[wnmnkh]

Heard from this site.

http://www.headphoneclub.net/zeroboa...esc=asc&no=442

I know 99% of people are unable to translate Korean, so let me translate & summarize;

-----------------------------------------

JBL will launch headphones this summer and fall. Names of headphones are Reference 220, 410 and 420. The prices of headphones are 79.99$, 69.99$ and 149.99$. (The original article doesn't mention why 220 is more expensive than 410)

JBL also will launch IEMs (named Harman Kardon 700 series?) as well. As collaboration with Etymotic, JBL will release three kinds of IEM, similar to ER6i and ER4.

-----------------------------------------

This is old news ( 7/12/2006 ) But I guess there is no one heard this news. Or this news might be fake. But I believe the original poster since he has written trustful reports, and he even knows the costs of the headphones.

Mods, feel free to delete if there's already information about this.

 

[JIANNENGYU]

Hopefully, it will come true, not just a rumor.
I hope JBL will issue some great sound IEMs as they produced high quality speakers.

 

[morning1985]

hope they"ll issue headphones outstanding both in sound quality and appearance

 

[Uncle Erik]

Isn't JBL part of the Harman/Kardon group, along with AKG? My guess is that they're going to pop some AKG drivers into JBL headsets. The general market knows JBL much better than AKG, so it would make sense.

Then again, if JBL has their own drivers, I'd be interested.

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by morning1985 hope they"ll issue headphones outstanding both in sound quality and appearance

Ummm...I think that usually is the point of business for most headphone companies, I'm not an expert but I think that is one of the main goals that a headphone company strives for when designing a headphone

 

[wnmnkh]

I bumped this old thread because they came out a while ago.

By the looks, 410 is kinda clone of AKG's, but I am interested in 420; that's the one may use JBL's own driver. Anyone tried this?

http://www.jbl.com/home/products/pro...at=HPH&ser=HDP

 

[d.phens]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wnmnkh /img/forum/go_quote.gif I bumped this old thread because they came out a while ago. By the looks, 410 is kinda clone of AKG's, but I am interested in 420; that's the one may use JBL's own driver. Anyone tried this? http://www.jbl.com/home/products/pro...at=HPH&ser=HDP

The can somewhat reminds me of thee ghastly Triports!

 

[fordgtlover]

Ouch... ugly

They better sound good to overcome those looks.

 

[TheVinylRipper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recstar24 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ummm...I think that usually is the point of business for most headphone companies, I'm not an expert but I think that is one of the main goals that a headphone company strives for when designing a headphone

Well, that's what the *engineers* want to do, the marketing 'droids and the bean counters usually have a lot more say in the final product than the engineers do though. I've been involved with product development before and it's a constant battle to keep the management types from cutting every corner imaginable. Just go and read the cartoon "Dilbert" for a while and you'll get the idea, Dilbert is largely based on real life in the business world.

That's why there is such a flood of crappy headphones (and damn near any other product you can think of) and so few really good ones.

Good engineers don't often make really good managers and it's the managers who have the final say as to the quality of the product.

I suspect that the companies that make good headphones are those few which are run by engineers turned successful managers.

 

[cotdt]

they should use the AKG name instead of the JBL name. AKG is already well respected on head-fi, while JBL is not.

 

[fordgtlover]

As you correctly state cotdt AKG is already well known headphone brand in the market place. JBL is also well known, but for different audio products. They are seeking to leverage their existing customer loyalty and familiarity in the market place to expand their product line.

If they were smart they would look to re-use the engineering done by AKG, target a slightly different market segment to AKG and simply style these things to suit the market, and of course have a cool marketing camapign, and some appropriate cross promotion (Zune maybe). That way the JBL cans would be technically as good as the AKG, the engineering costs would be shared across another product range, and we would have another mid-range decent headphone to choose from. ANd, in the balance JBL would become a quality brand to a whole new range of consumers.

In reality, they will buy a wharehouse full of 25 cent drivers from some unknown wholesale company, get some marketing guy to do a brief for an industrial designer with junk about image and style and endurance and futurism and stuff, and then pay the design company $1M to come up with a laughable design. Then give the design and the drivers to the production engineers and tell them to make it work at the lowest possible price. Then they'll release another substandard product on the market place to dilute yet another former quality brand name.

Oh wait... the second one seems to have already happened...

 

[Kevin Sinnott]

I'm not so sure. I own a pair of JBL Reference 410 phones. I think they are exact clones of so AKG's K26P. Regardless of whether or not all would agree about the phones' virtues, they clearly fit your first scenario. That is, they appear to be an AKG designed/produced product rebadged JBL, with just the intention you described, of getting someone who'd know JBL's name to try an AKG set of phones.

Interestingly, there are some other threads where the fact that they are clones is made light of. But, to me, like you, I thought it to be a good thing.

 

[Moocher]

So, what about the sound of the 410s and 420s?

Mooch

 

[Cankin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheVinylRipper /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, that's what the *engineers* want to do, the marketing 'droids and the bean counters usually have a lot more say in the final product than the engineers do though. I've been involved with product development before and it's a constant battle to keep the management types from cutting every corner imaginable. Just go and read the cartoon "Dilbert" for a while and you'll get the idea, Dilbert is largely based on real life in the business world. That's why there is such a flood of crappy headphones (and damn near any other product you can think of) and so few really good ones. Good engineers don't often make really good managers and it's the managers who have the final say as to the quality of the product. I suspect that the companies that make good headphones are those few which are run by engineers turned successful managers.

I'm sure you are an excellent engineer.

 

[iQEM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Sinnott /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not so sure. I own a pair of JBL Reference 410 phones. I think they are exact clones of so AKG's K26P. Regardless of whether or not all would agree about the phones' virtues, they clearly fit your first scenario. That is, they appear to be an AKG designed/produced product rebadged JBL, with just the intention you described, of getting someone who'd know JBL's name to try an AKG set of phones. Interestingly, there are some other threads where the fact that they are clones is made light of. But, to me, like you, I thought it to be a good thing.

are you sure about that ? do you own K26p ? i have K26p, but never try JBL's...from what i see, the shape of JBL ref 410 it's definitely are the same as AKG K27i, and JBL ref 510 are the same as AKG K28nc...and the size are identical too...the difference only on the head bands, AKG using 3d axis...well, i'm just curious about the sound from JBL's cans...even before i bought AKG's...