JBL CBT 50LA-1, CBT100LA-LS User Manual

Line Array Column Loudspeakers Featuring JBL’s

Patent-Pending Constant Beamwidth Technology

CBT 50 LA

Compact Speech & Music

CBT 100 LA

Pattern Control Speech & Music

CBT 70 J

Full-Range J-Shaped

CBT 70 JE

LF & Pattern Extension

The JBL CBT Series with Constant Beamwidth Technology

Ushering in a new era for passive column speaker technology based on years of
extensive research conducted by Harman engineers, the JBL CBT Series line array
columns with

Constant Beamwidth Technology

break new ground in performance,

versatility, and affordability. Designed for venues that would typically use larger
point-and-shoot speakers, the CBT models incorporate technical advancements
that allow them to vastly outperform competitive systems, with a level of user­friendliness that virtually eliminates the challenges of delivering great sound.

Constant Beamwidth Technology

At the core of the CBT Series is a forward thinking conceptual design that shatters
the notion of passive column speakers as performance-limited solutions to sound
reinforcement. The CBT Series raises the bar far beyond the competition with patent
pending technology that draws upon and adds to the long history of JBL innovation,
delivering new capabilities, many of which are firsts in the industry.

The Challenge With traditional passive columns, the coverage continually
narrows at higher frequencies, resulting in much of the listening area being
covered by only part of the sound spectrum. Driver interactions cause the frequency
response to change at every point off - axis and at every distance away from the
speaker. Each listener hears a different balance of sound. In addition, lobes of sound
projecting outside the listening area increase the reverberation, reducing intelligibility
and interfering with musical quality.

Traditional passive column soundfield

2 kHz shown, every frequency differs

The Solution

Constant Beamwidth Technology solves these problems by locking in and

10

10

-10

-20

-30

Frequency Response with Distance

Straight line array 1m off centerline

100 10000

5m

10m

20m

maintaining a specific coverage over a very wide bandwidth. The CBT models deliver
smooth, consistent coverage that is similar to complex and far more expensive line arrays.
The CBT Series’ constant directivity coverage delivers consistent frequency response at
every distance as well as off-axis. With the CBT Series, every seat in the house experiences
the same quality of sound regardless of position.

JBL CBT column soundfield Frequency Response with Distance

10

2 kHz shown, other frequencies identical

10

-10

-20

-30
100 10000

CBT 1m off centerline

5m

10m

20m