JBL

JBL is an American audio company owned by Harman International that was founded in 1946 by James Bullough Lansing. Their primary products are loudspeakers and associated electronics. There are two independent divisions within the company – JBL Consumer and JBL Professional. more...

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The former produces audio equipment for the home market while the latter produces professional equipment for the studio, installed sound, tour sound, portable sound, and cinema markets. While Harman International does not break out the sales figures of their individual brands, it is believed that JBL is one of the largest, if not the largest selling loudspeaker brand in the world.

James B. Lansing founded JBL the year after leaving Altec Lansing as their Vice President of Engineering in 1945. He initially developed a series of loudspeaker components and systems that were mainly targeted at the home and cinema sound fields. One of these components was the D130, a 15” transducer for which a variant would remain in production for the next 55 years.

James Lansing was noted as an innovative engineer, but a poor businessman. As a result of deteriorating business conditions and personal issues, he took his own life on September 29, 1949. The company then passed into the hands of Bill Thomas, JBL’s then vice-president. Thomas was responsible for revitalizing the company and spearheading a remarkable period of growth over the next two decades. During this time, JBL gained a reputation as being second to none in the quality of their home loudspeakers. Two products from that era, the Hartsfield and the Paragon, were considered the absolute finest reproducers of their time and continue to be highly desired on the collectors market.

In 1969, Bill Thomas sold JBL to the Jervis Corporation (later renamed Harman International) headed by Dr. Sidney Harman. The 1970s saw JBL become a household brand, starting with the famous L100 which was the largest selling loudspeaker model of any company to that date. The 1970s also saw a major JBL expansion into the professional field, led by their studio monitors. By the end of the decade, recording studios in the United States used more of JBL’s monitors than all other brands’ monitors combined.

Over the next two decades JBL, became more mass market in their consumer loudspeakers. At the same time, they staked out a position at the highest end of the consumer field with their Project speakers, consisting of the Everest and K2 lines that were particularly successful in foreign markets. They greatly expanded their presence in the professional field to become the largest professional sound company in the world. JBL became the dominant supplier to the tour sound industry, with their loudspeakers being employed by the largest touring rock acts and music festivals. JBL products were the basis for the development of THX loudspeaker standard which resulted in JBL becoming the premier cinema loudspeaker manufacturer. The portable sound market was largely established by JBL with their Cabaret product line and continues to be dominated by their Eon series. JBL was equally successful in the installed sound market with their Control series.

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