JBL C86: invisible 3-way built-in loudspeaker on two separate panels
The C86 is the top model of JBL's Conceal series: a built-in three-way design split into two panels, one reserved for the bass and one for the mid-high range, which after finishing vanish into the surface where they are installed. It is sold as a single unit and each unit includes both panels. This is what sets it apart from the C83, which has one panel only, and from the C62, which stops at two ways.
The bass panel houses a 203 mm woofer; the mid-high panel is itself a two-way with five transducers, four midranges and one tweeter. Both are based on a patented baffle, compression molded, with an outer skin of paintable Fidelity Glass, and have an integrated wooden back box that seals the volume and holds back the sound heading for adjoining rooms. The drivers are designed for this model and the JBL crossover network cuts at 600 Hz and at 10 kHz.
Key features
- Sealed three-way design, six transducers spread over two panels
- 203 mm woofer driven by a 38 mm voice coil
- Four neodymium midranges, each using a 30 mm voice coil
- Neodymium tweeter, 25 mm voice coil
- Suggested amplifier: between 50 and 200 W RMS into a 4 ohm load
- Sensitivity of 84 dB (1 W/1 m) and response of 45 Hz - 20 kHz at -6 dB, both taken in-room
- Self-resetting protection on three separate circuits: lows, mids and highs
Installation
The two panels are fitted like plasterboard patches and painted with the wall. The mid-high one measures 302 x 403 x 98 mm (height x width x depth), wants an opening of 305 x 406 mm and weighs 5.9 kg; the bass one measures 559 x 403 x 98 mm, wants an opening of 562 x 406 mm and weighs 9.1 kg. For both, 86 mm of depth inside the wall is enough. The pre-construction boards are purchased separately: C12PCB for the mid-high panel, C22PCB for the bass panel.
Connections
The binding posts are dual, spring-loaded and gold-plated. The C86 is connected to an external amplifier within the suggested power range, the highest among the full-range models of the series.
