What's Up
JBL Synthesis System Certification - Why it Matters
By David Tovissi
Vice President and General Manager
HARMAN Luxury Audio Group
Weeks after our highly effective immersive cinema demonstrations at CEDIA Expo last month, I have spoken with several dealers and distributors about our Certified Systems program for JBL Synthesis. Whilst some of these conversations were centered around “Making Exceptions” versus “Making Exceptional Sound,” all these conversations led to a better understanding by all parties as to why certification matters.
Born out of Hollywood’s desire for cinema sound at home, JBL Synthesis has a rich history with the film industry. Building upon our extensive heritage in cinematic sound, Lucasfilm selected JBL to develop the first commercial THX®- licensed cinema speaker system in 1983. Nine years later, JBL Synthesis released our first THX home theater system.
Today, JBL Synthesis offers the most advanced multi-channel audio systems available in the industry. Every component in our systems leverage the latest in audio innovation and our signature sound to ensure exceptional performance in any home theater. With the ability to scale from small, intimate spaces to the largest private home cinemas, JBL Synthesis systems are designed and engineered to work together to create an immersive experience where all components function as one sound.
Recreating the commercial cinematic experience in a home requires the manufacturer, distributor and dealer to work together as one, ensuring that the same stringent standards used in commercial theaters are applied as well. These standards include following all the commercial cinema requirements for signal processing, amplifier power, loudspeaker and subwoofer placement, timbre matching, and final system calibration. When all these standards are followed, any home theater system regardless of size and budget will sound amazing.
That is why JBL Synthesis encourages our dealers to follow the standards being used in commercial theaters for all their residential installations. Taking another step further, we have created a process to certify your installations to our system standard. We recognize two levels of certified systems. JBL Synthesis Certified System and JBL Synthesis Certified Elite System. The main differentiations in the two levels are the number of channels being processed and/or the type of calibration required. If your system employs our JBL Synthesis SDP-75, it will likely qualify as a Certified Elite system.
The JBL Synthesis Certified and JBL Synthesis Certified Elite program was the first of several initiatives that came out of the JBL Synthesis Product Council feedback sessions. Dealers and Distributors from across the globe make up the members of the Product Council. Their participation and feedback in the product council helped us create the Certification Process and provide us with the future direction of JBL Synthesis products and system solutions.
HARMAN Luxury Audio announced that the Adeo Group in Lavis, Italy, was the first showroom that had met the qualifications and had been certified as a JBL Synthesis Elite System. The Adeo Group is a distributor. They have been a champion of the brand and the certification initiative. Their immersive cinema is used for prospective client demonstrations and dealer training events as well.
Certifying a JBL Synthesis system for your showroom or your customers requires a little planning by the dealer. We ask that you only use JBL Synthesis products in your audio design, that you document the installation with pictures, and that you send us your system calibration files. By meeting the standards set by JBL Synthesis you will be providing consumers with confidence that their system will deliver the intended sound quality in their unique room environment; essentially, it signifies a level of expertise beyond just selling the products and allows dealers to showcase their ability to properly set up immersive JBL Synthesis systems.
We recognize that some of our dealers have installed their JBL Synthesis theaters in the past using other HARMAN Luxury Audio products. Please work with your distributor or your regional sales manager to replace those products with a JBL Synthesis product to qualify for certification.
Now that you know the “why” and the “how” to certify a JBL Synthesis System, if you have a system that you want to certify, click this link to start the application process. https://www.jblsynthesis.com/certified-systems.html.
As an incentive for doing what is necessary for certifying systems, we will provide you with a special rack face that you can proudly exhibit in the equipment rack. They are backlit with the iconic JBL Synthesis blue LED lights which can be turned off and back on by most control systems.
