JBL: a working history.

James B. Lansing founded JBL in 1946. HARMAN’s history follows the company through recording studios, home listening, cinemas, live music, and large venues.¹ That range matters. JBL is not one cabinet or one era; it is a long conversation about how sound reaches people.

We love the scale of vintage JBL cabinets and the visual punctuation of an exposed horn. They change the silhouette of a room before the music starts. In the right setting, that is not something to hide. It is the centerpiece.

Every cabinet gives us a starting point. We look at how its drivers, horn, crossover, and woodwork fit together, then work toward the room it will serve. Sometimes the original combination is the one we want to hear again. Sometimes a different driver or a new system plan takes the project somewhere interesting. The listening guides the work. Our notes on Altec Lansing and the Voice of the Theatre explore another approach to large-format vintage sound.

A cabinet still has to live somewhere. Stands set the height. Racks organize the electronics. Grilles and hardware change how the system feels in the space. Finish, service access, processing, and placement all meet in the same project. This is where our audio work and woodworking naturally become one practice.

The goal is a system with character that earns its floor space every time someone presses play. Sometimes that means a careful restoration. Sometimes it means new components inside a familiar form. Either way, the most interesting chapter is the next room the cabinet gets to fill.