JBL N26 Northridge Series Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, Dark Gray)

by JBL

Product Details

Product Manual [52kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 10.8 x 14.5 inches ; 8.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 20 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00002EQCG
• Item model number: N26
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #314,987 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

JBL has been building speakers for the world's theaters, concert halls, and recording studios for over 50 years. Its achievements and customer satisfaction have earned the company a 70-percent share of the professional loudspeaker market. Of course, JBL builds speakers for the home, too, and a great deal of JBL's pro technology makes its way into the Northridge series.

All Northridge models use 0.75-inch titanium-laminate dome tweeters as well as woofers made of JBL's trademark PolyPlas (a polymer-coated cellulose fiber). The drivers boast oversized Kapton voice coils and HeatScape motor structures, which give the innards a high tolerance for heat. Translation: the speakers will handle a fair amount of amplifier power. Within each speaker, these drivers are optimized for their respective frequency bands by JBL's Straight-Line Signal Path crossover networks. Traditionally, the purer the signal path, the better the sound, and this maxim seems borne out by the N26 bookshelf model.

You can mount the modestly sized N26s on a wall, either vertically or horizontally, using JBL's optional wall-mount brackets. If you want to place your N26s on a bookshelf, a small support stand unfolds from the bottom of the speaker, and JBL provides adhesive-backed nonskid pads to increase stability.

The N26s' deep-gray cabinet has been molded with a bow-shaped back; the resultant asymmetrical enclosure helps prevent the buildup of internal standing waves. (Standing waves are sound waves that interfere with one another, resulting in too-loud or too-quiet sound at various frequencies.)

The knitted cloths over the grilles perfectly match the cabinet color, creating a warm and friendly look that's attractive in a functional, no-nonsense sort of way. Removing the grilles reveals the titanium-laminate tweeters, the 6-inch woofers (dyed silver to match the tweeters), and JBLs FreeFlow ports, which are flared to avoid the port noise, or "chuffing," that colors the sound of many vented cabinets.

We were pleased to see JBL uses real five-way binding posts for speaker terminals, as opposed to the cheaper spring-loaded terminals found on countless other moderately priced speakers. Five-way posts not only make a tighter, more sure connection, but they also accept spade lugs and banana plugs, thus allowing the use of heavy gauge or specialty speaker wires.

We placed the magnetically shielded N26s on stands to either side of our rear-projection television and proceeded to give them the full sonic-torture test with both music and movies.

Starting with favorite jazz CDs, we were immediately impressed by the naturalness of the N26s' midrange. Pianos, so notoriously difficult to get right, sound surprisingly realistic with the N26 and show off this speaker's natural balance, detail, and harmonic complexity. We also like the N26s' ability to throw a wide soundstage, with well-placed sonic images and a strong sense of three-dimensionality.

Rock music lets them strut like Mick Jagger and reveals an honest bass response down into the 50-to-60 Hz region. We do have a slight criticism: although vocals through the N26s exhibit excellent overall balance, they sometimes sound a tad veiled or diminished in presence. On the other hand, with classical CDs, we love the nuance, texture, and expression of a solo cello flowing from the speakers, while with symphonic music, these speakers show a combination of refinement and power.

DVD movies and music videos are even more fun to listen to. We put the N26s in "phantom" center mode to get a sense of home theater through just this pair of speakers, along with another pair for surround sound. In this four-channel configuration the N26s proved especially adept at reproducing movie soundtracks. Dialogue was clear and easy to understand, and dynamics were fairly explosive with moderate amplifier power. Surround details were abundant; these speakers produce a well-integrated and expansive sonic panorama.

The N26s have a lot going for them. Their inherent neutrality, detail, and dynamic range are the hallmarks that have made JBL so successful in the professional audio world. --Wayne Garcia

Pros:

• Remarkable detail and texture
• Good tonal balance
• Excellent component parts
• Flexible mounting options

Cons:

• Vocals sound slightly veiled

Product Description

Item number 27378-45, Grading is cover/record: VG+ using Goldmine standards. 196?-7?,swol Please see seller profile for abbreviation descriptions.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Speakers, Work Great!, May 8, 2000

By 

David (Rockville, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: JBL N26 Northridge Series Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, Dark Gray) (Electronics)

I bought these speakers just recently, and they work great!. They have very good bass, and the treble sounds excellent. They are great mid priced speakers, better than all the other mid priced ones. They can go very loud distortion free. I recommend these to everyone. Good price for good speakers. JBL did good.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highflyer46, May 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: JBL N26 Northridge Series Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, Dark Gray) (Electronics)

I recently bought the N26's to replace JBL's N24's. I am totally impressed with the sound and performance of these speakers. I use them as rear speakers for surround sound. The clarity is outstanding by far. Wouldn't recommend them for the front speakers, but outstanding for the rear! Great price for such a great deal. Kinda hard to find a place to sit them unless you acctually have a bookcase behind you. It is a must to buy speaker stand or a heavy duty wall bracket. Good luck and good listening!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent small room speakers, amazing sound!, April 3, 2002

By 

"corman842" (Lansdale, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: JBL N26 Northridge Series Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, Dark Gray) (Electronics)

These speakers are AMAZING!!! I have it hooked up to my mini-system, and they produce some of the best sound I have ever heard in a speaker. They are the equivelent to the floorstanding JBL's I have in my living room for a bedroom. I was shocked at the sound they put out for their small size. The highs, mids, and lows are all great on this speaker. I would recommend them to anyone, this is a great deal!!!