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JBL HDI-1600 Speaker Review

tecnogadget

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Nice set of JBL’s. Im kinda starting liking them.

Am I the only one having some trouble to read/perceive the Horizontal Dispersion Plot ??
F2C82142-6B67-4B63-82C5-AB6FAA40EA72.jpeg
I think we were used to pretty much all previous reviews to be shaded in the 60db area or hotter. More red instead of just orange/yellow. Its dificult to spot the +- 70 deg. Is it because the spinorama is at only 85dB ??

No mention about On-Axis being weak at midbass from 200Hz to 700Hz
 

thewas

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We'll see about distortion numbers now that Amir has worked on that a bit. Right now there's nothing to compare to
Why isn't there? Loudspeakers till now were distortion measured with 10V which for most was more than the 96 dB / 1 meter used this time and if they have not such issues, the comparison result is clear.
 

Eurasian

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Nice set of JBL’s. Im kinda starting liking them.

Am I the only one having some trouble to read/perceive the Horizontal Dispersion Plot ??
View attachment 57832I think we were used to pretty much all previous reviews to be shaded in the 60db area or hotter. More red instead of just orange/yellow. Its dificult to spot the +- 70 deg. Is it because the spinorama is at only 85dB ??

No mention about On-Axis being weak at midbass from 200Hz to 700Hz

I think the whole color scale has shifted down because of the rising response heading towards tweeter resonance. If it weren't for this rise, the picture would look much more "normal" to us.
 

tecnogadget

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I think KEF looks much nicer but I think the KEFs will run into power compression long before the JBL do, so if going loud is a concern, the HDI series is probably bit better. Amir alluded to this in his review.

Both speakers have same size 6.5” bass metallic drivers (hybrid aluminium on the KEF’s and Advanced Aluminum Matrix on the JBL’s)
But the KEF offering some headroom to the bass driver since it also has a midrange driver (3 way)

Even Amir says he heard the Jbl bottom up at some point.
 

WhiteCoatGeek

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I am not very good at reading all these graphs and measurements. How dose this compare to R3 in simple terms? I am looking at upgrading my LCR come this summer. Kef R and JBL HDI are on my shortlist. Thanks!
 

GXAlan

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Firstly, thank you to the person who purchased these and sent them into review to Amir. I have been eagerly waiting for these measurements for a while now. And thank you Amir for doing such great work and giving the data for free to everyone. You are doing gods work.

You should consider making a donation (think of it is a magazine subscription).

Now then, it seems like build quality from Harman has been getting consistently worse and worse as the years go on. The Synthesis line has always represented a higher price point, and they used to be hand made in California, so they deserved their premium. Then they moved production to the Mexico plant where they had been making their pro line for last decade... 4367 weighs 40lb less than 4365... just a few examples of cutting corners.

I agree on build quality, though Greg Timbers has said that the 4367 beats the 4365 in sound quality while using lower-priced components. He wasn't as directly involved with its development though. You have to wonder though, if the lower-priced components is purely a result of outsourcing or if it is result of improvements in technology.

The cabinetry part is true. There was a review of the new L100 Classic which mentioned that the walnut veneer was failing after just a year. Granted, foam rot occurred with old-school US-made JBLs too, but at least the cabinetry was good.

These measure a heck of a lot better then the JBL 1400 Array, that's for sure. Can't wait to see the measurements for the bigger speakers

Maybe there's a way for Amir to test the SAM1HF/SAM2LF combo? Not sure if the measurements are apples-to-apples if it's not on Amir's system.
 

q3cpma

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I am not very good at reading all these graphs and measurements. How dose this compare to R3 in simple terms? I am looking at upgrading my LCR come this summer. Kef R and JBL HDI are on my shortlist. Thanks!
If going only by the measurements, the R3 doesn't have any real weaknesses or competitor, so I suggest you consider them first. Unless you consider active solutions, of course, but even then, the only comparable (and better) coaxial system is probably Genelec's 8341A/8351B.
 

spacevector

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Nice set of JBL’s. Im kinda starting liking them.

Am I the only one having some trouble to read/perceive the Horizontal Dispersion Plot ??
View attachment 57832I think we were used to pretty much all previous reviews to be shaded in the 60db area or hotter. More red instead of just orange/yellow. Its dificult to spot the +- 70 deg. Is it because the spinorama is at only 85dB ??

No mention about On-Axis being weak at midbass from 200Hz to 700Hz

I agree these graphs are nice to look at but tough to truly gauge constant/controlled directivity angle range. The graph for this speaker seems particularly 'bland' because of the rapid rise in response above 15kHz - note the deep red area in the right which "yellows up" the rest of the range.

The follow up graphs from MKZM seem better to gauge directivity.

1586386981357.png
 

headshake

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@amirm would this bookshelf or any reviewed so far work well as an L/C/R in a home theater environment? I love bookshelf sized speakers Instead of towers/center channel.
The HDI 4500 center is actually beefy looking.

IMHO having the same LCR sounds so much better than a little center speaker + 2 towers. Then again, that center is big.

.
 

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direstraitsfan98

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You should consider making a donation (think of it is a magazine subscription).



I agree on build quality, though Greg Timbers has said that the 4367 beats the 4365 in sound quality while using lower-priced components. He wasn't as directly involved with its development though. You have to wonder though, if the lower-priced components is purely a result of outsourcing or if it is result of improvements in technology.

The cabinetry part is true. There was a review of the new L100 Classic which mentioned that the walnut veneer was failing after just a year. Granted, foam rot occurred with old-school US-made JBLs too, but at least the cabinetry was good.



Maybe there's a way for Amir to test the SAM1HF/SAM2LF combo? Not sure if the measurements are apples-to-apples if it's not on Amir's system.
I sent a donation, thanks for the suggestion.

Oh, and I came to the same conclusion as you, that the reduction in build quality did not really have an effect on the sound. There are obvious improvements to the 4367 that put it ahead of the 4365. It's just disappointing that the build quality isn't up to the same standard when Greg Timbers was on payroll. I think the 4367 is the last speaker he worked on?
 

Cahudson42

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It would be very interesting to me to see a complete destructive teardown of the 6.5" drivers in all the recently reviewed Harmon products, Revel, this JBL, the R162..

How different/similar are they? VC dimensions and material, magnets, cone throw, cone material and properties, frame material, surround material and elasticity...etc.

Is there really a difference between this $900 6.5" driver, and the one in the $80 (on sale,) R162?
 
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amirm

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@amirm would this bookshelf or any reviewed so far work well as an L/C/R in a home theater environment? I love bookshelf sized speakers Instead of towers/center channel.
Of course. I think that is actually their target market since they sell these individually so you can purchase a center.
 

napilopez

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I am not very good at reading all these graphs and measurements. How dose this compare to R3 in simple terms? I am looking at upgrading my LCR come this summer. Kef R and JBL HDI are on my shortlist. Thanks!

I consider them roughly on par. They are both roughly flattish where it most matters. Based on my own listening of the R3's and my own measurements of them, they are a little recessed around the mids(this shows in amir's, but a little less intensely). Moreover, the JBL has noticeably wider horizontal directivity, which is good if you prefer that type of sound. But overall the KEF seems like the flatter speaker.

I think it's a toss up in terms of frequency response and directivity. I'd probably say go for the JBL if you want a bit of a wider more but diffuse soundstage, the KEF if you want a sharper but narrower one.
 

direstraitsfan98

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I sent you a $100 donation, Amir, largely due to this review. Maybe use the funds to help pay for sending the speaker back to its owner? That would make sense! :)

This review has been one I have been waiting for a while now. I'm very pleased to see it measures so well. Your description of how it sounds makes me think you enjoyed it very much. Would you say it sounds better than the Revel bookshelf you also reviewed recently?
 

spacevector

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Thanks for another awesome review!

I think the grey finish looks quite cheap and 'plasticky'. For me, the curved sides and flat top seem to make it worse looking. The gloss black is what I would go for (if I had the dough, haha).

1586387877304.png
 
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amirm

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I sent you a $100 donation, Amir, largely due to this review. Maybe use the funds to help pay for sending the speaker back to its owner? That would make sense! :)
Thanks so much for the generous donation!

This review has been one I have been waiting for a while now. I'm very pleased to see it measures so well. Your description of how it sounds makes me think you enjoyed it very much. Would you say it sounds better than the Revel bookshelf you also reviewed recently?
I think it beats it on power handling. For the rest, it is similar.
 

MZKM

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I am not very good at reading all these graphs and measurements. How dose this compare to R3 in simple terms? I am looking at upgrading my LCR come this summer. Kef R and JBL HDI are on my shortlist. Thanks!
That’s what the Preference Scores are for :cool:

However, it’s not perfect, so if scores are close, treat them as the same (for far-field usage). However, it doesn’t take into account max SPL. If comparing speakers of similar scores, narrow it down to ones of higher sensitivity, and then after that you could narrow it down further by looking at phase and impedance.
 
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