New Everest Models

[4313B]

http://news.harman.com/releases/jbl-everest-revolutionizes-wireless-headphones-category-with-new-active-noise-cancellation?utm_source=HarmanWeb&utm_medium=LatestAtHarman&utm_campaign=IFA

[srm51555]

wow ..........that didn't take long to turn into Bose

[pos]

Wow, that is the ultimate expression of self-disrespect.
Or is it plain stupidity?

[BMWCCA]

Looks like they're only attempting to fleece the Europeans with this latest "Lifestyle" abuse of the JBL names.

I'll have to wait for the USA version likely to be known as the JBL Everest Paragon Century-III ear-buds in Hartsfield tweed designer case. Don't forget the orange packaging emblazoned with "By Harman".

[hjames]

Wow, that is the ultimate expression of self-disrespect.
Or is it plain stupidity?

Bastardizing the brand - shilling the s#!t

... I wonder if they wanted "legendary JBL Sound Designer G.T."
to say a few words about these remarkable wireless headphones ...
I mean, Dr Dre was not available, right?

By Harmin' ...

[Odd]

This was very good!

Now I've have finally enough space for a pair of Everest.

[NickH]

Why is this not surprising. A true dilution of the Everest name.

I've never been a fan of head phones.

[macaroonie]

Worth remembering that Hamin have AKG in their stable , hence the quality might not be awful.

Other than that this is just another example of Harmin's marketing genius. Woeful .

[macaroonie]

Worth remembering that Hamin have AKG in their stable , hence the quality might not be awful.

Other than that this is just another example of Harmin's marketing genius. There must still be some genius still there from the Beatrice Foods days. Woeful .

[bubbleboy76]

This reminds me of an old Seinfeld episode called "Bizarre-o-world"

[SEAWOLF97]

Yes, but ,,,they have one of Europe’s Most Promising Young Soccer Players to shill the crap, so it must be great :)

(after all, "Promising Young Soccer Players" are well known audiophiles :( )


"HARMAN Announces Raphael Varane, One of Europe’s Most Promising Young Soccer Players, as a Global Brand Ambassador September 25, 2015

[pos]

I don't get their marketing strategy: nobody knows about the K2 or Everest in the general (lifestyle) public, nor do they care.
This looks more like a dirty trick directed toward those who actually care about quality and what the JBL brand used to represent...
Are they bastardizing their identity and pride for the sake of a bad private joke?
Looks like Harman is punishing the JBL brand here, making it "realize" once and for good what its intended place is now...

[LowPhreak]

I'm going to borrow one from John McEnroe: "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!?" This is another one for the 'JBL turkeys' thread.



Nice going, Harman derps. :die:

[SEAWOLF97]

Looks like Harman is punishing the JBL brand here, making it "realize" once and for good what its intended place is now...

dump their chief designer , reuse revered names on crap ?

sadly, I think you are right POS. :(

[Don C]

How long before Pioneer notices that they also borrowed the Elite nameplate for these?

[Mr. Widget]

I don't get their marketing strategy: nobody knows about the K2 or Everest in the general (lifestyle) public, nor do they care... Exactly... This is just an example of the little people within the organization doing their best to prove their worth showing their marketing brilliance.


JBL headphones? Who cares?! Looks like another dark decade for JBL.


Widget

[Ducatista47]

But, but, but...what could go wrong? The chart clearly says all the offerings have, and I quote with proper reverence, "Legendary JBL Audio". Or perhaps they think it was just a legend because they have only heard about it?

[SEAWOLF97]

Lots of people talkin', few of them know
soul of a modern corp. was created below

Every day I work so hard, bringin' home my hard earned pay
Try to love you JBL, but you push me away.
Don't know where you're goin', only know where you've been,
Sweet ol'e JBL, I want you again.

Been dazed and confused for so long, it's not true.
Wanted speakers, never bargained for you.
Take it easy Harmin', let them say what they will...
Will your tongue wag so much when I send you the bill?

(came to me while listening to something on the JBL's ..cain't remember what ? )

[richluvsound]

Are they serious ..... ?

[speakerdave]

I don't think it's complicated. Demographics, trends. Headphones on an upward trend--on track for 290.9 M sets this year. Component stereo with a pair of speakers? Forget it. A shrinking market, I believe, a boutique industry crowded with would-be providers.

Music is on computers and a very listenable USB driven headphone amp can be had for $150 and up (dragonfly and others). JBL Consumer engineering were given ten years and funding to get the "junk but loud" monkey off its back, and it worked. Now that chit will be cashed out.

[audiomagnate]

The odds that a potential buyer of those headphones would know what a JBL Everest is have to be incredibly low.

[macaroonie]

Wot , like my dad ?

67445

[speakerdave]

The odds that a potential buyer of those headphones would know what a JBL Everest is have to be incredibly low.

Right. There must be some other explanation.

[dprice]

Is it simply a name that was already trademarked? To 99.999% of the world, Everest is becoming a place where rich people go to get killed.

[Mr. Widget]

Right. There must be some other explanation.They fired the creative folks and have outsourced that too?


Widget

[NickH]

Is it simply a name that was already trademarked? To 99.999% of the world, Everest is becoming a place where rich people go to get killed.


Geez I just thought it was this fall's next blockbuster, lol.

[speakerdave]

They fired the creative folks and have outsourced that too?


Widget

That could be. Off the shelf products at a price point. There are things appearing without brand marking that are being sold by different companies. Commoditization of industrial products at its most extreme.

[LowPhreak]

Wot , like my dad ?

67445

Don't look now, but I just saw Harman s'-CUR-i-taah arriving to escort him outta here. :wtf:

[DingDing]

Putting on flame redundant suit & playing Devil's advocate for a short while.

I'd say good headphones is what will likely be the gateway drug to speakers and good hifi systems for many young people, so we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss. People are getting savvy too. Beats killed it by selling shiny accessories with sub par sound quality, but I think people caught on to it and the likes of Sennheiser Momentum which actually deliver something worth while in terms of SQ got popular. Momentum isn't the end all, but they are good compared to Beats. The headphone market is also growing like wild fire like someone stated earlier, while our market is shrinking.

A lot of headphone enthusiasts are going ape shit for high end cans spending thousands of dollars on rigs, both for the desktop and portable. I think Chord Hugo's success has been mainly due to the high sound quality and the adoption by the head-fi crowd because it sure as hell isn't because of the aesthetics. I'm sure most of you JBL lovers would be very excited to hear a pair of Audeze LCD-2 for example. An excellent American innovation using old school planar tech. The bass response in those cans is something to strive for in our setups, although we don't get the tactile feel we all love with headphones.

Also, we should also be happy that JBL is putting their efforts on noise cancellation because a lot of young people are already experiencing hearing loss because they turn up the volume to drown out ambient noise when they use headphones in public places etc. Good active noise cancellation will give a lower noise floor and in effect probably be beneficial for the youth's health.

JBL deserve crap for many things they're doing, but not sure using their Everest trademark on some noise cancelling cans should yield it.

[Mr. Widget]

I'd say good headphones is what will likely be the gateway drug to speakers and good hifi systems for many young people, so we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss.I don't disagree, but the JBL branded headphones I've listened to were god awful! A coworker received a pair of their higher end cans as a gift from Harman. Compared to my Sennheisers that I had at the office they sounded so bad that it was embarrassing to see the JBL logo on them.


Widget

[hsosdrum]

They fired the creative folks and have outsourced that too?


Widget

Yes they did, 2-1/2 years ago. They fired the entire Brand Services department (25 of the most dedicated and talented people with whom I have ever worked), which was responsible for all consumer product packaging, consumer product user documentation (me), web resources, brochures & flyers, trade show materials and a host of other support materials. They outsourced all the work to "Asia." The results speak for themselves.

[martin2395]

I don't disagree, but the JBL branded headphones I've listened to were god awful! A coworker received a pair of their higher end cans as a gift from Harman. Compared to my Sennheisers that I had at the office they sounded so bad that it was embarrassing to see the JBL logo on them.


Widget

Were those the Synchros S700?
I seriously considered them when my AKG K530 broke down after 6 years but in the end I stayed in the same camp and got myself a pair of K702's.

[audiomagnate]

Yes they did, 2-1/2 years ago. They fired the entire Brand Services department (25 of the most dedicated and talented people with whom I have ever worked), which was responsible for all consumer product packaging, consumer product user documentation (me), web resources, brochures & flyers, trade show materials and a host of other support materials. They outsourced all the work to "Asia." The results speak for themselves.

Now the whole "JBL Turkeys" thread, which I could never quite understand, makes perfect sense.

[hjames]

All good in theory - but theory doesn't make life ...

Have you HEARD a pair of the Everest headphones?
Do we know what they actually sound like yet?

Its one thing to speculate good or bad - but until the ear is planted ... its all moot.


Putting on flame redundant suit & playing Devil's advocate for a short while.

I'd say good headphones is what will likely be the gateway drug to speakers and good hifi systems for many young people, so we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss. People are getting savvy too. Beats killed it by selling shiny accessories with sub par sound quality, but I think people caught on to it and the likes of Sennheiser Momentum which actually deliver something worth while in terms of SQ got popular. Momentum isn't the end all, but they are good compared to Beats. The headphone market is also growing like wild fire like someone stated earlier, while our market is shrinking.

A lot of headphone enthusiasts are going ape shit for high end cans spending thousands of dollars on rigs, both for the desktop and portable. I think Chord Hugo's success has been mainly due to the high sound quality and the adoption by the head-fi crowd because it sure as hell isn't because of the aesthetics. I'm sure most of you JBL lovers would be very excited to hear a pair of Audeze LCD-2 for example. An excellent American innovation using old school planar tech. The bass response in those cans is something to strive for in our setups, although we don't get the tactile feel we all love with headphones.

Also, we should also be happy that JBL is putting their efforts on noise cancellation because a lot of young people are already experiencing hearing loss because they turn up the volume to drown out ambient noise when they use headphones in public places etc. Good active noise cancellation will give a lower noise floor and in effect probably be beneficial for the youth's health.

JBL deserve crap for many things they're doing, but not sure using their Everest trademark on some noise cancelling cans should yield it.

[Maron Horonzakz]

MOOT SHMOOT !!!! I wont even try them,,,

[DingDing]

All good in theory - but theory doesn't make life ...

Have you HEARD a pair of the Everest headphones?
Do we know what they actually sound like yet?

Its one thing to speculate good or bad - but until the ear is planted ... its all moot.

No, it's all just speculation. :) But the fact is that Beats was able to sell a ton of headphones focusing not on SQ but on headphones as a fashion statement. Pulling in $300-$500 a piece from the average joe. This niche or strategy was not obvious to any of the pioneers such as Sony, Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, AKG etc at the time (they could easily have done style and SQ before Beats, but they were only focused on performance factors such as durability, sound quality etc). Post Beats the market became saturated with stylish and crappy headphones. It was a run for the market, everyone pumped out headphones trying to win a market share. Celebrity endorsements and what not, even AKG did it. Now JBL is trying. It's ridiculous, but it's marketing and it works.

One of Beats' strategies was to have product placements and having celebs use their cans. It paid off and at one point Beats were synonym with headphones (if it's not like that for a lot of people still). Much like Apple with iPod and mp3-players.

A few years ago it was easier to sell a stylish headphone with poor sound quality, today you can have both if we believe the market. Two examples are V-Moda headphones and Sennheiser Momentum. If JBL is launching a shitty line here, they won't make much of a presence in the market I think. It's saturated now, but it's still growing. Like wildfire may have been hyperbole. The big boom of 2010 is over, but it's a big market for headphones out there. To win territory you need something special today.

So not disagreeing with anyone here, just putting some points forward. ;)

[audiomagnate]

No, it's all just speculation. :) But the fact is that Beats was able to sell a ton of headphones focusing not on SQ but on headphones as a fashion statement. Pulling in $300-$500 a piece from the average joe. This niche or strategy was not obvious to any of the pioneers such as Sony, Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, AKG etc at the time (they could easily have done style and SQ before Beats, but they were only focused on performance factors such as durability, sound quality etc). Post Beats the market became saturated with stylish and crappy headphones. It was a run for the market, everyone pumped out headphones trying to win a market share. Celebrity endorsements and what not, even AKG did it. Now JBL is trying. It's ridiculous, but it's marketing and it works.

One of Beats' strategies was to have product placements and having celebs use their cans. It paid off and at one point Beats were synonym with headphones (if it's not like that for a lot of people still). Much like Apple with iPod and mp3-players.

A few years ago it was easier to sell a stylish headphone with poor sound quality, today you can have both if we believe the market. Two examples are V-Moda headphones and Sennheiser Momentum. If JBL is launching a shitty line here, they won't make much of a presence in the market I think. It's saturated now, but it's still growing. Like wildfire may have been hyperbole. The big boom of 2010 is over, but it's a big market for headphones out there. To win territory you need something special today.

So not disagreeing with anyone here, just putting some points forward. ;)

I read somewhere that the new Beats line is actually pretty good. The company has so much cash they were able to lure a bunch of the top engineers away from the "real" headphone companies.

[DingDing]

^ Interesting. That may very well be, I've seen some good reviews of the newer cans too, but didn't know they had lured in top engineers. Smart.

Just been following it with half an eye lately as it's been all about JBL and speakers (ie: the way it should be) :D Have not heard any of the new Beats headphones, but all of the old ones and they were all sad for what they cost.

Yeah, they sure bathe in cash both from their own business and being owned by Apple now*.

*Apple probably bought Beats not for their headphones business but because of their brand name, their music streaming service and the well connected people behind it (knows a lot of celebrities etc). At least that was the speculation around the time of the acquisition.