JBL marks its eightieth anniversary with two flagship loudspeakers: Summit Everest and Summit K2. They made their debut at HIGH END Vienna 2026, and sales start later this year through authorised JBL dealers. A pair of Summit Everest costs $159,990, and a pair of Summit K2 will cost $99,990.
History of the Project line. In eighty years only four families have carried the Project designation: Hartsfield in 1954, then Paragon, Everest and K2. Summit became the fifth. The series holds five models: the junior Makalu, Pumori and Ama are now joined by the flagship Everest and K2, which carry three times as many compression drivers and an enclosure of a different class.
- Summit Everest holds three patented D2820 compression drivers of 2 inches, each with two diaphragms and two motors.
- Summit K2 holds three D2815 drivers of 1.5 inches built to the same scheme.
- Summit Everest uses a 3.5-way design with a stated bandwidth from 20 Hz to beyond 23 kHz; Summit K2 uses a 3-way design and its bandwidth was not stated.
- Both models use a Sonoglass HDI horn and a patent-pending three-into-one manifold.
- Low frequencies in the K2 are reproduced by one 10-inch mid-bass driver and one 15-inch woofer, both cast-frame and with HC4 cones.
- In both models the MultiCap crossover replaces large capacitors with a set of smaller ones and allows single, bi- or tri-wire connection.
- The enclosure has offset bracing and curved walls, and JBL IsoAcoustic feet decouple the loudspeaker from the floor.
- Two finishes are offered: high-gloss black with platinum accents, or Macassar Ebony with gold ones.
History and internal wiring. The K2 line has been produced since 1989, and the new Summit K2 continues four generations of Project K2; Summit Everest likewise succeeds four generations of Project Everest, which is more than forty years. The internal wiring is Ohno-Continuous-Cast silver-plated copper, and the binding posts are rhodium-plated and wrapped in carbon fibre. This is the class where the maker lists the brand of internal wire, because the buyer will ask about it.
Missing specifications. JBL stated neither sensitivity, nor impedance, nor dimensions and weight — for the Everest or the K2. The bandwidth is given only for the Everest, the K2 has none. For loudspeakers of this level those are exactly the figures by which an amplifier and a room are chosen. Until they exist I cannot judge what the system demands.
Summit Everest.
- D2820 drivers of 2 inches, three of them.
- Bandwidth from 20 Hz to beyond 23 kHz.
- Successor to four generations of Project Everest.
- $159,990 per pair.
Summit K2.
- D2815 drivers of 1.5 inches, three of them.
- A 3-way floorstander with a 15-inch woofer.
- Produced since 1989.
- $99,990 per pair.
We have no rating of floorstanding speakers of this class yet — putting these into a top of portable JBL speakers would be a forgery. The closest thing we have written about is the new KEF LS Luxe: there we described compact bookshelf speakers with built-in amplification, and here stand passive floorstanders as tall as a person and twenty times more expensive. What place these flagships will take once such a rating exists — our test will show. And would you put such loudspeakers at home if you had the money? Write in the comments where the line of reason runs for you in audio.
Source: news.harman.com
