• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Are these JBL speakers any good and what would be a good price?

A

Anubis

Super Member
I'm going to an estate sale Saturday morning and in the list of items they put:
"vintage stereo equipment including pair of JBL C51 Apollos and pair of JBL D131 speakers.
I'm wondering if they are worth looking at and what a good price would be for them? (I'm thinking estate sale = a small notch above garage sale, maybe). It will be interesting to see what other gear is there. If there are any unbelievable deals I will have to dip into my computer money, but that's ok for a once in a lifetime opportunity.
 
Register to hide this ad
Well, I'm pretty sure the Apollo is a cabinet and the D131 is a driver, so that's not going to be enough information to really guess on a good price. Are you definitely interested in stuff from this era?
 
dumptruck said:
Well, I'm pretty sure the Apollo is a cabinet and the D131 is a driver, so that's not going to be enough information to really guess on a good price. Are you definitely interested in stuff from this era?
Click to expand...

I was only quoting what was printed in the ad. I can indentify drivers and such in today's gear, but I don't know everything about vintage gear. (I haven't memorized catalogs from the 70s etc). I've had the bug for a few years and someone finally refered me to AK where I could learn and obtain my goal. AK is teaching me all aspects of it. Besides, one never stops learning. I don't understand your question. I'm more than interested in vintage audio. I'm wanting and working on building two vintage systems, not to mention embarking on learning to repair gear. I grew up with this gear and desire to bring it into my life. On top of that, I consider the gear to be fine art and get upset at those who would disrespect it one runs into now and again, fortunately not too often.
 
Sorry, I'm being too short in all my posts today. By "this era" I meant the very early 70s and before. I love vintage stuff, but when you get back around 1970 even the best stuff has a limited frequency response and a fairly colored sound. You can work with that and get great results, but you can also get great results for way less money with a slightly more recent speaker. Don't jump on me everyone, far be it from me to criticize the forefathers; I'm just saying that for the money there are better choices for a lot of people - know what you want before you spend a few grand on something from 1969.

I know you're probably aware of it, but just in case: lots of info at http://www.audioheritage.org/
 
I probably should have also said that I'm totally assuming an estate sale in your location is NOT going to be the place to find a pair of pristine Apollos for $100 or something like that. Just the fact that they took the time to find and list model numbers indicates to me that they intend to get some real money for them. If this stuff is actually really cheap, anyone on this site should buy it - someone will want it.
P.S. I can't believe I'm still the only guy to respond to this thread. Where are all the guys that love to talk about the old JBL parts?
 
Apollos can range from a couple hundred dollars to a couple grand. Most estate sales are not just glorified garage sales, and most JBL folks here are not eager to rush into helping with overbroad questions from someone who doesn't want to do any research as a first step.

It is incredibly easy to get information at www.audioheritage.org , and worth as well there and on EBay.

Knowing the OP is in Orange County, these will command a steep price for a good example of JBLs.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone. To Dumptruck: I obviously misinterpreted your question. Thanks for the info and the link to Audioheritage. I had not run across that one yet.To Sheltie Dave: I had not had any time to research this one.
Normally I try to find something about any piece I am interested in and then just have to ask what price range or what have you should I consider a good deal like my previous posts in this thread. (Pricing is the tricky part and I admit it's even hard to do for the pros around here sometimes. I'm learning to use ebay for that bit, but sometimes it's too crazy what people will pay and I don't have a million dollars to invest into this hobby. If it's worth it to the buyer personally then more power to them, but sometimes the numbers are so scewered, I can't get a decent read on the real value of a piece). Now that I have the link to Audioheritage that's one more item I can use in my bag of tricks to help me.
So am I still going to this estate sale? No, I just found out that it's been going on since yesterday so if there was anything of interest there for me, it's gone now so not worth the 18 mile drive at 6:30 in the morning.
 
Anubis said:
So am I still going to this estate sale? No, I just found out that it's been going on since yesterday so if there was anything of interest there for me, it's gone now so not worth the 18 mile drive at 6:30 in the morning.
Click to expand...

My take is a little different. I think that the best time to go to your first estate sale or auction is when you don't have a specific agenda in mind (I am assuming from your first post that you aren't familiar with estate sales). They are very different from a garage sale and just getting familiar with the type of people that run these, how they do business, what kind of buyers show up - all of this is invaluable information to maximize your success. If you are purely focused on one or two items, you could miss other items of real value, whether audio or something unrelated. It will also keep you from maybe spending more than you should - once the adrenalin is up when bidding, sometimes it is hard to reel that in. Just my two cents.
 
I go to many estate sales around the area. I have found lately they are run by professionals that either know or research the values and rarely are they priced at a bargain. There whole idea is to maximise the profit for the customer. sometimes they have a sheet where you write down your best offer and they will call if yours is the highest or just lower the price after 2 days.
In my opinion the best deals out there are at the regular yard sales, swap meets,storage auctions, ect.
Usually at the estate sale you get there early in the morning only to find you are number 15 or 20 in line. They let you in in groups of 5 or 10. Others in front are not only buying their stuff but buying for others for a fee.
It`s a real zoo anymore and I just cant bring myself to participate.
 
C51's can have different driver loads in them. If the boxes are loaded, you really need to know what the drivers inside are, and the values..

The boxes alone can go for a few hundred if they are in really fantastic shape.. you start adding high end drivers, and as noted, they can get up in to the several thousand range..

Best bet is take a web enabled phone and a screwdriver... Most places will let you look in the backs of speakers. I've done it several times. Then once you know what you have, check some values real quick...

I picked up a pair of C36 JBL's at an estate sale. They knew they were nice, but were WAY off on the price.. I got a hell of a fantastic deal.. You may have to pay close to current retail values... .You just never know what will happen..
 
I have a friend who would love to find a pair of C51s - he has the center cabinet, but no speaker cabinets have popped up around here. Good luck with the estate sale!
 
Thanks Tensleep and Zman. Your right, I have never been to an Estate sale. I had no idea that is what they are like…yikes! I didn’t know they were rich people’s auctions. I have to go with Zman, regular yard sales, swapmeets, storage auctions/sales (Haven’t been to one of those yet, but looking forward to it. I have a new found source for those), CL, Pennysaver, Thriftstores (big maybe on that) and Recycler.
I also agree with Tensleep about no agenda. That’s how I go to yard sales, swapmeets and the like. (Although for yard sales I look at the list to see if “electronics” is mentioned and just go to those so I don’t waste time with endless amounts of baby clothes and knick knacks). The “no agenda” thing is best though. That’s how I recently found something completely unexpected at a local swapmeet. Not audio related, (well, it is an Egyptian CD holder, so there’s that), but the item goes for $170 and I got it for $40, like new and not a knock-off. (There’s only one maker). The guy just had it on a table with a bunch of junk.
 
similost said:
C51's can have different driver loads in them. If the boxes are loaded, you really need to know what the drivers inside are, and the values..

The boxes alone can go for a few hundred if they are in really fantastic shape.. you start adding high end drivers, and as noted, they can get up in to the several thousand range..

Best bet is take a web enabled phone and a screwdriver... Most places will let you look in the backs of speakers. I've done it several times. Then once you know what you have, check some values real quick...
Click to expand...

I’d like to be able to do that on the fly: Screw driver = no problem. Web enabled phone = big problem. I just have a regular cell phone that works fine for me. I can make and receive calls only. It can’t do tricks anyway. I wouldn’t mind have a web-enabled phone if it had at least a 15-inch screen, then there’s the expense plus a $60 per month fee just for data on top of regular phone use fee. I’m just not into cell phones.
This is why I am trying to put together a spreadsheet or database I can print and take with me plus use my intuition. It’s slowly coming together.
 
Anubis, rather than a spreadsheet, you need to join an audio club in your area and make friends. Get the phone number of some gray haired eminences, listen to what they say when you ask questions, and THEY eventually can be your Shell answer men for value, quality, and compatibility. They are far more reliable than a pocket brain, and have countless years of experience.

It makes the game easy peasy when a single phone call gets all the info you need.
 
Dave brings out a good idea too.. There are members here that I have their numbers in my phone. If I stumble on something I know they know about at a sale, I give them a call and pick their brains.. I've gotten a few good deals doing that..

Don't dust off going to estate sales. You can get some serious bargins... Not only audio gear, but tools, photography, books.. anything you can think of someone will have in their home.. My wife is into vintage textiles.. she's always getting things for pennies on the dollar..
 
sheltie dave said:
Anubis, rather than a spreadsheet, you need to join an audio club in your area and make friends. Get the phone number of some gray haired eminences, listen to what they say when you ask questions, and THEY eventually can be your Shell answer men for value, quality, and compatibility. They are far more reliable than a pocket brain, and have countless years of experience.

It makes the game easy peasy when a single phone call gets all the info you need.
Click to expand...

That would be the ultimate! What's not to like about that set up! So far the closest "club" I have is in Los Angeles which for me is extremely hard to get to. I won't attempt it for anything. That said, I'm not done looking around yet, so perhaps I will still find something like that.
 
Wow! An audio lifeline - what a concept. I will call my cousin about firearms and stereos, my uncle about bicycles, my older brother about Volvo's - I hadn't really thought about exchanging numbers with other audio types. Great tip!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom