Hi! I am scouting for new speakers. I am new to the JBL-world (although my old man isn't and here I am…). I have listened to the relatively new JBL L100 Classic, both the 75-year edition and the "normal" one. I was intrigued by the dynamic JBL sound but found them too "boxy"-sounding/less detailed for my taste. And I am also willing to pay a bit more if needed. I thought JBLs weren't really for me at all. That was until I by accident listened to a pair of S9900 K2's at my local hifi dealer. Best sounding speaker I've ever heard. Also most expensive one I ever heard. Way out of my budget.
Now my problem is this: how can I get _some_ of that K2 magic (to my ears: lots of details, complete lack of confined/boxy-sound, great stereo image, great dynamics) for less money. From the JBL website and price-lists, it seems that the S4700 and the 4367 are the next-level down from the K2 (?). But in my area (Copenhagen, Denmark) those aren't readily available for demo at the moment "unless for serious buyers". I am serious but it annoys me that I can't get a completely no-questions-asked demo. I have read through this and other forums about the S4700 and the 4367, and I have of course asked local hifi-dealers. It seems that the S4700 would give me some/much of the K2-magic quite a bit cheaper. There is currently a 25% discount on a few sets of new S4700 at one of my hifi dealers. The price of the 4367 is about the same as the discounted S4700.
I have some concerns:
1) the S4700 is old (maybe not by JBL standards?) – are we expecting a new one soon?
2) the 4367 is a "studio monitor" like the L100. Am I "just" getting more of the L100 classic-sound that I didn't fancy too much?
3) few would argue against the K2 being better than most other speakers, but are there also some obvious sound-differences between the S4700/4367 that I should know about. Maybe this can help me to only audition one of the two (?)
I am aware that it's only my own ears who can judge this, but I thought maybe someone here could help me along a bit.
Any input is greatly appreciated,
Mads