Built to last

Born James Martini in 1902 to an Illinois coal mining engineer, James Bullough Lansing was one of 13 offspring, developing a fascination for all things electrical and mechanical at an early age. Before reaching his teens, James had built a small radio transmitter from scratch, the signals it emitted strong enough to alert naval personnel at the Great Lakes Naval Station.

Having established James B Lansing Sound in the aftermath of World War II, its founder sadly passed away just three years later, leaving a debt of some US$20,000. New owner William Thomas secured the brand’s future courtesy of a company life policy. Marketing its loudspeakers with “Jim Lansing Signature Sound” emblazoned boldly on the pot structures, the James B Lansing Sound company became a significant force in the marketplace, eventually leading to a rebranding using Lansing’s initials, JBL, whose orange logo has been synonymous with audio ever since.

As the consumer hi-fi movement got under way in the mid-1950s, industrial designer Robert Hartsfield created the JBL Paragon, which would stay in production for almost three decades. Meanwhile, pioneering work on theatre systems provided the basis for a thrust into the professional sound business. JBL’s rise in the professional market can be largely attributed to an astute observance of market changes combined with the ability to capitalise on them with innovative products. The rise of the electric guitar in the 1960s generated significant demand from musicians demanding individual loudspeaker components, including the D Series of extended range drivers.

With Sidney Harman’s 1969 acquisition of JBL, Harman Professional would assume the role of brand custodian for almost 50 years. Harman’s recognition of potential vertical markets including broadcasting, recording, cinema, touring and installed sound contributed to its success as it differentiated itself from the competition, sowing seeds that would allow it to become a market leader over the next three decades.

In addition to pioneering studio monitor systems, JBL targeted tour sound loudspeaker development for large-scale arena and stadium concerts with the 375 compression driver and next-generation MI drivers with 4-inch coils. Together with high-strength epoxy adhesives and Kapton coil formers, JBL raised output and power handling to new levels, becoming the dominant supplier of tour sound companies. The fact that leading global touring companies continue to rely on JBL transducers and woofers to meet their current touring standards is a testimony to this engineering excellence.

The Cabaret Series, credited as the first full line of PA systems for musicians, helped establish the portable sector as the largest of JBL’s five product divisions over two decades. These were replaced by the SR and MR Series, offering a more pro audio and portable approach, which in turn gave rise to the SRX and VRX Series. The advent of the polypropylene EON Series in the mid-1990s continues three decades on. Revolutionising the plug-and-play concept and arguably setting a new benchmark in portable sound, EON incorporates built-in amplification, patented Differential Drive woofers, titanium diaphragms, neodymium magnets and toroidal transformers.

JBL continues to supply touring production companies with industry-standard components and to appear on technical riders. The Bi-Radial horns and bass bins, together with the Concert Series of the 1980s, gave rise to the Horn Loaded Array (HLA) 3-way system in the mid-1990s. However, it’s been the introduction and evolution of the VerTec and VTX line array systems that continue to define JBL’s commitment to live sound.

But perhaps the most significant rise in all JBL’s five market segments has been in installed sound. From the Control Contractor Series to the Precision Directivity Series, the company’s design philosophy appeals not only to architects and consultants whose main criteria include ergonomics and aesthetics, but also to installers who appreciate the ease of integration and resultant cost savings. Globally, JBL enclosures deliver uniform coverage and intelligible announcements to shopping malls, airports, motels and convention centres. The brand’s dominance isn’t restricted to voids in niches, walls and ceilings – this family of loudspeakers extends onto dance floors, houses of worship, theatres and stadiums too.

It’s a pity that the rise of JBL wasn’t witnessed by James Bullough Lansing. However, the unswerving passion, commitment to excellence and the legacy he left in place for William Thomas, Sidney Harman and, most recently, Samsung Electronics to develop the brand has been bolstered by subsequent generations of R&D engineers and technicians employed in the Northridge, California headquarters and Harman-owned factories around the world.

Since acquiring Harman International Industries in March 2017, Samsung has allowed Harman to function as an independent subsidiary by focusing on hi-fi, car and professional audio. As the anchor brand of Harman Professional, JBL continues to dominate the retail, touring rental, portable installation, live and cinema verticals. Elevated to president of Harman Professional Solutions strategic business unit in 2020, Brian Divine has been exposed to some of the most turbulent economic years in the brand’s history. Rather than succumbing to the weight of JBL’s legacy, Divine is enjoying overseeing a team dedicated to creating new opportunities.

“We all respect the brand at this 80-year milestone because JBL continues to design and manufacture transducers and pioneer acoustic designs,” says Divine, who commenced his pro audio career with Crown amplifiers in 2002. “To survive and go forwards, we need to keep innovating. We may do things differently at Harman Pro, but the Samsung acquisition reaffirms how audio remains a staple of what we’re known for and what we care about. Audio is at the core of the DNA at Harman Professional and I don’t see that changing.”

The company’s Northridge headquarters, where JBL manufacturing continued into the mid-1970s, clocks up 50 years this year. Experiencing a devastating 6.7 magnitude earthquake in 1994, the site has also experienced a series of positive seismic changes over the half-century. With JBL manufacturing taking place in plants around the world today, the campus remains Harman’s Global Center of Acoustic Excellence – a hub for the management teams, R&D and engineering labs facilitating rapid prototyping and reliability testing. Besides seven anechoic chambers, Klippel testing labs and listening rooms, a 1,400m² experience centre showcases JBL and other Harman innovations.

The formal atmosphere of the pre-Samsung era has also been toned down. “Contrary to popular belief, we function more like a small boutique company with fewer layers of management these days,” explains Divine. Joining the JBL family in 2021, APAC sales director Nick Screen agrees. “Having worked for SME companies in the past, coming to JBL was a massive change initially. Like most people, I always considered Harman as a corporate entity but, when you peek behind the veil, JBL is equally, if not more, passionate about innovation.”

According to Divine the R&D teams and manufacturing plants work more closely together than ever before. “By designing everything in-house, we maintain quality control and design for manufacturing. For example, if we didn’t custom design and build the VTX transducers ourselves, we couldn’t develop the VTX speakers. This the core of the brand and we’re going to bring more development in-house, including some of the highly specialised metal rigging parts.”

JBL’s close working relationships with Harman Professional stablemates Crown amplification and BSS signal processing has seen the technologies of both incorporated into its housings. Accordingly, software development has taken control and monitoring out of the cabinets and onto the PC screen. With the live production and touring verticals of JBL’s business “doing better than ever”, Divine is a staunch believer in continued investment: “Rather than vying one brand against the other, product development continues to embrace system design. The brands remain iconic and continue to retain great value, but traditional brand boundary restrictions have been removed because only one team is required to develop the electronics when developing solutions.”

Software development continues to take increasing priority to enhance the user experience. In recent years, Harman Professional’s software engineers have focused on application-specific, workflow-based software solutions including the Venue Synthesis and Performance Manager software for the rental production verticals. “We cannot manufacture every component for a venue, but we can create one cohesive interface by designing natively with third parties and integrating other technologies within platforms such as BSS Soundweb Omni,” continues Divine. “Ease-of-use familiarity has become a central focus. If you don’t understand how a product operates, you won’t invest in it. Similarly, if a product or technology is difficult to adopt or integrate, you will hit resistance owing to lost time and revenue.”

Looking to the future, Divine is optimistic as he witnesses a larger investment in audio by operators and venues that traditionally placed a precedent on video and lighting. “The audio experience can transport a patron beyond their seat, and our customers are increasingly aware of how an experience becomes lopsided without the correct audio setup,” he says. “It is very satisfying to witness audio designers demanding our tools, including Flux:: immersive technology.”

With the latest wave of portable JBL loudspeakers incorporating consumer technologies, some observers have speculated that the simplification of engineering may have come at the detriment of audio quality. “We all use consumer products in the home or car, where we enjoy a simplified experience,” comments Andy Flint, SVP of global product, engineering and strategy for Harman Professional. “Apps, Bluetooth connectivity and similar technologies bleed into the professional industry, so the challenge for JBL is how to adopt these for a room of 500 people using their mobile phones. That simplified experience is something we want to provide as a value-added service, but it requires added technological investment if it is to work in a professional environment.”

Outside the Northridge headquarters, Divine enjoys the arts, theatre and sporting events. Witnessing the enjoyment that JBL loudspeakers give both patrons and artists naturally makes him feel proud. “Knowing you have played a small part behind the scenes adds a sense of excitement to any event for me.” Signals transmitted, emotions received.