Why Crazy Prices paid for Pioneer 100 JBL L100 AR1 AR3 AR3A

It would be well to consider that a lot of the people buying vintage speakers and cars are those who had them forty years ago. They’re in their sixties and seventies now and they remember what happened in the back seat of a ’67 GTO or on the carpet in front of a pair of L-100s playing One Stormy Night...

The 4312 can pass for an "audiophile" speaker because they had three improvements over the L100s: (1) better crossovers (much more transparent and neutral sounding); (2) the three drivers were grouped together in the middle of the cabinet (providing much better imaging and soundstaging); and (3) the tweeter was ungraded (it was the last of the fabric domes before JBL switch to titanium tweeters).  Most people have never  heard how good these speakers can sound, because they have only heard them run with a lower quality receiver, and they really need high quality and powerful separate electronics to sound transparent and relatively uncolored.  I would say they are still competitive with new speakers in the $1k to $2k range - indeed people are paying up to $4k for reissued L100.  I've not heard the new ones but I own a pair of L88 plus 12 from (which I bought in the 70s) and a pair of 4312's (with the last of the fabric tweeters) which I bought about 10 years ago for around $300.  I also own a slew of moder "audiophile approved" speakers and 

I also have a pair of 4344 studio monitors.  They are to die for, but again, they require very good electronics to sound truly amazing.  I driven them with a 250 watt tube amp and a very good tube preamp (telefunken NOS tubes) along with meridian's top of the line digital source equipment.   No speaker I've heard sounds more alive and it is not fatiguing - you can listen for hours and hours - it's addictive.  Just for point of reference, I think Vandersteen 7s are amoung the best sounding of the modern speakers that I've heard (including big Wilsons, etc).  I also have lower powered single ended tube gear, and Spendor Sp100s, so I know that sound too.   Those big JBL studio monitor from the early 1980s are apples to oranges when compared to the Spendors, but they easily compete with the very best of what's out there, IMHO. 

Here is some background information and then I will shut up:  For those not in the know, the JBL 4344 studio monitor was made for a brief period between 1983-85. It is similar to the 4343 studio monitor, but with better drivers and a reconfigured layout.  It is a four way design, with a 15" woofer; a 10" cone mid-base, a compression/horn midrange and a compression slot loaded tweeter.  They weigh over 200lbs each. It has a Greg Timbers designed crossover (he was a genius with crossovers, because before him no one believed that a four way could be as transparent as a good three way).  Most of these 4344 speakers have been exported out of the U.S., because they are very popular in Japan.  As far as I know, JBL has only raissued two of its speakers over the years: the L100 Gold in the 90s (and L100 more recently) and the 4344 mk2 also reissued in the 1990s.  Obviously, no one can say you are wrong for liking a given type of sound or a give speaker brand, but I listen to a lot of live music and that is my reference. 

Stupid people pay stupid money for speakers that are ANCIENT HISTORY!!