JBL

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JBL

File:JBL logo.svg
Formerly	Lansing Sound
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Audio
Founded	1946 (1946)
Founder	James Bullough Lansing
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, United States
Products	Amplifiers, loudspeakers, headphones
Owner	Samsung Electronics
Parent	Harman International Industries
Website	jbl.com

JBL is a United States-based audio equipment company with its headquarters located in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1946 by the American audio engineer and loudspeaker innovator James Bullough Lansing, the firm caters to both consumer and professional audio sectors. Their consumer line includes home speakers, waterproof Bluetooth wireless speakers, and premium car audio systems. For professionals, JBL offers live public address systems, studio monitors, and cinema loudspeakers. The company operates as a subsidiary under Harman International, itself owned by Samsung Electronics.

History

In 1927, James Bullough Lansing and his partner Ken Decker launched a business in Los Angeles that produced six-and-eight-inch (150 and 200 mm) speaker drivers designed for radio consoles and receivers. This venture was known as Lansing Manufacturing Company starting March 1, 1927.

By 1933, Douglas Shearer, head of sound at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), dissatisfied with the loudspeakers from Western Electric and RCA, initiated development of a proprietary design. The team included John Hilliard, Robert Stephens, and John F. Blackburn who collaborated on the creation of the Shearer Horn. Lansing Manufacturing supplied the 285 compression driver and 15XS bass driver for this project. The Shearer Horn met expectations for enhanced performance, leading Western Electric and RCA to each produce 75 units. Western Electric marketed these as Diaphonics, while RCA incorporated them into their RCA Photophone systems. Lansing Manufacturing was unique in offering them directly as Shearer Horns. In 1936, this design earned the Academy Scientific and Technical Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

File:Lansing Iconic multicell horn speaker 1937.jpg

Lansing Iconic

File:JBL TI 5000.jpg

JBL TI 5000, a three-way speaker system featuring a 30 cm bass driver and titanium dome tweeter, produced circa 1992–1999. Standing 1.15 m (3 ft 9 in) tall and weighing 55 kg (121 lb), it represented JBL's flagship consumer model.

Building on experience gained from the Shearer Horn project, Lansing developed the Iconic System loudspeaker intended for movie theaters. This two-way speaker combined a 15-inch (380 mm) woofer for low frequencies with a compression driver for high frequencies.

Following Decker’s death in an aviation accident in 1939, the company encountered financial difficulties. In 1941, Altec Service Corporation acquired Lansing Manufacturing Company and renamed it "Altec Lansing." After James Lansing’s contract expired in 1946, he departed Altec Lansing to establish a new firm initially called Lansing Sound which eventually evolved into "James B. Lansing Sound" before adopting the shortened name "JBL Sound."

The first products released by JBL in 1946 included the model D101 15-inch loudspeaker alongside the model D175 high-frequency driver; both were closely modeled after earlier Altec Lansing designs. The D175 remained available into the late 1970s. JBL’s first original product was the D130—a 15-inch transducer featuring a 4-inch (100 mm) flat ribbon wire voice coil paired with an Alnico V magnet—which saw production variants continue for over five decades. Additional drivers introduced were the 12-inch (300 mm) D131 and the 8-inch (200 mm) D208 cone drivers.

Early manufacturing space and initial funding came from Marquardt Corporation, whose treasurer William H. Thomas also served on JBL’s board. By 1948 Marquardt assumed operational control of JBL; however, after Marquardt was acquired by General Tire Company in 1949—an entity uninterested in loudspeakers—relations were severed with Lansing. Subsequently, James B. Lansing reincorporated his company under his own name and relocated to its first independent facility at 2439 Fletcher Drive in Los Angeles.

A critical factor in JBL's formative years was its partnership with Robert Arnold of Arnold Engineering, who supplied Alnico V magnetic materials essential to their products. Arnold recognized JBL as a promising new market for these magnets.

While acknowledged as an inventive engineer, Lansing struggled with business management. Following his partner Decker’s fatal crash in 1939 and amid worsening financial challenges during the late 1940s, Lansing tragically took his own life on September 4, 1949. At that time Bill Thomas served as vice president; thanks to a $10,000 life insurance policy naming the company as beneficiary—secured by Lansing—the firm continued operations under Thomas's leadership. He soon acquired Mrs. Lansing’s one-third share to become sole proprietor and is credited with revitalizing JBL over the next twenty years.

Among early innovations were the model 375 high-frequency driver and the model 075 ultra-high frequency (UHF) ring-radiator driver—nicknamed "JBL bullets" due to their distinctive form factor. The model 375 reimagined Western Electric’s 594 driver utilizing an Alnico V magnet coupled with a four-inch voice coil; it shared magnet architecture similar to that of the D-130 woofer. Engineers Ed May and Bart N. Locanthi were instrumental in these developments.

Classic models from this period such as the Hartsfield and Paragon remain highly sought after by collectors.

In response to trademark conflicts with Altec Lansing Corporation, JBL introduced its brand name in 1955 while retaining "James B. Lansing Sound, Incorporated" as its corporate identity; concurrently it launched its signature logo featuring an exclamation mark.

The JBL 4320 studio monitor series was introduced via Capitol Records in Hollywood and quickly became EMI's global studio standard monitor system. JBL gained entry into rock music circles when Leo Fender selected their D130 loudspeaker as an ideal component for electric guitars.

File:GD 廣東 Guangdong DG 東莞 DongGuan 萬道路 WanDao Road 萬江華南商場 WanJiang South China Mall shop JBL Sound Expert December 2024 R12S 01.jpg

JBL retail outlet at South China Mall in Dongguan, China

File:JBL flagship store at SM City Cebu (2024-09-29).jpg

JBL flagship location at SM City Cebu in Cebu City, Philippines

In 1969 Bill Thomas sold JBL to Jervis Corporation (later renamed "Harman International"), led by Sidney Harman. Throughout the following decade JBL became a widely recognized brand among consumers beginning with its best-selling L-100 speaker model—then unparalleled in sales volume within the industry. The company also expanded significantly into professional audio markets through its studio monitor offerings during the ’70s; by 1977 more recording studios used JBL monitors than all competing brands combined according to a Billboard survey. Popular home speakers from this era included the L-100 and the control monitor model 4310.

Later in the decade JBL introduced enhanced L-series models such as L15, L26, L46, L56, L86, L96, L112, L150 plus subsequent iterations like L150A and flagship L250—featuring improved crossovers alongside ceramic magnet woofers, updated midrange drivers, and phenolic resin tweeters coated with aluminum deposition technology. In the mid-1980s these designs were further refined incorporating titanium-coated tweeter diaphragms resulting in new series designations including L20T through L100T plus Ti-series models like 18Ti,120Ti,240Ti and top-tier flagship 250Ti.

To evaluate speaker drivers’ acoustics during development phases at Glendale and Northridge facilities, JBL utilized rooftop spaces as outdoor analogues to anechoic chambers.

Over subsequent decades JBL broadened its consumer product reach through mass-market Northridge lines while simultaneously entering premium segments via project speakers such as Everest and K2 series. Additionally, JBL established itself as a leading supplier within live touring sound reinforcement sectors; their loudspeakers became staples for major rock tours and music festivals worldwide. Moreover, JBL's technology formed a foundation for developing THX-certified speaker standards which further entrenched their position within cinema sound systems.

Automotive use

JBL sound systems are currently installed in vehicles produced by manufacturers including Fiat, Kia, and Toyota.

Timeline

• 1927 – Establishment of Lansing Manufacturing Company in Los Angeles
• 1934 – MGM’s Douglas Shearer designs the inaugural cinema speaker; Lansing manufactures the system components
• 1941 – Lansing Manufacturing Company is acquired by Altec Service Company
• 1944 – Lansing and Hilliard revolutionize reference theater speakers with the A-4 model, later named Voice of the Theatre
• 1946 – The original 'JBL signature' logo featuring a black and white exclamation mark (!) is created by Jerome Gould
• 1946 – Lansing departs from Altec and establishes James B. Lansing Sound Inc.
• 1947 – Introduction of the 15" (38 cm) speaker model D-130, pioneering the use of a 4 in (100 mm) voice coil within a speaker cone
• 1949 – James B. Lansing passes away by suicide; William Thomas assumes presidency of the company
• 1954 – Launch of the 375 compression driver, the first 4-inch engine with frequency response extending to 9 kHz
• 1954 – Acoustic lenses developed by Bart N. Locanthi are unveiled
• 1955 – Leo Fender incorporates the D-130 speaker into amplifiers, marking JBL’s entry into professional music equipment
• 1958 – Release of the one-piece stereo speaker system, JBL Paragon
• 1962 – JBL introduces the first 2-way studio monitor featuring a high-frequency motor lens
• 1967 – Creation of the iconic red box logo with white lettering and an exclamation mark (!), designed by Arnold Wolfe, then JBL president
• 1968 – Launch of the 3-way speaker model 4310
• 1969 – Acquisition of JBL by Sidney Harman
• 1969 – Introduction of the L-100, a consumer adaptation of the 4310, which sold over 125,000 pairs during the 1970s
• 1969 – JBL components are utilized in Bill Hanley’s sound system at Woodstock and numerous other rock festivals
• 1973 – Debut of the 4300 Series, including the first-ever 4-way speaker system
• 1975 – Release of the 4682 Model Line Array known as Strongbox
• 1979 – Introduction of diamond surround technology to manage high-frequency resonance control
• 1979 – Development of Symmetrical Field Geometry (SFG) technology
• 1980 – Launch of Pavilion Bi-Radial Constant dispersion technology
• 1981 – Introduction of the 4400, JBL’s first Bi-Radial monitor designed for recording studios
• 1982 – Titanium adopted as a material for compression drivers
• 1984 – Acquisition of UREI by JBL
• 1986 – Debut of initial Control series models
• 1990 – Implementation of Vented Gap Cooling technology to reduce transducer temperature at low frequencies
• 1991 – Release of the Array Series, JBL’s first professional audio speaker utilizing neodymium magnets
• 1995 – Introduction of the EON portable speaker system
• 1995 – Launch of the first Neodymium Differential Drive speaker
• 1996 – Development of HLA standard incorporating Line Array Space Frame design
• 1999 – JBL equipment featured at Woodstock 1999 festival
• 2000 – Creation and release of VerTec Line Array system
• 2000 – Introduction of EVO, a loudspeaker controlled via DSP technology
• 2002 – VerTec systems deployed at major events including the 2002 Super Bowl, 2002 Grammy Awards, and ceremonies for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Seoul, Korea

Applications in Practice

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) (Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States).
• Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) (Pierre Boulez, Paris, France, 1974–1991).
• Digital Cinema Project – GAUMONT (Philippe Binant, Paris, France, 2000–2008).

JBL Bluetooth Speaker Lines

JBL offers a range of Bluetooth speaker series designed to accommodate various user preferences:

• JBL Go – Compact and budget-friendly, optimized for daily portability.
• JBL Clip – Portable speakers equipped with a built-in carabiner clip, perfect for travel and outdoor activities.
• JBL Flip – Medium-sized cylindrical speakers that provide waterproof capabilities and robust sound for their dimensions.
• JBL Charge – Larger than the Flip series, featuring extended battery performance and USB charging for external devices.
• JBL Xtreme – Durable boombox-style speakers delivering powerful audio tailored for outdoor environments.
• JBL Boombox – Heavy-duty large speakers with prolonged battery life and enhanced bass output.
• JBL Pulse – Cylindrical speakers incorporating LED light displays synchronized with music playback.
• JBL PartyBox – High-powered party speakers equipped with lighting effects, microphone and guitar inputs, suitable for events.

See also

• List of studio monitor manufacturers

External links

• Discontinued JBL Professional products site