JBL K2 S5800 shows a little foot!

[Dj_AmTraX]

I saw those and the K2 in person last year. They're very very nice.

[Mctwins]

Very nice speakers, I bet it sounds nice too.

[Vettedrummer]

I'ii tell you the difference between the 5800's and the 250's is detail! The S5800 let you hear ever little sound. They soundstage like no other speaker in the house. When you sit in the sweet spot and close your eyes you can hear and feel where everyone is playing from. When you play in a band you know what sounds are made on say a bass when your changing notes. On the S5800 you hear that shift on the 250's you just don't. Hey, there is almost 20 years of time between these two models. JBL hasn't been sitting on their hands all this time. When you see the new cabinet work they are turning out you know that they still remember how to do it better than just about any other speaker manufacturer. The JBL 250Ti's and the LS360's fom McIntosh have alot of the same characteristics. They do the same kind of sound and it's a beautiful experience to listen to, but the S5800's do it so much better. The Array 1000's I got last year keep up very well with the S5800"s, but the S5800's are appealing to the eye. The WAF is very good for the S5800's! Carol even said she can hear the difference between the two JBL's. She is still firm on the 250Ti's staying in the living room mostly it's about the wood. Big speakers don't bother her. They just have to fit in. I'll tell ya I don't know many guys wifes that would let them have as many speakers in the livingroom as I have. Now some of that is her fault since she doesn't like to go to the home theater in the basement when I'm not around. She just has way too much trouble making it work. Too many remotes and which one does what????? So we have a separate surround sound setup in the livingroom that does not use the 250Ti's at all. The speaker syatem that the living room setup uses is a pair of JBL 2KTi's on JBL stands that were made for them. There is a 2kTi Center speaker on a stand and then 2 rear channel JBL Music 2 speakers in white. The projector can be put away as need be and the screen hides up under the corniceboard. This is the way she wanted it work so i made it work that way. Is the picture as good as the one in the theater? Nope, but that projector is the McIntosh one. Oddly however you can still watch the livingroom projector in the daylight and still see good contrast. Sometimes when she's working from home she just has to watch that 1P.M. soap! I never planned on getting any speakers this year, but when these came up and I had wanted them since back in 2002 I just had to pull the trigger. I had to make Carol a deal in order to get these and that deal was I had to sell off other gear and use that money to pay for these. That way more gear goes out of the house then I had coming in. So far I'm about half way there. I put these on a zero interest card for 15 months so I'm thinking I'm gonna make it. There was one rough spot in getting this set. One of the speakers that JBL sent had a cloudy finish on the top of the speaker from the clear coat pooling on the edges. I called and in a matter of a few days a new speaker was sent out to replace it. Plus the driver waited around until I unpacked it to be sure that this one was a keeper or it would go right back. It was and everyone was happy. Maybe JBL wasn't so happy cause they had to eat the shipping costs, but hey they can afford it! My biggest problem now is finding places to put all these big JBL boxes away. Break them down you say??? And if I do what do I do with all the packing materials from within? I'm trying to fit the Project Array boxes into the S5800 boxes and then that would cut down alot of the space needs. I still end up with two rather large packing parts, but they are way smaller than the 1000 boxes. So that my story of springtime love and the stripping speaker. Cheers, Frank

[Vintage Pete]

Frank...wow, that is quite a story, and you must have a speacial wide-she's a keeper, I'd say! I'd love to hear a pair of the K2 series, but I don't know of anywhere nearby where I can get a demo. I'm quite sure JBL hasn't been sitting on their hands all these years, as you say...and I can also see why wifey likes the 250ti's in the living room. The wood is gorgeous, and I've alway like the unique shape of the L250 and 250ti. I definitley need more room (and funds) to set up some more great McIntosh/JBL rigs. Thanks for sharing!

Pete

[Still-One]

Frank those look great. I bet those 501's make them sing.

Jim

[two dot]

Congrats on finding your perfect speaker Frank.

Now, take them to you local cabinet shop, get them veneered in Teak and bring them back to the living room for sonic and marital bliss.

[Vettedrummer]

Carol said I could leave them in the living room, but then the 250Ti's have to move. I want to have the S5800 some place where I can really get into listening to them, but the livingroom with all the other stuff that goes on there isn't that place. Oh sure for a few hours a couple time a week I can be alone in there, but it's not enough! I guess they are headed to the museum in the basement to live with the Array 1,000's. They will then be powered by tube Mac gear. MC-2102 and the C2200. I think they might miss the MC-501's however. Vinyl lives at the museum as well so it could be interesting. Cheers, Frank

[jdandy]

Frank.......The K2's will love the McIntosh tubes. Rock on!