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With its 20dB of NFB, the F5's damping factor is naturally superior to any zero-feedback 300B SET. So I initially also suspected less than SET-friendly LF impedance behavior from the speaker since even the 45wpc Esoteric A-100's bass was less controlled than the low-gain 15-watt F5. Again, all this came around nicely over time. Where right off the bat the JB8 bested my DX-55 Lowthers (with the Rethm Saadhana bass systems disconnected) was bass reach. The Lowther solo won't do bass. Even back-loaded, it's ultimately insufficient. The JohnBlue driver in the JB8 enclosure is solid into the mid 40s below which it begins to roll off. Whether you'll ultimately consider this sufficient or need 'just a bit more' is your call to make. Personally, I found myself wanting an additional 10 cycles to hit 35Hz without attenuation. Considering the below space with its 8-meter open expanse behind the speakers however, it's clear that I didn't invoke boundary gain in the usual ways. Hence I won't unfairly dwell on this aspect.


I rather suspect that the JB8 set up closer to a wall behind it will be considered full-range by most. For a redundant statement -- after all, this speaker's sensitivity rating hasn't been tweaked -- the JB8 is not as dynamic nor comes on song at quite the whisper levels as true hi-eff designs do. Speed then isn't of the adrenaline junkie sort. Soundstaging is very good but not as eerily holographic as over my point-source Rethm Saadhanas with their vanishing cabinets. Or Anthony Gallo's Reference 3.1s for that matter. However, the JB8 stages tall, easily 2 to 3 feet above its physical upper limits. This gives a somewhat unusual boost of soundstage size to create a terrific domed effect. Tonal balance is decidedly level-headed and anything but whitish, lean, brittle or bright. This avoids the more common and mostly justified concerns for this breed.


By lacking a small spot-light tweeter to lock in image specificity, the JB8's staging has minor omni elements without that laser focus of performer outlines which true omnis do likewise. Whenever you add, to an omni, a conventional 1" front-firing dome tweeter like Dick Olsher did for his Samadhi Acoustics Cube, you immediately get back that particular image specificity. I expect that'll be exactly one of the benefits of the optional super tweeter if that more highly localized quality is important to you.
The JB8 au nature feels more relaxed and a bit more farfield in how image outlines are softened. This effect is further enhanced by the lack of sealed-box woofer damping and the obvious lack of LF transient impact which mondo paralleled woofers undergoing small shared excursions produce. Transient fidelity or timing are naturally good. Sticks on wood and other noise maker impacts on mostly non-resonant materials have that rightness you know from real life when someone unexpectedly knocks on your front door. Multi-ways, whenever you hit notes that are jointly covered by two
differently sized drivers (often of different cone material to boot), tend to be more indecisive and confused in these matters. As already stated, the JB8's closer-to-conventional efficiency doesn't create quite the transient charge or startle factor premium 100dB jobs dish out. Relaxed timing (rather than tensioned) thus captures the feel nicely.

Tube hounds always celebrate that element of tone which amps of the valved persuasion contribute to the recipe. It's equally true though that certain loudspeakers, on their own, seem to produce greater tone than others. Perhaps it's a function of harmonic distortion. Math ace Eduardo de Lima of Audiopax has long ago stated that simple one/two-way speakers exhibit very similar THD behavior to single-ended tube amps. Whatever exactly is responsible for the effect, the right kind of speaker will sound toneful already on transistor amps while others will cry out for thermionic assistance. Within that frame of thought, Tommy Wu's driver is quite emancipated from tube neediness as the excellent showing with the FirstWatt F5 proved.

I conclude that the big JohnBlue Audio Art driver makes tone - or doesn't strip it off vital harmonics, whatever the case would be in the right lab equipped to measure these things. Those who are against valve amps won't be left out to dry in matters of gorgeous timbres. Tommy's earlier statement made high sensitivity the reason why other single-driver speaker demand tubes to sound threadbare without 'em. If so, the JB8's "only" 93dB rating isn't an anti feature. It's a vital ingredient. Frankly, my hi-eff leanings can't wrap themselves fully around this argument. But never mind. All that matters is how this speaker does indeed fly on transistor power. For tone taken to the next power, my Yamamoto A-09S did go farther yet and became the eventual combo of choice. The Yammy even allowed me to take out the ModWright 36.5 LS/PS and replace it with the passive Musical Laboratory* Paeonia without suffering a collapse of intense tone.


True, dynamics flattened out as passives tend to cause as compared to the best active preamps. But my focus here is tone. It's the special attraction of this loudspeaker which seems not to require any special measures to enjoy. If you love strings of any persuasion, Tommy's driver delivers the lot. Be it the tangy dotar behind Yulduz Usmanova or Sevara Nazarkhan; the dreamy bouzouq of Titi Robin; the muscular Manouche timbre of Tchavolo Schmitt's guitar; the sighs of Portuguese fado guitars; Andreas Vollenweider's Chinese Gu Cheng; massed Arabian violins behind Natacha Atlas; symphonic strings in the mysterious "Adagio" of Prokofieff's 5th Symphony; the JB8 captures them with a lustrous richness that's very compelling and doesn't wipe out the differences between wiry, rosiny, twangy, brash or sweet.

In short, the JohnBlue Audio Art JB8 loudspeaker is a summer destination for tone worshippers whose prerequisite / priority for enjoying music is beauty of timbre (note how I didn't say 'truth of timbre' - that needs fully developed upper harmonics). In beauty of tone, the Taiwanese driver goes beyond my Lowther DX55. The British wideband standard is leaner. It's more dependant on valves to expand upon its built-for-speed dynamic reflexes. While that Lowther in my book of (limited) acquaintances remains king of speed, JohnBlue Audio Art shifts the focus on tone by adding useful bass extension (like mixing in black for color richness) which does not require dedicated woofers.


Ultimate treble extension is obviously sacrificed but you could rightly argue, at the altar of tonal sweetness. It makes cymbals a bit more burnished. Extrapolate from there. Where all single-driver designs are limited of course is highly dynamic complexity. Symphony Of A Thousand devotees and their colleagues can clearly do better elsewhere. That doesn't mean you're restricted to girl-with-guitar fare. Far from it. Just don't except symphonic mayhem to be as sorted, separated and clean as a big multi-way would produce, never mind that bass weight and impact would be in a different league altogether.

Also, the JB8 is rear-hornloaded. This has out-of-phase bass waves from the rear of the driver mix with its frontal output, with the horn length intended to 'flip' the phase and add in-phase boost to the driver's roll-off. Naturally, this never works out precisely. Certain phase-shift cancellation and addition effects remain to render bass amplitude a bit lumpy. This character also affects ultimate transparency and is co-responsible for injecting the aforementioned warmth. Add the limited cone surface which does do bass (after all, even headphone 'tweeters' do) but moves less air than mega artillery and your imagination should be able to build a good impression of this speakers' character.


In the end, the most relevant question of course is whether the conceptual advantages of a single driver (no crossover-induced phase shift, point source radiation, amp-direct drive) outweigh its liabilities. While acknowledging a priori exceptions to avoid blanket statements... if you listen for beat fidelity (call it swing), coherent soundstaging and sweet tonefulness, I'd answer from quite likely to absolutely. If you listen for extreme resolution, bass impact, airy effulgence and full-range coverage in the true sense of the word, I'd say definitely not.

Unlike most speakers in this sector which, if you're honest, make substantial excuses for the goodies they bring to the table, the limitations of the JohnBlue Audio Art JB8 are quite insubstantial for musical enjoyment. This speaker runs on regular fuel. It doesn't look weird. In fact, with the grilles on, it's completely conventional in appearance in a good way. It requires no acclimatization to account for peculiar (abnormal) qualities which you have to buy into to get to the good stuff. It's not an imbalanced extremist who pushes certain aspects taken to the limit but completely forgets about others which are equally vital or more so. It doesn't need a subwoofer or add-on tweeter to be persuasive. It costs about half of my Rethm Saadhanas. A premium 8-watt 300B amp like my Yamamoto A-09S fitted with either EML 300B-XLS or EATs plays it perfectly. Equally premium transistors like first watts by Nelson Pass do likewise. And note how premium in this context can mean a $2,500 amplifier.


If Tommy Wu's main ambition with the JB8 speaker was to showcase his prowess as a designer/maker of wideband drivers, he has succeeded very admirably. While his company's name JohnBlue Audio Art enjoys little recognition yet in this sector globally speaking, the JB8 platform demonstrates that it certainly isn't for lack of serious chops. Only time will tell what kind of inroads Tommy can make into the sector established by AER, Feastrex, Fostex, Jordan, Lowther & compadres. In my estimation, he's a strong player who belongs and whose name should henceforth be included whenever any of these other brands are mentioned or considered. In a niche where fancy cabinets with a lone driver can command pretty outrageous sums considering, the JB8 is worthy of serious consideration for a rather more friendly price.

Quality of packing: Stout.
Reusability of packing: Reusable at least once.
Condition of component received: Flawless.
Website comments: Could be more informative about model-specific information.
Human interactions: Friendly.
Pricing: On the lower end for a full-range flagship widebander.
John Blue Audio website