home, the choice is massive. But not many
options offer the sheer flexibility of the JBL
Authentics L16.
Its design is clearly retro—the big wooden
box with the walnut finish will remind old
timers of the huge radios from the 1960s.
On the top panel is a small hatch that opens
up to reveal a couple of USB ports as well as
an AUX-in connection. On either side of the
hatch are two silver dials—one for power on/
off and volume control, and the other for
switching the input source. Some of the
connectivity ports are on the underside, an
area easily accessible because the feet give it
enough ground clearance. The L16 tips the
scales at 16kg—definitely not portable.
There are a variety of connectivity options—
AUX-in, Bluetooth, NFC, Airplay, DLNA,
PHONO-in and the optical audio input.
Airplay is specifically for Apple devices, while
the PHONO-in is useful when connecting to a
turntable/record player. Optical audio comes
in handy for a typical home-theatre set-up.
The L16 will play 24-bit/96kHz audio files,
which is certainly an upgrade over the 16-
bit/44.1kHz files that most rivals support.
There are six speakers in total, with
combined power rated at 300 watts, and a
down firing woofer.
We first tested this with a smartphone and an
iPad. The Bluetooth set-up is simple, but it
took some effort to get Airplay to work—the
L16 had to be reset twice before it registered
the Wi-Fi connection and detected the iPad.
The music playback is delightful—the bass is
powerful and doesn’t seem sculpted. But, at
no point does it overwhelm the vocals or the
other elements of the soundtrack. That said,
we increased the volume while playing some
of Gareth Emery’s tracks, and the neighbours
were certainly not very happy with what
resembled a mini earthquake—vibrations
from the low-frequency range could be felt
even two walls away. We had placed the
Authentics L16 on the floor.
A Denon turntable was the second device,
playing 45rpm records. Classic Bollywood
soundtracks sounded brilliant, with a level of
detailing not heard from other speakers. One
reason is JBL’s Clari-Fi feature, which uses a
complex algorithm to enhance detail in tracks
that are otherwise compressed or of low
quality.
The third source was specifically for high-
definition video content, connected to the
L16 via the optical audio cable. Essentially,
this speaker was working as an integral part
of the home theatre. The lack of a wireless
remote does spoil things a bit, unless the
source has its own audio control. The D-Link
Boxee Box and the Tata Sky HD+ both had
individual volume settings, but most Blu-Ray
players don’t.
Playing the Blu-Ray version of Man Of Steel,
the L16 offered the kind of “surround” sound
experience that a dedicated 5.1-channel
home theatre hasn’t done till date. There is
excellent sound shift between right and left,
depending on the on-screen action. Dialogue
clarity is surprisingly crisp and the detailing
impresses. During an episode of Hemlock
Grove, Landon Liboiron’s on-screen character
Peter was speaking with Roman Godfrey
(played by Bill Skarsgård), and absent-
mindedly kept some keys on the coffee table.
It was so minor that it didn’t register on
other speakers. But the L16 picked it up in
full detail.
It’s all good till you see the price tag—
Rs.74,990. And that is perhaps the biggest
hurdle. You may not be able justify such
heavy expenditure on what is essentially a
wireless speaker, irrespective of how versatile
the L16 actually is. But if you can afford it,
then the L16 is completely worth it. http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/VDVKy7qil7DuXxoYswfsiK/Modern-retro.html
