JBL/Harmon loosing the pro sound market?

[robertbartsch]

I have attended 8 or 10 concerts during the last couple of years including Tull, Crosby Stills & Nash, Chicago, Yes, Frampton, ZZ Top, Stevie Winwood, Clapton, etc. Very few of these acts had JBL sound. From what I can tell, the sound reinforcement systems that are most popular now are smaller flying rigs that I beleive are made in France. Generally speaking, the sound from these systems is very good.

The Harmon common stock has been moving sideways recently. Is this one reason?

Thanks...

[Mike F]

The touring market is very competitive. There are many competent manufacturers out there, the French company you are referring to is probably L`Acoustics, whose founder Christian Heil is credited with pioneering the current Line Array "trend" is one, Meyer Sound, NEXO, D&B Audiotechnik, Martin Audio are all major players as are proprietary designs by large production service providers such as Clair Brothers who have the resources to produce a quality product.

JBL has always been, is and will be a major contender. Their current Vertec series is a very well regarded system.

[Lee in Montreal]

http://www.l-acoustics.com/

Choose your language at the top right corner

[robertbartsch]

I suppose if you are a Harman shareholder, that is unfortunate.

It used to be that JBL dominated this segment of the market but it looks like they are a minority player now.

They make nearly everything in Mexico or Asia now; right?

I see Jane Harman on the news talk shows a lot lately, even though she left Congress.... she must have a few pennies saved... I'd like to think Sidney is rolling in his cript now but I'm not sure..... he was probably in it only for the dough....

[SEAWOLF97]

. I'd like to think Sidney is rolling in his cript now but I'm not sure..... he was probably in it only for the dough....

SH deserves a bit more credit than that ..IMHO

[robertbartsch]

I thought Sidney tried to sell HK once several years ago and the deal did not close. Eventually, a sale was arranged and the new management was able to increase shareholder value substantially. I think it was one of the best performing stocks in 2009 or 2010.

Anyway, I thought many that worked for Sidney and others on this forum felt that, later in life, he lost interest in the Company and that the sale was not necessarily in their best interests. I suspect Jane had something to do with the sale but that would be a guess. I think they were outsourcing jobs from the USA to Mexico for years but, apparently, that did not impact her ability to be re-elected as she left Congress volunarily, I believe.

I suffer from a serious medical condition and, as a result, I am not able to spell or type with precision.

[robertbartsch]

There is a channel on cable TV "Concerts" (channel #659 Verizon in the NE) that has videos of live shows. The reason I brought this issue up here is that, in addition to attending live shows when I can, I have been watching this channel a bunch lately. During each telecast, I try to identfy the sound reinforcement systems each act is using when ever possible.

I have not seen a JBL Vertec system on TV in a long time which makes me think JBL may no longer be the popular choice for pro sound reinforcement. For example, Monday night the Concert channel had Crosby, Stills and Nash 2012. And, I saw this group live in Woodstock (Bethel NY) in 2010. In both shows, I beleive they were using the small L-Accustic flying rigs - about 12-14 cabs on each side.

The L-Accustic systems are fairly easy to identfy as they are black semi-wedge shaped boxes, small and they are hung in a curved array to aim sound at attendees. From the cab size, it looks like the largest low frequency driver is no more than 12 inches in diameter. Apparently, these are sometimes run without sub bass cabs.

[JuniorJBL]

I don't know but I think everyone's boxes look like a JBL!

http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/genera...x?FId=21&MID=4

[robertbartsch]

The systems I see often look more like this;


http://www.l-acoustics.com/products-arcs-ii-112.html


the distinguishing feature of this stuff is the "small" vee shaped cabs and their front driver covers which look like old-style woven grill cloth....


I shot several groups of photos from several live concerts but they are not at hand right now.

[JuniorJBL]

Small

http://www.jblpro.com/BackOffice/Pro...BL_VT4887A.pdf

[Mike F]

There is a channel on cable TV "Concerts" (channel #659 Verizon in the NE) that has videos of live shows. The reason I brought this issue up here is that, in addition to attending live shows when I can, I have been watching this channel a bunch lately. During each telecast, I try to identfy the sound reinforcement systems each act is using when ever possible.

I have not seen a JBL Vertec system on TV in a long time which makes me think JBL may no longer be the popular choice for pro sound reinforcement. For example, Monday night the Concert channel had Crosby, Stills and Nash 2012. And, I saw this group live in Woodstock (Bethel NY) in 2010. In both shows, I beleive they were using the small L-Accustic flying rigs - about 12-14 cabs on each side.

The L-Accustic systems are fairly easy to identfy as they are black semi-wedge shaped boxes, small and they are hung in a curved array to aim sound at attendees. From the cab size, it looks like the largest low frequency driver is no more than 12 inches in diameter. Apparently, these are sometimes run without sub bass cabs.

Most Line Arrays can be described as small semi-wedged enclosures vertically rigged in a curved array.
Occasionally , some subwoofers are at the very top of the array and form an integral part of the rigging but more often than not, subwoofers are ground stacked making them less visible.