Anatomy Of A Northridge

[Titanium Dome]

Thanks to a thread over at AVS, I got the lowdown on close out prices on Northridge E Series speakers at Fry's Electronics. While there to pick up some electronics parts and to audition the Studio L Series and Venue Series, I couldn't resist the allure of $142.40 of for a pair E 50s, marked down from $499 retail.

I thought, if nothing else, they'd make a good dissection project. Inasmuch as most of us would not have the chance to see inside, here's a look at the complete package.

Accepting the probability of some gratuitous hooting and howling, I'll show all about these consumer speakers, with no editorializing. Here they are, exposed.

Well, first, not exposed. The box:

[Titanium Dome]

The speakers are well protected with a solid, close fitting top and bottom insert. The enclosures themselves are also protected by soft foam "cloth" top and bottom. The grilles fit in their own slot.

[Titanium Dome]

Here's the back of the E 50. Two sets of binding posts for bi-wire or bi-amp use. There's the typical JBL model sticker.

[Titanium Dome]

From the front, here are the mirror image fronts.

[Titanium Dome]

From the back, the grilles have quite a matrix.

[Titanium Dome]

Simple black cloth and a shiny JBL badge make up the front. Too much flash, and the "JBL" is washed out.

[Titanium Dome]

(snip)

Accepting the probability of some gratuitous hooting and howling, I'll show all about these consumer speakers, with no editorializing. Here they are, exposed.

(snip)

Well, I guess I got what I expected.

That is indeed disappointing.

[Rudy Kleimann]

Well, I guess I got what I expected.

That is indeed disappointing.

Don't let 'em thwart your efforts Ti. I enjoyed viewing it! It reminded me of myself.

You had fun too didn't you?

I apologize for the 'aquaplas' jab- I couldn't help it

[boputnam]

Well, I guess I got what I expected.

That is indeed disappointing.

I'm not sure what that means, but come on, TiDome...

-----

- The speakers are well protected with a solid, close fitting top and bottom insert. The enclosures themselves are also protected by soft foam "cloth" top and bottom. The grilles fit in their own slot.

- There's the typical JBL model sticker.

- ...the grilles have quite a matrix. (my personal favorite)

- The network is nestled in a nest of wires. (but no detail of what is on that board)

-----

What did we learn? You dismantled an off-JBL cabinet, and posted a bunch of pictures of the process. The components don't have common JBL part numbers, it seems, so what value is this?

It's more like a blog man - posting whatever, whenever, for whomever. Those cabinets, even though JBL heritage, are about as far from what we do here as Bose. Even JBL didn't put their name on the packaging...

.

[Zilch]

Those cabinets, even though JBL heritage, are about as far from what we do here as Bose. Even JBL didn't put their name on the packaging....

That alone is important to know, isn't it?

Let's see what Studio series is made of, and the rest of them, too....

[mech986]

Hi TD,

I also appreciate your efforts in showing us what this Northridge speaker looks like from the outside in and inside out. With all the questions of what is better, vintage or new, its instructive how JBL has changed or evolved over the years. With different owners and administrative/marketing leadership, constant changes in the compromises inherent in designing loudspeakers become evident. Some of these changes you can see, some you can hear.

I think the engineers at JBL Consumer and Pro have a heck of a job to do when trying to create great products which must meet a specific marketplace niche and price point. Sometimes they do well, sometimes it doesn't work out. But they learn and evolve with ever changing marketplace.

For all you other folks out there looking in, imagine, if you will, doing this exercise every 5 years through the JBL consumer catalog. Pick a TOTL "statement" speaker, a mid-pricerange speaker, and an entry level model. Now photograph them, dissect them, and place some quality judgement on how they were built and what went into them. I think, with a few exceptions, we would have been deriding the entry level models as being poor substitutes for the big boys. Yet these particular speakers had to sound and look good to attract the young, not so well healed buyers who had no prior experience with JBL products.

I absolutely agree that sometime in the late 80's to early 90's production quality shifted as JBL products sometimes used Harmon affiliated drivers or specific offshore made components. That's just part of the globalized manufacturing for a large diversified and somewhat multinational company. It does mean that JBL can use all of Harmon's resources to engineer, manufacture, and bring to market cost effective products which enable JBL to survive and prosper. That's a whole lot better than the alternative outcomes that have plagued so many other audio names and manufacturers.

TD, keep asking questions and looking for the answers (or in this case, wielding the screwdriver/allen wrench, digital camera, and presenting your findings without editorializing). That's what makes it fun and interesting to be involved with JBL products and people. That's what keeps me coming back.

Regards,

Bart

[Audiobeer]

[quote=mech986]Hi TD,

I think the engineers at JBL Consumer and Pro have a heck of a job to do when trying to create great products which must meet a specific marketplace niche and price point. Sometimes they do well, sometimes it doesn't work out. But they learn and evolve with ever changing marketplace.

For all you other folks out there looking in, imagine, if you will, doing this exercise every 5 years through the JBL consumer catalog. Pick a TOTL "statement" speaker, a mid-pricerange speaker, and an entry level model. Now photograph them, dissect them, and place some quality judgement on how they were built and what went into them. I think, with a few exceptions, we would have been deriding the entry level models as being poor substitutes for the big boys. Yet these particular speakers had to sound and look good to attract the young, not so well healed buyers who had no prior experience with JBL products.

I absolutely agree that sometime in the late 80's to early 90's production quality shifted as JBL products sometimes used Harmon affiliated drivers or specific offshore made components. That's just part of the globalized manufacturing for a large diversified and somewhat multinational company. It does mean that JBL can use all of Harmon's resources to engineer, manufacture, and bring to market cost effective products which enable JBL to survive and prosper. That's a whole lot better than the alternative outcomes that have plagued so many other audio names and manufacturers.



I disagree strongly. There's a market for this stuff, no argument. But let's face it, a lot of of this stuff is crap. I put the entry level stuff JBL sells at the same level I put the Dell Computers. It's inferior construction material, out sourced to unfair labor, then shipped in boat loads to good old USA. Sure JBL gets to survive but at the expense of who.......there's not many people in the JBL shack making this stuff, thier jobs are gone. I have no complaints against the writer of this thread or the composer of the response that I used to make my whining comments.......but the bottom line is this shit is in a trash can 20 years from now. No ones collecting this stuff. Dollar for Dollar against Klipsch (Reinvented also) Altec (Great computor speakers) Pioneer, Marantz, oh yeah all the great big boys......JBL does quite well. They have put a little bit of fluff on thier new lines of crap. Keep in mind I'm not berating the quality of the higher end stuff. But what I am criticizing is the tip of the hat to globalization of good American products??? WTF is that? Bought a Dell lately......CRAP! Try calling JBL for service.

[Don C]

It's more like a blog man - posting whatever, whenever, for whomever.

We all know Ti's a post whore, but why wait till this thread to criticise. I liked this one.

[louped garouv]

I can't recall seeing stamped frame JBL speakers before....

interesting, i guess


Widget's improveverywhere post was inspiring...

this was interesting tho'

[glen]

I can't recall seeing stamped frame JBL speakers before....

At JBL Professional Nortridge they actually do install stamped frame woofers into their economy sound reinforcement series (JRX) which still represent a great value for the money.

I was surprised that more speaker makers have not returned to stamped frames. With the smaller, lighter neodymium magnet structures they may give adequate performance. But most manufacturers, including JBL, seem to be sticking with cast frames for their neodymium units.

And I found this thread very interesting, and applaud Dome's considerable effort in putting it together.

Thanks Dome!