Past vs Present: JBL 4355 and Legacy Aeris, The holy grails of speakers.

[@SCAudiophile]

JBL 4355....a legendary speaker, then and now!

[@shaynakash4222]

yes it is and it has one of the best dynamics i ever heard .....

[@AudioElectronicsChicago]

These JBL speakers are amazing

[@InnovativeBuildersmd]

JBL is my favorite as well Just awesome speakers. i have M2 , 4367 , 4722 , life goals are 4355 and everest 67000

[@louisperlman8030]

I would have never imagined that AMC cars would have made it into your videos. While nobody would have ever considered the Gremlin to a marvel of engineering, it was essentially 3/4 of a Hornet, it was less evil than the Pinto and Vega. The Pinto’s exploding gas tank made it into production because Ford figured it would be cheaper to settle the lawsuits than redesign the car. Vegas rusted a lot, but so did many cars in the early 1970’s. It had an aluminum engine block to save weight, but cast iron cylinder heads. The block and head expanded at different rates when hot, so the engine always leaked coolant. I remember these cars well, as I was in high school when they were around, and spent way more time reading car magazines than studying 🙂

[@shawnnorton2674]

Those JBL 4355 are sweet but for clarity the midrange cone speaker is a 2202H and is a 12” driver that operates from 290 Hz to 1200 Hz. Other than the woofers this is basically a P.A. speaker or side fill monitor, definitely some serious components.

[@mark9118]

Absolute Sound only starting giving awards to legacy once they took out full page color ads in the magazine.

[@miked91101]

I have always wondered if those Legacy speakers sounded as good as the look lol...

[@mark9118]

@@miked91101 Legacy actually did sound pretty good, but Absolute Sound doesn't review something unless the company places ads, or the reviewers get some long term "review samples".

[@SCAudiophile]

That's the way the industry works; has nothing to do with the true merits of gear and speakers whether reviewed or not. There is a long list of quality products out there that are not reviewed...

[@dennisjames7611]

I'm on my second pair of Legacy Aeris . The first pair was a very early prototype and the second are new with Legacy Wavlet 2 .love them. Next upgrade will be the Valor .thanks for the video guys.

[@adrianlow2114]

Congrats!

[@frankeckert4901]

wow brag much...typical mustang lover

[@dennisjames7611]

@@frankeckert4901 Really !

[@SCAudiophile]

Bravo guys,..I'm with Vilip on this 😃. I've owned Aeris for 2+ years then owned TAD R1 Mk2, 4-5x the price of the AERIS....great speaker but missed the AERIS nearly every day. Now I own Legacy VALOR which removes all other competition under a couple pairs of $350K to $750K speakers I have heard.

[@adrianlow2114]

Good for you!

[@FOH3663]

Bill Duddleston's engineering chops are first rate.

[@AquaFreak]

O wish I could own a pair of the jbl 4350 / 4355

[@AllboroLCD]

Those are def cream dream JBL's, they really do need to be in an appropriate size room though. Them legacy's are lovely too, love the look, right up my ally as far as aesthetic goes.

[@cesargutierrez4999]

I love my aeris and not because of whatever absolute sound said or not said!

[@fabieneldridge3414]

When in High School we would lay out of School and go over to a friends house and his father had a pair of the JBL and I will never forget how good they sounded ! Then I heard a pair of Klipsch K-Horns and I was hooked on the Marantz &Klipsch sound. For years and years now I’ve been running K-Horns up front with a M&K powered sub, and I’m back on B I run a pair of Klipsch Belle’s and together it is a full deep sound. It’s a completely different sound than you would think. It’s Deep and Clear with its own Reverberation ! It just has to be heard for yourself. I will run these together for the rest of my life. At 63 I have never done anything to my Marantz but take my air compressor every few years and blow it out. I know that I should have it restored but it still plays Great ? So I found my forever system ! Good luck on finding yours !

[@ontherun8]

Excellent presentation of two terrific speakers, very gorgeous too. 👏👏

[@rickcarlson5916]

Thank you for an entertaining review guys!

[@greenlanternseven]

Bill at Legacy is a genius his speakers are some of the best in the world used at Shangri-la studio's, Even the new bookshelf model is now being used in studio's. ..GOOD FOR YOU BILL DODALSON

[@bartvanransbeeck1341]

The low midrange of the 4355 is allways a 12" type 2202 speaker, the midhigh is the 2," driver 2440...

[@ErnieDouglas]

I was going to correct him on the 12". Do you know if jbl ever loaded another 2" horn & tweeter in where the other empty holes & lens mount is on the other side of the 4355?

[@bartvanransbeeck1341]

The empty holes symetry make possible to mount inside or oitside the mid highs...

[@Williamchan87]

4xxx series JBL are great especially a fine refinished and modded Japanese one.

[@anthonyrobinson9954]

I'm a JBL fan as well. The newer high end JBL Horn Speakers are better than most of the high end expensive speakers. My question is have you guys ever listened to the Meridian 8000 SE Speakers?

[@michelkh87]

Actually JBL after the early 90s has set the standard for the entire audio industry by applying the real science in measuring loudspeakers while other manufacturers don't believe in measuring or can't simply afford building anechoic chambers like the ones harman had. they have done and still doing 100s of researches in audio. Wonderful people like Dr. Floyd toole and Dr. Sean olive had the biggest impact on placing Harman on the right track. I can talk for months about how great this brand JBL is. And in fact people who still relate the brand to those old boxes must have no idea about JBL and they are still living in the past and ironically they consider themselves audiophiles . Their latest speaker lines and theater pro speakers are superior to any other brand on the market.

[@aug.jam.1]

This is one speaker I must have some day in my life. I don`t care if its tomorrow or when I`m 80

[@greenlanternseven]

KENRIK Sound in Japan do all the custom J.B.L upgrades using gold plated everything, they are outstanding in their craft making those J.B.L s some of the finest

[@jayjordan3785]

You guys are way funny. Keep it up!

[@adrianlow2114]

Thanks

[@bradc32]

wow love old JBLs.i find you need a big room for most of them,not to mention this model is huge.looks like they are mint

[@scottrippon9565]

Ah! The KING OF SPEAKERS........still after 40+ years........ I feel very sorry for the old boy having to sell them..... :(

[@shaynakash4222]

as an altec user i still prefer them on the jbl's but in terms of dynamics the 4355 is still the king .....

[@Lt.Mingus69]

Ohhhh 4355, must’ve been so hard to separate from those.

[@onegoodearcanada]

Very entertaining guys! Between the eternity and the Swedish meatballs… the cars… and Vilip’s apparent love for totally different speaker styles (and hairy guys apparently! 😂) I was laughing my a$$ off!

[@adrianlow2114]

Glad we entertained you Jerome! Need you in one of these videos

[@snuffesnuffs7777]

I was too much in a hurry, it seems. In the 1978 catalogue it is still the 4350, and a in pricelist I have from the Swedish importer from 1980 it is also called 4350, but I was correct about 1983! there it's obviously 4355...

[@OrazCostanzo]

Omg! i spilled my coffee with the Junk but loud quote.

[@scottrippon9565]

He's just smarting because the 4355 would knock the socks off his new overpriced audiophile snake oil speakers..... 40+ years later (4355s were late 70s early 80s) and he bloody well knows it!

[@FOH3663]

Surprised when Adrian suggested the slanted lens be directed up... I'm guessing perhaps the slant lens JBLs entirely escaped his orbit throughout his audio journey. The lens creates path length differences (greater to the outside) thus forms the pattern into an arc laterally. The key is the cutout portion in the middle. 70's/80's Pro Audio, the slant lenses were everywhere. Pete Townsend shares a fantastic story of high dBSPL master tape playback of Quadrophenia during final mixing of the album... utilizing a big multi-channel array of JBL4450 monitors in a mammoth space.

[@alvarocoutinho3103]

Clearly he doesn’t know a thing about JBL. They’re not up to pair with his “audiophiles” speakers… 😢🙄🙄🙄

[@craigellsworth3952]

​@@alvarocoutinho3103 Clearly.

[@FOH3663]

The big JBLs of the era weren't without their challenges, ... yet their design targets of linearity, extension, low distortion, and high output ... were well achieved. I suppose it's just an example of an experience blindspot for Adrian.

[@craigellsworth3952]

@FOH3663 One thing that you don't see in sound studios is planers of any type. Back in my misspent youth, I had L300s. I now have a set of tri amped Whispers and highly modified Maggies. I am Ozzie over at Audio Asylum.

[@FOH3663]

@@craigellsworth3952 Hey Ozzie, myself, ... FOH across multiple forums, AVS, Data-Bass, etc. L300s were a superb platform! (Nelson Pass did say the JBL's glass top was ideal for blow!) Legacy Whispers ... yeah, very nice. I've never had a good opportunity to experience. Cool stuff. Bill Duddleston offers up some killer offerings. I've mixed and mastered on various platforms, currently including multiple JBL monitors, active tri-amped Seaton Cats, plus two ambitious DIY designs of my own. ----- Interesting observation about planars. You're right, I believe I've only encountered them once in such an environment. It was big flagship Acoustat dipoles in a mastering system years ago. It was so unique. The engineer and room, ... I remember had big glorious Acoustats, in addition to mammoth Duntech Sovereigns for translation ... powered by Perreaux and Spectral mono-blocks ... all for mastering work. If I make time, I've got Maggie dipoles in my near future. I always envisioned Maggie LRS+ were the ideal panel to build around as a DIY mid panel. The dipoles supplemented from 300hz or so on down, via dipole subs (both low inductance MBMs down to around 40hz, plus high stroke 20hz capability subs below that).

[@danieljones8587]

They are correct about nothing coming close for the money for the exception of Tekton. I own both pairs and a pair of Infinity Gamas and they all sound amazing. 11k for the Tektons and if you indexed the Infinity Gamas they would sell for around 50k in 2024. They were 15k in 1988.

[@shanestephenson8423]

Hi guys lol Vilip looks like a kid in a lolly shop with $100 to spend😂 he was bursting with excitement. Very cool video loved it and the speakers wow. 😁🎧👍

[@motorheadbanger7720]

12 inch JBL mid!

[@anthonymartino9917]

I have the legacy Focus bought directly from Legacy last year the best speaker they make in my opinion for the dollar. If I GOT THE Aeris I would have Legacy build me a passive set as I really do not care for the wavelet processing. Would also consider the Whisper too. The Focus se is really almost the same performance as this speaker for a lot less. same response too 18 to 30 khz etc. Again for the money the Focus SE is my favorite Legacy speaker which btw won as many or more awards as the Aeris over the last 20 plus years/

[@psyphonyxaudio]

Awwww Vilip =) ... sorta wish I could have came in early to witness al this. ( as well as other business) Those legacy's are nice to see. I've seen some recent issues regarding the brand ..but the speakers look amazing.!!

[@craigellsworth3952]

What issues? Do tell.

[@nathanbell6962]

Look up these speakers with mods on KZbin from Japan, amazing!

[@Montreal_Audio_Systems]

The jbls are crazy!

[@Luke-qs2cg]

I had asked about shipping for the aeris. Sadly, didn't get anything back. Would have loved to have them

[@phrayzar]

The 2202 is a 12' driver, both 8 and 10 were mentioned.

[@scottrippon9565]

Just goes to show how little these clowns know about audio......

[@snuffesnuffs7777]

I'm the lucky owner of a pair of 4343B, which I bought in 1979 or 1980. Had I waited two years it would have been 4345 instead, of course! Regarding tthe 4355: 12" 2202! I have three catalogues from JBL, 1975, 1978 and 1983, and in the 1975 it is still called 4350, but in 1978 and 1983 it's called 4355. One difference is in the framework around the front, and from what I can see it looks like a 4355 just as you said. This means they cannot be older than 1976, but still...

[@bartvanransbeeck1341]

The jbl 4355 and 4350 had possibility to mount the 2" mid and tweeter on the left or the right side of the baffle , depending on sweetspot studio situation

[@chrislesnar]

There is a lot of incorrect information in this video. I understand you may not be JBL specialists but a few minutes on google wouldn't go astray.

[@paulomeyer3900]

In Brazil, a friend of mine (Chinese...) used a pair of 4355 headphones, connected to a McIntosh set (the room was about 4 x 31/2 feet)!!! Truth.

[@gregmiller3630]

OMG this is hilarious. During that era I had a '71 Javelin, then bought a '74 Javelin and added adjustable Monroe air shocks, carb, cam, headers, custom interior etc. A couple of years later bought a '79 Pinto SE to buzz around downtown Calgary with. During that time I also owned a pair of the original 4333's with symmetrical driver alignment, and Altec model 15's. All three cars were total pieces of shit, (the Javelins were even worse than the Pinto) and the 4333's had a metallic colouration that I could never get used to, so I sold tham after about a year or so. As such I'd rather have the modern Legacy any day........

[@MrBonger88]

I never realized that the Aeris were open like that

[@bartvanransbeeck1341]

The 4355 has all ferriet except the highmid 2441 2" driver is alnico

[@Johnnytrades101]

You guys are hilarious!

[@constantravens4800]

😆 I love it

[@anukrw]

I would really appreciate a response to my question.. Would you pick the Aeris over the Whisper or vise-versa?

[@richardbrown4384]

Can we get a review of the Aeris speakers? There are no video reviews at all of that speaker with the Wavelet.

[@keithmoriyama5421]

The JBL mid bass unit is a 12" The JBL 4350/55 is the largest of the Legacy Line and considered the least accurate... translation-- they probably sound great for music listening. Genesis used to use 3 of these for drum monitors while on tour. I have the baby of the Legacy Line the JBL 4315, often cited as the best sounding of the bunch, but to me they all have a similar signature. The 4350 was never designed as an Altec killer. That honour belongs to the 4310, 3way which was specifically designed to sonically mimic the then industry standard Altec 604 in a box a quarter of the size. The JBL 4310 eventually morphed into the Century L100, and then the 4311 which legendary engineer Bruce Swedien calls doggy doo doo. (he loves the 4310) Having worked on all of these units (except the 4350) and also owning the original inline Century L100, I couldn't agree more.

[@keithmoriyama5421]

Given the choice of both of these speakers, I would take the Aeris hands down... in my house. If I owned a club or a HUGE custom room-- the JBL's would totally destroy the Aeris and leave them in a pile of dust.

[@scottrippon9565]

4315s sound SWEET ! (As do the L250 domestic version)👍

[@ontherun8]

Would be the PS Audio FR30 (or even the FR20) a fair competitor for the AERIS ? It would be interesting to see a match between the two. Another great speaker in this price range with similar philosophy (bass section self-amplified... planar tweeter and partially dipolar) is the Maestro by Genesis Adv'd Techs

[@petedawg]

"Junk But Loud" 😂 I thought maybe I was crazy for wondering why everyone has them.

[@tomehCanada]

So how do the JBL's sound in 2022?

[@luisarmandopriegoramosm.9386]

Would you say the Legacy Aeris sound better than the Olimpica series from Sonus Faber or even better than the Serafino?

[@mrrocknroll84]

I have to agree with philip...the legacy is a good speaker, but the dynamics and speed of the jbl...hands down is killer. A compression driver always sounds better than an amt. I'm not saying that the legacy is not good. Just a different sound

[@Prydelabs]

Do you guy also buy? I’ve got a paid of vintage JBL 3455 want to sell.

[@manny2230]

Vilip,question for as you are a JBL guy,did you listen to those relatively new model of JBL L100 CLASSIC? If yes what do you think of it? Could be a short answer as I know how difficult it is to read all the reviews and most of them want some answers… By the way I only recently started watching your KZbin channel,like it a lot. Greetings from Lithuania 🇱🇹

[@onegoodearcanada]

L-100’s are pretty good but a bit overpriced in my honest opinion… best test is still your own ears Manny! Compare them to the KLH Model 5, Wharfedale or Klipsch if you are into the vintage style…

[@photoipster]

I seem naim in the background, but I never see you review naim. (Other than muso). Have I missed something?

[@scottcass4243]

I worked at a McIntosh/JBL HI Fi shop in the 70's U I liked the 4343 better.

[@bartvanransbeeck1341]

Easier to set up....and loud enough in most home audio...

[@robertwear1675]

I love my 4343's. And so does everyone else that hears them.

[@raymondgranda201]

So... the Legacys also have expensive bling?

[@miked91101]

May sound like a dumb question, but how does the JBL speaker work with only having 1 midrange, and not 1 for each channel?

[@JohnSeattleMando]

There is a left and right speaker. They only showed one of the pair.

[@woody168]

I don’t think Adrian had mentioned how much the Aeris cost? Is it more or less than the JBL?

[@adrianlow2114]

The Aeris is $20,000 Canadian

[@alferro3149]

The led lights are very cheesy 😂

[@CharlesCartierMurdoch]

80's

[@egorboroda1099]

4350 лучше или хуже?

[@jfmc2581]

I don't like the way it uses a remote computer to correct the sound, How many years is that going to be supported? Then you're screwed!

[@danielduesentriebjunior]

Ouch, open baffle chaos.

[@henriksrensen3220]

126 DB = Hello tinnitus

[@tuathadedanann195]

I have heard the JBLs - they sound nice but dont compare with modern monitors like the PMC / Bryston three way setups like the BB6.

[@cengeb]

Once you go Legacy, everything else sucks

[@tlr-nut7275]

Wasn't Legacy a cheap brand? I remember them at flea markets back in the '80's.

[@craigellsworth3952]

Legacy has never been cheap. Perhaps you are thinking about a Legacy car amplifier. No affiliation.

[@Montreal_Audio_Systems]

I subscribed and unsubscribed when you said JBL is junk

[@michelkh87]

Unfortunately most audiophiles and ironically the ones have KZbin channels are still living in the past and they still think JBL is all about the old boxes. In fact JBL has set the standard on how speakers should sound by implementing the real science. They simply have the biggest anechoic chambers and the most advanced measuring equipments. Their M2 studio speakers are extremely accurate and capable of playing extremely loud accurately with the lowest distortion. Their latest Residencial speakers HDI series are incredible for their price and very hard to beat. My self I have a pair of jbl ti10k from the 1999 and they put much newer speakers in their price range into a shame.

[@daviddavidsonn3578]

$22k for this? wtf

[@inonothing09]

JBL 2202 mid is a 12" ... what a knob ! I've just lost all respect for you. The only thing that can make JBL sound bad is to feed them with Macintrash !

[@orvvarela7712]

THIRTY STORE JUNK, SORRY.

[@cengeb]

Drivers from the 70's are obsolete way past their use by dates....why bother? Modern drivers are so improved....

[@cengeb]

$22K for obsolete JBL basic junk.....what a goof..crank it up and the drivers self destruct

[@bikkojisedi011]

JunkButLoud

[@JEG6919]

Legacy speakers are forgettable

[@Dr.SebastianLongstaff-x2c]

A wealthy 1970s stoner teenager was blasting out Rick Derringer, Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac out of those speakers.

[@DAlan0909]

Stop touching the speaker drivers. You have oil on your fingers.