product
on other occasions it has resulted in a trip back to the drawing boards.
The Founder
of JBL was James Bullough Lansing who has been described as an obsessed and
possibly manic-depressive genius, in fact several founders of leading edge Hi
Fi Companies fit the same profile for the simple reason that they are always
looking for the next big thing in sound and often won’t give up when things go
pear shaped.
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Lansing
invented practically everything he could – even his own name.
Right now
sound Companies like JBL and Harman Kardon are working on a new generation of
wireless audio products that eliminate the need for cables they are also having
to invest in technology that links their audio products seamlessly with content
delivered via a tablet, smartphone or PC.
Today’s
world of audio is very much a blend of technology and audio finesse its where
content has to be matched up with high quality output.
Consumers
want brands with a proven pedigree in delivering great sound as well as the
functionality that wireless audio technology and streaming content is
delivering consumers today.
Lansing
first set up a speaker Company in 1927 in Salt Lake City called Lansing
Manufacturing Soon thereafter, he found a businessman named Ken Decker to run
the financial and marketing side of the business, and Lansing settled in to
concentrate on technology.
His timing
was perfect because shortly after he set up his Company Warner Brothers
premiered the first talking feature film, The Jazz Singer. The film was such a
sensation that every studio in Hollywood suddenly demanded sound equipment for
their sound stages and for the networks of cinemas that they owned.
Douglas
Shearer, the chief sound engineer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. MGM, Hollywood’s
biggest and studio, specialized in lavish films in particular musicals.
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Shearer was
told that the guy to develop the speakers was Jim Lansing. From 1933 through
1935, Shearer and Lansing developed a system of horn-shaped speakers to improve
cinema sound.
Then
disaster struck, Decker was killed doing military service and without Decker’s
talent for business, Lansing Manufacturing suffered.
In December
of 1941, Altec bought Lansing Manufacturing for a reported $50,000 (about
$730,000 in 2009 dollars).
Lansing
soon developed speakers for cinemas. His first components were virtual copies –
right down to the model names – of the speakers that he had created at Altec
Lansing.
Lansing was
a brilliant engineer with an eye for innovative designs and materials, but he
was a poor businessman. His company lost money and by late 1949 was about
$20,000 (roughly $180,000 in 2009 dollars) in debt.
Lansing had
always suffered from bouts of depression. On September 24, 1949, apparently
upset over the decline of his beloved business, the founder of JBL took his own
life.
Despite his
death his vision and passion for great sound was kept alive.
Lansing had
had a $10,000 life insurance policy, one third of which went to his wife and
the remaining two thirds to the company. Using the company’s share, about
$60,000 in 2009 dollars, corporate treasurer William Thomas began to pull the
firm out of debt.
Thomas
signed contracts for JBL to design new components for cinema audio
manufacturers Ampex and Westrex.
The early
1950s saw the birth of high-quality consumer audio. The phrase “hi-fi” (high
fidelity) became common vocabulary.
Thomas
hired industrial designer William Hartsfield, who produced a loudspeaker named,
naturally, the Hartsfield. The speaker was a hit, and JBL was suddenly a power
player in home audio.
In the
early 1960s, JBL worked with Capitol Records (home of the Beatles and the Beach
Boys) to develop monitors for recording studios.
JBL, Meet
Harman
Sidney
Harman was the founder (with Bernard Kardon) of the audio company Harman
Kardon. In 1969 William Thomas sold him JBL. JBL now belonged to Harman
International Industries.
Under
Harman, JBL grew into something close to what it is today: an audio maker that
takes its expertise in theatrical and recording-studio sound systems and
applies it to the home.
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In addition
to using its existing technology, JBL spent the 1970s and 1980s developing new
bursts of innovation. In the middle 1970s, for instance, JBL engineers
developed Symmetrical Field GeometryT, a speaker assembly that reduces sonic
distortion. A few years later, the company’s engineers created Bi-Radial? horn
technology, which improves sonic performance over a range of frequencies.
Today both
JBL and Harman Kardon have a reputation for making great audio products.
They’ve
been setting new trends in fashion by partnering with sportswear company Roxy
for a line of colourful headphones. They’ve been devising speakers and players
for new streaming and different sources of entertainment such as
high-definition television, Blu-ray Disc technology and Apple’s latest iPod and
iPhone models. And they’ve been keeping an eye on every other new opportunity
coming down the road such as 4K sound.
Here are some
of the great JBL products being sold in Australia today.
