CHAPTER 2
Legacy-the historical development of
the JBL P r o j e c t l o u d s p e a ke r s
Of those few who seek perfection in
sound reproduction, only a handful have
actually achieved it. The price is always
high. It is a rare occurrence indeed
when an individual or group is able to
triumph over the constraints of econom-
ic and technological reality just once.
At JBL, this has happened six times. In
each case, its engineers were told to
build the speaker system they had
always wanted to build. W h a t e v e r
resources were required would be made
available. Thus began an ongoing inves-
tigation into new frontiers of sound
reproduction, beginning mid-century in
1950 and continuing to the present day.
The products that have resulted from
this venture are now known as the JBL
P ro j e c t loudspeakers. Each represents
the absolute peak of every technologi-
cal, material and engineering innovation
available at that time, combined into a
single system. They are H a r t s fi e l d ,
Pa r agon, Everest, K2 S9500/7500 and
K2 S5500. The newest is K2 S9800.
Although differing in performance
details and physical attributes, each of
the P ro j e c t loudspeakers has shared a
common objective: to elevate sound
reproduction to levels defined only by
the limitations of existing materials and
t e c h n o l o g y. And despite a spread of
nearly fifty years, all P ro j e c t l o u d s p e a k -
ers have shared many common features-
testimony to their foundation on the
technology and manufacturing tech-
niques upon which JBLwas built.
D e f ining the P r o j e c t C o n c e p t
The H a r t s fi e l d began a tradition at JBL
that continues today. First, engineer a
product as close to perfection as pos-
sible. When it reaches that level, that is
the time to make it better.
In 1954, the H a r t s fi e l d was significant
not in that it represented n e w t e c h n o l -
o g y, but rather a new level of the all-
technical manufacturing approach pio-
neered by James B. Lansing some
twenty years before it. Like its P ro j e c t
series successors, it was a high eff i c i e n -
cy system incorporating compression
driver technology, one combining the
qualities of high output, low distortion,
exceptional stereo imaging and fatigue-
free listening. Most important, it was
the first consumer-available listening
system to do so.
In this respect, P roject K2 S9800 is at
once the most advanced and sophisticat-
ed loudspeaker in the world today a n d a
speaker whose technology is deeply
rooted in over 50 years of tradition.
JBL's president in 1954, Wi l l i a m
Thomas, described the Hartsfield as
"...the speaker system we have always
wanted to build ... the finest compo-
nents ever made available to serious lis-
t e n e r s . "
2
Project K2 S9800
