JBL A520 Vecchio (1997)
The JBL A520 Vecchio is a compact bookshelf speaker from JBL's Vecchio series. It came out in 1997 at ¥50,000 for a pair. It's a 2-way, 2-speaker bass reflex design with magnetic shielding, so it can sit near a television or other video equipment. That suggests it was aimed at the home theater market that was growing rapidly in Japan at the time.
The period documentation says what sets the Vecchio series apart is JBL's "Voicing" approach. That means a thorough sound quality tuning by ear, meant to preserve the impression and fine nuance of the music. The A520 uses a 12.5cm woofer with a polymer-coated fiber cone, chosen for a balance of strength and internal damping. The tweeter is a 2cm pure titanium dome with a neodymium magnet. The enclosure is front-ported and has a real wood finish. Within the line, the A520 is distinguished by its two-tone baffle, which uses a different wood grain than the rest of the cabinet.
The record on this model is thin. No period reviews, no detailed reception and no production end date have surfaced. What's known comes down to the spec sheet and the used market, where the A520 shows up with some regularity in Japanese auctions. One recurring note there is that the foam surrounds (edges) are prone to deterioration. Third-party replacement kits are commonly sold for this model. That's a familiar story for JBL drivers of this era, so check it on any pair you're considering.
- Type: 2-way, 2-speaker, bass reflex, bookshelf, magnetically shielded
- Woofer: 12.5cm polymer-coated fiber cone
- Tweeter: 2cm pure titanium dome, neodymium magnet
- Frequency response: 80 Hz – 20 kHz (−10 dB)
- Impedance: 4 Ω
- Output: 89 dB / 2.83 V / m
- Power handling: 75 W (continuous program)
- Dimensions: 198 × 292 × 180 mm (W × H × D)
- Weight: 4.2 kg
- Price: ¥50,000 per pair (1997)
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