From the Audio Files

JBL’s S4700 15” floorstander has been around for quite some time now, but this venerable loudspeaker continues to rack up the accolades. Mark Gusew from StereoNET in Australia recently took them for a spin, and here are some of our favorite observations of his.

“It didn't come as a complete surprise to discover that the JBL S4700 sounds vast. It has so much of everything – scale, drama, dynamics, bass slam and detail, plus a sense of complete unflappability and grip. Indeed listening to Claude VonStroke's “Who's Afraid of Detroit?” with a generous amount of volume was almost an out-of-body experience. The S4700 has the ability to provide ground-shaking bass with no apparent limit to how hard it can punch or how loud it can play.”

“Another track that came alive was “Seeya” by Deadmau5. The bass guitar sounded palpable when listening through those huge JBL bass drivers, which provided a solid foundation to the song. The kick drum was clearly separate in the mix from the bass guitar and had such speed and solidarity that it was amazing to hear. Conversely, it wasn't all about tight extended bass, because the rest of the track proved equally special. Colleen D'Agostino is the female vocalist on this song, with a voice that suits it nicely. She soared delicately above that earthquake of a bass line, maintaining a great sense of poise as the JBL held nothing back.”