I picked up a pair of these "forgotten" older JBL Flagships a few days ago locally.
The were the Flagship of the older Studio or S Series.
I am VERY impressed with these speakers.
I own B&W 801's
They are my reference speaker that all speakers I buy get compared to.
MOST speakers will not stand comparasion to a well set up B&W 801, for long.
These JBL's suprised the hell out of me.
Make NO mistake, this is an Audiophiles Speaker in every way.
The wide baffle gives a big warm sound, with authority in the lower midrange.
No thin sound here, even 4 feet out from the back wall!
Not QUITE as 3 dimensional as the B&W 801's, but imaging is very good, and the overall sound is big and majestic.
This JBL metal tweeter is devoid of harshness, unlike the Titanium POS Tweeter used in the JBL L7's I used to own.
THAT tweeter had phase distortion problems you could HEAR
Very FEW tweeters can match the B&W Tweeter, or even come close.
This tweeter is sweet, shockingly detailed, and smooth.
It lacks a LITTLE "air" compared to the 801 tweeter, but it is very close.
I feel the JBL S412P's biggest strength is reproduction of timbre.
It just sounds like Music.
Like the 801, and VERY few other speakers, it has that oh so elusive elusive ability to sound "real" at times.
Whoever voiced this speaker KNEW what music sounds like, and it is oh so evident the more you listen to this masterpiece.
Guitar Solo's, Hand Claps, and Saxaphones have had me shaking my head in utter disbelief.
HTF can JBL do this ?
Voices have just a TOUCH of extra warmth compared to the 801's.
Female voice is wonderfully reproduced.
Take for example the Band Till Tuesday ?
Remember them ?
They do that song "Hush Hush, voices carry"
That is a BITCH to get right.
The Big JBL's are up to the task.
Joan Osborne singing "What If God Was One Of Us" will give you goosebumps.
Not only is she reproduced warm and romantically, but the guitar solo is clear outside and 5 feet back behind the left speaker.
Sara McLaughlin is well done, as are every female vocalist I have tried.
Even Patty Smythe singing "I am the Warrior" is "listenable".
Quarter Flash singing "Gonna Harden My Heart" will make hair stand up on your arms when the Saxaphone Solo comes in.
The Sax is convincingly rendered in that song.
The intentional guitar "fuzzbox" distortion in Black Sabbath's Paranoid must be heard to be believed.
Bass on these is ok, not particulary deep, maybe down to 35 or so ?
But what is there is fast and tight, with decent impact.
I have 25 CD's I use for speaker evaluation.
MOST speakers can't get through the first 5 CD's before i hear problems compared to the 801's.
I am happy to report that the JBL S412 passed ALL 25 CD's with FLYING colors vs the B&W 801's.
A MOST impressive acheivement JBL !!!!
I plan a more thorough review for these speakers, but I just wanted to share my excitement for them.
These speakers are 10 years old, but can be found used in good condition if you look.
HOW these ever "escaped" the Audiophile Press is beyond me ?
JBL's sister company Infinity was getting ALL the "attention" back when these were made.
Perhaps we passed these up because we thought they were just "Home Theatre Speakers" ??
And Mass Produced JBL's sold at Best Buy CAN'T be "Any Good" right ?
WRONG WRONG - Oh So very incorrect Guys !
SEVERAL pairs of well known "Audiophile Approved Speakers" have come and gone through my home over the years.
"Fallen Victims" of the B&W 801's that exposed them for the "Pretenders" they really were.
I am happy to report the JBL S412p's have not only survived direct comparasion to the 801's, but have done so with flying colors.
I plan on calling JBL after Memorial Day and FIND the Engineer responsible for the design of these speakers, IF he is still there ?
Just to let him know SOMEONE appreciates his considerable accomplishment.