End of an Era. 43 years with JBL is Over

[Ian Mackenzie]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WXiwxir9xRk

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qJTi74WsjI4

A timely reminder of JBL's legacy at Northridge CA.

[4313B]

A timely reminder of JBL's legacy at Northridge CA.

I spent alot of time in that listening room with my albums.

BTW - Don posted that JBL First With the Pros video on YouTube.

[bubbleboy76]

4313b, are you a former JBL employee?

[4313B]

4313b, are you a former JBL employee?

At the time of that video I was just a kid who would show up on Fridays with an album or two and I would be let into the listening room if it was free to use.

[SEAWOLF97]

At the time of that video I was just a kid who would show up on Fridays with an album or two and I would be let into the listening room if it was free to use.

you would prob need a security pat down and background check to even attempt that today



Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

[Ian Mackenzie]

A few familiar faces in the video some of which went out in their own but still associated with JBL as consultants.

[4313B]

you would prob need a security pat down and background check to even attempt that today

Yeah, those days are definitely over!

[JeffW]

I wish I could put names to some of the faces. I recognized Drew Daniels from his pic in the Drew's Clues piece.

http://www.audioheritage.org/html/pe...rews-clues.htm

[4313B]

Yeah, Mark Gander and Don Keele were in there too around the same 7 minute mark.
Drew zapping the neighborhood with test tones, lol.

[Ian Mackenzie]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zrpUDuUtxPM

Here is a presentation by Floyd Toole.

What is interesting is he talks about his research at Harman a lot and presents some interesting facts about the industry and how consumers spent time listening to music which might hint at the future direction of Harman.

I am wondering if Harman thinks the grey haired silver fox who spends +24000 on a pair of loudspeakers will soon to be a thing of the past while demand for car audio and ear buds is on the rise.

Toole suggests the price point of loudspeakers that subjectively measure well is coming down.

Elsewhere at the 2015 RMAF Andrew Jones of Tad gives a back story on his design of a highly successful Pioneer loudspeaker that has one world wide acclaim for about $100.00 on Amazon.

Perhaps large outfits like Harman now know enough to be about model a product and its market acceptance without the need for all the prior research and associated costs to continue.

I like the reference to the M2 at the end.

The wave guide seems to be a key design feature of what is considered a consumer loudspeaker that subjectively measures well

[4313B]

I like the reference to the M2 at the end.

Yep.

And Alan took that knowledge to Samsung.

And Samsung gave him a blank check book to make things happen there.

[JeffW]

Elsewhere at the 2015 RMAF Andrew Jones of Tad

I believe it's "previously of TAD" now, isn't it? I read he went to Elac.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPX4s--IuxE

[Ian Mackenzie]

Hi Jeff,

Yes l think you are correct.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Since we are talking about what goes on behinds l have copied below from the Library part of the page on Greg.

It is not hard to see why Greg is so highly regarded.


"Greg has an interesting philosophy to loudspeaker design. While he enjoys, and is rightly proud, of the no-holds-barred statement speakers, these are not necessarily his favorites. What motivates Greg is to achieve elegance in design and innovation that results in performance that exceeds original expectations. As an example, Greg was responsible for JBL's current core product lines - the Northridge and Studio series. These are mass market products, but Greg tackled their design from the perspective of achieving new levels of performance at their price points.


Studio Series S412 of 1998
© Harman International

Greg works best in a focused team environment. He is proud of his role in establishing a team approach to system design at JBL that he has employed for over two decades. Nonetheless, he recognizes, that within the team, there has to be a clear mission. "It doesn't have to be my vision, but there has to be someone's vision". He realizes that audio is becoming just one aspect of a larger multimedia experience. The challenge will be to provide more and smaller loudspeakers that integrate into a home environment, while providing the highest levels of performance. Nonetheless, when the opportunity arises to develop a speaker that represents the current state-of-the art, Greg will always jump at the chance."

© 2001 Don McRitchie

P.S. When asked how long he had to work at JBL before he could forego the suit and tie, Greg answered August 1, 1972 - the day after he started. Greg prides himself in maintaining an average of three "Tie Days" a year, although his average is slipping. Last year resulted in seven "Tie Days".

[Ian Mackenzie]

Perhaps at some stage Don will have an opportunity to prepare a piece on Greg bridging the existing excellent writings to current day.