JBL's On Stage Micro II and On Tour Micro make waves

JBL has been winning it big lately, further consolidating its leadership as one of the world’s leading audio provider. Congratulations are actually in order, as their JBL On Tour Micro, an ultra portable speaker designed to give users great sound from any source, has been named as one of the winners for this year’s edition of the ‘red dot award: product design 2012.’

The JBL On Tour Micro is a lightweight compact speaker that users can bring anywhere and use anytime. The unit works compatibly with any of today’s portable multimedia players and smartphones while being powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

Also, I just found out that the winners at this year’s edition of the BRIT Awards, the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards, were presented with a JBL OnStage Micro II White, which was part of the goody bag distributed during the event. The 2012 BRIT Awards winners include leading pop music icons like Adele, Coldplay, One Direction, Rhianna and Bruno Mars.

The JBL OnStage Micro II measures at just 150mm in diameter and weighs in at only 0.3kg. But the small unit comes with two JBL Odyssey full-range transducers, which gives it the muscle to outperform many much larger systems. Powered by four AAA batteries, the JBL OnStage Micro II delivers hours of continuous use and can even sync with iTunes and charge your iPod or iPhone through the use of a USB cable.

Fancy getting any of these two compact and lightweight speakers? Well, both the JBL OnStage Micro II and the JBL On Tour Micro are available at ‘harman house’ stores across the UAE.

JBL OnBeat Xtreme

I was sitting down for some coffee and a little chitchat with my friend RJ when he suddenly brought up the question that set the tone for the morning’s discussion.

He had asked me, from an audiophile point of view, what would I recommend as the perfect docking station for today’s line of Apple gadgets like the iPad, the iPod and the iPhone.

Over the last few years, since Apple had become a byword in compact, easy to lug around gadget technology, I have had my share of docking stations and the reason why I kept switching to the next model out was, as one true audiophile would point out, the quality of audio being transmitted by these nifty convenient speakers.

Answering RJ’s question, I would recommend JBL’s OnBeat Xtreme, a stylized docking station that turns your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch into a dynamic, room-filling stereo system. Purchased at the ‘harman house’ store in Dubai Mall, my OnBeat Xtreme model has been customized for iPad and iPad 2, yet its innovative rotating dock connector also works with the iPhone and iPod Touch.  The unit also comes with Bluetooth wireless speakers that can connect to other Apple multimedia devices when they are detached from the dock. The JBL OnBeat Xtreme can also be used for hands-free calling through Apple’s FaceTime or Skype. The JBL speaker phone works with Bluetooth-enabled phones via a built-in microphone, while the sound is enhanced through digital sound processing (DSP) and echo cancellation. The best part is that it also works with Android smartphones, tablets and wireless MP3 players.

The wireless speakers emanates impressive sound from dual Atlas bass drivers and Ridge tweeters, optimized by DSP equalization. You can also control the docking station’s settings through an exclusive JBL OnBeat Xtreme app available free through the iTunes App Store. This innovative app lets users manage their favoriate playlists and EQ settings for a truly custom audio experience, and even set an alarm or a sleep timer. The JBL OnBeat Xtreme ships with a versatile RF remote control, eliminating the need for line-of-site music management so users can even adjust volume and song-skipping from another room.  

The JBL OnBeat Xtreme iPad dock supports advanced A2DP and AVRCP Bluetooth profiles for interference-free operation, and uses the higher-quality AAC codec – supported by Apple’s iOS devices, gaming consoles from Sony and Nintendo as well as Android smartphones – for superior audio streaming.

Besides a built-in 30-pin connector for iPad docking, the JBL OnBeat Xtreme includes a standard 3.5-mm input jack to connect with other music players and smartphones and a USB port for firmware updates and iTunes synchronization.

           

The JBL Studio 1 Series

Audiophiles, particularly those in the Middle East region, are always out on the prowl for the ultimate audio / listening experience. I mean, what sense is there to be deeply engrossed in all things audio centered if you are not wanting to take in the ultimate experience of high-end audio. These are the same reasons why I found myself off to the ‘harman house’ store at the Dubai Mall to check out the JBL Studio 1 Loudspeaker Series.

‘harman house,’ has been my store of choice for all my audio needs ever since moving to the UAE a few years back. The store is like Disneyland for anyone keeping interests in all things audio and video. Upon arriving at the store, I asked one of their sales people if they could show me the JBL Studio 1 series and he ushered mo to one of the areas—lo and behold;

I do not know how you describe it, but seeing the speaker set up gave an extraordinary feeling that had my inner child telling me, ‘This is it.’ I could not help but nod and remark, ‘Wrap it up.’

The JBL Studio 1 series is part of the company’s dynamic range of loudspeakers. This new line includes the JBL Studio 190 and Studio 180 floorstanding loudspeakers, the Studio 130 bookshelf loudspeaker, the JBL Studio 120c center-channel loudspeaker and the JBL Studio 150P subwoofer.

This is a mean, all-in-one speaker set that employs performance-proven technologies and advanced materials to deliver the dynamic range, tonal accuracy and spatial transparency that have long been signature features of JBL products. Aesthetic wise, the new speakers fit perfectly snug into my living room with its key design and classic black color.

The Studio 190 is a three-and-a-half-way dual floorstanding loudspeaker featuring dual woofers and mid-range drivers with two 6 ½-inch- PolyPlas cones and CMMD Lite tweeter domes with proprietary Bi-Radial waveguides to offer exceptional clarity and realism with outstanding bass response. The Studio 180 is designed in a similar vertical tower package and is a three-way floorstanding speaker with one 6 ½-inch PolyPlas cone.

Meanwhile, the Studio 130 bookshelf loudspeaker is a two-way speaker system that offers exceptional clarity and realism with outstanding bass response. The speaker features 4-inch low-frequency transducers and 1-inch high-frequency transducers. Studio 130 speakers are ideally suited for use as satellites in a Studio 1 Series home theater system, or on their own in compact-yet-captivating music-only systems.

Lastly, the JBL Studio 120c system is an ideal choice for the center-channel speaker in a multichannel home theater system. Voice-matched to other speakers in the JBL Studio 1 Series, and sharing the same dynamic new industrial design, the 120c renders the dialogue, music and effects of even the most challenging movie soundtracks with confidence and style. Like the other loudspeakers in the line, the two-and-a-half-way dual center channel also features two magnetically shielded 4-inch (100-millimeter) PolyPlas cones and a 1-inch CMMD Lite dome, magnetically shielded, in a Bi-Radial constant directivity waveguide.

Surprisingly, the whole new speaker set up didn’t bruise my pockets that much, in fact, ‘harman house’ offers this new loudspeaker series at a price that pretty much suits your budget.