"Immerse yourself in extraordinary acoustics and thrilling inspirational insights," trumpeted the JBL "Summit of Sound" press release. Present at the event were Harman Luxury Audio top brass Dave Tovissi, Jim Garrett, and Paul Neville, with Harman's David Glaubke moderating. The men proudly pointed to the elevated sonics of their new Summit speakers, including the JBL Ama ($19,995/pair with stands), the JBL Pumori ($29,995/pair) and the JBL Makalu ($44,995/pair).
The Makalu is a 3-way floorstanding reference loudspeaker with a 12" woofer and 8" midrange driver, both made with JBL's proprietary HC4 composite. They work in conjunction with the patented D2 compression driver and precision-molded HDI Sonoglass horn.
The Summit Pumori is a 3-way floorstanding model with a smaller (10") woofer and the same midrange and D2 high-frequency drivers.
Bringing up the rear, the Summit Ama is a 2-way standmount loudspeaker that essentially drops the woofer. The Amas comes with matching steel-and-aluminum stands.
Meanwhile, the Mark Levinson brand also had news to share—to wit, the No 626 dual-mono preamplifier ($25,000), the No 632 dual-mono amp ($30,000), and the flagship No 631 monoblocks ($80,000/pair)—all designed, engineered, and assembled in the USA.
The preamp combines an all-analog signal path with a digital core. At its heart is the Precision Link III DAC, specced with 32-bit/384kHz PCM and native DSD audio via its six digital inputs. The analog stage offers "fully balanced Pure Path architecture," including a Pure Phono MM/MC phono stage and Main Drive Class-A headphone amplifier.
The amps feature class-A/AB operation, balanced signal paths, and big toroidal power supplies. Power output specs were not yet available; the products are scheduled to ship by the end of the year.
Driven by the Mark Levinson components, the JBL Summit Makalu speakers brought the Oscar Peterson Trio to life. Bass and drums burst with exceptional dynamics and detail. Next, Leonard Cohen's voice filled the room, so all-encompassing that it felt like the High Priest of Pathos himself was right there with us. The rig delivered glorious, silken highs, and bass so low and tight it practically registered on the Richter scale.
The preamp combines an all-analog signal path with a digital core. At its heart is the Precision Link III DAC, specced with 32-bit/384kHz PCM and native DSD audio via its six digital inputs. The analog stage offers "fully balanced Pure Path architecture," including a Pure Phono MM/MC phono stage and Main Drive Class-A headphone amplifier.
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