Everest dd 66000 speakers

I think they are great speakers. Like getting out of the restrained, restricted audiophile box of mostly sleepy speakers. Dynamic, very tonally correct relative to most audiophile speakers, a clear window into the recording, beyond that, into the performers.

Not rough on the highs, but not rolled off at all.....like a studio monitor. So if you have sensitivity to HF you may want to tailor the system to them, especially amp. On the other hand, if Wilsons and Magicos don't hurt your ears you'll likely be fine.

Certainly one of the world's great speakers.

As for used, I would not worry about damage, these are their real pro drivers and nobody's ears I can imagine would put up with what it would take to hurt those drivers. Not kidding, they are essentially limitless in loud playing ability inside a room for anyone except a truly deaf person. I don't play loud, so their appeal to me is not their head banging ability - which they have in spades - but their refinement, ease, flow, dynamics, clarity, beauty of tone.

They are specified in anechoic conditions, and are honest in specs (unlike any auidiophile speaker I can think of) so they have way more bass capability than their specifications would have you believe.

They can be a gentle giant or the most vicious beast you ever dreamed of or anywhere in between. It depends on the source material and how hard you dare to push them.

05-26-13: Kiddman
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I myself have been chastised for using horns, from other manufacturers and customers. So why no negative talk here?

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It seems horn speakers in general or (yet) as specialty items are having a more widespread renaissance these latest years or even decade or two, which has brought forth many arguments and clashes with the non-horn "camps." Perhaps as an integral part in the evolution of this clashing-process may have come a new "strategy" from the horn haters, if we will, where silence is the new weapon to, well, mute the horn-loving threads into death, or perhaps even a "let them have their day"-approach reflecting a resignation of sorts to the existence of horn speakers and their growing appeal. The difference may also be rooted in the intertia and, dare I say it, herd behavior where the history of (more or less unreflected) bashing is now slowly dissolving, at least partially, in the face of more people actually hearing a wider range of horn speakers and/or because of said history becoming more overt. There's also the fact that this thread is simply called "Everest dd 66000 speakers" where largely one horn speaker model/type is addressed and not horn speakers in general(see the war-like flaming that has gone on in the "Why not horns?" thread...), which could have a "milding" effect on the reception or lack thereof here. And so on..

That said I'm also very pleased to see one post after the other in this thread with no (as of yet) vicious "horns suck"-remarks following their appearance. I don't own JBL horn speakers myself, but a decade or so ago a series of their (partial-)horn models - in particular the K2 S9800SE, but also S4800 and Array 1400 - caught my interest at hifi shows here in Denmark, where I felt they provided a visceral, effortless and very convincing timbre/tone that went contrary to the dull, too polished and yet strained character, and ultimately unnatural sound that came from most other non-horn alternatives at the shows, as well as outside of the shows. It didn't create an interest in me for JBL speakers in particular, but more on the general field of compressiondriver-driven speakers with larger bass/mid cones. Also I had, and still has(especially with the advent of digitally projected films with lossless 24-bit soundtracks) quite a few, very good audible experiences seeing films at the cinemas, where most if not all larger screens use CD-drivers and larger mid/bass units. I know, these are not speakers made for home use, but still here to be found is an effortless quality with very fine coherency and dynamics that are essential qualities in my ears. Sorry for this last example, hope it didn't throw the credibility of my post all over the wayside...

As is my current speakers use compressiondrivers and 12" bass/mid units, and I wouldn't presume their qualities to be in the same league as the Everest(or K2 S9800/9900's for that matter), but they offer up a sound that gets me past the "sleepy speakers," even very expensive ones, that populate so much of the "hifi" arena. I can neither afford nor house the Everest's, but I'm glad to see their sonic worth being spread on a hifi-forum, and that with a pleasing tone.

Again, I find that the high end JBL horns don't have the typical horn colorations. They're not shouty, spitty, or megaphone-like. It's probably due to that Sonoglass material they use, as well as the overall engineering. When mated with the compression drivers you're hitting a home run.

@ Phusis, I really enjoyed reading your post!, I am sure Kiddmann will have something to say as well!, very interesting all this is to me!, I have owned horn speakers before and loved them!, cheers!

Nicely written Phusus.

Most folks in high end audio listen to equipment to impress themselves with their equipment. Decades in the industry have shown me that must audio guys will spend huge amounts of time trying to educate themselves about equipment but almost no time actually going to concerts or learning about music, its structure, and any other musical details. If they loved music as a first priority I believe they would know more about it, know more about who the greats were, at least know something!

It's really about the equipment and not about real music. The mantra of HP is repeated over and over "...real live unamplified instruments......" but that's lip service.

Most philes who listen to jazz know the sound of a sax from their recordings, and would not know a baritone from a tenor from an alto from a soprano sax....they know what they like coming from their speakers, which has little to do with how close it is to the real thing. And that's OK, if it floats their boats.

But, they have to have strong opinions about what sounds RIGHT, and preach to others,which is where it goes wrong. They don't know much about the sound of music, and don't put much if any effort into learning it. This allows heavily colored equipment to prosper, and dynamically flat equipment to do fine. It allows turntables with horrible speed stability to be declared as reference. Such is the industry.

The 66000 or 67000 is not for everyone, that's fine. Unfortunately, most audiophiles won't notice much of what the JBLs do right, unless a reviewer tells them first. This is what allows the flat, monotonous, strained gear to push better gear to the side. That bothers me because it means that there will be less choice for those of us who really do want the sound of music.

I am glad to see some musicphiles on this thread. Unfortunately, Audiogon is mostly guys who know little preaching to other guys who know little. I'm going to semi-retire from here and go back to music forums. Too frustrating trying to get through to closed minds, this thread and its posters excepted from that comment.