Loudspeakers

Although James B Lansing's eponymous brand was formally established in 1946 it was only with Harman International's acquisition of the company in 1969 that the classic monitors that many still cherish today started arriving. Highlights include the three-way 4310, the 4311 and latterly the L-100 – its best-selling speaker, reborn in 2018 as the L100 Classic [HFN May '19]. These 4300-series monitors were the forefathers of the brand's current Studio Monitors range, including the compact 4312MII [HFN Sep '12], the massive horn-loaded 4367 [seen at our Hi-Fi Show Live in 2015] and the diminutive 4309 reviewed here. However, if these retro-inspired boxes are just a little too 'historical' in styling, but you're still tempted by JBL's sophisticated 'High Definition Imaging' (HDI) horns, then it has another more contemporary range just for you... Check out the HDI-1600 – this uses the same 2410H-2 25mm compression driver married to another 165mm bass/mid unit, although the latter trades the 4309's pulp cone for an 'aluminium matrix' that works up to a higher 1.9kHz. It's also reflex-loaded, but via a single rear-mounted port. Price is a comparable £1650. PM