8 January 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
— Ultimate-Performance JBL Flagship Incorporates the Company’s Most Advanced Engineering, Technologies and Materials to Redefine the State-of-the-Art in Loudspeaker Design —
WOODBURY, NY — In a move that reaffirms the company’s position as the foremost manufacturer of consumer and professional loudspeakers, JBL today announced that it is launching its Project Everest DD66000 loudspeaker in the United States. The Project Everest DD66000 — designed and manufactured entirely without compromise to set a new standard in audio reproduction — is the finest loudspeaker ever created by JBL.
Winner of the Best of Innovations 2007 award in the High-Performance Audio category, the DD66000, designed to celebrate JBL’s 60th anniversary, combines the heritage of six decades of loudspeaker design expertise with today’s most advanced materials, components and technologies, and exceptional engineering talent. It delivers remarkable sonic accuracy and musical realism.
Paul Bente, president of the Home Products Division of the Harman Consumer Group, pointed out: “Our design brief for the Project Everest DD66000 was clear: to develop and manufacture nothing less than the ultimate loudspeaker. Our company has enjoyed an unequaled history of achievement in the audio industry and, today, JBL’s expertise in loudspeaker engineering and manufacturing, and our scope of operations worldwide, is unparalleled. The introduction of the Project Everest DD66000 is proof that JBL is more dedicated than ever to defining the state of the art in reproduced sound.”
Project Everest DD66000: Attaining Remarkable New Heights in Loudspeaker Performance
The DD66000 was introduced in Asia in September 2006, and the response to its debut among reviewers and consumers was extraordinary, with more than 350 systems sold to date. During CES, the Project Everest DD66000 is featured in active demonstrations in the JBL exhibit at the Las Vegas Hilton (January 8 — 11, 2007).
The DD66000 excels in every sonic respect, with authoritative bass, a pure, detailed midrange and open, extended high-frequency response beyond 50kHz. The DD66000 combines the superlative dynamic range and transient response, and “effortless” quality of horn-loaded compression drivers with the precise imaging, three-dimensional soundstage and articulate low-frequency impact provided by the finest dynamic drivers. The DD66000 delivers remarkably natural vocal and instrumental reproduction, and faithfully reproduces the sonic environment present on the original recording.
The Project Everest DD66000 is stunning and unique in appearance. Evocative of JBL’s legendary Hartsfield and Paragon loudspeakers, the DD66000 combines classic JBL design elements with refined contemporary styling, featuring curved and angled surfaces and a contoured horizontal midrange horn that enhances the loudspeaker’s striking visual appeal. The DD66000 is available in an elegant rosewood finish. Premium wood finishes — ebony, cherry and maple, all exceptionally crafted — are also available.
The Project Everest DD66000 incorporates a host of innovative loudspeaker technologies. Its 045Be-1 ultrahigh-frequency driver uses a 1-inch beryllium diaphragm and 2-inch neodymium magnet to produce frequency response beyond 50kHz. The 476Be high-frequency compression driver utilizes a
4-inch, pure-beryllium diaphragm with a 4-inch aluminum edge-wound voice coil, and JBL’s rapid-flare, coherent-wave phasing plug. A high-efficiency neodymium-magnet motor structure features refinements such as a pure-copper-sleeved polepiece that maintains maximum magnetic-gap flux and delivers superior sound quality at any volume, with exceptional clarity and resolution.
These leading-edge transducers operate in conjunction with Bi-Radial horns that are made from dense and inert SonoGlass material, eliminating unwanted sonic colorations. The horns are shaped to provide optimum dispersion in the horizontal and vertical planes, for smooth frequency response and precise imaging.
The 1501AL 15-inch woofer utilizes an Aquaplas-treated-pulp cone that preserves sonic neutrality while damping internal resonances and providing controlled and articulate bass response. The crossover network is designed to allow the woofers to operate in different frequency ranges, a configuration that provides optimum directivity and high output. The crossover network employs a DC battery bias system that keeps the capacitors operating in Class A mode, yielding maximum sonic purity.
The DD66000 features front-mounted control panels that enable precise tuning of low-frequency and high-frequency level and other characteristics, to achieve maximum sonic performance in any system and room. The DD66000 is built to the highest standards, utilizing premium internal components such as polypropylene foil capacitors, and wire-wound and metal-oxide resistors and air-core inductors. Extensive internal bracing provides additional rigidity to eliminate unwanted internal resonances.
The measured performance of the DD66000 is exemplary. The frequency response of the system is extremely smooth and extended. Directivity and power response are highly uniform, harmonic distortion is reduced to inaudible levels, and dynamic linearity is unparalleled.
The JBL Project Everest loudspeaker will be available in the United States in spring 2007 at a suggested retail price of $30,000 each for the rosewood finish and $35,000 each for premium wood finishes.
The Harman Consumer Group (HCG) is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a wide range of high-fidelity loudspeakers, audio and video components, and multimedia systems for use in homes and automobiles, and with computers. The group’s brands include JBL, Infinity, Harman Kardon, Mark Levinson, Revel, Audioaccess and Lexicon.
HCG is a division of Harman International Industries, Incorporated. Harman International (www.harman.com) is a leading manufacturer of high-quality, high-fidelity audio products and electronic systems for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. The company’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “HAR.”
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For additional information, contact:
Frank Doris
FM Public Relations
631-385-1304 ext. 402
frank.doris@fm-group.net
JBL, Bi-Radial and SonoGlass are registered trademarks, of Harman International Industries, Incorporated.
