JBL Project ARRAY 1500 15″ Subwoofers (Special Edition)

WOODBURY, NY — JBL, celebrating 60 years as a leading manufacturer of professional and consumer loudspeakers, announced that it is now shipping its ultrahigh-end Project Array loudspeakers. The five JBL Project Array models combine innovative compression driver technology with dynamic drivers to take advantage of the sonic strengths of both designs. At CES 2006, in active demonstrations in a suite at the Las Vegas Hilton (January 5 — 8), the 1000 Array is featured in a two-channel system with JBL Synthesis electronics, showcasing its capacity for reproducing music with remarkable realism and sonic accuracy.

To deliver extraordinary sonic performance in the finest home theater and music systems, JBL Project Array models utilize technologies directly derived from the company’s flagship K2 Series loudspeakers and professional recording studio monitors. Project Array models include the 1400 Array and 1000 Array floorstanding loudspeakers; the 800 Array stand-mounted model; the 880 Array center channel loudspeaker; and the 1500 Array powered subwoofer with built-in 1000-watt amplifier.

Paul Bente, president of JBL Consumer Products, pointed out: “Our goal in designing the Project Array loudspeakers was to combine the exceptional dynamic range, transient response and ‘effortless’ quality of horn-loaded compression drivers with the precise imaging, three-dimensional soundstage and articulate low-frequency impact provided by the finest dynamic drivers. The Project Array series truly offers the best of both designs, along with unsurpassed resolution and a smooth, natural tonal balance that is sure to satisfy the most discriminating home theater enthusiasts and music lovers.”

Exclusive JBL Compression Driver Technology

To achieve their superlative performance, the 1400 Array, 1000 Array and 800 Array loudspeakers feature exclusive Bi-Radial horn compression drivers mounted vertically in a freestanding configuration. This design eliminates enclosure diffraction effects to provide precise, ultra-stable imaging, along with a wider, deeper, more three-dimensional soundstage. The 880 Array employs a vertically mounted Bi-Radial compression driver flanked by dual woofers to deliver articulate reproduction of dialogue and effects, and to provide a seamless sonic blend when multiple Project Array loudspeakers are used in a surround sound home theater system.

The vertical Bi-Radial horns, made from an extremely dense and inert material to eliminate unwanted sonic colorations, incorporate their midrange/high-frequency and ultrahigh-frequency transducers into a unified horn assembly. This design optimizes the horn’s dispersion pattern and tonal accuracy, both on- and off-axis. The ultrahigh-frequency transducers used in each model are directly mounted to their loudspeaker diaphragms, achieving high-frequency response to beyond 40kHz. The Bi-Radial design yields a richly detailed midrange and remarkably clear, open high frequencies, with no harshness or glare, delivered over a wide listening area.

Leading-Edge Engineering and Construction

To complement these unique compression drivers, Project Array loudspeakers employ low-frequency transducers that incorporate JBL’s most advanced engineering and materials technologies. All models feature treated-pulp-cone woofers; the 1400 Array and 1500 Array utilize JBL’s exclusive Aquaplas formulation, while the other models use an advanced-technology polymer material. The woofer cones combine the inherent musicality of the natural pulp-cone fiber with the added rigidity provided by the coating treatments, which preserve sonic neutrality while damping internal resonances, smoothing out the frequency balance and tightening bass response.

Performance is further enhanced by the use of heavy-duty motor assemblies and large-diameter voice coils that utilize JBL’s Symmetrical Field Geometry (SFG) circuit, a proprietary technology that lowers woofer distortion by maintaining a symmetrical magnetic field (unlike conventional woofer designs with asymmetrical magnetic fields) in the voice-coil gap. The uniform magnetic field around the voice coil ensures linear cone travel, provides high-power-handling capability, and dramatically reduces harmonic distortion. The woofers incorporate die-cast frames, vented polepieces for highly efficient cooling, and additional enhancements to achieve maximum low-frequency performance.

JBL Project Array loudspeakers are constructed from only the highest grade materials and components, including high-order crossover networks using low-loss air-core inductors, and audiophile-grade polypropylene-dielectric capacitors selected for maximum sonic purity. The woofer enclosures are made from thick-walled medium-density fiberboard (MDF), with trapezoidal, heavily braced internal geometry designs to minimize internal standing waves and enclosure colorations.

JBL Project Array loudspeakers are as distinctive in appearance as they are in performance. All models are available in an elegant lacquered-wood finish, complemented by an ultraflat, soft-touch, rubberized black finish for the top surfaces, giving the loudspeakers a totally unique design that blends classic and high-tech elements.

Following is an overview of models in the JBL Project Array lineup.

1500 Array: Massive Bass Power and Authority

The JBL 1500 Array powered subwoofer combines extremely high power output with unsurpassed low-frequency definition and extension to offer the ultimate bass performance in a multichannel Project Array system. The 1500 Array employs a high-efficiency W1500H 15-inch pulp-cone woofer, featuring an edge-wound copper voice coil in a massive 4-inch ferrite magnet assembly, along with JBL’s exclusive Symmetrical Field Geometry circuit for significantly reduced distortion and additional refinements.

The 1500 Array incorporates an advanced-technology, 1000-watt Class D digital-switching amplifier to deliver powerful bass output under the most-demanding conditions of continuous high-volume use, and includes a full complement of controls and connections to facilitate its use in any home theater system
and room.

Suggested retail pricing of JBL Project Array loudspeakers begins at $3,000 each.