fmk5805

Dear PartTimeJedi, My compliments on your interest in high end JBL products. I was wondering if you were aware of the K2-M9500's? They have been considered the best ever produced by JBL and are convincingly in the elite league. They are extremely rare and it will take at least $50,000 to replace them with something comparable (new), such as the Wilson Maxx's or TAD's Reference Monitors. $20,000 was spent not long ago to acquire this pair from Norway, as they are extremenely difficult to find in the US. I have experienced two different guests who have listened critically to the Wilson Maxxes. Both, after listening to my my M9500's, concuded that they easily outperformed the Wilsons. http://homepage.mac.com/dkoya/audio/k2m9500.html From the owners manual: "....Distortion...values seen here lie well below 1% for the lowest frequencies up to 4.5 khz, reaching a value of only 1.6% at 10 kHz. Not many loudspeakers can demonstrate such low levels of distortion JBL has a more current, downsized version S9800 with one 15" woofer that has recently sold for about $28000, listed for $30,000 and reportedly still don't measure up . I haven't heard much about their very latest. In comparison, The M9500s listed for $40,000 10 years ago and weigh about 320 lb each without the crossovers, which is another 25 lb or so. Each speaker has 3 sections that are stacked. The separate passive crossover enclosures have three Speakon connectors and cables to each speaker element, facilitating handling and assembly. Efficiency is 95db vs 92db for the newer scaled-down version. Each speaker is capable of producing 122db with 500 watts at 1 meter distance, so the pair would easily produce 120db at normal listening distance. Most listening has been below 95 db and therefore below 1 watt. This translates to very light use, long component life and tremendous dynamic range. The finish is a special rubbery sound-absorptive coating resembling ultra suede that unfortunately scuffs easily. I am an old self-employed engineer with health issues and some tough economic choices. Otherwise I wouldn't dream of selling them. I am hoping the 9500's will find the right new home! If their value increased beyond their list price in the same manner as JBL's L300's, their selling price would help me to stay in my home much longer! Please PM and I will provide a phone number if you are interested. I will look forward to hearing from you.