I enjoy the sound of my JBL Kingdom in Fukushima as much as that of my KEF Kingdom in Hiroshima.
As I write this, I recall the day I finally brought home my long-admired JBL Project K2 S9900.
My Fukushima setup had been a 5.3.6 Dolby Atmos system built entirely around the JBL HDI-1600.
The HDI-1600 offered a beautifully balanced tone and a smooth, uncolored character that blended naturally with both movies and music.
Still, I often wished for a little more openness in the highs — a touch of that horn-driven energy that radiates into the room and wraps you in sound.
The large JBL systems I’d heard in friends’ listening rooms left a lasting impression.
The S9800, S9900, and 4365 each possessed an overwhelming presence.
The 4365, in particular, filled a large space with over 110 dB of sound pressure — it was a physical experience, almost seismic.
Even at lower volumes, the S9800 and S9900 had a way of surrounding me in sound.
Those encounters made my longing for large woofers and horn speakers absolute.
Then one day, I came across a used pair of S9900s at Nodaya in Koriyama.
The moment I heard them, I was captivated.
The highs sounded a bit sharper than I preferred, but by reducing the rear control slightly, they transformed into a liquid, velvety brilliance.
A gentle boost in the midrange control added presence to vocals that had felt a touch too soft.
From the first note, the 15-inch lightweight cones unleashed a dry, powerful bass that filled the room.
The horn’s midrange bloomed with warmth yet retained complete clarity, while the highs extended like a clear breeze through open air.
I was astonished — I hadn’t expected such performance straight out of the box.
At high volumes, memories of that 110 dB experience came rushing back — the sense of being enveloped by the horn’s sound, as if the music itself were taking control.
Compared with my KEF system, the frequency response of the S9900 is less even and its directivity less uniform.
But that hardly matters.
Once you hear this sound, everything else fades away.
The S9900 is not merely a loudspeaker.
It changes the very air of the room — and even the way I listen.
If the KEF Kingdom represents a transparent ideal, then the JBL Kingdom is a living impulse of passion.
With both kingdoms side by side, music has never sounded so free.























