History of JBL Part 2 – JBL overtakes Altec Lansing and the origin of the Century L100 Speakers

The video begins by acknowledging the Lancing Heritage website and 'The JBL Story' book by John Urgal as key resources for the history of James Lansing, JBL, and Altec. John Urgal, a JBL engineer and recording producer, designed the 4400 series studio monitors.

The discussion focuses on how JBL overtook Altec's market share, largely attributed to hiring the right talent and effective marketing. Greg Timbers, a pivotal figure after Ed May, designed many iconic JBL products, still highly valued today, including the Paragon and Hartsfield speakers. He led JBL's development from 1975 until his retirement.

In the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and early 70s, the Altec 604 was the most common studio monitor. However, Altec became complacent, leading to an opportunity for JBL.

Robert Fine, a renowned classical music recording engineer famous for Mercury Living Presence recordings, approached JBL for small monitors that matched the tonal quality of his Altec 604s. JBL developed the 4310 monitor for him, which later inspired the famous JBL L100 home speaker.

Capitol Studios sought a better monitor than Altec's 605, which was a cheaper, less effective version of the 604. JBL, with its 4-inch voice coil woofer technology, created monitors for Capitol that were louder, had more power handling, and were more durable than Altec's, marking a significant shift in the market.

The rise of louder rock and roll music in the late 60s and 70s, exemplified by artists like Jimi Hendrix, created a demand for stronger audio systems. JBL's speakers, though less sensitive, worked well with new solid-state amplifiers, allowing for higher volume and greater power handling, appealing to a new generation of musicians and producers.

JBL speakers, like the D140 and D130, became popular in musical instrument amplifiers from brands like Sun and Fender. JBL's ability to handle more power and play louder also made them dominant in PA systems, which were often seen as large stacks of JBL compression drivers and woofers at concerts.

Greg Timbers' leadership was instrumental during this period, developing iconic lines like the L300 and 4400 series. Altec, in contrast, struggled to innovate and keep up. Although JBL is now owned by Samsung and production is outsourced, the company remains relevant, continuing to produce quality speakers and reintroducing classics like the L100.

JBL, founded in 1927, is older than Klipsch and has maintained its relevance in the audio world. The video briefly mentions recent upgrades to Klipsch's horn speakers, including a new horn and optional bi-amping with active crossovers and DSP, highlighting ongoing innovation in the loudspeaker industry.