JBL 4367 - The Convergence

I have been meaning to do a write up on the JBL 4367, but have been a bit lazy. It was @Xecuter who first turned our group on to these speakers, followed by @Jonah . I heard these at a dealer (courtesy of Koth and Ramesh) and came away extremely impressed. It didn’t quite pull off the disappearing act and the wrap around staging and imaging like that of the summit-fi, narrow baffle speakers. I suspect it could have done a better job in a larger room with better treatments/acoustics.

Everything outside those 3 aspects were just fantastic, with the dynamics being the highlight. And the best part was, it was being driven by the 300B fitted Elekit 8900 that puts out 8W. We briefly tried the Boulder all-in-one, and while there was better grip in the bass, in that room, the speakers didn’t really benefit from the extra wattage of the Boulder. But in a larger room, which I think these speakers probably prefer, I start to wonder if 8W would be sufficient.

I got into speakers in 2021 and I have not been able to connect with most systems I have heard since then. This specific audition stands out as my favorite for a few reasons. First, all it took was a modestly priced and modestly powered amp to be driven to potential. Second, I didn’t have to trade any aspect from the dynamics-resolution-tone trio. And lastly, it was just a super engaging listen.

The speaker had a bold, tactile and bombastic presentation and had dynamics in spades. You name any form of dynamics, it did it and did it well. While the dynamics steal the show, it doesn’t skimp on resolution, nor tone. On the resolution side, I’d say it is more impressive in terms of inner detail than outer resolution, but that could be because, not many speakers impress me with their inner detail and textural capability. While the wrap-around staging and imaging left me desiring for more, the general staging and imaging was still very good. It had large scale with large images of the instruments and singers.

On the tonal side of things, it sounded very clear, transparent, pure and very realistic in terms of timbre. But overall it erred on the raw side of things, which is what my preference leans toward fortunately. From what I’ve seen, some folks prefer trading rawness for some extra refinement or, seek a more romantic/euphonic sound. The 4367 may not be ideal for such listeners. The speaker also has a bit of relentless presentation and a treble that’s not completely smooth. So it’s not going to suit folks, who are after a laidback or super smooth sound.

I titled the thread ‘The Convergence’ because, the 6 or 7 people in my circle, who have heard these, we all have slightly varying preferences and do not align predominantly on most gear. The 4367 is one of the very few gear, where so many of us seem to converge on.

Anyways, these were the impressions I formed during my 2 hour demo at the dealer. I liked it so much that, I am no longer fixated on flea watt DHTs and super high efficiency horns. I would love to own a pair someday and run em preferably in a decently treated room, not smaller than 18ft x 24ft.

Chains Used:
Cyrus CD Transport > Lampi Big 7 > Elekit 8900 > JBL 4367
Airplay > Boulder 866 > JBL 4367

 

Really great speakers. Do you know if the pair you auditioned were made in Mexico or Indonesia?

I liked them the most with a very modest chain: the Akitika GT102 amp and digital volume control.

 

I will need to ask the dealer. Is it currently produced at both locations? The dealer took delivery of this pair just 2 months back. Not sure if that tells you anything on where it was made.

 

Do these have the typical JBL house sound and timbre found in the studio monitors and larger loudspeakers? Or if you took the JBL label off is it possible you'd never even think they were JBL

 

They do have a raw sound like op said
I don’t think you’d fool anyone that these are not JBLs. But I mostly listened to them with a very minimalist and raw chain. I did have both the tweeter controls down most of the time. The synthesis line of which these are a part are different to the 70s throwback sound of some other modern JBLs

 

I auditioned the 4329P in my home which is sorta a smaller but powered cousin of the 4367. I get where the raw comments come from. Plenty of power in the package, strong technicalities, at times feeling a little unrefined but tweakable.

 

Over time, I've made a concerted effort to listen to high end speakers. I've listened to a lot of different brands, including Klipsch, TAD, Fyne, Revival Audio, Audio Vector, Focal, Harbeth, Proac, Magnepan, PMC, Franco Serblin, Cessaro, Paradigm, Avantgarde, and a host of others.

To this day, the most special experience I've had was with the JBL 4367. The best way I can describe them are that they're BWC horn speakers without horn wonk. Or as @Xecuter put it, they're horn speakers for horn haters. The FR is exceptionally smooth, and everything sounds correct, unlike other horn brands like Avantgarde and Klipsch, which can sound kind of honky or wonky with certain instruments. And the 15 inch woofers, as they say, there's no replacement for displacement. The dynamics, tactility, scale are breath-taking. A very raw, visceral experience whilst still maintaining normality with respect to tonality.

I also agree with @EagleWings regarding the rawness of the sound. It's what I'm into, but if you're into the refined, stately, laser precise type of sound, these speakers won't be for you. These speakers are bold, larger-than-life, and grand.

Simply put, these are my dream speakers. Hopefully, one day I'll own them.

 

I want to say I heard the 4367 briefly at a random dealer. I wasn't paying attention to the model number, and it was a very quick audition in maybe a... 14x16' room? My sense--and the dealer prepped us for this--is that they were too big for that room, and really needed a properly large space where you could sit far enough away from the horns. I was intrigued, but in this setting, they were really quite forward and a bit wall of sound.

That said, I remain really curious about the JBL Synthesis line. I'm a big Klipsch fan--own the Forte IIIs, dig the Cornwalls--and find their live, raw, immediate sound really involving. The promise of the JBLs, I think, is a higher level of components and nicer drivers. I'd really like to hear some of the K-series speakers.

On the subject of BWC, I've got a pair of Fyne Vintage Classic XII's waiting for me, still in boxes, for when I finally move into a new place. My hope is that, even in the 15' x 14' room I'll be putting them in, the coaxial drivers will be coherent.

My plan is to drive them with either a tube pre/solid-state power combo or a class-A integrated (Luxman or Accuphase).

 

It's actually only an 8", but with the grill on you'd easily think it was larger.

 

Glad to see more interest in these again! If you search my posts on the 4367, you'll find I was immediately infatuated with them after hearing them in a massive room at the Melbourne Hi-Fi Show in 2017.

Six months later, I auditioned them at a local store in a low-ceiling, narrow room running on McIntosh gear, and the experience couldn’t have been more different from what I heard at the show.

I genuinely believe the 4367 is one of the most capable speakers ever made. That said, it seems like JBL may have passed its peak and is now moving backwards in terms of design and performance.

The main caveat is that these speakers are highly room-dependent. Before committing, I’d recommend hearing them in your own space. Without sufficient distance from the rear and front walls—and ideally, high ceilings—you might find the 4367 underwhelming. As @EagleWings mentioned, its standout feature is its insane dynamics, but without the right room, that magic disappears.

 

The high ceilings is a really great note. When I auditioned the 4329 which are a similar but smaller config, I tried them in two rooms with similar width but one had high ceilings and it was much better in the room with the higher ceiling. I don't think it was necessarily anything to do with vertical reflection, perhaps simply the amount of sound energy dispersing into the room.

 

RIP JBL. Got bought by Samsung. R&D stopped. The people who designed the later, greater ones are now making the mid Kali speakers.

 

I thought the Samsung thing was recent, but digging online it was actually back in 2017. Then I looked up Kali and they started... 2018. Ah, that lines up then. But is there anything Kali makes that's actually exciting?