|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
107.77.80.61
I HERE A LOT ABOUT HOW GOOD THESE SPEAKERS SOUND..ANY OPINIONS?
THANKS
Follow Ups:
Boy these bring back memories! I sold many, many pair of these. Like all JBL speakers they were very well made. Beautiful cabinets. Weird foam grills, but we usually took them off anyway. The speakers sold themselves. Which is a good thing for me because my ears were tuned for Bozak (i.e. the opposite end of the sound spectrum). No matter, for rock or jazz the L-100 was an excellent choice. They were fairly efficient, but had high power handling. They worked very well with affordable receivers from Marantz, Kenwood, Sansui and the like. For people who were thinking about a ~50 wpc receiver and a pair of bookself speakers in the $250 each range (circa mid-1970s), they were a good option. A lot more practical than say a pair of AR3as or Bose 901s, which needed a lot more power for rock. A lot of complete systems in the $1000 range were better off for the inclusion of these speakers. One other thing, I can't remember ever having a problem with them, they were just about bullet proof.
I was lured with the Foam "Grommets"Can't say I luv'd em
Des
Edits: 02/20/15
Owned a pair of L100's for over ten years. Fond memories of them, but I'd never go back to them. Great rock n roll dorm speakers, but I do not consider them high-end ... not by today's standards anyway.
It's another speaker I'd love to redesign with bigger box, straight layout and modern crossover different tweeter. Better off buying the woofer and mids used and starting from scratch. I did use the 123As off and on for the last 20 years with good results but they really need crossovers, running them wide open is yacky.
L-110's would need a lot less messing with to get good sound.
Dave
I remember auditioning a pair of these, as well as some less expensive JBL models in a dealer's showroom when they were new. I didn't like them. I listen mostly to classical music and was more drawn to the "New England" sound--Advents, ARs, KLHs, Allison Acoustics and UK speakers like KEFs, Quads and B&Ws. Instrumental timbers and overall sound seemed to me to be more accurately reproduced by such loudspeakers.
However, it must be acknowledged that the "West Coast" sound has many loyal partisans who love their JBLs and wouldn't trade them for anything.
Try to hear a pair at length and see if they suit you.
Enjoy your music,
George
I had a pair for a brief time in the 70's, or was it the 80's???? Went back the dynaco A-25's.
The midrange control on these needs to be set at -3dB to measure flat.
I measured these with a gated swept sine wave analyzer, and they measured much flatter (when adjusted properly)than most speakers.
I noticed the same thing with the two way JBL L26 speaker. My ears said WAY bright at JBL's recommended "o" position. I also confirmed what you found with your analyzer on my L100's with my ears as well...kind of shouty at zero position and much better at -3.
I am wondering how anyone could really judge Jbl speakers with incorrect factory recommendations so far off. How many people had analyzers or at least trained ears to set them correctly in the 70's? Hah! Today anyone with a computer and a $50 measurement mic could have an ok analyzer but not back then but even today I can't get trained studio pro's to break out a measurement mic without twisting an arm!
Even more of a curiosity is how the factory arrived at those settings? Did one of the largest speaker companies in the world at the time not have any test equipment? mmmarketing people making engineering decisions?
The marketing department obviously axed the 5 cubic foot sealed box the
123A woofers need. That is understandable but not super hot tweeters and mids.
My JBL L-100 experience: a pair was used in a classroom/rehearsal room where I went to college. Over several years, I endured the sound of those speakers in various music literature and music history courses. Let's put it this way: those L-100s and classical music did NOT see eye-to-eye. Another classroom had some KLH speakers (don't remember what model), and they were much easier on the ears.
The wife and I had a pair driven off a very nice Harmon Kardon receiver back in the day. We played mostly rock back than. One fine day we were robbed. They took the HK (damn) a few other trinkets, but left the JBLs. We eventually sold them on a rummage sale as out tastes matured. I never really liked those grill covers. Our's were blue.
Edits: 02/17/15
...THEY DIDN'T SOUND THAT GOOD IN THE '70S.
I've always been amazed at their popularity.
I sold them in the 70s. For rock and if you like bright forward sound they are well made and good 'sounding' but not accurate. I used to A/B them at the store against the Dynaco A25s at $50 used as bait to get buyers in the store and as a classical, folkie music lover, the Dynacos blew them away. The Dynacos were much better balanced, more open and detailed and way better bass control. But many listeners loved them and they sold a ton of them.
What kind of speakers do you have now and are you looking for a speaker that likes to "party"?
I had a set of the 4311 and like pictureguy below said, they were pretty much the same speaker. They were fun with rock / pop, but subtlety and finesse are not their strong points. They are also somewhat collectable so they don't come as cheap as a speaker of its vintage should.
But they can crank it up and they are fun with rock. Also, the driver surrounds are all pleated fabric, so unlike a lot of vintage speakers, they will never need refoaming.
Why are you shouting?
He is deef. Has to be if he is considering a set of L-100s. To be fair, they do have a place; anyplace but in my house.
The first time I heard them, it was a life defining moment in my life. I swore never to live on the West Coast. Actually, it was. I had for some time listened to the 4311 and though not my cup of tea understood why some would like them. We had a set on display when the JBL report walked in with the L-100s for the first time and announced it was the consumer version of the 4311. Considering the price difference at the retail level, our collective eyebrows went up. So, we hooked them up. I seem to remember the amp was a Marantz 1200, it was a long time ago. Our tech, a JBL fan if there ever was one pulled the spl meter to set the levels of the 100s and 4311s.
1) I guess after a few brown cigarettes or a 6-pack they may sound very close but for me they were not even close. The 4311 was far better but, I admit to being a NE sound fan.
2) Build quality difference, fit and finish for me was worth the premium for the 4311.
3) On anything but rock, the 100s were intolerable. At least I could tolerate the 4311.
We then took a vote as to whether to carry them. As not unusual, I was a majority of one and staff constituted a minority of a dozen so, the minority won and as could be forecasted, we sold a heck of a lot of them. For a time our biggest sellers were the original Advents, the 100s and The Smaller Advents.
Don Brian Levy, J.D.
Toronto ON Canada
Vintage stuff and probably bettered by newer.
I had access to the 4311 which was the 'monitor' version of this speaker for pro use. I'd say they are good examples of 'west coast' sound. which has come and gone in favor of a more accurate sound.
Too much is never enough
I heard a pair at a friends house, no apartment back when I was much younger. Just lusted over them but they were way beyond my budget. Loved the slam of their woofers. Of course back then, I was way into Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother, Grateful Dead...the San Francisco sound being from SF myself and this was in SF!! Still really enjoy that stuff.
The way I perhaps MISTAKENLY understand it, there was NO low pass to the woofer. It was simply allowed to run full-range. Typical mid/low bass (port) peak maybe at 50 or 60hz, too.
Once I got over that boominess, I was hooked on PANEL SOUND when I sold my RSLs and bought a pair of MG-1 magnepans. Game/Set/Match.
Too much is never enough
Hello,
I have a pair of the first version with the drivers in a straight line. Personally I have always liked them. I think the crossovers are different to the later versions that came They are not as good as my Mint NS 1000s but they still sound great with Rock and Jazz to me and my set-up.
I have never heard the later versions but if anyone has compared the inline version to the later
ones please let us know.
John
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: