Setting up an Hifi system around the new Jubilees

[seti]

The new Jubilee is state of the art in horn design. You can not go wrong. I predict once the first impressions start coming out it will be cemented in history as one of the greatest horn loaded loudspeakers. The Jubilee that was first available from the commercial line and it bested the Khorn. Now they are releasing the Jubilee in the consumer line and it has bested the first version of the Jubilee. Neither of these are small acheivments. I am going to enjoy watching this unfold this year.

 

 

 

 

 

[Schu]

there is a DISTINCT difference in the sound quality of Klipsch equipped commercial theaters over those theaters using different brands... and the difference isn't subtle either.

[IB Slammin]

2 hours ago, Schu said:

there is a DISTINCT difference in the sound quality of Klipsch equipped commercial theaters over those theaters using different brands... and the difference isn't subtle either.

 

Huge difference......

tc

[IndyKlipschFan]

On 3/23/2021 at 11:48 AM, Chris A said:

I suppose the price tag of the new Klipsch Jubilees has probably hit home...the reason for the shift suddenly away from the Klipsch Jubilee?  The new Jubilees also are not yet available.  The original Jubilee version using the bass bin designed by Roy Delgado and PWK is still available new in extremely limited quantities presently.  They are ~$15K (USD) in North America.  The large jump in price of the newer Jubilee isn't as related to sound quality as it is to the market to which it is aimed, bringing something like a 2x to 4x increase in price for more modest sound quality improvements (i.e., blind test preferences). Apparently "audiophiles" don't believe that loudspeakers are good unless they are also very expensive--much more expensive than their fabrication costs.  So the price increases almost exponentially to "meet market demand for their perceived exclusivity". 

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Unfortunately, this is not a JBL or Altec website--although there are many here that have owned these brands over the years and may still have fond memories of them.  Both of these companies have their own audio enthusiast websites to check. Try this one: http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/index.php  There have been several changes in loudspeaker design requirements since the 70s and 80s that have made those older JBL studio monitors no longer favored for music production work (i.e., recording, mixing and mastering studios).  While they have very good sound quality in general, they all seem to have their own idiosyncrasies by model type.  In particular, they all seem to suffer from polar coverage issues vs. frequency--something that the Jubilee design mostly avoids, and Danley Synergies/multiple-entry horns [MEHs] completely avoid.  The Tannoy Westminster Royal also avoids many/most of the issues of polar coverage irregularities, but at the expense of using a direct radiating woofer, which introduces modulation distortion to the higher frequencies (due to woofer cone motion at higher SPL while forming a horn for the higher frequencies).

 

In general, my impression of the old 1970s and 1980s JBLs studio monitors is that the individual drivers are usually very good (albeit relatively expensive), but the integration of those drivers into full loudspeakers for home hi-fi use seems like it always leaves something to be desired-especially the horns and their lack of horn-loaded bass.  One thing to look for in older loudspeakers for home hi-fi service: horn-loaded bass bins.  Without them, there is a qualitative difference in the sound quality, I've found.

 

Altec-Lansing Voice of the Theater (VOTT) cinema loudspeakers also typically have very solid drivers, but system integration into full loudspeakers isn't something that can really compete with the Klipsch Jubilee (either version), IMO. 

 

The biggest problem that I see is that the Altec VOTTs and even more so--the older JBL studio monitors--have become collectors items for audio enthusiasts in one particular country (Japan) that has apparently driven the costs of used units completely out of sight--certainly much higher than they otherwise would command.  The same situation exists for the old Western Electric cinema horns, which have their own issues.  Nostalgia seems to be the main motivational factor.  You would be buying a much more capable set of loudspeakers if looking at Jubilees, in my opinion.

 

Chris

very well put and has perspective   I share the same thoughts too....