JBL Stage A170 tower speakers

The JBL Stage A170 floor-standing speaker is designed at JBL's acoustic engineering site in Northridge, California. Its small size, for a floor-standing speaker, and its affordable price conceal a speaker that is surprising in its performance and musicality.

JBL STAGE A170: CONSTRUCTION

The JBL Stage A170 is a small, very elegant column speaker with respectable dimensions (190 x 255 x 93 mm). The cabinet is rigid and well-assembled. It rests on an "X" base that can be fitted with threaded spikes or rubber feet. The speakers can be hidden behind a traditional black fabric grille.

The A170s are only available in Europe in a structured black vinyl finish, reminiscent of the finish on the American manufacturer's professional speakers.

The connection is made via a standard quality dual binding post, simple and efficient. It accepts bare wires or, preferably, banana plugs.

JBL STAGE A170: SPEAKERS

The Stage A170 is a small 2.5-way floor-standing speaker. This means that the two midrange and bass drivers share a common crossover, but their respective loads and distinct designs mean they handle different frequencies.

Acoustically speaking, it is effectively a 3-way speaker.

The midrange and bass drivers are specially designed for the Stage Series. These speakers are equipped with a 133mm Poly-cellulose cone. The midrange driver has a sealed enclosure while the bass driver is loaded in a Bass-Reflex design with dual ports at the back of the speaker. They are complemented in the high frequencies by a 25mm aluminum dome tweeter. This tweeter is placed in a patented waveguide (HDI) that resembles a horn throat.

JBL STAGE A170: INSTALLATION

Since the ports are at the rear of the speaker, the balance of the sound depends on its position and proximity to the rear wall. The closer it is to the wall (without being flush, of course), the more the bass response increases, but at the expense of openness and soundstage. Finding the right balance is not very complicated, but about thirty centimeters seem necessary.

In our listening room, the best balance was at 40 cm from the wall.

JBL STAGE A170: TEST AND LISTENING

We won't hide our astonishment from the first minutes of listening. The sound is in opposition to the size and price of these speakers!

These JBL Stage A170s deliver a huge and perfectly detailed soundstage.
The frequency response seems extremely linear for a speaker in this range.

The high end of the spectrum is energetic and precise, without excess.

These JBLs surpass, in terms of dynamics and rhythm, the speakers we know in this range. The overall sound seems more lively and physical than usual. The JBL Stage A170 favors spaciousness, dynamics, and swing.

They may lack a bit of finesse for some on genres like classical music. However, for rock, blues, or jazz, they excel!

Highly recommended.