Does anybody have any experience with the JBL 1400

There is so much misinformation about horns. I wonder if it came from folks, years ago, hearing Klipsch speakers with bad solid state amps when SS was new.

Certainly there are horrible cone speaker systems, really bad planars have been made, and there have been bad horns made. Why do horns alone seem to be saddled with prejudice about "harsh sound"? Maybe the dynamics of horns make bad ones stand out more than bad cone speakers.

In the case of the 1400, look up the Stereophile article. Reviewers often get things wrong, but the reviewer describes the 1400 well. He loves them. And he's comparing them to Quad electrostatics! And yes, there are some similarities (I have owned both speakers) The 1400 are smooth, natural, great on voices, great on a wide range of instruments, very nice dynamics (seeing off nearly all cone speakers), great driver integration. They do NOT quack, honk, zing you in any way. Behind a curtain nobody would be able to hear a "horn" sound. And they go DEEP in the bass, JBL certainly knows woofers.

If I had to assign a "coloration" from neutral, they are slightly warm, a bit on the "natural" side.

A very, very well balanced speaker. A bargain, in today's crazily-priced speaker market.

I agree, there's no typical horn coloration. I chalk that up partially to the material (Sonoglass) that JBL uses for their high end horn-based systems such as my S4700s (one model up from the 1400s). Both are very good to great speakers overall! Then you get into the K29900s and Everests which are in a league of their own!

Hi Dave_72!, very well said Omsed!, BTW, omsed, I did not know you own JBL speakers, Welcome to the JBL family of friends!,Good to see you again Dave_72! cheers!

Hi Audiolabrinth, yes, Everests and 1400 Array, amongst other more usual speakers. The 1400 are really good, the Everest 67000 are magical.

@ Omsed, I currently have the classic JBL L7s!, With the still points under them, and the Top of the line everything Taralabs cables, including the omega jumper cables!, you will not believe what these speakers sound like!, very impressive to say the least for what they are!, they are the very last none horn true high-end speakers JBL made!, 1992!, I will never sale these speakers, But I believe going to the old DD 66000 everest speakers with the same footers and cables that I own will desamate the L7s!, this will of course take some time!, considering even the used market value of such JBL speakers!, alot of fricken money!, so, what are the differences you hear between the 66000 and the 67000?, cheers!