JBL lovers

The JBL L200 was produced in the early to mid 70's, not the 60's, although the studio monitor version was produced earlier. The L-200B (supposidly better) was produced after 1975 I think.
I have a pair of L-166 I modded a bit, this was the "super L-100" and I think is better than the L-100.
Some prefer the Jubal, some the L-150.
I also have a pair of L-200's I restored and replaced internal wiring and jacks. The L-200's are VERY efficient, can get very loud. I bought a vintage Technics 4-band fully parametric eq. specifically to eliminate the peaky presence regions, extend the treble and lower bass.
With high end electronics, these speakers can sort of shine, but in my opinion you must use them close to the back wall, sit very far away, and sit exactly on axis "down the throat" of the high freq. horn. Some prefer the sound without the slatted horn "lens".

Not surprised the cremonas aren't to your liking on classic rock. If you go for the classic JBL, please don't get raped and sell your cremonas for a good price. These are tough to get secondary to all the praise and you should be able to more than pay for the JBL's.

JWH

Gellis1, keep in mind that JBL produces (to this day) a professional line and a "consumer line". Many of the older JBL "L" (Listener series) speakers, used their professional drivers in wood veneered cabinetry for home use. JBLs cabinetry, was THE industry standard in quality for many years.Unfortunately, Harmon International purchased the company, and the overall quality suffered.

To this day the most desirable series of JBL speakers designed for the home was the "Listener" series produced in the later 1970s and very early 1980s. One that instantly comes to mind is the JBL L112. This was a 12" 3 way loudspeaker that was derived from the original 4312 studio monitor series used in 70% of the recording studios at that time. The L112 was an incredibly well balanced speaker that threw a huge soundstage and stayed flat (+/- 1.5db) from 20-20,000 with an incredible amount of detail.

They can generally be found at the $350- $500 price point used, and were built like bank vaults. The woofer used a 12 pound magnet in a cast aluminum frame with a 3" hand wound voice coil. The midrange and high frequency drivers were equally well built. You can try the site below for a complete history on all JBLs including the model I am discussing. You may be quite surprised at how incredibly wonderful much of the older gear sounds. The L112s will boogy with almost any speaker out there today inclusive of any "modern designs". Their sound is captivating to say the least.

http://www.audioheritage.org/

Best of Luck, and Happy Listening, Ed.

You cannot go wrong with L300. Ita well balanced system that if manuafactured now would cost 8000.00 a pair. These can be had if you look around. I purchased a pair for 700.00. The going price in good cond is 2000.00
Another good system Is The L150. these have in my opinion the best tweetr Jbl ever made was a soft dome fabric tweeter very sweet sounding also have big bass responce. Needs 300 a side to be best. Ive owned L100, L150, L200. L300 summit, 4350 (!!) the 4430, 4435, 4320, and built 4350. The 4435 is A nice speaker the biradial horn is smoother. theres a websitr JBL collectors nut house called Lansing heritage. Search and find it they have the best group of JBL Nuts in the world

have you thought about trying a sub-woofer?? check w/a sumiko dealer about sound re-inforcement. unless of course you're looking for black-sabbath live- you might melt a tweeter along the way...