I have owned L100s, L100Tis, L250s, L250Bs but these are JBL's best effort ever to build a state of the art home speaker. Incredible build and driver quality. These speakers deserve to be restored and upgraded with the best capacitors and inductors available as I have done while converting my L250s to the Ti version. The performance potential of the drivers and crossover design is incredibly high and any upgrades to modern crossover parts is immediately rewarded with superior sound. It has taken me six months to upgrade mine one piece at a time, but I'm sure they sound better than they did when they were new. The result is the largest, most relaxed and natural sound stage I could ever have imagined. Want more detail, just cut them up, they can take all the power that you can stand. The sound will just keep getting bigger and more lifelike. They allow you to hear deep into the soundstage mix and even mediocre recordings are heard with new perspective. I will never sell them because they fulfill my dream of the best sounding speakers ever. Magnificent classics. Trust me, they don't make them like this anymore.

Large imposing size and shape.

They sound great at any volume level. They are always clean, clear, and balanced.

I have enjoyed them so much that my electric bill has went up $200 a month. It's time to get a more efficient amp.

I got these 86 250TI's of a guy who spray painted them BLACK! I guess he was trying to pass them off as the limited edition. With some paint stripper and oil, they were as good as new. (After replacing a tweeter and midbass; and some wood filled for chips around the bottom). They sound excellent! The really make the music very clear. Newer recordings sound really outstanding. You can really get the sound of a live perfromance. I hear a lot of things in the music that I have not noticed when listening on other speakers. I really can't used my dbx 120X or dbx impact restoration on many recordings because these effects sound "over the top" with the 250TI's. A lot of what I used these processors for was already there in the recording but my other loudspeakers could not reproduce the sound accurately enough to reporduce it.

Similar Products Used:

L100T, L20T , Infinity SM155, Bose 901, Polk SDA SRS.

Excellent imaging. Unlimited Dynamics. Clean midrange.

No timbe matched center and surround channel speakers available from JBL. Bass Surround foam decays every 15yrs

I purchased these speakers new in 1985 and still love them. I had owned and listened to many speakers prior to buying these things and were never completely happy. Some of these speakers included Vandersteen, Thiel, Spendor, Quad, B&W, Snell, etc, etc. I believe this system to provide the best overall balance of Dynamics, Imaging, Bass linearity, Upper frequency "air", midrange accuracy and Overall frequency response. All from JBL. JBL not previously known for audiophile grade stuff. High quailty, High Technology, Professional Gear...Maybe.

If you look at the technology and cost-no-object design you can begin to understand why. Massive magnetic structures on all elements (18lb. on woofers), Cast speaker frames, Edge wound voice coils, Pure Titanium dome tweeters, "Mineral filled" polypropylene midranges (JBL didn't believe a pure polypropyline midrange alone would provide enough speed in this area of the frequency range). Many high end speakers were just beginning to use pure polypropylene alone for their midrange drivers. Today many of the better speakers manufacturers have learned from this and are employing "filled" polypropylene midranges to improve speed and stiffness with the benefit of polypropylene's high internal damping. Also JBL used the highest quailty electrical components in their crossover networks.

The Teak cabinets are a sight to behold. All speakers are mechanically time aligned and the enclosure is pyramid shaped to provide the optimum baffle area for the speaker element installed. This, along with the rounded corners of the cabinet helped reduce the diffraction effect of the cabinet and improve the overall imaging of the speaker.

With good source material and high quality electonics, these speakers can provide one of the closest approximations I've ever heard to a live concert. And when its time to turn them down, they can sing you to sleep at lower power levels without any loss of resolution or a disproportional frequency response. I just wish JBL made timbe matched surround components for multichannel music (DVD-A and SACD). You would feel as if you were there!

Very clear sound. Not critical in listening position. Very dry bass

They are big!! And I mean big

Years ago I heard a sound... And it was everyting I looked for. Searching for the speakers I'd discover these two and the price was then $6000. Well that was far above my budget. Years later I could finally afford them for a bargain. Yes, they are far too big and ugly. And that makes the price more friendly when you are really looking. But than I know that a bass needs some space. Electrostatics are as clear as a sound can be, but they are very critical in direction and there is always a lack of bass. Above that they are very vulnareble for moister and dust. No matter what they say.
Sonus Faber is a very neat speaker. Well designed and small. I was very surprised to see the size and the sound. But it is still a compromise. The 250TI are not in every aspect.
They are driven by two brystons 7B (800 watts). The specs say the max for the 250's is 200W. Well I haven't noticed it. They deliver the sound as they are driven. No matter what. And that's another drawback. You need serious equipment. I had a preamp (parasound). It's not good enough. I had a marantz cd-player. Well it's not good enough. Every enhancement to your system is an improvement.
I am still searching.., upgrading.., listening.
I've just purchased a preamp (Van Medevoort). Well it looks nice. It's clear. Still I've got the feeling the 250's can do more... Should it be a Mark Levinson??? I hope not. They are much to expensive..
The Brystons are okay. No limitations what so ever.
The cd-player is now a 6000 signature. A local dealer can modify it...

Similar Products Used:

Electrostatic speakers from audiostatic, several home made models, sonus faber, etc

awesome sound,very clear,nice tight bass,strong imaging,great midrange,nice very clear highs

none

What can i say! These speakers absolutely Rock!!Play jazz,rock,classical anything and they just shine .Bought some Dynaudios but they dont compair .the !JBL s Have better clarity,nicer tighter Bass,Fuller midrange.if you can find a pair buy them,you wont be dissapointed with them!!the price of them is well worth it.you could pay a whole lot more and be totally disapointed.

Similar Products Used:

!JBL240 TI

The best speaker at any price. This speaker has the low end mids and highs that all work together to produce the best sounding clear music that you can find.

None

I am presently using this speaker with a carver C4000 preamp, Luxman M117 amp and a Rega Planet 2000 with Audioquest Lapis Interconnects. This combination sounds great. I have just purchased the rega and that made a bid difference in the sound. I now listen to more music on this system and am downsizing my home theater system. I am planning on updating my preamp with the Rogue 66 magnum.
These are indeed the best speakers that I have auditioned.

Similar Products Used:

Sony Esprit APM 6, BMW Matrix 801 llls.

These speakers will deliver extraordinary sound with excellent source material and amplification hardware.

The rubber surround of the bass driver must be replaced every 10 years; the grill cover is flimsy; children can dent the woofer centre dust covers; the treble cut adjustment is insufficient.

The flat response and clarity of sound is revealing. The sound quality improves with volume. The treble needs to be tamed and the bass needs to be enhanced at ridiculous volumes. Sounds slow, dull, or harsh with poor quality amplifiers. Sounds flat and ordinary with average CD material. Generally only about one song in every 10 on a pop music CD gets these speakers really firing and then listening is pure joy.

The 250 has a flatter response than recent JBL home models. Modern boutique speakers from other brands have a more 'home friendly' sound and superior staging in a smaller box but some of this must be cabinet coloration.

The 250 has a flatter response and less generous bass than the very largest JBL sudio monitors.

Similar Products Used:

I sold the huge matching JBL 18 inch subwoofer. I found most 'pop' music does not require it.

!JBL Speakers are good and everything but these speakers just aren't what i expected. Since they say "!JBL IS THE MOST WIDELY USED SPEAKER FOR THEATERS". But i did a little research and what i found out was most Theaters use Private Company Speakers such as "Horizon and DRS (Digital Realm Sound)" 2 companies that nobody knows about. occasionally i got a theater using !JBL Speakers and almost all Loews and Columbia Theaters were using Polk Audio Speakers. The !JBL Speakers are crappy they put a horn Tweeter on it to make it more dispersed but there is no need for that in Home Theater only in an actual theater (horn tweeters are used to send the highs in a 180 degree Range, since only about 2-10 People are watching the movie only a dome tweeter is needed). !JBL also believes in THX Certified Speakers (which i think are dumb since it reduces all Front Channel Reflections by turning each driver slightly towards the center. THX Certification is only good when your buying an AMPLIFIER. But regularly i would rather have a Amplifier Designed by Sony. Since you can buy Amplfiers by sony (used for theaters) that have Sony Dynamic Digital Sound processing.
THIS IS FOR PEOPLE WHO THINK THAT A THEATER NEEDS A DSP PROCESSOR:
Theaters don't need DSP Processors (but in some pages it says "Columbia Theaters use Zoran DSP Processors")Since DSP Processors are used to create a theater sound field. Theaters have a Different type of processor called a Cinema Processor. This doesn't add Acoustics to it or anything but has a Intro Delay causing there to be less Reverbation but not less Acoustics. a Cinema Processor also Reads the soundtrack and tells the amplfiers the consistent power level it should be set on.

I Helped get a Theater's Equipment. (DAMN... IT COSTS ALOT)

There are 10 Things You need.
1.a Faber Screen or Plaster Screen
2.a Projector
3.a Dolby Digital/Digital Dolby Surround/Digital Dolby Stereo Processor
4.a Cinema Processor (only available from Dolby Labs. and Sony Elec. Corp.)
5.a Front Left/Right Power Amplifier
6.a Bridged Center Power Amplfier
7.a Surround Left/Right Power Amplifier
8.a Bridged Subwoofer Power Amplfier
9.a Noise Reduction System (DOLBY LABS. ONLY)
10.a Full Speaker Set (consisting of 1 Front Left 1 Front Right 1 Center 2-10 Surround Left 2-10 Surround Right 1 and only 1 Subwoofer.

I have been using a pair of 250 Ti limited editions since they first appeared, and I was fortunate enough to buy them from a distributor who had lost the agency for JBL in Norway. I decided to buy JBLs because of the problems with power handling that I experienced with a number og British built designs. Replacing tweeters and other parts became expensive and rather tedious.
As I moved to a smaller apartment I experienced som problems with the bass frequencies that tended to sound bloated and out of control.

I was planning to replace the speakers, when a dealer I had become aquinted with, persuaded me to try out some new electronics - namely the Proceed Pre and a Mark Levinson 331.
Suddenly the low frequency problems were eliminated (although the 331 is rated at 100 wpc and my former power amps were Denon Mono blocs rated at 260 wpc).

I have since been extremely happy with this combination (I later exchanged my Denon CD-player for Proceed CDD and DAP) that portrays all kinds of music with enthusiasm and real dynamics (I am a concert promotor - so I spend a lot of time listening to the real thing).My dealer has since by all sorts of devious schemes tried to make me exchange my speakers for all sorts of modern esoterica (at exorbitant prices), but frankly I don't think that any combination I've heard has made me really feel the need for an upgrade.

After heaving deployed the huge Galaxy-1 (I think) Acoustat electrostatic Speakers on an - now somwhat aged - Luxman C03/M03 combination purchased in 1992 I recently switched to the re-released JBL 250Ti Jubilee, powered by a Harman Kardon Signature 1.5 Power Amp. This now gives me everything I missed with the electrostats, while taking away very little.In comparison, dynamics are tremendous, and I have not yet dared to go to maximum volume, wherever that may be, as the speaker manual mentions that there are no fuses or protective circuits. However, regardless of the volume, this is one speaker you always want to - and (so far) can - increase the volume. In fact, this is the first speaker I had the fortune to enjoy which just BEGS to turn up the volume, never getting harsh or sounding "compressed" even at VERY high volumes. Even recordings I always somewhat disliked suddenly seem to come to live, now played at the right volume, and appear gripping and powerful. Upper frequencies are very clear, even comparable to the perceived clarity of the Acoustats but without the tremendous loacality problems of the big electrostats, with midrange maybe somwhat less expressed than those, and also perhaps somewhat limited positioning, but this could also be a problem of my less-than-perfect listening room. Low-frequency response is boundlessly dramatic, very deep, yet bone-dry and clearly defined. While it is comparatively forgiving for mediocre-quality recordings, it still mercilessly shows the dramatic change in bass-enhancements of recordings of rock music over the last, say, 10 years. Really bad recordings, such as some bootlegs, immediately are revealed and become unbearable.
The 250Ti excels especially with good, balanced, recordings, adding a sound bass fundament, but for those recordings with an already emphasized bass, such as teccno/rave, it is almost TO much.
It may not be a speaker as finely balanced as the "newer" Ti10K, for example, but it is truly a speaker which ROCKS (which the Acoustats never really did). Best part of it, while list price here is around US$ 9.000 per pair (DM 16.000) it can actually be had (in Germany, at least) for app. US$ 2.000 per pair (DM 3.700), including a wonderfully done piano-black finish (which adds a lot to the visual aspects of those heavy-footed giants in your living room, as compared e.g. with the somewhat similar JBL Ti5000). E.g.: for the much smaller Jamo Concert 8, which is also available in that finish, this kind of finish alone is valued at US$ 600 (DM 1.000) per pair.
Also, shortly after my purchase, this speaker was also reviewed in German Audio magazine, rated in the reference class at 91 points / 5 ears, which is very high indeed, putting it into a class with speakers actually twice the cost and up. It even held itself fairly well against monsters such as the B&W 800 series, with a list price over US$ 15.000 (DM 25.000).
It might not really be an "audiophile" speaker, such as a Thiel 1.5 or such (mostly vendors with audio-something in the name), and probably you'll get slightly better (or at least different) speakers for the list price, but you'll probably not find a speaker at the actual street price which combines as much dynamic gusto and raw "air moving" power, terrific out-of-the-ordinary looks, and the same simply extraordinary enjoyable rendition of all types of non-boring (IMHO) music. For value-for money, I'd give 6 stars, if I could, 5 for the listening experience of the JBL 250Ti Jubilee. Listen to one, if you can, compare with some of your favourite foot-stomping head-banging music with other speakers in roughly the same street-price bracket, and have your neighbours prepared in case of purchase.

Clement