JBL HDI-1600 Speaker Review

[Sal1950]

I didn't quite expect the quality increase to be so obvious just for the surround speakers.

IME, inner detail and imaging provided by all the HDI series is phenomenal. JBL named them right, High Definition Imaging series is an appropriate handle for all of the series. I'll probably take these to my grave.

 

[DRNO]

Thanks for inputs. yes the 1600 are great! Will test the 3600 today so I will find out

 

[DRNO]

Have done testing and still have the 1600 !!

 

[boselover61]

Have done testing and still have the 1600 !!

Cant beat the 1600 with subwoofers

 

[outfaced]

Videos on Youtube not the best to judge sound but one interesting here ...

for me the JBL shows more live and spark than the R3, even the R3 measures better here

 

[MickeyBoy]

Wouldn't the JBL 4309 be a better buy? It has 2 dB higher sensitivity at a slightly higher retail, $2,000?

 

[Dougey_Jones]

Anybody wanna buy my barely used HDI-1600's in original boxes/packing? I've decided to go another direction. Speakers are mint. I think they realistically have less than 24hrs of play time and are already safely back in their original packaging.

 

[MickeyBoy]

I'm game Contact me atlhkevil@gmail

 

[Dougey_Jones]

I'm game Contact me atlhkevil@gmail

Says that email address is invalid.

 

[MickeyBoy]

Sorry - I omitted the space between at and lhkevil@gmail...

 

[Sal1950]

Best not to give out mails on forums, use a private conversation.
YMMV

 

[Streamc]

Videos on Youtube not the best to judge sound but one interesting here ...

for me the JBL shows more live and spark than the R3, even the R3 measures better here

boosted bass on JBL in some area. But I can`t judge.

 

[testp]

Videos on Youtube not the best to judge sound but one interesting here ...

for me the JBL shows more live and spark than the R3, even the R3 measures better here

what the heck are they talking about? nicht sprechen deutche, could someone translate a little...

 

[BingaMoon]

Was anyone able to listen to these and compare them to the Revel M16's?

 

[Ron Texas]

I'm surprised the discussion of this highly recommended speaker is truncated as compared to many others. These are still available for $1800/pair while the R3 has seen a price increase to $2200/pair.

 

[GXAlan]

@Ron Texas Talking to a local dealer, Revel has the majority of audiophile mindshare despite JBL also leveraging a lot of core Harman research. You would actually imagine JBL to offer better sound for a given price point since the finishing and cabinetry is a step down from Revel. Since JBLs are also found in $50 Bluetooth speakers and headphones (even though said budget headphones are good), it’s harder for the hifi stores to showcase JBL speakers (esp 2005 to 2020 when in person audition of speakers was possible).

Everyone seems to be “surprised” that JBLs sound as good as they do when there is no reason to be surprised…

 

[Sal1950]

Everyone seems to be “surprised” that JBLs sound as good as they do when there is no reason to be surprised…

Amen,
JBL has unfortunately been given a mostly bad rap by the high end review media.
But the same can be said of all speakers using horn (waveguide) type speakers.
My HDI 3600's sound incredible to me, imaging every bit as good as any Revels I've heard.
Response as smooth and glare free as I could ask for.
YMMV

 

[Prolix]

Feels like a silly question but here we go... Is that huge top end spike something that could bother pets? Looks like it shoots straight off the end of the graph.

 

[617]

Feels like a silly question but here we go... Is that huge top end spike something that could bother pets? Looks like it shoots straight off the end of the graph.

UHF are ultra directional and almost completely attenuated by any surface they come into contact with.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Feels like a silly question but here we go... Is that huge top end spike something that could bother pets? Looks like it shoots straight off the end of the graph.

I hope it bothers my cat. He sure bothers me.