What does JBL's 80th anniversary exhibition in Seoul show about eight decades of audio?

Three floors, three stories

The exhibition occupies three floors of Project Space Line. Each floor follows a different logic. The second floor looks backward. The first floor looks at what JBL sells today. The third floor belongs to Bowers & Wilkins, a sister brand that turned 60 this year.

Samsung Newsroom received an early walkthrough before the public opening.

The tour revealed how the company chose to stage its own history. No single narrative thread ties the floors together. Instead, each level operates as a self-contained exhibit with its own design language.

From living rooms to limited editions

The second floor builds three period rooms. A 1920s living room holds a 1929 Jackson-Bell radio. Its speakers came from Lansing Manufacturing, founded in Los Angeles in 1927 by James B. Lansing. That company laid the groundwork for what became JBL.

A 1950s living room centers on the JBL Paragon. Launched in 1957, the home stereo system housed left and right speakers in one cabinet. Each unit demanded approximately 100 hours of woodworking. The curved wooden design made it read as furniture first, speaker second.

A 1970s living room adds a turntable and vinyl records. The JBL L100 Century sits there. Introduced in 1970, it descended from the 4310 studio monitor of 1968. The L100 Century became one of JBL's most successful home loudspeakers.

Beyond the rooms, a timeline traces milestones from Lansing's early designs through recording studios, cinemas, and concert venues. The speakers on display show how professional tools migrated into domestic spaces.

The professional line that came home

A "Pro to Home" section makes that migration explicit. The Summit K2 anchors the display. It represents the latest step in a high-end lineage that began with Project K2 in 1989. The model combines advanced acoustic technologies with powerful dynamics and nuanced musical detail.

The first floor shifts to current products. The L100 Classic 80 greets visitors at the entrance. This limited edition merges the original 1970s L100 look with modern engineering. Only 800 pairs exist worldwide. Each carries a commemorative plaque engraved with Chief Systems Engineer Chris Hagen's signature and a unique serial number.

This year also marks a decade since Samsung Electronics acquired HARMAN, JBL's parent company. Two zones reflect how that partnership expanded JBL's reach into daily life. "Seoul by Night" evokes an urban campsite beneath N Seoul Tower. Bluetooth speakers and PartyBox models populate the scene. "Seoul by Day" recreates a sunlit city street. Headphones and earbuds fill that space.

Korean artist DAWN contributed an art wall. The piece reimagines JBL's 80th-anniversary logo using traditional Korean patterns, bronze bells, and the colors of dancheong — the decorative painting style found on historic architecture.

Bowers & Wilkins shares the top floor

The third floor celebrates Bowers & Wilkins' 60th anniversary. Founded in the United Kingdom in 1966, the premium brand joined HARMAN after the acquisition of Masimo's audio business last year. The exhibit introduces founder John Bowers' "True Sound" philosophy and tracks the evolution from the first P2H speaker to the iconic Nautilus.

Five models from the newly unveiled flagship 800 Series Diamond D5 lineup stand at the center. The display also highlights a decades-long relationship with Abbey Road Studios. Since the original 801 arrived there in 1979, successive generations of the 800 Series have served as reference monitors for engineers and producers working on music recordings and film soundtracks. Wireless headphones and other personal audio products round out the presentation.

Guided tours and product demonstrations begin October 24. The exhibition draws a line from studio technologies to living-room speakers to portable devices. How many of the vintage units still operate in private collections goes unmentioned. The show frames the brand's pursuit of better sound as continuous. Whether that pursuit follows a straight line or a series of pivots is left for visitors to decide.