The 70’s are back


And for only $4000 you can buy a brand new pair of JBL L100’s.

 I will have to hear them hooked to a Sansui receiver and pop in Led Zeppelin an 8 track.

JD
128x128curiousjim
I still have my JBL 4311b’s from 1978. They rock, the 12 inch woofer moves some air. What a great pair of speakers.
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I just bought a pair of Klipsch Forte IIIs. I was considering JBL. I’d long ago (1996) ditched such old fashioned speakers. Well, 25 years later and multiple tube amps and the rest is history.

I’ve heard a ton of loudspeakers over the years. There’s something great to be said of speaker technology that moves air with a 15" woofer.



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LoL, I had a pair. They were my first “Big” speaker. Kept them until I got my DQ-10’s. The sound was pretty good for the time, but even if you adjust for inflation $4k is quite a bit more expensive.

JD
We sold the old JBL 100s at Tech Hifi. I preferred all the Ohm speakers of the time that competed with those starting with Ohm L for $400 pair, C2, and H for $800. The C2s were most comparable and the Hs much better. JBL always had muddy bass and lack of clarity overall in comparison at least with the amps of the day. Its a new day now. These better be good for that price nowadays. You can still pick up totally updated Ohm Ls, C2s and Hs using refurbed cabinets, when available, from www.ohmspeakers.com for pretty much the same cost as back in 1978. The $4000 L100s better sound a lot better now!  I'd go for Klipsch Forte III before those at that price for sure.
jbhiller,

The Forte lll’s are great with tubes. I didn’t get into tubes until the 80’s, but by then the JBL’s were long gone.

Happy listening.

JD

mapman,

I had a friend who had  Ohm ??? With the large Walsh driver. Man did they suck power.  Sounded pretty good though.

JD
I've heard the Forte IIIs and they are very good with even very modest SS amplification.  They really excel at allowing individual recordings to sound unique FBOFW.  No sugar coatings!
curiousjim, yes they did and very fragile as well. Those were Ohm Fs, top of the line back in teh late 70s.

I have two pair of the newer Ohm Walsh models, one with new 12" drivers in refurbed OHM F cabinets. The sound is phenomenal. Require no more power than most. Also most durable. You can throw anything at them even at top volume and never show any signs of stress. That’s quality!   All but the largest current model OHM Walsh speakers can be had for $4000.   A different bird for sure!
When I bought my JBL 4319 monitors, the JBL-100 were being shown off but were not for sale as of then. Although I love my 4319s, the fact that the midrange is pure pulp paper, like the woofer, kinda piques my interest. Don't get me wrong as I love what I hear with the Mag/Al midrange in my 4319s, but......

That, and they are priced the same as the 4319 monitors and have the optional retro stands, which I had to source from Deer Creek Audio. It's just that classic look of the egg crate grills, especially in orange, that floats my boat.

@d2girls, nice to hear how much you love your JBL 4367 speakers and the base they can conjure. If anyone knows drivers, it's JBL.

All the best,
Nonoise
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@d2girls, I believe the L-100s have a similar, if not the same, 12" base driver that my 4319s have and it can pound out the tunes without raising a sweat. That, and the lower end is so much more convincing coming out of a transducer that can adequately produce those lower wavelengths again, without a breaking a sweat.

It all adds to the realism of the sound staging, the accuracy of the layering, and the overall coherence that can be achieved when a driver can do what it's intended to do.

All the best,
Nonoise
How about the available foam grill cover colors?
What color did you order d2girls?
I grew up listening to speakers like that.
Maybe that's why I don't like the sound of todays small driver speakers.
d2girls,

Please let me know how you like them after you get them home for a few weeks.

JD
@rja 
The speakers that d2girls ordered (4367) don't have the option for different colored grills. Like my 4319s, they come with only one color for the grill. It's the L-100 speakers that do have 3 different grill cover color options.

All the best,
Nonoise
@d2girls

Lol. Try Sheffield labs drum track on your speaker tests. Very few speakers can do that one justice at around 110 dB SPL continuous and they all have 12” or bigger or multiple 12 or 15 inch woofers...

My 15” woofer barely moves but you can feel the kick right in the pit of your stomach - just like a live show. I think that large 15” professional woofers load the entire room - it is something visceral that you feel in your bones and core rather than only your ears...
What was that line from Moonstruck? "I’m confused" Yes, I was thinking the new L100, my mistake.
Anybody else here think that $4K for the L100's is TOO much? The dealer margin is probably 30% ($1200). Still expensive for an old (and flawed) design! I'm keeping my 4312's and 166's which together cost me used less than half of the new ones!
You can always get better value used - so I don’t think the comparison is fair. A fair comparison would be other brand new speakers with professional quality drivers.

Large ATC, PMC, Westlake, Tannoy etc. are going to set you back even more - so the JBL L100 looks quite affordable when compared to alternatives. It continues JBL tradition - perhaps not the last word in audiophile quality but superb value for a speaker that can play at realistic volumes for rock/pop. I use a pair JBL PRX615 and XLF sub for my band practice and love ‘em - fantastic neodymium 15” drivers that make the cabs extremely light weight!
Before you condemn the $4,000 price tag of the new L100's you should think about what a pair of L100's (or L100a's) cost in the mid-1970's and see what that works out to in today's dollars.
spotcheckbilly12345 wrote:
Before you condemn the $4,000 price tag of the new L100's you should think about what a pair of L100's (or L100a's) cost in the mid-1970's and see what that works out to in today's dollars.

Absolutely true. The strange thing is, last night I posted the inflation adjustment but my post has gone "Poof!"

So, to reiterate:
I worked for a JBL dealer in the '70s, and JBL L100s retailed at $560 a pair as introduced in 1970.

$560 in 1970 adjusts to $3639.22 in 2018.

The $361 difference *might* be accounted for in costs of resurrecting an old design, procuring or remanufacturing essential parts, improvements on the old design, etc.

Here's the inflation calculator I used:
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com

People have to stop conflating a speaker from the '70s to one being made presently. Also, anyone who's heard a modern JBL speaker like the 4319, 4367, and even the new L-100 would be wrong to state that they're only good for rock and pop as I can attest that it excels at classical, folk, electronica and world music as well. That, and it's definitely not a flawed design. That's almost laughable, were it not sad to think that today's audiophiles can dismiss a proven design.

Take a look at Kenrick Sound on YouTube and see just how relevant a design JBL is even with their older designs. Devising modern crossovers and updating drivers make for some of the most sought after speakers around.

All the best,
Nonoise


There is a lot of miss lead folks on this site who think vintage cannot compete. They couldn't be any more wrong. I found often times vintage exceeds the performance of new,  with some minor refurbishing.  I think it's their way of trying to justify their own multi kilobuck speakers. 
When I bought mine in ‘73-74, I paid $625 including speaker wire. Everyone thought I was nuts to pay so much! 

JD
So I looked up inflation from 1973-2018 and the $600 I paid then is now $33xx.
With manufacturing costs coming down on most (not all) things, I wonder if JBL is looking for me to fondly remember yesterday and want to relive those days.

JD
I think they do. Just the buzz here from the announcement shows that they've hit a nerve. Anyone who grew up when those original L-100s were around are feeling something tickling their insides and resisting the urge to reach for their wallets or dip into their retirement accounts.

All the best,
Nonoise
During the early 80’s I had a pair of L112’s with a B380 subwoofer.  On the famous “for the time” 1812 overture, you could feel the breeze across the room emanating from the sub on the cannon shots.
 I still have fond memories of that system.  I think JBL is catering to Boomers with money to rekindle some of their youth.  I’ve certainly been tempted.
Looking at the spec, those new L100s are mostly just look-a-likes compared to the vintage L100s.  I would be very surprised if they sound even remotely similar.  The in the originals, the woofer operated full range without crossover.  Only LF blocking caps on the mid and tweeter.  The cone tweeter only operated up to about 17 kHz.  That being said I heard many L100s back in the day and liked them a lot.  I bought a pair a few years ago for my bedroom system.  I preferred my vintage ADS L710 by a pretty wide margin, so I sold the L100s.
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I still listen to my L100s bought in 1976 for $800. They’ve been re-coned and I upgraded the crossover for a big improvement. I even replaced the foam grills that my 35 yo son ripped up when he was a toddler. Original Burnt Orange.
Rollin

I'm a recent owner of the new JBL4429.

It's just a fantastic speaker with non-fatiguing treble, great mids, and extremely tuneful bass.

This speaker blew-out many "audiophile  favorite" brands during a recent gear upgrade frenzy.

I got mine, loved them, then the L100 reissue came-up for presale. Very tough to resist, but I'm "loving the horn".

For the investment, I am blown away with my Ohm I's. Purchased them on eBay for $400, Sent them to Ohm, had them replace high tweeters and 12" woofers with new. New rosewood veneer on the cabinets. Total investment was about $1000. They sound better than what I remember back in the early 80's. Running some good power through them, and it's amazing!
Enthusiasts have no problem paying big money for Harbeths ( or dealers charging big money for them) in 2018. I don't see how this is any different. There's obviously a market for vintage gear or at least gear with the vintage look ( Luxman, Leben, Klipsch, etc.). I've never heard the L100s, but in a sea of narrow baffle home theater boxes, it's nice to see a retake on a classic.



Interesting thread based on the division of Taste . I have in the closet a stellar pair of JBL 4312a’s , mirrored set in the original cartons and a custom ordered set of Sound Anchor stands ( 26” tall ). A Sansui 9090DB, a Marantz 2026, an MXR 15x2 EQ , A pair of Klipsch Heresy II ‘s . I’m currently running a modded pair of Dynakit MK III’s . But Damn It , I got rid of my 8- Track player . I had a Muntz player in the car that played 4 and 8 tracks . But the caveat is that those JBL’s were a near field monitor for the recording studio that went mainline . I’ve paired them with tube and SS pre’s , tube and SS amps and even a Modwright KWI 200 . But I just can’t capture that “ Good Old Days “ feeling . So did my taste change , did lots of newer speakers “ Get it Right “ ? I have thought about recapping/rebuilding/replacing the crossovers . Oh BTW , did you use a book of matches or your pocket comb to jam into the face of your 8 Track player to stop slippage ? And today’s audiophiles had Nakamichi cassettes back then ?  
Oh BTW , did you use a book of matches or your pocket comb to jam into the face of your 8 Track player to stop slippage ? 

Yup. But I found match books to work best. 👍

As to redoing the crossovers, check out Kenrick Sound over on YouTube. They do an amazing job of restoring and improving the crossovers on vintage, as well as modern JBL speakers. 

After a couple of years I just may go and look into doing just that with my JBL 4319 monitors once the upgrade bug bites.

All the best,
Nonoise

Speaking of Nakamichi, although I couldn't afford it, I always lusted over their car audio cassette players.
According to the inflation calculator, my JBL L300As would cost $7,838.74 today. After attending several high end audio events, I have absolutely no desire to replace them with anything new in the same price range. Hard to top the overall dynamics of the compression drivers and the impact of the 15" woofer. I have upgraded the original caps with audiophile quality ones and have replaced the terminals with modern, high grade ones.
I used to have four L100s in the mid 70s, connected to a Marantz 4400 quadriphonic receiver. They were awesome for trowing parties. Those 12" woofers kicked butt. But I also had a pair of Altec Voice of the Theater speakers connected to a more powerful Marantz integrated, at the same time, and those dwarfed the L100s. There's a certain quality to 15" woofers paired with high frequency horns. 
Thanks nonoise , I’ve looked at Kendrick’s photos , but I’ll have to read the info . My JBL’s have the Ti tweeters . I’m hesitant to mess with the crossovers as the potentiometers are part of the baffle . I’m pretty good with a soldering iron , but need clear direction . Any advise would be appreciated. Regards , Mike.  
...that's Harbeth money...if you prefer music.  Owned new L100's back in the day...YES, the orange grills!  Fun little rockers in the day.  Good luck & cheers!  Norm
@d2girls. I’ve had a pair of JBL 4367s for about 3 years now. They are incredible, you will be very happy

I remember reading this post when it went up a week ago. Today I’m in my local family flea market store looking for a used loveseat for my music room and I hear the most pleasant sounding music. And what was creating this but a pair of JBL L200 t3 tower speakers w/ the baby butt cheek tweeters and a Sansui receiver! Talk about karma. I certainly don’t need them but I just couldn’t leave them there. They’re in fantastic condition and I’m very satisfied with what I paid for them. I’m just starting to play around with tube amplification and I think that these will pair up nicely. I can’t wait for tomorrow nights listen out. New/old loveseat and new/old speakers. Raise a glass to good mojo!

imnop,

Great find!  So far I haven’t  found anything worthwhile around here (mid Missouri), but I keep looking.

Enjoy!

JD