JBL Playback Gallery in Seoul Marks 80 Years of Sound, October 24–31

JBL is celebrating its 80th anniversary with the JBL Playback Gallery at Project Space Line in Seoul, running from October 24 to 31. The three-floor exhibition traces eight decades of the brand’s audio history and also includes a section dedicated to Bowers & Wilkins’ 60th anniversary, according to JBL parent company HARMAN.

The Seoul stop is the final leg of a global tour that has shown JBL’s era-defining products in Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Vienna, Munich, Nagoya and Tokyo this year. HARMAN says the Seoul edition was specially curated to reflect the city’s cultural identity and changing lifestyles.

Heritage rooms recreate the 1920s, 1950s and 1970s

The centerpiece is the “JBL Heritage” section on the second floor, themed “A Legacy of Sound.” It recreates living rooms from three decades, each built around a signature product.

• 1920s: a 1929 Jackson-Bell radio with speakers made by Lansing Manufacturing, the Los Angeles company James B. Lansing founded in 1927.
• 1950s: the JBL Paragon, a 1957 home stereo speaker system with left and right units in a single curved wooden cabinet. Each unit took roughly 100 hours of woodworking.
• 1970s: the JBL L100 Century, a 1970 home loudspeaker based on the 1968 4310 studio monitor, shown with a turntable and vinyl records.

A separate “Playback Gallery: A Story of JBL Through the Ages” display charts milestones from Lansing’s early speaker designs to advances in recording studios, cinemas and concert venues. The “Pro to Home” section shows how professional audio technology moved into homes, with the Summit K2 as a highlight — the latest model in a high-end line that began with Project K2 in 1989.

Limited L100 Classic 80 leads the modern lineup

The first floor focuses on JBL today. At the entrance sits the L100 Classic 80, a limited edition that pairs the original 1970s L100 design with modern technology. Just 800 pairs are being produced worldwide, each with a plaque engraved with the signature of Chief Systems Engineer Chris Hagen and a unique serial number.

Two zones draw on Seoul’s day and night scenes: “Seoul by Night” sets Bluetooth speakers and PartyBox models against a campsite with N Seoul Tower in the background, while “Seoul by Day” recreates a daytime city street with JBL headphones and earbuds. An art wall made with Korean artist DAWN reworks the anniversary campaign logo using traditional Korean patterns, bronze bells and dancheong colors.

This year also marks a decade since Samsung Electronics announced its acquisition of HARMAN.

Bowers & Wilkins takes the third floor

The top floor hosts “60 Years of True Sound,” covering Bowers & Wilkins, founded in the UK in 1966. The brand joined HARMAN’s portfolio after its acquisition of Masimo’s audio business last year. The display follows founder John Bowers’ “True Sound” philosophy from the first P2H speaker to the Nautilus, with five models from the newly unveiled flagship 800 Series Diamond D5 lineup at its center.

It also highlights the brand’s long ties to Abbey Road Studios, where the original 801 arrived in 1979 and successive 800 Series generations have served as reference monitors. Wireless headphones and other personal audio products are on display as well.

From October 24, guided tours will walk visitors through JBL’s 80-year history, and product demonstrations will let them hear the brand’s sound firsthand. The exhibition runs through October 31 at Project Space Line in Seoul.

Sources

• Inside JBL Playback Gallery: 80 Years of Sound Innovation — Samsung Newsroom