Loudspeakers

Established in 1946 in Los Angeles, JBL also has ties to Hollywood royalty – founder James B Lansing, in his previous company Lansing Manufacturing, developed the compression unit and bass driver of the Shearer Horn, a loudspeaker favoured by movie studios and a recipient of a 'Scientific and Technical' Academy Award in 1936. Similar designs lifted JBL off the launchpad nine years later, finding their way into use as studio monitors as the country's music industry exploded, and adopted by audiophiles at home. Breakout models included the 4320, the forebear of the brand's current Studio Monitors series, and the L-100 – its best-selling speaker, reborn in 2018 as the L100 Classic [HFN May '19] and again this year in a Classic 75 limited edition. And who could forget the Paragon, a 2.7m-wide single-chassis stereo speaker-cum-sideboard that was in production from 1957 to 1983? Weighing 390kg and featuring twin horn-loaded 380mm bass drivers, it's unlikely to be resurrected. But we can dream…