"Duh! Yeah!" said Cher HorowitzOriginally Posted by Steve Gonzales
"Duh! Yeah!" said Cher Horowitz
ROFL - Clueless is one of my fav movies of all time and I end up quoting it randomly...
aight I'm outtie
I thought that was the name of some Harman Executive!, not from some teen flick. I'm really not that worked up about it, Lou Dobbs made me do it!
You are right. It is another Multi-National Corporate conspiracy trying to teach us Americans a lesson!
What the hell do you think they are doing running a non-profit foundation? The Hercules system is available here. It is promoted here. They drag it around to trade shows. They can't sell more than a handful. Why in the world would they spend money trying to sell a nitch product like the 4348? Klipsch continued selling the "Heritage" line as long as the old man was around, but don't expect that to continue. JBL is in the business of staying in business. If some crazy fool offered to pay JBL for the tooling and place an order for the n-number of Paragons that would make them profitable, I am certain Northridge would once again build a Paragon, or a Hartsfield, or a flipping 4349... what ever!
Widget
BTW: Steve, I am most certainly not yelling at you or pointing at you. It is just that even within this group of die hard fanatics we hear complaints about the cost of diaphragms and recone kits. Some in this group even buy what they know to be inferior replacement parts but feel that almost as good for cheaper is the route that they would rather go. In this climate it doesn't surprise me at all that JBL has had to find other markets.
As long as JBL is part of a brand management scheme in a conglomerate, 1) we'll almost never see the newer high-end models much talked about on this forum in North America; 2) and at more realistic price points.
Being personally involved in manufacturing, I can honestly tell you that I think the price points are intentionally inflated (and intentional scarcity is mainained- at least in North America) for the purpose of better market positioning of the other Harmon brands, and world-wide. Harmon has a tight lid on JBL, and to keep it from becoming a threat to the rest of their product line.
I'm happy my hobby focuses on classic vintage JBL, and besides, I like how it sounds
Regards,
Charley
Widget, I almost thought you were yelling at me and pointing at me right up until the LAST where you said you were not. WOW!. I can't help but be disgusted with JBL's choice to market exclusively to some other country. That's not going to change no matter how much someone belly-aches about how nobodys buying their new stuff. I look at it like this: they have caused their own demise in the domestic market. Look how highly regarded their vintage stuff is, just on this site of a 1,000 plus members!. Most people can't afford a ZILLION DOLLARS for their THX stuff. The Northridge stuff, however well engineered, is CIRCUIT CITY!. The root of my gripe is that I know that if they designed something that even VAGUELY reasembled an L300 or a ( insert favorite here) ,but updated, then I believe they could capture some of what they lost, Westlake does it. That brings me to the 4348. Although it is still out of reach of most of us, at least they could offer it. I think it is more akin to the vintage stuff than the MEGA buck THX stuff. In my business, both good and bad news travels fast and I believe that to be universal too. You can't tell me that if they made a real effort to promote this speaker in the U.S., that it wouldn't be a smash hit amongst ANYONE with EARS!! I have followed audio since the early 70's to the present and I haven't seen a damn thing recently about JBL except for an occasional review for the K2 and that family of speakers. The rest of it is about surround sound baloney HTIB. So, from now on, there will be no additions to the Lansing Heritage in the domestic market. Fast forward 10 years: Ebay listing#556652244566 : You are bidding on a pair of vintage JBL CCMD 10" bass drivers from the Northridge series. Guaranteed no DOA, the dustcaps are dented but that doesn't affect the sound. This is a No reserve auction, Good Luck!.
That's NOT going to be my fault!
[QUOTE=dancing-dave]In Japan the street price for the 4348 is $6,000 roughly. ... In the end you'd spend less than $8k for the whole deal and have yourself a pair of some lovely beasts.[QUOTE]
In Japan, a pair is 1,600,000 yens ( retail price ), that is roughly US $ 15,000 or or Can $ 19,500 or Euros 11,500 or £ 8,000.
$ 6,000 seems to be just for ONE 4348, not for a pair. If that is the price for a pair, give me the address, I will order it today
and it's not a joke !
Spirou38JBL 4344MKII 4333A 4312MKII L80T L40 L20T Ti2000
Steve, I share your sentiments, and I have taken the time to write and express my disgruntlement to JBL on many occassions. I have yet to receive a response, which perhaps, says something in itself. It's conceivable that some of us who have been so loyal to JBL, on some level, want some loyalty in return--you know, God Bless America--to hell with Japan. In all fairness, I'd like to hear more of their point of view regarding marketing decisions-- which is also why I wrote them repeatedly.
I believe that if one has the resolve, and the bank account to back it up, you can have just about any speaker you could want. Heck, I'm happy to have found a pair of L110s to work on. And I realize too, that it is in large part, the fact that they are no longer available, and decreasing in numbers, that adds to the pride of ownership. I would certainly like to see JBL offer a line of speakers intermediate to THX and Northridge in price. I would love to see what the engineers could do if not fettered by marketing decisions. I know too, that if that were the case, I'd have "speaker lust" even more so, and the L110s might not seem so worthy of my efforts and the attendant expense. Trying to keep gratitude in my attitude.
I once seriously considered befriending some Japanese college students at the university in my hometown and explaining to them that I had a "yen" for some Japanese JBL. I thought perhaps I could coax one or two of them into finding me some used models, and e-mailing me with the details. However, my modest income seldom wavers in it's ability to restore my sensibilities--mostly.
Scott
Thank you Scott. I must say that in one respect I must humbly disagree. Our Japanese friends might take offence to that one remark. It's not their fault. I understand what you are saying because I can read between the lines. I appreciate that Scott. I guess we all just want the good ol' days back, right?. Whatever the case is and why, at least we have what we have and we HAVE a lot!. As for your L110's, those are some great speakers!. I just sold my pair but I really was impressed with that punchy LE-111a bass! That smooth 033 on top and the work horse of the bookshelf line the LE5-10's. I was just telling a fellow member in a PM that we're all just passionate about this JBL stuff and that will heat things up if we're on the sh*t end of the stick. Never fear and be grateful for what we do have and the wonderful LHS to share, Peace.
Does anyone know where the JBL 4348s are made?
If they're made in the US, it should be less expensive to buy them here then in Japan. I also feel it would be a simple matter for JBL to at least list these in their catalogue, even if it meant making them available on "special order". How could this hurt JBL's reputation?
Many companies offer an elite line or model, knowing they are not going to sell many of them, just to show that they are capable. This elevates the company's profile.
WE know what JBL is capable of because we've been exposed to JBL's great classics. Wouldn't JBL benifit from many more American's knowing about JBL's potential?
P.S. Though the 4348s look nice, I'm quite content with my pair of 4343s!
Tom
Yeah, one should probably A/B the 4348 with the 4343 or 4344 before committing. It would be nice to hear what folks in Japan have to say, you know they've done the comparison. It's pretty much a given that the transducers have greater power handling, lower power compression and lower distortion. My primary interest is in how the 4348 top end behaves.
Just so people are aware, the 4348 is a JBL Consumer Product and not a JBL Pro Product. The last JBL Pro 43xx Product that I can think of off the top of my head was either the 4344 or 4355. The 4344 MkII was also a Consumer Product.
Talk is cheap. Speakers are not.
We talk (write) a lot about our passion for JBL, we do comparisons of the present JBL desert we inhabit versus the JBL paradise of the past, we question the distribution intelligence of Harman, we talk about the lobotomizing of engineers by marketing hacks, and more. Yet, the reality is that JBL presents a wide range of speakers in the domestic market.
Yes, it's true that all the expensive stuff looks like HT equipment, but if we examine it carefully, we can discern otherwise.
What's the heart of the Synthesis Hercules? The K2 S9800, a breathtaking music speaker. A pair of these has been offered on eBay and AudiogoN for well under $20k, with no takers. Horns, baby, horns! and a 1500AL for ***'s sake.
What's the heart of the TiK Series, which can be configured into an HT system? The Ti10K, a wonderful music speaker, with a fit and finish that must be seen to be believed. Recently a pair of these $2500+ each speakers on eBay went for $2600. (Da^^it! I missed the end of the auction and lost by a couple bucks!) Mutlidriver tri-ampable, baby!
What's the heart of the Performance Series? The stacked PS1400 + PT800 tower, which is bar none the best music speaker I've ever owned and descendent to the 250Ti. Even their "factory refurbished" models at 1/3 off (that puts them in the $1000 range) put a chill in the spine of JBL nuts, who just won't pay that much. Ti, baby, Ti! and pistonic drive and IsoBaffle and Le14H-3s for crying out loud.
Well, I have more to say, but I actually have to do my job now, so I'll catch you all later.
(Not disrespecting anyone, just working toward a point that's not obvious yet...
Out.
Hello, I am JH, a new comer here. (this is my very first post.)
I think, 4348 is made in the US since most high-end JBLs sold in Japan are made in the US.
Just I got an idea to get latest models from Japan. There are many Japaneses who are crazy at and seek for vintage JBLs, and they are willing to pay how much they may cost. Okay, if you have or get rare vintage JBLs, post ads and ask buyers to pay by 4348 or other latest JBLs.
I was quite surprised when I got to know such latest JBLs are not available in the hometown of JBL.
I wanted t post several pages of current Japan JBL catalog (total 12 pages) here but failed...... don't know whyI will post it sooner or later.
Recently, 4338 (3 way model, 54.9 x 92.1 x 37.5, 63.4kg) and 4318 (3way same size as 4312) are introduced. Just for your information
One thing that is blatantly obvious is that the days of being able to walk into the neighborhood Audio store to see and hear all the JBL's in their replendent glory are gone.(Not disrespecting anyone, just working toward a point that's not obvious yet...
Maybe people find it irksome that not every single model JBL makes today is available at least somewhere in the U.S. to see and hear, whether a purchase is in their future or not.
Hello and welcome to the site!
That 4338 looks like a nice update to the L300/4333.Recently, 4338 (3 way model, 54.9 x 92.1 x 37.5, 63.4kg) and 4318 (3way same size as 4312) are introduced. Just for your information
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