Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Is JBL still the indestructible commercial grade stuff they used to be,or have they gone department store mass-fi?
JBL like a lot of companies has been acquired and part of an international conglomerate, heck, like a lot of companies now, you never know who owns who.
To me, I think they are much more of a mass market consumer part of the market place as far as in the consumer division. They still make some really good higher end consumer products but there used to be a time when everything was higher end, now its a mix of lower end bluetooth speakers to higher end stuff, in the higher end, the JBL "sound" is still there and we really enjoy that on our center channel speaker of our home theater. One never knows where Harmon is taking JBL, of which, Harmon is part of Samsung!
It looks like more and more lower end consumer goods which I guess makes sense if you want to make money.
With that said, yes, they still have a commercial division.
High end audio used to be a specialty, streaming and MP3s became "the thing" a step down from CD's, Digital tape and even analog turntables. The public in general (not all but most) no longer strives for perfection.
"JBL is an American company that manufactures audio equipment, including loudspeakers and headphones. There are two independent divisions within the company; JBL Consumer produces audio equipment for the consumer home market, while the JBL Professional produces professional equipment for the studio, installed sound, tour sound, portable sound (production and DJ), and cinema markets. JBL is owned by Harman International Industries, a subsidiary of South Korean company Samsung Electronics."
Source and History - Click