JBL is on a roll with wireless speaker systems right now, and the retro-styled JBL L42ms integrated music system announced earlier this year is the latest to go on sale. It joins the company's larger JBL L75ms ($1,500) as a more compact and affordable option ($999 / £999) in its high-end Harman Luxury Audio Group speaker line, and I've been lucky enough to be among the first to try it out at home. We've seen several new speaker systems arrive from the maker in the last few months.
From the latest versions of popular ultra-portable speakers including the JBL Clip 5 and JBL Go 4 , to the JBL Authentics 300 portable wireless speaker that was announced at IFA 2023 that sports the same classic Quadrex speaker grille as the L42ms and L74ms luxury audio models. Several JBL speaker models rank among the best Bluetooth speakers we've tested, but the JBL L42ms is designed to rival static music systems from audiophile brands such as the KEF LSX Lite , Sonus faber Omnia , or even Bang & Olufsen Beolab 8 , many of which rank among the best music systems for style I've tried . The JBL hits the mark, and the music system's minimal tabletop design is right on trend.
The curved wooden cabinet housing has been acoustically treated and tuned to achieve the sonic signature of JBL's classic stereo speaker series in a single cabinet. Hidden behind that distinctive speaker grille, the JBL L42ms has angled speaker drivers with dual 4-inch (100mm) woofers and dual 0.75-inch (20mm) Aluminum dome twee.