New JBL Packages

Check out the packs!...

The "silly season" tends to be an excellent time for the home cinema market. One can note that manufacturers often choose this period to unveil new products. JBL confirm the trend, with their catalogue - "simply cinema" containing the new range of home cinema "packages": esc 230, esc 340, scs 135 and scs 175.


The Esc Series

The Esc series is composed of two systems with integrated decoder and amplifier.

- Theesc 230 is a system composed of a passive subwoofer of 60 watts, 5 amagnetic satellites (this means they benefit from magnetic shielding allowing them to be placed near the TV) with a power of 20 watts, the decoding and amplifying sections being managed by an external unit. The machine has the characteristic of decoding the audio signal in stereo and Dolby ProLogic. This decoder only accepts the connection of four analogue machines at a time. It is, moreover upgradable (to Dolby Digital and DTS), thus giving the user the possibility to link it to a processor or a DVD Player.

- Theesc 340 offers a concept which is virtually the same. The package is composed of 5 amagnetic satellites of a power of 50 watts per channel and an active subwoofer of 100 watts. This machine has the particularity of having a Dolby ProLogic / Dolby Digital and DTS amplifier-decoder built-in. It’s possible to link the esc 340 to four machines at a time: two for the transfer of digital information and two analogues.
Its speaker system is based on the concept of the esc 333 (former model): each speaker is a two-way system with a 40 mm speaker for mid-range and a 10 mm tweeter. Compared to the esc 333, the central channel speaker here has two mediums of 40 mm (as opposed to one only with the esc 333). The package is delivered with a remote infra-red sensor, allowing the user to conceal the bass box.

Both systems are delivered with a complete set of cables, as well as an infrared remote control.


Scs Series

The Scs Series is composed of two systems destined to be linked to an audio/video amp. (not included in the pack).

- The scs 135 is a condensed version of the esc 340, using the same five satellite speakers. In any case, the difference of the latter is that it doesn’t include a multi-channel decoder-amplifier: one thus has to pass by an audio-video amplifier to power the system. The bass box included is active (100 watts), running in bass reflex and having a cut-off frequency control (30 to 130 Hz).
The scs 135 is thus an ideal element for a small home cinema installation. The power allotted to each channel being limited to 50 watts, it would be wise to marry it with an amplifier delivering a maximum of 5 x 100 watts.

- The scs 175 constitutes the most complete audio system of the model range: it was in fact designed to reproduce digital audio formats in a "cleaner" way than its companions do. Following the example of the scs 135, one also has to add an audio-video amplifier.
The pack is thus composed of 5 small amagnetic speakers of more generous dimensions (style mini-bookshelf): they dispose of a 100 mm cone and a 10 mm tweeter, and each has a capacity of 100 watts. They are also equipped with screw-down connector blocks allowing for the utilisation of thicker cable. The active subwoofer of 100 watts possesses a boomer of 200 mm and works as a bass reflex. Its cut-off frequency is adjustable from 30 to 130 Hz.
Two finishes are proposed: light timber or dark timber.


Price and Availability

The packages already on the market are the esc 230 (approx. 300 Euros or 1990 French Francs) and the scs 175 (around 760 Euros or 4990 French Francs).
The esc 340 and scs 135 will be available by mid-November (source: JBL), for the respective prices of 760 Euros (4990 FFR) and 455 Euros (2990 FFR).