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The History and Legacy of JBL by Don Mcritchie and Steve Schell

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The History and Legacy of JBL by Don Mcritchie and Steve Schell The History and Legacy of JBL By Don McRitchie and Steve Schell Table of Contents Preface ......................................................................................................................................................................................ii Jim Lansing (1902-1949) ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Early Life ............................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Lansing Manufacturing Company ...................................................................................................................................... 2 The Shearer Project............................................................................................................................................................. 4 Lansing Manufacturing in the Late 1930s .......................................................................................................................... 6 Altec Lansing Corporation ................................................................................................................................................. 8 Establishment of Lansing Sound Incorporated ................................................................................................................. 10 The Desperate Battle for Success ..................................................................................................................................... 12 The Thomas Era (1949-1969) ............................................................................................................................................... 14 Background ....................................................................................................................................................................... 14 The Prestige Image ........................................................................................................................................................... 14 The First Project Speaker.................................................................................................................................................. 16 Initial Professional Endeavors .......................................................................................................................................... 18 The Second Project Speaker ............................................................................................................................................. 22 The LE Driver Series ........................................................................................................................................................ 22 The Consumer Electronics Line ..................................................................................................................................... 26 The 1960s Professional Endeavors ................................................................................................................................... 28 A Noble Experiment ......................................................................................................................................................... 32 The Initial Harman Era (1969-1977) ................................................................................................................................... 36 Background ....................................................................................................................................................................... 36 JBL Becomes a Household Name .................................................................................................................................... 36 Market Dominance of JBL Monitors ................................................................................................................................ 38 The Legacy of Excellence Continues ............................................................................................................................... 42 The Beatrice Era (1977-1980) ...............................................................................................................................................46 Background .......................................................................................................................................................................46 The Alnico Crisis ..............................................................................................................................................................46 Home Speaker Endeavors .................................................................................................................................................48 Professional Market Expansion ........................................................................................................................................48 The Second Harman Era (1980 – Present) ..........................................................................................................................52 Background .......................................................................................................................................................................52 The Last Altec Bastion Falls.............................................................................................................................................52 Evolution of the Monitor Line ..........................................................................................................................................54 L250 and the Ti Speaker Series ........................................................................................................................................56 The Third Project Speaker ................................................................................................................................................60 The Fourth Project Speaker ..............................................................................................................................................62 1990s Home Speaker Endeavors ......................................................................................................................................64 The Fifth Project Speaker .................................................................................................................................................66 Technological Leadership .................................................................................................................................................70 Summary ................................................................................................................................................................................76 Excellence in Engineering and Art ...................................................................................................................................76 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................................78 i Preface n the summer of 2005, Steve Schell and I were hon- stand that the essence of music is its emotional appeal, and ored to receive an offer to develop a history of JBL for without dynamic impact, music becomes detached and unin- Stereo Sound Magazine. We had both become fasci- volving. By reconnecting with JBL, I reconnected with mu- nated with the legacy of the company and its founder, sic itself. Iwhich led us to develop the Lansing Heritage Website in May 2000. However, this assignment led me to reflect back There is a second aspect of JBL’s subjective appeal that I to a fundamental question—how can one capture the signifi- think also resonates with its many fans and that is the quality cance of this legacy? Obviously, there is a factual record of of engineering inherent in JBL products. It holds special specific accomplishments, and this forms the basis of the attraction for me, since I made my career in engineering— history article. While this record is long and storied, I wasn’t albeit civil engineering. I can distinctly remember the first certain that it communicated the overall impression and time I saw a JBL driver outside of its enclosure. The mas- personal appeal of the company and its products—attributes sive magnetic motor, huge voice coil, fit, finish and atten- that have garnered legions of fans around the world. I then tion to detail all left an indelible impression. This was the realized that maybe my own experience is representative of work of craftsmen—people who deeply cared about the this appeal. goods they produced. It spoke to a level of excellence that had no equal in my experience. My introduction to JBL was in the year 1973, at the age of 16. A friend of mine had just bought a JBL 030 system con- Both Steve and I shared this personal admiration of JBL and sisting of the D130 bass driver and 075 ring radiator housed it subsequently led us on a quest to seek out who and what in a custom built 13 cubic foot enclosure. Even in its day, was behind this remarkable company and its products. With this system was not the most accurate reproducer around, the help of dozens of people (see the acknowledgments but the impact it imparted upon my first listening has never
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