JBL L100t3

markk

Active Member
Picked these up a local estate sale. They need a refoam. Also, I plan on recapping the electrolytics; 44, 15 and 14 uf. I know films are better but get pretty big especially given the available space on the boards. I’ve done this kind of recap before but it’s a bit more work. Please recommend capacitor type, brand and source.

I plan to run these with my Carver m200t (120 w/channel) however I’ve read that these speakers do better with more power, 200+. Should I get another m200t or...?

Thanks!
 
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They'll sound fine with 120wpc. Sure, they'd probably love 200wpc, or more, but try them after you've replaced the surrounds. I'd recommend AK-recommended Rick Cobb (rcobb@tampabay.rr.com) for your surrounds if you haven't already purchased them.

Many people find there's not much to be gained with a re-cap on JBLs of that vintage. I'd certainly try them first before you make changes, then maybe do one at a time comparing new with old before you make the last change. The T3 series networks were pretty good.
 
Thanks for the response. Surrounds are on their way. Will give them a play once the surrounds are in and go from there. Cheers!
 
In terms of amp power, I would say it comes down to how loud you play them and what kind of music you enjoy. In most situations you will probably only use ~20 watts and that Carver should be plenty but with bass heavy music that 2214H woofer is a monster and will suck up the watts quickly. The 2214H in the L100T/L100t3 has twice the power handling of the 128H in the L150 for example. I at one point powered them using my Yamaha M-2 (240wpc @ 8ohms) and it did a fantastic job, but when I switched to using bridged Yamaha P2201 amps (~700wpc @ 8ohms) it did seem to help better control the woofers when operating close to their limits, which can help avoid undesirable situations such as the woofer exceeding xmech and the voice coil hitting the pole piece. Really though, above ~100wpc, the difference is going to be pretty small overall.

Mine are L100T models and when I had them recapped I also had the networks upgraded to t3 spec. I very much enjoy the result, but it is impossible to know what part is due to the recap and what part is due to the change from L100T to L100t3 spec. My other JBLs that are of similar age, such as my 4412s, seem to still be doing great without a recap, so I would also suggest simply trying them first.
 
I think these are a great sounding speaker. I've never heard the L100t, but I perceived these to be voiced with a very slight midrange tone of the original L100. The bass is good, the high frequency is good and the integration is good to my ears. All of the drivers have appeared in studio monitors and they have revised crossovers.

I was feeding these with 300w of Crown commercial power. The ESR of the caps was checked in circuit and I didn't mess with them. The woofer and tweeter foam was replaced.
 
These great big beautiful JBL speakers are awesome. They’ve supplanted my Kilpsch kg3s.
 
I've been running my L100t3's from a Sony TA-N9000ES's 100 watt front channels for about 18 years. Prior to that I ran each speaker with a Sony TA-N80ES operating in bridged mode at 560 watts. The 100 watt per channel amplification gets the job done to about 80db without sounding loud or strained, so I sold one TA-N80ES and use the other to power a JBL B380 sub which needs every bit of 560 watts to eliminate at an 80+ db level. At any rate, I've not touched or inspected the crossover, since all is well. I had to get new foam surrounds/installation service for the woofers about 2 years ago. What a magnificent speaker. I guess they'd sell for about $4000 a pair if still made today, meaning I could not afford them. Interestingly enough, I've never oiled or waxed the cabinets and they're still perfect. I do wonder what kind of veneer these speakers are dressed with, does not appear to be walnut as previous versions?
 
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