Greg and I talked about CES the other day.
This is the thread for listening impressions and photos.Originally Posted by gtimbers
Greg and I talked about CES the other day.
This is the thread for listening impressions and photos.
It's January 9th
Nothing from yesterday? What are you guys doing out there?
None of this "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" stuff I hope...
http://www.cesweb.org/attendees/awar...07honorees.asp
(Scroll down to find it.)
In a word Project Everest is amazing.Today was press day at the suite which I was not aware of, but fortunately for me the Harman people took pity on me as the suite was on the far side of the Hilton way away from the main show floor and they allowed me to spend a truly unforgettable hour . I was given a seat dead center roughly 10 feet back and was treated to a wide variety of music that took the Project Everests to areas I have never visited in speakers before. I was fortunate that the press brought their own music (not that Mr. Timbers had a bad selection)and we went from vocals, Piano and violin, to Joni Mitchell (paved paradise) Grateful Dead (Uncle Johns Band ) The Who(Tommy) and many more which even brought all the Harman people to massive smiles most had not heard the Dead on the Everest yet. From the loud rock to the soft vocals the Everest are consistent. They have such a sweet high with the clearest and crispest bass I have ever heard and at all levels.
The cabinets workmanship is beautiful, unfortunately I did not have a camera but the pictures you have already seen will give you a good idea of the workmanship and they really do look better live.
Since I am at the show this is the best I can do on the fly as always the CES show is busy,but I will check in later if there is more I can add when I have some more time to think about it or hopefully others will chime in, but I can see others unable to be here wanted some info so I hope this helps a little.
In closing I left with a huge smile that stayed with me all day even though my feet are killing me(typical of this show).
Thank you for the update.
I am quite excited that you were able to hear them.
I know a few luminaries arrived only this evening - they plan their ascent tomorrow.
Other ears arrive over the next two-days...
bo
"Indeed, not!!"
Not sure if this showed up somewhere else on the site, so here is short video on the Everest DD66000
this is a qoute from stereophile blog ces 2007 coverage
A number of Stereophile writers have been having unexpected musical moments with JBL's massive horn-loaded K2 9800 loudspeaker at recent shows, but the 2007 CES saw the US debut of the awesome Everest ($60,000/pair).
Designed, like the K2 9800, by veteran JBL engineer Greg Timbers, whom I first interviewed 25 years ago when he was working on the JBL 250, the Everest represents the Californian company's ultimate effort to achieve high-end sound from high-efficiency, horn-loaded drivers.
With a pair of Everests driven by a Lexicon disc player and Mark Levinson amplification, both Michael Fremer (above) and I sat with our mouths open at the lack of midrange congestion, the absence of intermodulation distortion, the low-frequency extension, the superbly stable stereo imaging, and the enormous dynamic range. Wow!Mikey had brought along to the JBL Everest demo CD-Rs burned with dubs of his favorite LPs played on his Continuum Caliburn turntable. We listened to Ella Fitzgerald, Roy Orbison, Joni Mitchell, and John Lennon, but it was when Mikey asked Greg to play track one on the second CD-R that the listeners visibly relaxed and the room filled up with good vibes.
Even Everest designer Greg Timbers (left) and veteran classical recording engineer and JBL alum John Eargle (third from right) loosened up as we all lowered ourselves into the warm audio bath of the Dead's "Uncle John's Band," from Working Man's Dead. Now that's music! And on the Everests, we wanted for nothing more. Well, maybe some of those herbal smokes... We finished the listening sessions with some of John Eargle's recent classical recordings for the Delos label, which the Everests handled with the same sonic aplomb with which they had recreated the 1970s Dead. John has just written an authorized history of JBL, which we will get hold of and review when it is published.
both Michael Fremer (above) and I sat with our mouths open at the lack of midrange congestion, the absence of intermodulation distortion, the low-frequency extension, the superbly stable stereo imaging, and the enormous dynamic range. Wow!
Yep, I've never been head over heels about horns.
Until now...
Greg has really done the whole "horn/compression driver thing" some serious, World Class justice.
John has just written an authorized history of JBL, which we will get hold of and review when it is published.
Outstanding! Can't wait!
veteran JBL engineer Greg Timbers, whom I first interviewed 25 years ago when he was working on the JBL 250
Isn't he simply the best? He has played such an integral role in our enjoyment of our musical collections and our JBL loudspeakers for so many years now. He secured my gratitude a long time ago.
Yep, I've never been head over heels about horns.
Until now...
Greg has really done the whole "horn/compression driver thing" some serious, World Class justice.The reason for this lies in Don's quote:
My limited experience with Be diaphragm compression drivers has shown they have a remarkable ability to be acoustically neutral and reproduce sound incredibly accurately and naturally. Hell, they even make a 2307 sound pretty darn nice!
bo
"Indeed, not!!"
It definitely secures the 4" compression driver back on top as it should be.
The 1501AL's are quite marvy too.
That 476be sounds unlike anything I have heard - it's truly spooky in the Everest and there appears to be absolutely zero colouration. If the bass had worked when I heard them in Tokyo I would have probably been a lot poorer now!
What's the main differences with the 1501's Giskard? Did I see they were 11.7 ohm?
Widget and I lucked into a nearly two-hour session today. Greg Timbers was in wonderful, unabashed spirits showcasing these. He answered all and any questions and freely accepted whatever source material listeners brought in. Timing couldn't have been better - a journalist from Rotterdam had some remarkable, one-of-a-kind recordings, that really showcased the Everest II. Greg himself kept marvelling at this particular session - best-of-class was an old cut from Peter Paul and Mary's first album. This was a retracking from the original studio tapes. Quality was astonishing. As I said to Greg: "these really do reverb like nothing I've heard before...".
Everest II is a remarkable achievement. The soundstage is deep and sweet-spot very broad. Greg himself marvels at the latter aspect of these. Sitting off-axis presents little loss of imaging - the smoothness of the horns is broad. The sound is very coherant - the benefit of the mechanical alignment of the woofs and CD was obvious to me. Tonality was excellent, with faithful reproduction of the human voice, piano, and percussion. Horns were brassy; vocals were sultry. These are really nice.
The 1501AL is different in a couple of aspects. According to Greg and Jerry Morro, the vc is deeper - significantly, and of a thinner gauge. More surface area in the gap, and the gap tolerance is greater. Impedance is "double", because the two 1501's are running parallel and this keeps nominal impedance at 8 ohms. As we know the "low" 1501 (outboard woofer on each side) rolls off at 150Hz, first order. The inboard 1501 goes to 700Hz and hands-off to the 476Be which runs to 20kHz where it is augmented by the UHF."
As Greg puts it (paraphrasing): "JBL started as a two-way speaker maker. JBL then modified that by adding, "augmenting" the highs with the ring radiator. Everest II retraces those roots - this is a two-way, augmented on the bottom (the "low" 1501) and on the top (by the UHF, 20kHz to 40kHz).
The speaker was run passive, but Greg says as good as this is, it is "not from this world" when biamped.
The thing that kept coming across today, not only Greg's generous manner in talking through the design, was his delight in their performance. Truly, aspects of these cabinets exceed his wildest expectations.
I believe JBL have shipped 150 to Japan; another 50 are already ordered. Demand is really big in Europe. This was JBL's US debut and Greg expects to be "even further behind filling orders" as a result of this show...
bo
"Indeed, not!!"
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