JBL HDI-1600

The JBL HDI-1600 was carefully designed and engineered in JBL's Northridge, California labs, with the intent of creating a compact speaker for discerning hi-fi enthusiasts. This stand-mount speaker is loaded with top-notch JBL technology and it comes in three elegant finishes that can complement just about any home decor. JBL demonstrated the HDI-1600 in our training room at Crutchfield HQ. I got a chance to listen to them powered by the Arcam SA20 , which provided 150 watts at 4 ohms — plenty of power to fill the high-ceilinged room, which also contained around 20 Crutchfield employees. The training representative had JBL's entire HDI line of speakers standing side by side, and the most revealing thing I can say about these impressive bookshelf speakers is that when he started playing music through them, I assumed I was hearing the floor-standing HDI-3600 . By themselves, without a subwoofer, the 1600s filled the room with full-range sound — it was difficult for my mind to reconcile the evidence provided ...