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Thread: End of an Era. 43 years with JBL is Over

  1. #61
    Senior Member Ducatista47's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BMWCCA View Post
    Too bad there's not a viable business model to be made for the maintenance and upgrading of existing legacy products from the now JBL-We-Don't-Care-About-Your-Products company. But then if Kenji can make a killing off re-purposing old 43xx systems, think what a Timbers Design reproduction or upgrade would do!
    I imagine the gentleman at GPA knows a thing or two about all this, and is willing to share his knowledge and more. His business model includes new driver designs, does it not?
    Information is not Knowledge; Knowledge is not Wisdom
    Too many audiophiles listen with their eyes instead of their ears


  2. #62
    Senior Member LowPhreak's Avatar
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    "Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."
    - Honore de Balzac


    This being no doubt only one of many behind Harman's. It's hard to think of a fitting pejorative for these asshats.

  3. #63
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ducatista47 View Post
    I imagine the gentleman at GPA knows a thing or two about all this, and is willing to share his knowledge and more. His business model includes new driver designs, does it not?
    OT, but I thought there was speculation that Great Plains Audio was folding?
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

  4. #64
    RIP 2021 SEAWOLF97's Avatar
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    I have a friend who was laid off from a company where he worked 20 years. They treated him about the same way. (he had grown to be a thorn in their sides)

    He called me that evening , still in near tears, and I laid the old "when one door closes, another opens" on him. It was true and now he's at a place where they value his experience.

    I'm fairly sure that many companies have wished to have a GT on their payroll. If you still desire to work, maybe land in an even better situation ? I love my retirement time , but keep busy with lots & lots of projects.

    Oh yeah ... when I left Intel (my decision, long commute every day killed me) , their policy was to get security to walk you out. My manager refused to punish me with a perp walk. He just said "when you are ready to leave, give me a call" and he walked me out with a final handshake.

    Greg , you deserved better than what you got...
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

  5. #65
    Senior Member Valentin's Avatar
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    Wow Greg

    hope you find a nice chalange soon
    JBL and many of us will mis your contributions

  6. #66
    Senior Member rdgrimes's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by svollmer View Post
    One unsolicited suggestion: start your own small high-end company. I think Greg Timbers Audio, or GTA has a nice ring. J
    Not a great idea for someone of retirement age to open that can of aggravation. But there are more than a few high-end speaker makers around who would make a home for a consultant. Wouldn't surprise me if Timbers' phone is already ringing with offers. If there's any justice in the universe, his only real problem will be in deciding which offer to take.

  7. #67
    Senior Member bigyank's Avatar
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    I too had the experience of being walked out the door after working at a company for a decade. One day you get top performer award and 8 weeks later, you're done. Greg, take it personal and make them pay. You are a force to be reckoned with in your discipline and I, as others do, look forward to your next chapter in life, whatever it might be.

    Basement: JBL SVA-1800 and 2226H DIY Enclosures Computer room: Control-5:Control SB-2 Living room: JBL 240ti

  8. #68
    carolax
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    Bleeding the brand dry

    Sorry for you personally and professionally--it's a sorry sign of the times in corporate America--and sorry for the JBL brand. Those of us who go way back with JBL products (40+ years for me) have dreaded the day when JBL totally sold out its heritage and its luster. Maybe that day has come. This summer I replaced the last JBL's in my house, a pair of LSR28P studio monitors, with a pair of small ATC monitors. I felt like a bit of a turncoat from JBL (although the ATC's are beautifully engineered hardware done the old school way) but now maybe I don't feel so bad. Let us know what you're up to when you're up to it. My bet is you'll be happier.

  9. #69
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    My condolences Greg

    You deserve better, and will wind up just fine I'm sure. I also was given a pretty disrespectful layoff last year (After 7 years not 43), but I'm somewhere much better now, better money, better work-life balance, and a more empowered role. I'm sure your next professional step will be a well-chosen improvement, be it retirement, consulting or a regular job-type-job.

    If ever you want to hang out and talk shop or just spin some wax, I'm sure any socal boys from around here would be thrilled to roll out the red carpet. I certainly would polish the doorknob in Tustin if you wanted!

  10. #70
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    What saddens me more than anything else is when the contribution that someone of your stature provides to the foundation of a company ends with such disrespectful treatment. Is this how you close 43 years of excellence..?

    It is sad that those who came after have no memory or appreciation for the contribution of those who came before.

    Be glad of this, you've now stepped outside of - IMHO - the greatest tragedy in our modern world - a toxic corporate environment.

    Lynn Stout has a great book on one of the main problems of current corporate culture - The Shareholder Value Myth: How Putting Shareholders First Harms Investors, Corporations, and the Public

    I thank you for the pleasure the products you've designed have brought into our lives and I look forward to reading more of your posts on here in the future

    Best Regards

    Jason

  11. #71
    Senior Member 1audiohack's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Titanium Dome View Post
    Buddha once commented that "A candle's light is not diminished by lighting another candle." In fact, it produces twice the light....
    Sorry, it's only a 3dB increase.

    Barry.
    If we knew what the hell we were doing, we wouldn't call it research would we.

  12. #72
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    When I started at JBL in 1974, Greg patiently taught me how loudspeakers really worked. Over the next 17 years, I had the privilege of working with him on many projects, including some of the revered systems written about in this forum.

    Greg's remarkable combination of engineering brilliance, great hearing, and impeccable taste, coupled with the talented fellow engineers who designed transducers alongside him and the manufacturing resources that could realize those designs, resulted in systems that were the best of their breed in their price ranges. When I left JBL, nearly 25 years ago, one of my major regrets was not being able to work with him any longer.

    But I frequently think about Greg: how he'd tweak network designs to achieve subtle, almost infinitesimal improvements; how the 4315 was adopted by Polygram (Philips/Deutsche Grammophon) for their pressing plant QA -- they were VERY fussy; how the 4313 was a design success but a commercial flop -- the classical engineers loved it, but they were a tiny fraction of the market; how we built the Everest prototypes in separate enclosures for each transducer so we could get the angles properly set (although Greg's predicted angles turned out to be correct); how we listened to and decided to incorporate the first commercial use of bypass caps in passive networks; how he compressed the 12 cubic foot volume of his original 2245H subwoofer design into the ~ 5 cubic feet of the B460 by using a QB5 acoustical tuning and a BX22 external crossover/equalizer to get a 6th-order Butterworth response -- it's still the finest consumer subwoofer I've ever heard; how he used a Chebychev alignment for the woofers in the K2 to achieve the "faster" bass preferred by Japanese consumers; etc. etc. etc.

    One of Greg's best designs never saw the light of day. Shortly before I left JBL, I heard his prototype XPL250s, which used a 3" titanium dome midrange instead of an LE5 cone variant. I wanted to steal them! -- they were incredible! -- but Greg insisted he was far from finished. He continued to improve the XPL250, but it was never released. However, Greg switched gears from four-way direct-radiator systems and, after the success of the K2, he went on to design HF compression driver systems that I've never had the opportunity to hear, but I'm certain they continued to demonstrate his brilliance.

    I don't know any of the upper-level management people at Harman now, so I can't speak to their reasons for unceremoniously dumping Greg out the door. But I'm appalled, and I expect that every person who had the honor of working with him feels similarly. Harman didn't even allow his co-workers to give him a worthy sendoff. For shame!

    I know that Greg continued at Harman well after he could have comfortably retired because of his love for his work. Whatever he decides to do now, I expect that it will be at least as brilliantly realized as his previous work, and I look forward to the results!

  13. #73
    Senior Member brutal's Avatar
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    Truly sad news in this thread.

    I'm going to go hug my 250Ti's and B460 now.


  14. #74
    Senior Member richluvsound's Avatar
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    Horrendous !

    Dear Mr Timbers ,

    I'm so sorry your time at JBL has ended in such a manner . These people have no integrity , honour , or anything else that resembles the notion of class .
    This is a generation doomed to detroy itself and all the beauty around it . Take heart in the pleasure you have brought to us all and the hours of fun you've inspired in worshops , basements and attics around the world .

    I'm positive your talents will not sit on the shelf for long ..... Perhaps a few collaberations like Jones/Timbers , Pass/ Timbers ..... Someone suggested a deserved vacation . I'd like to second that , and if that jounrney includes London it would be a pleasure to take you to dinner or lunch .

    Head up, there are those that know the cost of everything and the value of nothing . Its been your mis-fortune to have just met some



    best wises , Richard ( richluvsound )

  15. #75
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    Quote Originally Posted by Garry Margolis View Post
    I don't know any of the upper-level management people at Harman now, so I can't speak to their reasons for unceremoniously dumping Greg out the door.
    I can't imagine a scenario in which anyone would want to know them...

    How would they be introduced to a person? "Hey! I'd like you to meet Mr. Jackass." - I mean, would anyone really want to meet Mr. Jackass? I think not.



    It's great to hear from you Garry! We hope all is well with you and yours.

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