PDA

View Full Version : JBL Everest's in stock for audition in Iowa



jpw
11-09-2010, 02:40 PM
For anyone who wishes to actually see and hear a pair of JBL Everest DD66000's in the flesh, Audio Video Logic in Des Moines has a brand new pair on display in rosewood. They are a new authorized JBL dealer and plan to only stock the high end models that are two channel oriented. JBL has recently discontinued the cherry finish on the Everest and has special pricing available that will make buying a pair of Everest's rather dramatically more affordable, at least while quantities of cherry last. Call if you are interested.
Their phone number is 515-727-2279 and website is www.audiovideologic.com (http://www.audiovideologic.com) http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/images/icons/icon14.gif

BMWCCA
11-13-2010, 11:09 PM
For anyone who wishes to actually see and hear a pair of JBL Everest DD66000's in the flesh, Audio Video Logic in Des Moines has a brand new pair on display in rosewood. They are a new authorized JBL dealer and plan to only stock the high end models that are two channel oriented. JBL has recently discontinued the cherry finish on the Everest and has special pricing available that will make buying a pair of Everest's rather dramatically more affordable, at least while quantities of cherry last. Call if you are interested.
Their phone number is 515-727-2279 and website is www.audiovideologic.com (http://www.audiovideologic.com) http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/images/icons/icon14.gif

JPW wouldn't happen to stand for John Weires would it? :dont-know:

JBLAddict
11-14-2010, 09:32 AM
plug or not, I think this is AWESOME!!

to see:

1) JBL high end as the top billing at a domestic AV shop
2) Side by side with the ubiquitous, AV shop obligatory, B&W Diamond series
3) With Krell, PSAudio, Grado and the other stalwarts
4) In the middle of corn country!

I can't name a shop here in SoCal, miles from Northridge, where I can walk in with a stack of CDs and demo these. No, I had to be lucky enough to have a biz trip to Japan for that experience:banghead:

jpw
11-15-2010, 11:40 PM
You got me there. It's nice to be recognized, unless it's the police!

jpw
11-15-2010, 11:41 PM
plug or not, I think this is AWESOME!!

to see:

1) JBL high end as the top billing at a domestic AV shop
2) Side by side with the ubiquitous, AV shop obligatory, B&W Diamond series
3) With Krell, PSAudio, Grado and the other stalwarts
4) In the middle of corn country!

I can't name a shop here in SoCal, miles from Northridge, where I can walk in with a stack of CDs and demo these. No, I had to be lucky enough to have a biz trip to Japan for that experience:banghead:

Thanks for your enthusiasm. The Everest's are great and have no need to cower compared to the likes of more bona fide audiophile speakers.

BMWCCA
11-16-2010, 07:23 AM
You got me there. It's nice to be recognized, unless it's the police!

Nothing wrong with self-promotion when we're always complaining about no dealers stocking our favorite products. You just need to say so! :thmbsup:


Thanks for your enthusiasm. The Everest's are great and have no need to cower compared to the likes of more bona fide audiophile speakers.

I know what you meant but literally, with over six-times the years in business, the JBLs carry far better bona fides (credenitals, evidence of legitimacy) than the Magicos, though I suspect that both are bona fide (genuine) examples of their brand.

Titanium Dome
11-16-2010, 08:44 AM
I know what you meant but literally, with over six-times the years in business, the JBLs carry far better bona fides (credenitals, evidence of legitimacy) than the Magicos, though I suspect that both are bona fide (genuine) examples of their brand.

The Magicos I heard at the CAAS apparently were magical to some and not to others. Holding the brochure in my hand at this moment, the "new standard for full-range performance" due to "world-wide acclaim" failed to excite me. They were bona fide disappointments. I was told I needed to hear the really good (and really expensive) ones to get the real feel for Magico.

Fortunately, I also got to hear Everest II and K2 S9900 and 1400 Array (again) and Revel Ultima@ Salon, and they were all bona fide delights.

That's why I'm adoring K2 S9900s in my room right now, bona fide JBLs with perhaps the last of the genuine JBL bona fides.

I hope Audio video Logic can generate some floor traffic and some sales from this commitment to a great brand.

4313B
11-16-2010, 09:55 AM
The Everest's are great and have no need to cower compared to the likes of more bona fide audiophile speakers.The Everest is in a league all its own. One either "gets it" or one doesn't.

jpw
11-27-2010, 07:53 PM
I've been spending a lot of time listening to and tinkering with the Everest's at my store after store hours (Audio Video Logic, Des Moines, Ia area). The listening room is very large, actually an entryway, at 25 feet wide x 38 feet long x 9.5 feet high to the false ceiling (actual height about 14 feet). There is 25 feet of glass window facing the speakers baffle boards. The room is huge and evacuates lots of bass. Nearly all speakers I have tried in this room sound thin and underpowered.

My RTA showed a pretty flat response curve for the Everest's with the exception of a rather serious 8db resonance centered around 110-125hz that effected frequencies as low as 100hz, and to a lesser degree, as high as 160hz. The speakers were too heavy for me to try in a different room so I chose to trust JBL's data which does not show a rise in this range. I could not adequately reduce this intrusive hump despite trying different trying speaker and listening positions. Some digital EQ from a used Z Systems equalizer on hand removed this hump quite transparently.

My first surprise from the measurements (EQ only at 110hz) was that the speaker was plus or minus 1 db from 80hz to 30hz and down only 6 db at 25hz. JBL prints an anechoic -6db response at 45hz even though the bass extends nearly an octave lower in room. Anechoic is the most honest way to measure bass response but conservative to the point of anti selling the speakers bass response because most people have no idea what this means.

Comparing listening positions of 12 feet away versus up to 20 feet away, I found that the Everest's lower treble through upper treble response changes little with distance.
The biradial horns exhibit very little roll off at high frequencies with distance compared to direct radiating cones and domes. If you feel the speaker is balanced too bright (I did not on good recordings), it is doubtful you will be able to move far enough away from them to solve the problem in most living rooms. More likely, EQ, room treatment, or a change in electronics will be your solution.

A 3-4db peak at 16hz (probably the break up mode of the mid range compressions driver) did add a slight glint to the treble. After a great deal of listening back and forth, I preferred using the Z Systems to notch this out and was able to do so with out effecting the measurable frequencies above or below. I ended up within plus or minus 2db and a curve that tilted slightly down hill at my final listening distance of about 16 feet. The speakers are about 13 feet apart and toed in so that the sound from each intersects slightly behind my head.

Over the course of the last few weeks I tried the new McIntosh MC-452 450 wpc amp driven by MAC's MCD-500 SACD player directly. Then, ARC REF-40 Anniversary preamp and REF-210 amps with the new KT-120 vacuum tubes. Then the Krell Evo 402e 450 wpc amp and two chassis Evo 202 preamp. Finally the McIntosh MA-6600 200 wpc integrated amp. As great as they all are, you could clearly hear the difference easily between all of these combination's.

The sound was effortless, life like in dynamics and very natural. It was also huge in scale when the recording demanded yet still good focus with out bloating on solo performances. After a short demo, everyday mainstream customers leave with their jaw on the ground. Even audiophile's leave impressed that a horn speaker can sound so natural and free of coloration. They are also shocked by the speakers dynamics, something they aren't used to hearing through their low sensitivity audiophile approved speakers. In short I am really gassed about the Everest's. It's been years since I've stayed after hours at work to do anything but more work.

jblnut
11-29-2010, 01:28 PM
I feel like it's 1989 again and I'm reading about the new XPL series - that I will never see or hear in New England until:

1) Someone out west buys a pair
2) Moves to New England
3) Decides to sell them


Damn you guys are lucky! I do have one (and only one) complaint about this speaker though. $60k ? Really? Really!!? I have a very hard time doing the math to figure out how a pair of pretty boxes with 3 drivers in them can somehow justify a cost like that. I know the "high end" JBL is chasing demands a price tag in line with the competetion just to play in that league, but REALLY ? I'd be shocked if there is $10k cost in a pair, and a normal markup would put these at about $25k retail with most going out the door at $20k or thereabouts.

At this price (and distribution scheme) it'll be a good 10 or 15 years before this JBL Nut even has a prayer of getting some in the house (and there will be much rejoicing I can assure you :)).

Welcome to the High End JBL....you've been here before in actual performance (if not widespread reputation). Now you've followed all the other greedy d-bag audiophool companes ($5k power cables....REALLY???) in their quest to fleece the one percenters of their disposable income. Best of luck with that. You sure haven't done very well in the past 10 years selling to the other 99% of us.

That being said, they might still be the best "bargain" in the high end world even at this price from what all of you have said so far. Now hurry up and move out here, win the lottery and sell your gear so you can upgrade again :). LOL....

jblnut

timc
11-29-2010, 01:44 PM
Damn you guys are lucky! I do have one (and only one) complaint about this speaker though. $60k ? Really? Really!!? I have a very hard time doing the math to figure out how a pair of pretty boxes with 3 drivers in them can somehow justify a cost like that. I know the "high end" JBL is chasing demands a price tag in line with the competetion just to play in that league, but REALLY ? I'd be shocked if there is $10k cost in a pair, and a normal markup would put these at about $25k retail with most going out the door at $20k or thereabouts.



jblnut

Actually i think you're missing the mark.

If i were to buy the components/crossovers and cabinet for the K2 S9800 over desk in Norway, it would equal about $11000. The Everst components would be lots more. Ofc JBL don't pay retail, but still. WAAAAAY more costly components then most of the competitors.......

Titanium Dome
11-29-2010, 02:14 PM
:wave: From the cheap seats, I settled for the K2 S9900s, and of course paid far below the MSRP, whatever that might be. $44k or thereabouts?

Everything about them has the feel of first rate design and build quality. It's easy for me to see where the money goes. Even better, it's easy to hear where the money goes.

Overpriced, probably. Scandalously overpriced, no way, especially compared to more pricey competition.

The cabinets, drivers, networks, and design are world class, so yes, there will be some bleeding-edge pain involved. ;)

The best deal in high end is the Revel Ultima@ Salon at $22k retail and more like $15k (or less) on the street. Yet, it's in many ways a very conventional piece, in an extra-nice package. The Everest and K2 OTOH are two of the few three-way, horn-based, 15" driver, curved-cabinet, charge-coupled units that exist that actually sound not just good but great, far exceeding all relevant competition. IMO. :D

Okay, now I'm way off thread, but I feel like JBL gave me the K2s for what I got in return for my $$$. We sat down last night and I played some jazz--real, swingin' jazz--and I hazarded to ask if Huiky liked it. She answered, "Yes, it's really catchy. It sounds like they're playing right there. I never heard this before."

Well, actually she did, but she told me to turn it down or off the last time I played it. She's never asked me to turn anything down or off since the K2s were set up.

That's worth a few $$$ right there. :bouncy:

jpw
11-29-2010, 09:36 PM
With a terrible economy and many high end audio products priced indefensibly high and still rising, it is easy to try to add up the cost of the parts it takes to build a particular speaker and then make a judgment about whether it is fairly priced.

Unfortunately this method does not remotely reflect the real cost of bring a product to market. On top of the cost of state of the art parts, imagine paying a team of engineers salaries for years to research and develop the project. How about the cost of the manufacturing facility and other necessary employees to build and market the speaker? Once the speaker design comes to fruition, it is pointless if no one knows about it, so the product has to be nationally advertised. It has to be marketed through stores who have to make a profit or they understandably can't afford to display the product. Believe it or not, freight, handling and credit fees add up to 5% or more of the retail price. This is all before JBL or any other manufacturer makes a dime.

Therefore the most accurate way to establish a products value in an open competitive market place is by comparing it with other like products which are priced similarly.

I've represented many high end speaker brands in my career over the last 37 years including Magnepan, Wilson Audio, Avalon, B&W, ProAc, Genesis, Infinity, Acoustat,
Martin Logan, Klipsch, KEF, to name just a few. While all of these companies make worthy product and from time to time have even had a hit, value isn't generally the first adjective that comes to mind when describing their top of the line models price to performance ratio. I think current high end JBL product compares favorably with these other brands.

The audio hobby is highly subjective so general agreement about what the best speaker is won't be achieved. However for my money the Everest's deliver more performance for the dollar than any other I have heard at or near it's price. A close competitor is the TAD Reference One (also $60,000pr) and probably the Everest's closest competition.

Mr. Widget
11-29-2010, 11:50 PM
I do have one (and only one) complaint about this speaker though. $60k ? Really? Really!!? I have a very hard time doing the math to figure out how a pair of pretty boxes with 3 drivers in them can somehow justify a cost like that. I know the "high end" JBL is chasing demands a price tag in line with the competetion just to play in that league, but REALLY ? I'd be shocked if there is $10k cost in a pair, and a normal markup would put these at about $25k retail with most going out the door at $20k or thereabouts.A number of years ago the typical US manufacturer's cost to retail ratio was 5X... I have no idea what formula JBL uses, but at 5X, the actual cost to JBL would have to be $12K for a $60K product... I can easily imagine that these speakers cost JBL $12K. The engineering and manufacturing of the packaging alone isn't trivial.


Widget

timc
11-30-2010, 01:03 AM
Funny you should mention package cost. I'm currently involved in purchasing some hydrophone arrays at work. Packaging and shipment cost ALONE is quoted at £675 EACH. And that is alot smaler then an Everest.

4313B
11-30-2010, 10:21 AM
Damn you guys are lucky! I do have one (and only one) complaint about this speaker though. $60k ? Really? Really!!? I have a very hard time doing the math to figure out how a pair of pretty boxes with 3 drivers in them can somehow justify a cost like that. I know the "high end" JBL is chasing demands a price tag in line with the competetion just to play in that league, but REALLY ? I'd be shocked if there is $10k cost in a pair, and a normal markup would put these at about $25k retail with most going out the door at $20k or thereabouts.Hey! Back off bud! 40 million dollar a year CEO's aren't cheap! :rotfl:

(The folks that did the actual work were all fired because they made too much money and everything was moved to Mexico, India and China. :D)

I can easily imagine that these speakers cost JBL $12K.Yeah, me too.



A couple things I was told by JBL manufacturing about the Everest II:

The 476Be drivers are stupid expensive to make, especially in such low quantities, hence the newer 476Mg which sounds damn near as good. (Note that both the 476Be and 476Mg drivers are light years better than anything running titanium or aluminum.)

The Everest II enclosures were a real bitch to get right.

jpw
12-01-2010, 08:49 PM
I saw a video JBL produced about the development process for the Everest.
They started working on the speaker in the earlier part of this decade.
There were many different configurations considered for the speakers including woofers on top etc. Due to the irregular shape, the cabinet manufacture was a major expense and time sponge. It took years for them to actually get to market in late 2006 early 2007.
Time is money..........

JBLAddict
12-03-2010, 06:23 PM
most people that complain about the cost of a product typically have never worked in R&D, product manufacturing, marketing, distribution, or corporate budgeting...all combined

all you need to do is look at a company's operating profit, or net income, if the numbers are in the typical range, they are not raping anyone. They may be inefficient in certain areas, and pay the top 4 executives a bit too much, but that is not why a pair of speakers cost $60K, or a pill $10

sure, anyone can take a patent expired Rx formulation, and reproduce 30 pills for $5, but it costs pharmaceutical companies billions of dollars to develop the product, run trials, get FDA acceptance, market, and then do the low cost production part that the generic folks do at the end. That's why a pharmaceutical company's net profit is typically single digit percentages.

when people talk about evil "insert industry" companies, they usually are ignorant to what is involved in running one

4313B
12-03-2010, 06:41 PM
when people talk about evil "insert industry" companies, they usually are ignorant to what is involved in running oneReally? My experience is that they're usually spot on...

That's why a pharmaceutical company's net profit is typically single digit percentages.Evidently that still amounts to a fuck load of cash they can buy their politicians with...

edgewound
12-03-2010, 07:32 PM
most people that complain about the cost of a product typically have never worked in R&D, product manufacturing, marketing, distribution, or corporate budgeting...all combined

all you need to do is look at a company's operating profit, or net income, if the numbers are in the typical range, they are not raping anyone. They may be inefficient in certain areas, and pay the top 4 executives a bit too much, but that is not why a pair of speakers cost $60K, or a pill $10

sure, anyone can take a patent expired Rx formulation, and reproduce 30 pills for $5, but it costs pharmaceutical companies billions of dollars to develop the product, run trials, get FDA acceptance, market, and then do the low cost production part that the generic folks do at the end. That's why a pharmaceutical company's net profit is typically single digit percentages.

when people talk about evil "insert industry" companies, they usually are ignorant to what is involved in running one

The pharmaceutical industry needs to collect ship loads of cash to fight the lawsuits that follow from the millions of customers who who've been harmed by taking drugs they don't need...that cause other problems that the drug companies make new drugs to fight the side effects from taking the first drugs and then compound the whole cycle until the entire planet is hooked on drugs they didn't need in the first place.

Triumph Don
12-03-2010, 09:16 PM
I would think the pharm companies pay insurance companies to to deal with lawsuits. Matter of fact, I'm sure of it. At my age, saw both parents and a brother die, as well as many other friends and relatives [Big family] never saw or heard about pharm drug overload. But I am sure it's out there, as well as the people spending many thousands on JBL speakers.

Mr. Widget
12-03-2010, 11:40 PM
Evidently that still amounts to a fuck load of cash they can buy their politicians with...Now here is the elegant beauty of the whole thing... the politicians write the laws that make it legal for themselves to take gobs of money from their "donors" (we won't call them investors) who in turn are allowed to write off these "donations" as legitimate business expenses.


Widget

rusty jefferson
12-05-2010, 10:50 AM
I know only a few members have heard these speakers, and I for one would love to spend a winter's afternoon listening to them and relaxing while the sunlight slowly gives way to darkness and I'm left with just the soft glow given off by a shelf of audio equipment. Completely in the moment, with just the music.

No pretense either. I can't afford these speakers, and never will, but it's great a dealer has them available. I wish more did. If I drive out west this winter to snowboard, I'll be stopping in to audition them. (and I will call first)

As to whether they are worth the 60k price tag is of course difficult to determine. Clearly, the cost of engineering and r&d is overhead that should be absorbed into the entire product line as the technology filters down. The idea being, all JBL speakers are improved by the Everest speakers research.

I believe it would be a better marketing strategy if JBL sold the flagship speaker lines at lower price points, and therefore sold more of them, and pushed to reestablish themselves as an industry leader in home audio. IMO the boutique approach to marketing/pricing isn't going to get these speakers out in wide spread use, especially if someone can't audition them against the Wilson's, Focal's, etc. at the same dealer showroom. "Wow, those Wilson Sophias sound great at 50k but the Everest sounds even better, and at 42.5k I'd be crazy not to buy them." is the kind of conversation that would be great to hear at an audio dealer.

Of course, I don't think Harmon should have moved production out of the States, or should pay it's CEO 40 million a year either, so....

Altec Best
12-05-2010, 06:51 PM
. That's why a pharmaceutical company's net profit is typically single digit percentages.


Which still equates to Billions in net profits !!!

How much is enough people ? This is what is wrong with the world today GREED !! :crying:

That's why everything is made in China !

JBLAddict
12-05-2010, 09:48 PM
Which still equates to Billions in net profits !!!

How much is enough people ? This is what is wrong with the world today GREED !! :crying:

That's why everything is made in China !

wrong, everything is measured in relative terms, or in percentages, just like we are not all taxed a flat 10K every year, rather in percent, same as those very same companies are taxed in percentage, and measured by their investors in percentages, as they are expected to make a return, again in percent, that allows proportional reinvestment in the company (called plowback). You can't be an 80B company and grow from a one million dollar net profit, you will lose your investors for being stagnant and eventually cease to exist. this applies to everyone, not just oil companies and pharmaceuticals.

everything is made in China because we the consumer have allowed it, by continuing to pay high dollar figures, for lesser quality products, and allowing executive pay to swell to 400X that of the avg employee. as the generations are turning a new wave of consumer has entered the market who've never experienced goods made with pride and to last. we want the cheap stuff really cheap, don't care if the expensive stuff is made shoddily in China, and still want our investments to yield solid returns....we're a bunch of walking contradictions without principles

I went to pickup a German Henkel knife this week, and it was made in China, however the set I bought just twelve years ago in '98 that cost the same was made in Germany. I was so pissed I put it back along with some cuss words, roughly "effen Chinese knife".

again, I'm not defending pharmaceuticals or the outsourcing of everything to China, but I do know it's a balance of 1)what consumer/investors expect from the companies they invest in 2) what the same consumer/investors want cheap goods to cost 3) the ignorance of the same consumer/investors allowing their own jobs to ship away so they can have the same goods available at a possibly lower cost....greatest country on earth!!!

Titanium Dome
12-05-2010, 10:54 PM
everything is made in China because we the consumer have allowed it, by continuing to pay high dollar figures, for lesser quality products, and allowing executive pay to swell to 400X that of the avg employee. as the generations are turning a new wave of consumer has entered the market who've never experienced goods made with pride and to last. we want the cheap stuff really cheap, don't care if the expensive stuff is made shoddily in China, and still want our investments to yield solid returns....we're a bunch of walking contradictions without principles

I went to pickup a German Henkel knife this week, and it was made in China, however the set I bought just twelve years ago in '98 that cost the same was made in Germany. I was so pissed I put it back along with some cuss words, roughly "effen Chinese knife".



I recently went to Target to get a butcher block and set of knives. They had a lot of traditional American brands, but as I turned each box over--every single one-- it was labeled "Made in China."

My bad, I thought, of ourse all the Target stuff will be from China, so I went to that favorite American icon of mine, Sears. There was not a single knife made in the US. The Ginsu knives were made in China! :eek:

Then I remembered the surprise I got earlier this year when I went to get a set of screwdrivers at Sears. Not every Craftsman tool is made in America. I had to examine each set to find out which were American made.

I applaud the Chinese worker :applaud: , though I deplore the conditions under which most labor and the repressive, governing elite who reap all the profits and discard the humanity of those who toil in their factory prisons. I resist, often futilely, buying products from China when I can get comparable quality somewhere else. So I bought kitchen towels from India instead, and athletic gear from Indonesia, and short sleeve shirts from Viet Nam, and socks from El Salvador.

I bought L100s in 1970, made in America, then a bunch of other JBLs up to the Performance Series, Synthesis® One Array, and most recently K2 S9900. Now what? If those K2s had been made in China or Mexico, what would I have done? There is no choice to buy an American JBL, just like there are no more French, Danish, or German JBLs being made.

However, in this regard at least, we know where the birthplace of the the K2 S9900 and Everest DD66000 and 1400 Array is. It's Northridge, CA. Go to Iowa or go to Toronto or wherever these and the LS series are available for audition and listen! buy if you like! After all, we're not the first country to have its JBL production facility closed down, and we won't be the last. At least we still have products that were inspired from the brand's birthplace.

For now.

4313B
12-06-2010, 10:53 AM
Apparently the notion of a new Everest is being kicked around but the main man probably won't be involved with it, and it certainly won't be made in the U.S.A., so I couldn't care less about it. I just flat out don't care. :) I've somewhat reconciled the fact that JBL died in June of this year but somehow life will go on.

I guess it will be kind of interesting to see if the legacy JBL systems increase or decrease in value.

jblnut
12-06-2010, 02:11 PM
I recently went to Target to get a butcher block and set of knives. They had a lot of traditional American brands, but as I turned each box over--every single one-- it was labeled "Made in China."


For now.

Did you ever play the Target scavenger hunt game? Go into a Target and *try* to find something (non-food/clothing) that's not made in China. It's a sobering experience to be sure.

My apologies to the original poster as I seem to have led to yet another bitch session about the decline of American business, the effects of globailization and the decimation of the audio company we all hold dear. I do truly appreciate that JBL has "hit one out of the park" with the new Everest and I realize they ain't gonna be $1k loudspeakers. My lament was that they now cost what a mid-high end luxury car costs, and that's somewhat hard to fathom when you consider what goes into designing and making a car as compared to a wooden box with a few drivers and components in it (yes I'm oversimplifying, but still...).

I hope the original poster in Iowa is passing the winter time lost in a virtual world of magical sounds provided by these flagship icons.

:applaud:

jblnut

Mr. Widget
12-06-2010, 03:26 PM
I do truly appreciate that JBL has "hit one out of the park" with the new Everest and I realize they ain't gonna be $1k loudspeakers. My lament was that they now cost what a mid-high end luxury car costs, and that's somewhat hard to fathom when you consider what goes into designing and making a car as compared to a wooden box with a few drivers and components in it (yes I'm oversimplifying, but still...). In 1964 the base Ford Mustang cost $2230 and in 1964 the JBL Paragon cost $2250.


Widget

hjames
12-06-2010, 03:37 PM
In 1964 the base Ford Mustang cost $2230 and in 1964 the JBL Paragon cost $2250.


Widget
Ok - but the Mustang was not a high end luxury car ...
wonder what a Lincoln sold for ... back in the day?

Triumph Don
12-06-2010, 08:47 PM
Heather how cool...Dad bought a '63 Corvette for $5200 with just the hydraulic lifter cam 300 HP 327. With AC. Convertable, not the split window. Had a Wonderbar AM FM radio! Big Lincoln, Benz, or RRoler in the US was over 10K. Still, the Paragon was just the shit in that day.

BMWCCA
12-06-2010, 09:43 PM
In '62 my Dad bought my Mom a '63 Ford Galaxie 500 Convertible. He was buying her a new car every three years back then but this one hit just over $4000 for the first time and he was dumbfounded!

When new, my 1964 BMW 700 Convertible listed for $2345, plus options. Today NADA guides show the retail value in excellent condition to be $32,000. One of my four is in excellent all-original condition with less than 12,000 miles and said to be the nicest un-restored one in the world. I don't think I'll swap it for a Paragon though. It's a bit of a stretch but as the cheapest BMW convertible back then, it could be compared to the least expensive BMW convertible today, the 128i at a base price of $34,500, or just over $40,000 well equipped.

All seems pretty darn comparable to JBL prices, then and today, sadly enough. Now, would I trade that 700 Convertible for a pair of DD6600s? :hmm:

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c378/BMWCCA1/700showroom.jpg

caladois
12-07-2010, 07:41 AM
First time I saw this car !!! What a bargain.

Stephane (proud owner of a BMW E82)

BMWCCA
12-07-2010, 06:46 PM
First time I saw this car !!! What a bargain.

Stephane (proud owner of a BMW E82)


The 700 was a Michelotti (http://www.bmwism.com/bmws_designers.htm) design.

Your E82 is getting a face-lift (Life-Cycle-Impulse LCI update) beginning in March. Are you in line yet for the 1-series M-coupe?

Seems those who appreciate great design in loudspeakers appreciate great design in other products, too! ;)

Mr. Widget
12-07-2010, 11:45 PM
How about those Everests? ;)


Widget

BMWCCA
12-08-2010, 05:45 PM
Thread Hi-Jack

What?? You can't see a similarity?

48878
48879

jpw
12-12-2010, 09:32 PM
Circles within circles always peak the male imagination....

We have had several audiophiles recognize our display Everest's but what is more
interesting is the response the average mainstream customer has when they see them, especially with the grilles off. They start asking questions about them which always leads to a demonstration. When they hear them they are truly flabbergasted. They have never experienced anything like them in their life short of a live concert, which can equal the SPL's but seldom the fidelity.

jpw
12-22-2010, 11:31 AM
Just a heads up, JBL is nearing the end on availability of the Everest in cherry finish for the U.S. market. We still have a brand new in box pair in stock if anyone wants to splurge. There is great pricing on cherry while they last. Please call John if interested.
Audio Video Logic. 1-515-727-2279

JBLAddict
12-22-2010, 03:10 PM
Just a heads up, JBL is nearing the end on availability of the Everest in cherry finish for the U.S. market. We still have a brand new in box pair in stock if anyone wants to splurge. There is great pricing on cherry while they last. Please call John if interested.
Audio Video Logic. 1-515-727-2279


John, if you don't mind me asking, since you actually sell sets like this, and I assume the associated electronics, and are here discussing, what kind of financial position would you guess, for our enlightenment, someone spending 60+K on two speakers + gear.... is in? Would your guess be these are people in the $1M+ annual income levels, or do think there's a mix of guys in there that simply decided to spend 50% of their gross income through debt, assuming they at some point will sell the gear having paid only the depreciation??

And when someone spends $100K on an audio system, do they charge it on some kind of giant limit credit card for the wealthy, use a cashier's check or what?

In my crazier moments I sit and think, hey for a once in a lifetime buy, if was to make such a divorce inducing move, how would I even get the money from my bank to the dealer?

As I've hunted the net like most here, I noticed more frequently than not, speakers and electronics siting in rooms of houses that simply do not match, and wonder, wait a minute, there's 22K in Revel Salons and another 20K in Mark Levinson gear smashed in the corner of a 100 sq ft room with the most meager, tacky looking furnishings I've ever seen....something is really wrong with this picture :confused:

Triumph Don
12-22-2010, 07:01 PM
Well they have me beat then! I don't feel so bad now.

JBLAddict
12-22-2010, 09:31 PM
the point I was making about a 10x10 room isn't that it's small, but that it looks like it's in a 800sq ft dump of an apartment, and has $50K worth of stereo gear in it.......not that the speakers outsize the room.

jpw
12-24-2010, 08:49 PM
I don't know of many customers who aren't well above average income levels that buy the ultra high end stuff like Everests straight out. I have a number of customers though who have high end audio as their only hobby and will commit disproportionate amounts of income to it. Others upgrade slowly over time to end up with some pretty expensive systems.
Des Moines does not have lots of wealth, so local customers tend to be a bit more modest in income and are more conservative in how they spend money. Customers from the coasts definitely are a much larger percentage of the buying demographic for these products nationally.

jpw
01-02-2011, 10:03 PM
Just sold a pair to a long time customer in Kansas City. He was reluctant to even consider these due to cost and size but came through Des Moines on other business. Once he and his wife heard them, the grin on their faces told me we had found the right speaker for them.

I've been in the industry over 35 years and can't remember any speaker, including Wilson Grand Slams, that has excited customers like the Everest demo we have set up. Even totally mainstream non audiophile people are blown away by their sound and cool appearance.

JBLAddict
01-03-2011, 10:38 AM
so with the Northridge closing, where are K2 and E2 now manufactured? Cherry and Maple are discontinued so where are the Rosewood and Ebony being made?

curious, also why not carry the K2's at your shop?

Valentin
01-04-2011, 11:35 AM
the enclosure is made in Denmark

the Assembly line will probably be in Mexico/San Diego

audiomagnate
01-15-2011, 06:39 AM
And my car sold for $5,000 in 1967. Counting down to a response from BMWCCA, tick, tick, tick...

BMWCCA
01-15-2011, 05:26 PM
And my car sold for $5,000 in 1967. And the dealers couldn't give them away then, either. Hoffman packaged one with every load of sedans and most dealers simply set the coupes aside on the back lot and sold the sedans. :D

Debatable whether or not they were any prettier with the Euro headlamps. This person seems to be fond enough of the aesthetic:

49412

Like an Everest II, combining fine cabinetry with a functional appliance! :rotfl:

Maron Horonzakz
01-16-2011, 07:54 AM
Funny how that design shape reminds me of the CORVAIR..

BMWCCA
01-16-2011, 08:11 AM
Funny how that design shape reminds me of the CORVAIR..

Germans seems to appreciate a good American design:

49417

jpw
01-16-2011, 08:43 PM
The information I have directly from JBL is that the Everest will be assembled in Mexico just across the border in a plant Harman has owned and operated for about a decade. They have been producing Pro JBL products down there for a number of years and are very insistent that the quality will still be there. Only a very few pair of US made Everest's are still in stock at JBL. Once those are sold the warehouse will be replenished with the Mexico made product. We (Audio Video Logic in Des Moines) have both rosewood and cherry Everest's in stock right now, both US made pairs. There is very special pricing on the cherry models as this finish has been discontinued for US consumption. Call if you are interested please. 515-727-2279. John

JBLAddict
01-16-2011, 11:42 PM
The information I have directly from JBL is that the Everest will be assembled in Mexico just across the border in a plant Harman has owned and operated for about a decade. They have been producing Pro JBL products down there for a number of years and are very insistent that the quality will still be there. Only a very few pair of US made Everest's are still in stock at JBL. Once those are sold the warehouse will be replenished with the Mexico made product. We (Audio Video Logic in Des Moines) have both rosewood and cherry Everest's in stock right now, both US made pairs. There is very special pricing on the cherry models as this finish has been discontinued for US consumption. Call if you are interested please. 515-727-2279. John

well, I'll be just across the MX border tomorrow at my company's factory there. Do you know if it's Tijuana, Mexicali, or somewhere in TX?

Valentin
01-17-2011, 10:50 AM
TIJUANA

An literally it is just across

audiomagnate
01-18-2011, 12:34 AM
And the dealers couldn't give them away then, either. Hoffman packaged one with every load of sedans and most dealers simply set the coupes aside on the back lot and sold the sedans. :D

Debatable whether or not they were any prettier with the Euro headlamps. This person seems to be fond enough of the aesthetic:

49412

Like an Everest II, combining fine cabinetry with a functional appliance! :rotfl:

Ouch! To each his own. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have four sets of those lamps. 700cc's? are you legal on freeways?

BMWCCA
01-18-2011, 06:00 AM
Ouch! To each his own. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have four sets of those lamps. 700cc's? are you legal on freeways?I'm legal on the highway (what's a "freeway"? ;)) even in my 300cc BMW.

49453