The typical walnut veneer looks old in my book and glossy black is overused and drab.
I do at least like that deep waveguide though.
And aesthetic opposition aside, the speaker is hefty and does feel solidly made.
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Out of the box, the prevailing impression is one of neutrality almost everything just sounds right.
In the case of the HDI-1600, there were just two deviations from neutral that stood out to me.
Tonality aside, the HDI-1600 has standout soundstage and imaging performance.
The soundstage is not particularly wide, but width and sharpness are often a tradeoff.
Lastly, the HDI-1600 perhaps differentiated itself most from competing speakers with its dynamics.
Nonetheless, my listening impressions are backed up by my own measured data.
Exceptional speakers will have a flattish direct sound, which changes smoothly as its performance is captured further off-axis.
The on-axis and listening window curves trend towards flat, hinting at the neutral tonality I heard.
Your mileage may vary.
JBL does it again
The HDI-1600 performed admirably in both listening and measured tests.
But Im not complaining its a pretty great time to be an audio enthusiast.
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