The JBL K29800; incredible reviews; anyone heard?

I checked them out on JBL's website. They cost $27k for the pair. They are nearly a copy of the old Altec Model 19 speaker system with a 15" woofer under a large midrange horn, with a small horn tweeter added on top, which the Altec didn't have. 94db sensitivity. Sort of like a home version of a theater speaker. One thing I didn't like was the midrange crossover at 800Hz, right smack in the middle of the midrange. I'm sure that some people will be interested in this speaker, but it has a pretty high ticket attached.

today many jbl classics including the 4312 mkll and hartsfield are being exported exclusively to japan on a daily basis.

I totally agree about the high price. Apparently once you could get them for $12,500 a pair rather than apiece. I think the materials and the tweeter are substantially above and beyond what Altec did. I am curious more than interested, especially at this price.

I've listened to them on a number of occasions (I live in Japan and every high-end store seems to have a pair at some time or another). The K2 9800s are nice - they are much more musical and 'complete' than the standard JBL monitors and home audio speakers (the S2000, etc) and are definitely a step above the K2 5800s. That said, I could definitely find better ways to spend that kind of money (or even quite a bit less) on speakers. I find them a bit colored in the range of cello music and orchestral music can be a bit muddled. They do female vocals really well.

FWIW, they usually go for abt $13-16k used in Japan.