JBL 240Ti worth a trip?

314carpenter

314carpenter

Active Member
Craigslist seller about 90 miles away says this to me ... "I’ve owned them since 2008. Only used them until 2009. Ran out of room for them after remodel. All parts are 100% original. Speakers have never been opened or repaired. Entire speakers are like new. Only thing they need is feet or isolators on the bottom."

Seller is asking $800 saying that Ebay prices are a thousand higher than his.
Question is with only 2 photos, one speaker front, one speaker back, should I make the trip?
What should I be prepared to pay?
When should I back out of the negotiation and leave with nothing?
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Main system: Panasonic TC-P60ST60 plasma; Denon AVR-X6200W; Outlaw 5000; CARVER AV-806X; Klipsch RSW-10 sub; modified Klipsch Chorus II Fronts; modified Klipsch Forte II center; modified Klipsch Quartet surrounds; JBL Loft40 rear heights; JBL L20T3 front heights; Mogami 10ga speaker cables, Mogami interconnects; custom gaming pc



Secondary system: LG 47" lcd; Onkyo TX-NR818; CARVER TFM-42; JBL L100T3 Fronts; JBL L40T3 Center; JBL L100T3 Surrounds; Mogami cables; custom htpc/server.
 
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Ask the seller to send detailed pictures of both speakers. Most of them oblige. Also 90 miles is just and hour and half drive, you should try to listen to it in person. Also it will make it easier to bargain face to face.
 
Ebay says...$800 is an OK price. Add in 180 miles worth of gas and the deal starts to fall apart. Another point worth noting is if you show up at the sellers and try to negotiate, your leverage will be limited if he knows you have already invested in a long drive. Don't tell him where you are coming from.
 
I am not OK with the $800 unless they are in exceptional condition. I know the resale market value on these has been increasing recently. I believe that there are about $800 in parts at current prices, however that is because of the expense, scarcity, and difficulty in the repairs that these will likely need. I have a shop who does all my repair work, and he is not cheap ($180 L100t3 woofer refoam and spiders). Add to that expensive hard to get parts, likely grill covers, cabinet refinish, and crossover parts, and I could easily double the cost.
 
This isn't rocket science. Get good photos, perhaps talk to the seller over the phone. Expect them to need a refoam. With pictures you can negioate if that is the case. Cost of driving 90 miles each way is far cheaper than paying UPS to ship them. And safer too.

Their value goes beyond just dollars. Calculate how much it costs to get that sound in a new speaker. Or how often do equal quality speakers come up on your local used market for that kind of money.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
240Ti story continues. Ok, I had the chance to speak to the seller who is out of state on vacation, so no photos for another week. These have literally been sitting since 2010 unused. They had been used in a theater room encased in a wall recess surrounded by drywall. The feet are gone/missing, and some scratches my exist on the lower portion, and sides from pulling them out of the encasement. He says the parts are all original. I don't think it is even possible for the original foam to be intact but he says the foam is fine. The L100t3 in original condition I purchased had foam surrounds that looked perfect in every way, then I touched them gently, and they fell apart like magic fairy dust. Even if the 240ti's were refoamed, what about the tweeter. It is hard enough to find 035ti/a replacements. I know the current parts on ebay have doubled in the past few years due to increasing scarcity. I have heard that the L100t3 sounded better than the 240ti if left in original condition.

Am I looking at a sideways move here, expecting more out of the 240ti than what I have with 2 pairs of jbl L100t3 running in a 12x14 room?

Am I looking at a exceedingly expensive project with little promise of return on investment?

Have you heard of "Cherry" being one of the finishes that were available in any Ti series speaker? That is what the seller was told by the previous owner.
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Main system: Panasonic TC-P60ST60 plasma; Denon AVR-X6200W; Outlaw 5000; CARVER AV-806X; Klipsch RSW-10 sub; modified Klipsch Chorus II Fronts; modified Klipsch Forte II center; modified Klipsch Quartet surrounds; JBL Loft40 rear heights; JBL L20T3 front heights; Mogami 10ga speaker cables, Mogami interconnects; custom gaming pc



Secondary system: LG 47" lcd; Onkyo TX-NR818; CARVER TFM-42; JBL L100T3 Fronts; JBL L40T3 Center; JBL L100T3 Surrounds; Mogami cables; custom htpc/server.
 
I recently heard a set of these. I was buying some Mac gear and the seller had some 240ti also. Very nice speakers until the seller switched to some ADS 1590s that were next to them...i know that means nothing here, but both sets of speakers were priced similarly, and the JBLs were not in the same league.
PS, local171 Carpenter here!
 
The tweeters are the 044ti and not the 035ti. They are probably just fine but may need the foam damper replaced at some point. The 240 is a pretty large jump up in refinement from any L100 variant...most definitely not a sideways move in any way.

For that price, you cannot lose...

jblnut
 
thanks @rudedogg and @jblnut . I am always looking for an upgrade path, and live in a small market area, so it take many years, and usually do not have the opportunity to listen to an older system and go shopping around for a similar setup. So it is early bird, and buy them when you see them kind of a thing. My wife is starting to question my motives though, with the closets stuffed with speakers that I have since abandoned.
 
I owned the JBL L100T's with T3 crossover upgrade, damn loud speaker, strong bass, but ultimately, not for me.

Now the 240's.....that might be a possibility. I agree with jblnut, I think this is anything but a lateral move. Best of luck.
 
sheltie dave said:
Go check them out,
Click to expand...
Will do, in one week when the seller returns from the ski trip next week. I am going to need to convince him I should be the rightful future owner of his prized speakers, because I will take better care of them than the CL flippers that are texting him 10 times a day.
 
jblnut said:
The tweeters are the 044ti and not the 035ti. They are probably just fine but may need the foam damper replaced at some point. The 240 is a pretty large jump up in refinement from any L100 variant...most definitely not a sideways move in any way.

For that price, you cannot lose...

jblnut
Click to expand...
I own both the 100T3 and the 240ti. While the 100t3s made me smile for over 20 years, there is no simply comparison IMHO. More refined highs and tight, deep bass. I had a friend over who is the original owner of a pair of L100ts. After a coupe hours of listening he said he would punch me in the mouth if I ever sold them. The 240ti operates at a completely different level.
 
Thank you for your feedback @JosephH
I read you thread from a while back about your similar journey, and I am going to be taking a lot of your experience with me as I proceed from here. I would really appreciate your continued support in this thread on this matter.
 
314carpenter said:
Thank you for your feedback @JosephH
I read you thread from a while back about your similar journey, and I am going to be taking a lot of your experience with me as I proceed from here. I would really appreciate your continued support in this thread on this matter.
Click to expand...

Absolutely 314carpenter. Please don't hesitate to ask if there is anything that I can do.
As an FYI, I traveled 2 hours to pick up my pair at $400. The previous owner told me there was tremendous interest in them, but he kept his word to me. The speakers belonged to a deceased sibling and were refoamed. He was moving out of state in 48 hours and needed them gone ASAP. They were in very good condition, with only two small depressions in the veneer and about an inch of grille fabric coming loose. No other damage. Given the sound quality, I would never consider taking less than $800 for them, but I have no intention of selling them for any price!
 
I will be lucky enough to get there first, because I know he is getting offers from farther away, and being told that he is asking too little, according to him. I am not opposed to $800, considering that I would selling a pair of L100t3 for $600. What I am concerned about is the skyrocketing price of the replacement parts. NOS have been gone for 3 years, and Ebay has doubled in price since then. Most likely source of parts are coming from lesser pairs that are gutted. Kind of how 240ti became so scarce, supplying drivers for +$4000 rebuilds of 250ti's. I never owned any older JBL outside of the t3 line, so my ears are not objectified to a certain sound.

Although nothing I ever experience will exceed the outcome of this project that I was 1 of 1000 building from ground to finish. Amazing experience.
epic-deep-space7569.jpg
 
It also depends on what amp you will be using . Jbl and McIntosh match up really well and have great synergy together. I would like to hear the 240ti vs the L7's using the same amps. Joe you using the mc2200 you got from me on the jbl's ?
 
Running a Onkyo TX-NR818 in the JBL room for now because it is the "hand me down" room.
All of the Carver amplifiers should be sold and shipped within the week to the prospective buyer who lined up first. That is TFM-42 @300 and AV-806x @400 plus shipping
 
WWWWHHHHHOOOO. He just raised his price $100 on Craigslist, and he isn't even home from vacation till the end of the week. What kind of emails must he be getting?
 
Is there any doubt that he would get offers? Not in my mind. They are well worth $1200+ in very good condition. A strong 200-250 wpc amp brings out the best in these speakers.

Go to Best Buy and see what you get for $800 . . . . $400 each.
 
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