JBL 1400 Array

[RobL]

Does anyone have any experience with these? They look… interesting, seem to be well liked and a pair came up for sale I might be interested in. It’s a 3 hour drive to go hear them though.

 

[C. Cook]

Hi there. Geez, I had an account before and the ASR system couldn't locate it at all, so I had to make a new one just to answer your question.

I made a 2 hour drive back in 2018 to hear the Array 1400s that I ended up buying from the guy who listed them on Craigslist and it was worth it. Obviously I didn't bring any kind of T&M equipment with me, but I was able to use my own Hypex based DIY amplifier as well as the guy's McIntosh gear (not sure if it was tube or solid state) and I got to listen to the speakers directly next to a pair of these babies: https://www.jblsynthesis.com/products/loudspeakers/type/floorstanding-loudspeakers/DD67000RW.html on the same source tracks using both my DAC and his (also forget what he had). I'm not kidding when I say I could barely hear any difference at the volume levels we used for testing and he also had a pair of Revel Ultima Salon 2s in the next room over on another set of McIntosh amps. The guy I'm talking about frequents these forums so it wouldn't surprise me if he chimes in. He had two pairs of the 1400s, keeping one and getting rid of the other.

At the time I had several sets of speakers at home including some JBL Studio 590s, JBL LS60s, Wharfedale Jade 3's w/ a subwoofer, some Elac Unifi UB51s, and a few odd pairs of B&W 600 series laying around. Nothing exactly high end, in other words, but the 1400s blew all of them away with my Hypex NC500 based amp and whatever DAC I had at the time. Might have been a P(o)S Audio top of the line DSD or a MyTek Brooklyn DAC+.

Anyway, the 1400s are great speakers in the right setup. None of the horn-Y-ness you might expect from their Dr. Seuss looks and giant vertically oriented waveguide w/ 3" compression driver tweeter topped by a 1" titanium super tweeter oriented horizontally in a smaller waveguide. Midrange on tracks like Waylon Jennings' album "Honkytonk Heroes" was absolutely amazing and the so-called soundstage was nice and deep. The high treble, for whatever frequencies I'm still able to hear (probably 13kHz) was crisp and realistic, so I believe JBL's claims that the supertweeter on the 1400s can reproduce close to 45kHz - like it matters in the real world). Bass is very punchy with a powerful amp and good room positioning, but I don't think they're super efficient speakers (87-88 dB/Wm or something). FWIW the room I had them in is relatively small without a lot of available space to bring the speakers in away from the walls (generally used a foot or less of spacing from back wall, but the port is in the back and the tweeter array is far forward already, so it wasn't a big deal - easy to move just a little closer to wall for better bass without any effect on imaging/sound staging). With clean amplification and a good source signal I basically couldn't get them to sound distorted at any volume level, to the point that my next door neighbor got my phone number to text me when it was too loud (and this was often for a while). I mainly listened to 80/s90s rock, Bluenote and acid jazz, hip hop, funk, and recent pop and electronic music (put on Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" if you end up going, sounds better on the 1400s than on any speaker I've ever heard <$5,000). I also tried the typical speaker test tracks that various hi-fi mags publish and they never disappointed. Never felt the need for a sub AT ALL, even in home theater applications.

To be honest, I loved the Studio 590s and hated most parts about the LS60s (very rolled off high end but damn good powerful bass "slam" lol). The Wharfedale Jades were great with tube based systems, but the woofers would fail if played hard w/o crossing over low bass to a sub (this is a known but not corporately admitted defect in that line - the cone and spider would separate from the tube surrounding the voice coil that they're normally glued to). But the 1400s were a game changer for me, and I had people over who have speakers ranging from electrostatics to high end B&Ws to high end Paradigms and with good source material they all liked the 1400s quite a bit. I never felt the need for any equalization (I do with the JBL 4349s I just bought - in part based on Amir's writeup and tests). The 3" aluminum CD and 1" supertweeter just meshed so well together in a way that the dual diaphragm 1 or 1.5" thing in these 4349s can't reproduce. Side note: that was a long thread with many people complaining about the dip in FR between 1.5 and 2kHz. I'm not sure if there's a measurement that can accurately portray the separation between instruments/sounds at all frequencies other than THD, but the 4349s are truly "reference class" monitors in that regard. The 1400s are just great too, but I hear things I've never heard on any of my acquaintances' systems *ever* on the 4349s and I'm more of a critical listener at times than someone who wants my system to sound - ahem - "musical" with "pace, rhythm and timing" lol. (both the 1400s and 4349s are excellent in that regard but the average audio nut would call the 4349s 'etched' and the 1400s 'musical').

Sorry about the novel, looks like I got carried away. Let me know if you have any specific questions. I'd say if you have a large-ish room, can place them in a manner that doesn't make the bass get boomy, they're in good shape and priced at $5500 or below, go give them a listen. You don't have much to lose at least auditioning them. If possible take your amp that you plan to use them with if the seller will let you; it'll be worth it. They are just OK with lower powered amps other than something like the Benchmark amp that Amir tested with exceedingly low distortion (I've auditioned it in the same system my 1400s were in); and they'll expose any weaknesses in lesser quality recordings pretty easily.

Word to the wise, JBL used this rubberized type material to finish the top of the woofer cabinet (but not the tweeter assembly/array) and it's very similar to that rubberized coating that BMW and a few other car mfg's were using for a while that is 1) easy as hell to scratch and 2) will decay into a sticky, melty gooey mess if exposed to sunlight and heat. Fingernails scratch them surprisingly easily. Take special care to inspect that top portion of the cabinets. I can recommend a product to keep that in good shape if you end up buying them, but I've seen plenty on the used market with really visible scuffs and degradation.

On that note, can I ask you what the asking price is, if they're in good shape and whether they have original boxes?

One last thing. You can still get a brand new pair in boxes for $7500, possibly less, if you negotiate with these guys: https://homeaudiosound.com/product/jbl-array-1400-nibin-stock-7500/

 

[C. Cook]

Here are the replacements which I've had for about 1.5 weeks now. I went from two P(o)S Audio Ice Power 700AS1 based "monoblocks" and their ridiculously overpriced top of the line DAC in the pic with the 1400s to a DIY Ice Power 1200AS2 amp and an RME ADI-2 V.2 DAC in the pic with the 4349s and I can elaborate at length about the differences and which speakers do what better if you're interested. That said, I think you should brave the 2-hours (sorry, I just realized you said 3, but I have a lead foot so a 3-hr drive takes me 2) just to audition them if you can. If your experience is anything like mine, you'll want to take them home right away. FWIW, I only replaced mine because we're moving and they're just to unwieldy and prone to damage in moving without factory boxes/pallets. The 4349s fit in my back seat and are pretty awesome speakers too. One other thing since I'm obviously OCD here - The 1400s have the LE-14H3 woofers which are *claimed* to be 14" woofers, but they're really more like 12.9" if you measure the diameter from the edge of the surround. OTOH the 4349 woofer is just about 12" measured in the same manner.

 

[fitero]

I'd love to read your thoughts regarding the difference between the two...

 

[C. Cook]

I'd love to read your thoughts regarding the difference between the two...

No problem. First off have you heard both of them?

Keep in mind my experience with both is limited - other than the audition of the 1400s in a totally different room than the only room I've heard the 4349s in (i.e., the one in my pics) - to one room; my soon-to-be-former living room. We have a townhouse with normal height ceilings, a big rug a few large-ish pieces of furniture but otherwise no dampening. That's one of the advantages of most JBL constant directivity waveguide/CD designs. Not a lot of room interaction if you're in the right position and so are the speakers.

Onto the differences, I have to be honest. When I sold the 1400s and first got the 4349s I was like "WTF did I just do?!" But thankfully the RME DAC has digital domain equalization and I swapped out the Topping D90 w/ MQA passthrough and made some adjustments to FR based on Amir's (and other peoples') 4349 tests both in the 32Hz and 1700Hz (with lower Q at the higher freq's) custom EQ adjustments. This isn't to say they sounded bad, but at the volume levels I was accustomed to with the 1400s (relatively low for most listening despite the lower sensitivity) there was a palpable sense of "presence" missing in the 4349s. Think AC/DC's track "Ride On" (at this time in the track:

) - when there's a buildup of music and then Angus Young lets his pick/fingers slide down the fret (or off of it) it literally sucks the air out of the room with the Studio 590s or 1400 Arrays. That wasn't the case with the 4349s despite their obvious amazing 'attention' to details such that no sound or instrument ever "steps on" any other instrument at virtually any frequency. Amir's review cited their low distortion and dynamic capabilities, but they're nothing like the 1400s on tracks like this - without equalization.

Another song that comes to mind is Van Halen's remastered "master" edition of "Ice Cream Man" which is a mix of acoustic and electrified/amplified guitar sounds (although of course even the acoustic guitar must be amplified). There is a palpable sense of presence immediately noticeable with the 1400s and even Studio 590s (and on Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" here:

, when the effect starts and culminates with a noticeable in-room almost electrical presence and then sucking out as it stops) - the 4349s are often talked about as the "ultimate party speakers" in hi-fi mags, but the 590s and 1400s (both designed by Greg Timbers and Jerry Morrow) are *clearly* the superior party speakers for dynamics, the 4349s require equalization to achieve the same 'hair standing up on the back of my neck' feeling. Despite their higher sensitivity (but I think the Studio 590s are 4 ohm unlike the other two being 8, so that could help them with lower powered but still capable amps).

Where the 4349s excel is on tracks like Zero 7's "Home" or "Give it Away" (

- take a look at the singer in live versions, veeery easy on the eyes and similar songs

) is that they are absolute reference speakers. Their ability to differentiate detail and not let any one aspect of the music overpower any other is simply amazing. It's what the audiophool would call "etchy" or "clinical" but we all know that's BS. They're the equivalent of electrostatic headphones but out loud using "conventional" driver technology. And guess what - they're as good as the 1400s on home theater. Presuming you have 300WPC and some relatively high "damping factor" like the Ice Power, Pascal and Hypex class-D amps do.

Stereo imaging is precise and all you could ask for too, so long as you have them positioned appropriately. It's not that hard either only a little toe-in with that crazy waveguide, and since the ports fire forward, you have some flexibility to put them closer to the back wall for bass response if it's lacking. They're definitely more finicky at both extremes - low bass and crystalline treble than the 1400s which don't struggle with any aspect of any of *my* music (and I don't listen to much classical, so that could be a major caveat for some, but they certainly possess the dynamics that Amir talked about when he was comparing and contrasting the 4349 with his Revel Salons). Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead, Morcheeba, Nightmares on Wax, etc. all seem to sound better on the 4349s with adequate equalization (a low-Q bump between 1.5 and 2kHz as well as in the mid 30Hz range and even at 19kHz assuming our ears really hear that portion of the spectrum).

Haha, the easiest way to explain all of this would be to have a live listening demo. When I got the 4349s last week I complained to two friends that are also into audio gear that I was going to need a sub. I no longer feel that way at all. Clearly I gave up a lot of cabinet volume and a got a slightly smaller driver in the 4349s than in the 1400s. But with some tweaking and positioning....damn - color me impressed. I've never heard a HF driver that is capable of differentiating the instruments, the attacks, the overlap or the differentiation so nicely without stepping on other instruments and sounds etc. than the dual diaphragm driver in these things does. They aren't as forthright and honest or three dimensional with the likes of Waylon Jennings' or George Strait's voice as the 'you're live front room sound' of the Array 1400s, but - and I hate to use this word, I really do - the 4349s are just easier and more "musical" to listen to at the same time as being a lot more 'clinical' - every instrument has its place. My friend who does have high end B&Ws costing in the $7,000 range said "your speakers are a front of the room sound, mine seem like back of the room. And there isn't an attack or decay or sustained note that these things don't accurately and 'calmly' reproduce."

Now I sound like some sort of audiophool, but note that I use normal Canare and Bluejeans cables, I base my initial equipment purchase lists primarily on how well they measure at ASR. When it comes to things like flat frequency response across the audio spectrum (and granted neither the 1400s or 4367 (hahah I accidentally said 4367 because I'd heard those the week before buying these - I like the 4349s better now - measure anywhere near perfectly in that regard) sometimes my ears are just more willing and amenable to low distortion and super accurate reproduction given decent sources than they care about a slight dip in frequency response - even in important bands. Plus about 70% of the time I listen off-axis. Sometimes I even sit at the end of the sofa in the corner at least 40 degrees off from the axis of my tweeter just to feel more bass and I still never feel like I'm missing anything. It's not like you get to chose your place at a concert most of the time anyway. Hope this was helpful in some way. I'd be happy to let anyone in the local area come by and take a listen (we'll be in north Houston permanently starting in early October).