What Does 'JBL' Stand For? A Closer Look At The Speaker Brand's History

JBL Incorporated is a company who produces a variety of sound equipment for personal and professional use. This industry goliath offers anything from the JBL Quantum 910X Xbox Gaming Headset and JBL speakers you can link together, to products for a premium audio setup on or off stage. We included JBL in our article about the best portable Bluetooth speakers in 2023, citing the impressive Boombox 3 product. However, a glance back in time reveals some interesting insights into the audio industry giant, and its humble beginnings.

The company was founded in 1946 by a man named James B. Lansing, hence the name 'JBL'. While highly adept in the technical areas required to design and manufacture sound equipment, James Lansing struggled with the business side of his ventures. Ultimately, Lansing would only be active with JBL for three years, leaving behind a legacy of brilliant innovations. He would sadly never see the success of his own company or the heights it would eventually reach, valued currently at 11.3 billion, per Macrotrends.net. Fortunately, even without its original founder, JBL would go on to create several industry defining products, such as the first 2-way studio monitors, and the first THX approved theatre sound system, among many others.

James B. Lansing understood complex electronics and automotive systems from an early age. Before James was even a teenager, he had constructed his own radio transmitter, which the government forced him to destroy. Later, he learned to make his own automotive parts by machining them in shop. Lansing's first company launched in 1927 and over the course of the next 22 years he would struggle financially. Despite Lansing developing influential pieces of equipment like the Iconic system, the first loudspeaker combining a "15[-inch] bass-reflex driver and high-frequency horn," a configuration still seen today, he didn't have a head for business.

Following the tragic event of losing his longtime business associate Ken Decker to an airplane accident, Lansing struggled to manage company finances and by 1949 JBL was $20,000 underwater. To put this figure into perspective, $20,000 in 1949 would be akin to $264,000 today. Unfortunately, Lansing passed away that same year.

Even after losing its founder, JBL was able to continue operations due to a life insurance payout following Lansing's death. The company made strides in audio technology on various fronts such as recording, and cinema systems. In the early 60s, JBL released the first 2-way studio monitors called the JBL 4320s, that included a large woofer for low end, and a small tweeter for high frequencies. These monitors allowed studio engineers to hear a more accurate recreation of recording's that include a much wider dynamic range and frequency response.

According to Harman, JBL equipment is used in around 40% of the world's motion-picture theatres today. The company's success in the cinema is due in part to 1982s Model 4675, the first THX endorsed speaker system for theaters. With a "Bi-Radial constant-directivity horn technology," the 4675 sounded so impressive, it was used in the Motion Picture Academy's cinema venue, the Goldwyn Theater. These are just a few highlights of JBLs history spanning nearly 80 years with no signs of slowing.