JBL Control Contractor 50 Series

JBL have recently added two new products to the Control Contractor range (Control 50S/T and Control 52). It's quite a range of speakers now I'll grant you, so what marks these ones out?

The Control 50S/T is a surface mounted single 8" subwoofer, the Control 52 is a surface mounted 2.5" satellite speaker. These are the first sub/sat systems JBL have introduced in quite a long time, indeed since the demise of the much loved SMS-1. Put your screwdriver away! This time around the subwoofer is unpowered and slips onto the included wall bracket very easily. The subwoofer operates in mono with a loop through and has a multitap transformer (80w, 40w, 20w or 8ohm) plus onboard crossover set to suit either 2 or 4 Control 52's. Transformer tap is adjustable on the input cup by screwdriver, no wire jumpers here....

These units are available in black or white individually in the case of the subwoofer, in pairs for the satellites and also as a contractor pack- one Control 52S/T and four Control 52's. All come with wall mounts and connectors included. Easy.

In addition, if you would rather fit a flush mounted sub then there is one of these to suit too, plus matching flush mount satellites, these units being known as the Control 40 CS/T and Control 42C respectively, all with the same features as above. The two model ranges can even be intermixed if that works for you, so long as you match either 2 or 4 satellites to each subwoofer. The ceiling speakers are all UL listed for use in air handling spaces, and ship with tile rails for the sub and supporting C rings for both models in the box. No extras to buy for these....

Of course, maybe you don't want to surface mount the satellites or flush mount them? JBL are still working on levitation, but in the meantime could you use a pendant speaker? You need it IP44 rated too? Try this for size- the new Control 62P. Intermix this with the subwoofers we spoke about previously and get the same result. These units are available in black or white and even ship with the cable to fly them.

So what can you do with 4 of these speakers and a sub? Of course, the area any speaker system covers depends on many factors, including how loud the music needs to be, how high the speakers are mounted, what the aspect ratio is of the room, what the materials are of the room structure, etc. However, as a general guideline, a single Control 50 system can cover a floor space of up to 100 square meters for most business music applications.

Rough performance targets of 82 dB continuous music capability (continuous pink noise of 86 dB, with peaks of 92 dB) and a maximum variation level (the difference in sound level from place to place within the room) of about ±2.5 dB is usually sufficient for most business music applications. With the speakers mounted at a height of 3 meters, a Control 50 series system covers a floor space of about 100 square meters to this spec.

All in a pretty good sounding package and a very good alternative for the usual suspects in these applications.

Jands