I'm a FNG here and stumbled onto this thread from last year while debating a HiFi upgrade. I remember those L100's well from high school and the "In Group" of my class had them. They did sound great back then, could really put out the Rock of the day and I would imagine they sound great today with the newer tech inside them. I find myself in a quandary over the L100 Classic, the 4429 or Klipsch Forte III. The Forte III will most likely be my choice, but have any of you compared these 3 and what are your thoughts?
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
I will have to hear them hooked to a Sansui receiver and pop in Led Zeppelin an 8 track.
JD
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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! |
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. |
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. |
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 |
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 ? |
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. |
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! |
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". |
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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. |
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. |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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! |
@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... |
@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 |
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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 |
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! |
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. |
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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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