Harman’s JBL has introduced its new flagship Project Everest DD67000 loudspeaker, incorporating a host of upgrades.
The DD67000 features new woofers, a refined crossover network and additional improvements to deliver musical accuracy.
“Our previous Project Everest DD66000 was a landmark sonic achievement,” said Jim Garrett, director of marketing and product management, Harman Luxury Audio Group and Loudspeakers. “However, in the six years since it was introduced, the Harman team in Northridge have not stood still. We have continued to advance the design to push the performance threshold of this class leading speaker, resulting in significant performance improvements that is sure to thrill the most veteran audiophiles and passionate music lovers.”
The Project Everest DD67000 is striking in appearance, the company says, blending classic JBL design elements that are evocative of the company’s Hartsfield and Paragon loudspeakers with contemporary styling. The DD67000 retains curved and angled surfaces of its predecessor and a dramatically flared midrange horn, complemented by the loudspeaker’s rosewood finish with the addition of a new carbon-fiber baffle trim panel and elegant rosewood and maple finishes.
The DD67000 is equipped with two of the new 1501AL-2 cast-aluminum-frame woofers, featuring a three-layer laminated cone construction comprised of an inner and outer layer of pure pulp stock with an inner foam-injection-material core. This woofer cone combines high rigidity and fast response for taut, articulate, low frequency with extension down to 29 Hz (-10dB anechoic). Performance is further improved by the 1501AL-2’s newly designed accordion-pleated poly/cotton surround, yielding a woofer with a fundamental resonance that is 10Hz higher than previously for improved agility and “snap” and a more consistent tonal balance at any volume. Additional features include a massive 4-inch voice coil immersed in an Alnico 5DG magnet that is immune to temperature changes, a copper-steel-laminated top plate that contributes to more linear magnetic behavior within the driver, and additional details.
The 476Be midrange/high-frequency compression driver utilizes a 4-inch, pure-beryllium diaphragm that is formed as an integral one-piece diamond-embossed surround and dome. The 476Be also features a 4-inch aluminum edge-wound voice coil, a rapid-flare coherent-wave phasing plug, a pure-copper-sleeved polepiece that maintains maximum magnetic gap flux and other enhancements to deliver extraordinary transparency and natural vocal and instrumental reproduction.
The DD67000’s 045Be-1 ultrahigh-frequency compression driver uses a 1-inch beryllium diaphragm and 2-inch neodymium magnet to produce frequency response beyond 50kHz. The driver features a new precision-cast, pure-magnesium phasing plug that offers better heat dissipation for improved clarity even at higher volumes, and improved manufacturing processes have enabled the driver to provide nearly 5dB more output above 30kHz.
Both compression drivers are mounted in JBL’s computer-optimized Bi-Radial horns that are made from the company’s acoustically inert SonoGlass material, eliminating the unwanted strident colorations that can occur with conventional horn designs. The horns are shaped to provide optimum dispersion in the horizontal and vertical planes, for smooth frequency response and precise imaging over a wider on- and off-axis area.
The Project Everest DD67000 employs a unique crossover network. It is designed to let the woofers operate in different frequency ranges, which provides optimum directivity and high output. The crossover network uses a DC bias system that keeps the capacitors operating in Class A mode, yielding maximum sonic purity. The network is comprised of four separate circuit boards—one for each transducer—to optimize each board for each driver and its corresponding frequency range.
The DD67000’s performance can be fine tuned for any system and room thanks to its front-mounted control panels that enable precise adjustment of low-frequency and high-frequency level and other characteristics. The JBL Project Everest DD67000 is built with top-quality components including air-core inductors, polypropylene foil capacitors, wire-wound and metal oxide resistors used in multiples to prevent value shift during high-power operation and more.
The JBL Project Everest DD67000 loudspeaker will be available in February 2013 at a suggested retail price of $75,000/pair.
