Features:
- Pair of 2-way bookshelf speakers
- 6-inch PolyPlas bass driver and 0.75-inch titanium laminate dome tweeter
- High-impact, molded, dark gray enclosure
- 88 dB sensitivity
- 125-watt power handling
Description:
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
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