JBL sets up the Stage 2: With the new series you can easily put together a modern home theater setup

Imagine you’ve finally received the new two-channel setup or complete immersive audio system you finally committed to after weeks of research and discussion. You get more cabling as you connect each cable. You can’t wait to boot up your favorite movie and launch a new album. All you have to do after testing them is throw the boxes away, but then you press play and it sounds… boxy. We feel you, and JBL wants to heal you.

Unveiled at a July 17 premiere at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the new JBL Modern Audio AV receivers and Stage 2 speakers introduce easily integrated and optimized home theater sound systems at affordable prices. In a sense, the debut of these mix-and-match products at the oldest continuously operating hotel in Los Angeles – a Golden Age icon, opened in 1927 – could mark a return to the fundamental approach behind JBL’s new lines . After all, company namesake James B. Lansing registered his first company the same year the Hotel Roosevelt opened and cemented his reputation in sound reinforcement with the development of the Shearer Horn cinema loudspeaker system in the 1930s, followed by the standard bearers of the Voice of the Theater in the thirties. 1940s. Even though the aim of the new series is high quality systems with low installation complexity, JBL has designed many compression drivers and custom waveguides over the last century, so every ‘back-to-basics’ nod is the accompanying components. anything but basic.

The first new products to take the stage are the JBL Stage 2 speakers, including eight models available in both Latte and Espresso woodgrain finishes, so you can build an array to suit your room and budget. The range includes the 260F and 280F floorstanding models, 240B and 250B bookshelf models (as well as matching floor stands, sold separately), the 245C center channel speaker, the 240H Dolby Atmos-enabled height module and the 200P and 220P powered speakers. subwoofers. The name, meanwhile, is taken from JBL’s architectural series of speakers that are designed to blend in with the environment, so that only effortless music stands out.

Designed at the JBL Acoustic Engineering Center of Excellence in Northridge, California, the bookshelf, floor and center speakers share a 1-inch anodized aluminum dome tweeter mounted in a next-generation HDI. [High-Definition Imaging] Horn to ensure a wide yet precise soundstage and that all speakers are voice matched to the 25 kHz treble. In addition, they all feature woofers with ribbed polycellulose cones, but of different sizes and numbers: from one 4.5-inch driver in the 250B to two 8-inch drivers in the 280F. All speakers except the bookshelf speakers come with a number of rear-firing tuned ports to extend the bass response (up to 33Hz on the 280F). But if you’re looking for rumble, you’re better off opting for the 10-inch/150W high-excursion sub or the 12-inch/250W sub, both of which come with crossover, level and phase controls. In addition, the towers feature special ATMOS 5-Way binding posts with integrated wire management, allowing you to easily add the height module.

The thing about speakers is that they need power. Or they need to be powered speakers, but in the case of the Stage 2 series they need an amplifier. Fortunately, JBL also has a lot of experience in that area. (And it doesn’t hurt that the larger HARMAN Luxury Audio Group has other amplification engineers, like ARCAM, to come to the drawing board if necessary.)

To meet the wattage and signal routing needs for all cinephiles and audiophiles, the Modern Audio (MA) AV receivers product line combines them with five models: the 60W JBL MA310 5.2-channel 4K AV Receiver, 75W JBL MA510 5.2 Channel 8K AV Receiver, 110W/125W MA710/MA710HP 7.2 Channel 8K (High Performance) AV Receiver and 140W JBL MA9100HP 9.2 Channel AV Receiver. Shared features include Class D amplification to power all channels, Dolby and DTS decoding (up to 7.1.2 or 5.1.4 channel ATMOS/DTS:X configurations), 192 kHz 24-bit DACs with high resolution and an abundance of digital and analog RCA connections. You can stream music via Bluetooth (5.1 LE or 5.3 with aptX Adaptive, depending on model), as well as Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Chromecast via Wi-Fi (except on the JBL MA310). The Wi-Fi enabled receivers can be automated together with other smart home devices thanks to the “Works with SmartThings” integration. In addition, the top models have Bluetooth transmitters wireless headphones/speakers, are Ron Ready for audiophile music servers, and have a built-in Moving Magnet phono input for connecting a turntable.

Most models have four HDMI inputs, but the MA71000HP and MA9100HP have six with eARC plug HDR10+/Dolby Vision support – for all those high-resolution streaming and physical media sources you want to power on a new Samsung TV, for example . All models except the MA310 have HDMI 2.1 with enhanced gaming features: VRR, ALLM, QFT, HFR (4K@120Hz) for all PlayStation 5 fans. An EZ Set EQ app, compatible with all models, collects room acoustics data during a two-minute test cycle to equalize speaker groups for each room. In addition, the MA7100HP and MA9100HP are Dirac Live Ready for automatic room correction and are equipped with IP control and additional optimization tools for integrators/power users. As for the name of the AVRs, the Modern Audio series is designed with a contemporary look that suits modern interiors.

We’ve been fans of JBL’s party speakers and studio monitors and their ability to deliver both for years presence and power of compact form factors, using image horns to create wide sweet spots that feature fast transient response. JBL speakers can maintain a brisk pace while pushing air, so we expect lively dynamics and abundant authority from these new speakers. We’ll have more to say about the MA AV receivers and Stage 2 speakers once we spend some extra time with them and explore the technology behind them as part of an upcoming visit to the HARMAN Experience Center in Northridge, California. now we can share that the products will be available starting July 2024 with prices ranging from $399 to $1,599 for the JBL MA AV receivers and $299.95 to $1,199.95 per pair for the JBL Stage 2 speakers. In the meantime, you can visit www.JBL.com for more details.