A long awaited sound off on two classic rock and roll monitors the ever so sought after JBL L26 and the not nearly enough respect, the Pioneer HPM-60. These comparisons are non scientific and are only conducted within my sound room on the same source equipment. So if you are looking for a bunch of technical graphs and what not, that is not happening here. This is just what sounds best to my ears.
To begin with this is really a 2 way versus a 3 way battle and the JBL's got a new Solen cap installed where as the Pioneer still has the original caps, so lets get that out of the way.
Aesthetically the JBL L26 wins hands down on the fact that the cabinet is a real oak veneer where as the Pioneer cut the corners and give you the vinyl veneer. I also like the cleanliness of the JBL's front baffle with the tweeter over the woofer, it just looks cleaner and much more visually pleasing. JBL wins in this respect.
Sound, there is something about how well the 10" woofer attacks and reaches into the bass region in the JBL over the Pioneer. You can feel the rumble of the JBL 125 woofers and it brings a rush of anticipation of what is going to hit you, no other woofer gives you that feeling. The HPM-60's woofers are just as fast on the attack but they do not give you the rumble that JBL's gives off. The nod goes to the JBL's in the bass department.
Mid range is a completely different story, hands down the HPM-60 is smoother across the mid range spectrum and it is not to hard to figure out why. The tweeter and the woofer on the L26's need to share this role where as the HPM-60 has a dedicated mid range driver. Hands down the Pioneer wins in this respect.
The high end also goes to the HPM-60 as one does get a bit of sizzle out of the super tweeter, the JBL tweeter tends to roll of faster than the HPM-60's.
Sound stage, the HPM-60's are of course more forward than the JBL L26's, both put out a great three dimensional sound stage, putting the instruments in the right places. Although the JBL's reach lower both speakers give you the bass punch where you can feel it inside of you. A note that should be taken with this, is that both these speakers are meant to give you that live feeling, like you are there front row center at a concert, these are not the speakers that reveal the finer musical passages that give off details in an airy sense. Some call it the West Coast sound versus the New England sound.
So who wins in the sound off? My nudge would go towards the JBL L26's. Although the mid range is not nearly as smooth, the bottom end along with the real oak veneer and the cleaner looking front baffle is the clincher for me.
As I write this the JBL's did move along to a new owner and the HPM-60's are currently listed for sale, the used market for JBL's when priced right is far more liquid than that for a pair of HPM-60's. That said the HPM-100's move much faster and are more sought after. Some argue the HPM-60's 10" woofer is just a bit more refined than the HPM-100's as it is easier to drive.
