Trip Down Memory Lane in Stereophile- An Old Review of the 250Ti

[RedCoat23]

They've posted a reprint of J.Gordon Holt's original review of the 250Ti with the addition of some modern footnotes.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/jbl-250ti-loudspeaker

[Greg86z28]

Hm. Not super kind to the 250Tis.

Were the 250s/Tis highly regarded when they came out? Is this a rogue review or did the general audiophile community have this opinion?

[4313B]

Were the 250s/Tis highly regarded when they came out?They were highly regarded by everyone that mattered. Their owners.


Is this a rogue review or did the general audiophile community have this opinion?Yes and he summed it up very well here:

Through the years, JBL has always tried for high efficiency and a forward, gutsy sound in their consumer line, thus earning the undying scorn of all audio perfectionists, who consider "JBL" synonymous with sonic trash. This never bothered JBL as long as "high end" was a mental aberration afflicting only a miniscule part of the population. The masses preferred JBL's kind of sound.

But two developments in the past three years have prompted JBL to reconsider their public image. First, the masses discovered the snob appeal of the High End, and learned from the purists that liking the sound of JBL speakers was—well, it just wasn't done! And second, JBL recognized that digital recordings, whose lack of surface noise is an invitation to play them at high volume, put their own products at a decided advantage over those of most audiophile manufacturers. JBLs could play loudly without burning out; most audiophile loudspeakers can't. The Ti Series of loudspeakers is JBL's bid for a new image—respectability.

The good news is that the audiophiles are back in mom's basement where they belong and the masses have now moved on to everything JBL wants to sell, primarily iPod docks and car stereo stuff.



Oh and Electron Kinetics Eagle 2? Who even talks like that... :rolleyes:

Harman/Kardon Citation XX and JBL 250Ti - that's how it was done way back then.

[Dave_72]

http://www.stereophile.com/content/jbl-250ti-loudspeaker-opposing-view

I tend to agree with this rather than the original review. I heard this speaker at a local dealer in 1988 driven by Levinson amp and preamp. It sounded pretty good, but not great. They were in a small room, however.

Or maybe I didn't like the Levinson amp and preamp.

[macaroonie]

Holt was no stranger to a contradiction and neither was Cordesman. Out.

[rdgrimes]

http://www.stereophile.com/content/jbl-250ti-loudspeaker-opposing-view

I tend to agree with this rather than the original review. I heard this speaker at a local dealer in 1988 driven by Levinson amp and preamp. It sounded pretty good, but not great. They were in a small room, however.

Or maybe I didn't like the Levinson amp and preamp.

I can attest to the simple fact that room and placement are more important to the 250 than with most lesser speakers. I've never heard a speaker sound good in a showroom. I suspect that most reviewers also just plop a speaker down in whatever room they have available without much regard to the appropriateness of the speaker in that room.

[Dave_72]

I can attest to the simple fact that room and placement are more important to the 250 than with most lesser speakers. I've never heard a speaker sound good in a showroom. I suspect that most reviewers also just plop a speaker down in whatever room they have available without much regard to the appropriateness of the speaker in that room.

Oh, I see. I have heard speakers that sounded good in showrooms, but I wouldn't say at their best. I bet reviewers do that too.

[Dave_72]

Holt was no stranger to a contradiction and neither was Cordesman. Out.

Cordesman has given stellar reviews over the last 27 years (I began reading his work in '86) to some equipment that in reality was dreadful. But, haven't they all...

[SEAWOLF97]

As a 250Ti owner, I can testify that they don't always sound any better than my bookshelves. But, on the right material .... they can really sing ;)

Very source dependent.

[Doctor_Electron]

As a 250Ti owner, I can testify that they don't always sound any better than my bookshelves. But, on the right material .... they can really sing ;)

Very source dependent.

Curious as to the bookshelf types.

[SEAWOLF97]

Curious as to the bookshelf types.

in the past ...L-166's . Currently very happy with ESS AMT-10b's . Even at their poorest sounding, the 250Ti's were better than the L65's . I generally listen at lower volume levels and they do come alive when fed a bit more power.

but you have to remember they are different voicing .... on nice ROCK the Horizons and Heils really shine. Sometimes (on different source material) the 250's seem a little dull. Then they can perk up again on the next track. Go figure ...:dont-know:

the big difference is when you go to higher gain levels , the bookshelves run out of steam where the 250's just keep on scaling up past the levels that are comfortable to me.