In defense of the JBL L100

[Vintagear]

I have owned and listened to the JBL L100A's (4311) and the original in-line L100's (4310) and have enjoyed them both. I also currently own (or have owned) several higher level moderm speakers. I also regularly visit hi-fi boutiques and attend audio shows so I have auditioned many speakers that I have not had the pleasure of having in my home. I'm not a "closed minded vintage guy" as my name would lead you to believe.

IMO-Are the L100's perfect? No. Are they better than many would lead you to believe? Yes.

Yes, they have drawbacks but they do have a clarity and midrange that can be enjoyed at lower volumes. Are they flat? No, but neither are many higher end speakers that are available and revered today. I actually find that my Bowers & Wilkins CM5's have a similar voicing presentation (albeit not as forward) as that of my early L100's... class "B" stereophile, go figure. I guess that's why I always liked female vocals and jazz on them. On a side note, (price aside) I could never understand why some people would rave about the SQ of the Pioneer BS-22's (which are as forward, boxier and squawk more than the JBL's), some even going as far as saying the 22's are worthy of great amplification, yet knock the L100's.

Here's an article that made sense to me:

http://www.tonepublications.com/old-school/jbl-l-100-century-loudspeakers/

Quotes from the article:

"Overall, top-to-bottom coherence was fantastic and the midrange clarity was well on par if not better than a lot of today’s speakers in the $1,000 – $2,000 range. The soundstage presented was incredibly wide, easily extending a few feet beyond the speaker boundaries. Switching back to a modern pair of high-quality speakers reveals what is missing; precise spatial cues and low-level resolution is not presented with the L100’s."

"My only curiosity was that considering how good these speakers sound at moderate levels, why did so many engineers feel the need to crank the hell out of these in the studio?"

I'm not looking to start a "war" thread, just give credit to the-not-so-perfect L100.

Maybe Jeff's ears are like mine, I did love the GamuT RS5's when I auditioned them.

P.S.- Let's just keep the discussion to sound quality. Let's leave inflation adjusted price out of this, we all know that small bookshelves have made incredible strides. Personally, I feel the modern small speaker market is where it is easiest to hear the advances in speaker technology.


My early full alnico L100's (home verision of the 4310).

 

[SPEC2man]

I had the L150 for a while but didn't hang onto them, I'm just not a huge fan of metal tweeters. The early L150's had softdomes; I sure wish I could have heard those. Seems like a perfect setup to me. A friend has an original pair of L100's babied since the 70's and he flat loves them. He's running a Yamaha integrated and like you said, for what he has into the system - it's great. Yamaha seems to mate well with the JBLs'. For kicks; after I sold the L150's I picked up a mint set of HPM 100's but liked them even less. I am a softdome/monitor kind of guy. I like tubes and an overall pretty lush sound. The L100's can do a lot to satisfy what I look for in a speaker but I long for the larger JBL/horn arrangements (4335/4355 etc). I have two rooms one that is large - I like horns in there and one that is small - Proac D Twos. If I had a third room it would be all about classics ... and for sure there would be a set of L100's in there.

 

[1tumbleweed]

I agree with the OP. I've owned a pair of L100s and a pair of 4311s. Ultimately I decided they weren't for me, but if you prefer that kind of presentation then certainly they are a top notch example. Don't know why their reputation has suffered; they certainly wouldn't be as popular as they were without tons of people liking them.

Happy trails,
Larry B.

 

[audiomagnate]

What a novel idea for a thread.

 

[Mystery]

I've had quite a few of jbl l series and find tweeter too bright.
I still have l80t3 but don't listen too often.

 

[Nat]

I think a lot of their appeal is/was the spectacular colored foam grills, and given their slow or not so slow disintegration, they become a less gripping speaker. I know looks aren't sound, but emotions color perceptions.
I think they sound fine, but haven't felt the need to hang on to the pair or two I've had in the past.

 

[strat10]

I had the inline driver L100's and I thought they sounded great I read somewhere the Inline L100 was the earlier one and had a better crossover than the later L100.

 

[Mystery]

SVA series is in a whole different league.
Much smoother highs.

 

[TheX]

Don't know why their reputation has suffered; they certainly wouldn't be as popular as they were without tons of people liking them.

On the internet, people like what they think they're supposed to like.

 

[Vintagear]

On the internet, people like what they think they're supposed to like.

...and vice versa.

I actually find that there is more dislike of them on internet forums.

I also prefer a flatter more laid back presentation and haven't used my L100's in a while but there's no denying that they excel at lower level listening with certain types of music, vocals, etc. (not so much with loud Rock IMO). Point being, they're not as bad as some say.

This article prompted me to pull them out for a listen. Yep, nice clear midrange. If I ever set them up in a room I'd do it like Jeff did in the article. Put them on stands like big Harbeth's and power them with tubes in a smaller room to listen to low key music at moderate volume levels.

 

[pdm4606]

L-100...

Bought mine in '72 and still have them and they are in use daily.
One tweeter is blown (hole covered) but not noticeable along with the other JBL's I have for my theater setup.

paul

 

[StarAquila]

I'm a low SPL listener. Usually around 75 to 80dB, and pretty close in. I thought my stock JBL 100s sounded a bit aggressive in the upper midrange. I replaced the entire crossover with a much more involved circuit, and that really did the trick. They are smooth and have nice weight at low volumes. I put mine on 12" chrome legs. I've had some speakers with better inner detail, but they usually lacked the weight and authority of the JBL. I'm enjoying mine with low powered tubes and D-amps.

 

[jlovda]

Bought mine in '72 and still have them and they are in use daily.
One tweeter is blown (hole covered) but not noticeable along with the other JBL's I have for my theater setup.

paul

You have one L100 and one L88P.

 

[jlovda]

I have a pair of upgraded L88P's and really like then. It was not my reason for buying them but why did so many sound engineers like them? Were they shoved down their throats by studio management?

 

[MJB1959]

I have a few sets of JBL speakers including the L-100 Century. Beautiful walnu cabs with the walnut/cloth grills. They served me well for a long time, yet I always preferred the ADS sound and now that I have a hoard of ADS's, the JBL's have been relegated to lesser sound environments, the l100's are with my oldest son at his place, along with a pair of L-26 decades which I gifted him when he left for college years ago.

He seems to like them both, together. driven by a Yamaha amp btw. While I had the 100's at home here, i did side by sides with a few brands of speakers, and they really do have some great qualities to them, but warmth wasn't one of them.

For me keeping them was more like why someone would want a 70's muscle car, they have the vintage mystique, deliver the power, and are crafted with excellence. And they really do not disappoint.

 

[wsissons]

In my area I have seen them listed as high as a 1000 dollars and there are a few audio newbies that get sucked into them at this IMO ridiculous price range because there the famous L100 .......That price range will get you alot more speaker for your money on the used audio mart .......

 

[L200B]

I think JBL from this era is a much better place to put your money because you're always going to be able to get it back out. JBLs build quality is second to none up until the mid/late 1990s. JBL has the best brand recognition of any speaker brand out there. I don't think the reputation of the L100 or the 4311 is hurting at all. People love these speakers.

 

[Vintagear]

In my area I have seen them listed as high as a 1000 dollars and there are a few audio newbies that get sucked into them at this IMO ridiculous price range because there the famous L100 .......That price range will get you alot more speaker for your money on the used audio mart .......

It's not just newbs. If they are in excellent condition, collectors will pay top dollar. There are not many pristine examples of historically significant speakers that are over 40 years old.

Also, take a look at thee Japanese audiophile markets lust for efficient vintage JBL speakers. They're not just buying them to have them as museum pieces. They actually appreciate the way they sound with their triodes. There is an outfit in Japan, Kenrick Sound, you should see what they sell their beautifully restored JBL's for.

 

[restorer-john]

I think they polarise opinions because they are an 'in you face' style speaker. When a speaker makes its presence known in no uncertain terms, it's easy to come to extreme positions and vigorously defend those positions.

I had a pair of perfect condition Century L100s and gave them a decent go. My Dad had a listen too, and we quite enjoyed them, until I put them alongside my Sony SSG 333es speakers. The Sony's showed me everything the JBLs were doing wrong and I sold them the following week. I couldn't listen to them after that. The midrange drove me out of the room and the treble was completely lacking in delicacy and low level detail.

If you just heard JBL-L100s and nothing else, you could be very happy for a very long time, and I suspect people who bought them never really cared to listen to other speakers once they'd taken delivery of the L100s. They became their reference to compare all other speakers to.

We are lucky these days to be able to buy and listen to many speakers for very little money and actually decide what is really good ourselves, not just believing what someone tells us.

 

[mech986]

Much of below commentary is based on this excellent article by Arnold Wolf as told to Lansing Heritage and photos are linked from there:

http://www.audioheritage.org/html/profiles/jbl/l100.htm

The JBL 4310/4311 and L100s are just what they were designed to be - smaller compact studio monitors emulating the sound of the most popular US studio monitors of the 60's - the Altec Lansing 604 series triaxials in large boxes, and to a lesser extent, the Altec A7. Everyone who used the Altec Monitors knew of their weaknesses - poor low bass response, limited HF and power response - but they had a superb midrange and were efficient with the tube amplification and the new but fragile solid state amplifiers. Everyone knew what they sounded like and mixed with them. In the mid 60's, they were the dominant studio reference and playback monitors.

JBL developed the 4320 large studio monitor based on the LE15 woofer and LE85 horn mid-tweeter compression driver. Many studios, and particularly Capitol Records switched over as the JBL's proved to be sonically very close to the Altecs and could sustain much more acoustic output and power handling, extremely important in the growing days of Rock and Roll recordings, and to some extent, concerts. With this new found success in the Professional field, JBL Professional was born. While supplying 4320's to studios was fruitful, the advent of multiple track (multitrack) recording was placing a premium on studio wall space where monitors were typically soffit mounted. The picture below shows 4 4320 monitors with their 5 cu ft cabinets and 15 inch woofers.

The idea for a smaller compact studio monitor was born out of the need for a similar sounding monitor for all the tracks one could handle, and still have the acoustic output and similar sonic signature. The 4310 was designed mostly by Ed May and Bart Locanthi, with industrial design by Arnold Wolf. Engineering design used analog computers, SOTA frequency analysis of the day, and JBL's not inconsiderable engineering and production skills and experience. The 4310 became a big hit with the Studio market, as did revised versions dubbed the 4311 and 4325. The 4311 was so popular to audio engineers and music business insiders, sales began to take off for their use in their homes.

At the same time, JBL changed hands from Bill Thomas to Sidney Harmon's Jervis Corp, and a new marketing chief saw the potential for a consumer model based on the 4310/4311 with consumer acceptable appearance. There was some controversy about this inside JBL, but ultimately, the inline L100 and then the offset cluster JBL L100 Century were created and were instantly accepted as THE Rock and Roll generation "bookshelf" speaker. The L100 still carried the "as designed" genetics of its pro counterparts - a bit of a bass bump typical of vented designs of the time, a highly articulate midrange, and a decent paper cone tweeter of the day. The woofer runs full range which explains a bit of the midrange bump, and the crossover is very simple which leads to significant efficiency. Remember, this is just at the dawn of Thiel-Small theory and advances in measurement, design, materials, and production ability were happening at a rapid pace.

Also, take into consideration the West Coast sound, if you will - the advent of Rock N' Roll, the desire of many bands to be loud, brash, "In your Face" if you will, and the relative inexperience of them working in studios. It might be said that JBL monitors made their kind of music sound pretty damn good to them, or they liked what they heard, or maybe there just wasn't anything else to compare them too that could do the job, especially with the last crop of Tube amps and early SS gear.

So it was also with the L100 Century - there wasn't anything else quite like it in the consumer field - practically all the 1.5 to 2 cu ft speakers of the day were either inexpensive and limited in power handling and frequency response, or East Coast acoustic suspension speakers with relatively flat freq. response, a more reserved sound voicing, and relatively inefficient and low power handling and acoustic power output.

With the striking walnut cabinet AND the iconic 3D waffle grille in 2 gloriously bold colors (Ultra Blue, Burnt Orange) and the sedate Chocolate brown, as introduced in 1970 (!) it became a big hit with professionals and the general public, becoming the best selling speaker of the 70's. Considering that the speakers cost $273 each in 1971 up to $489 each (!) in 1978 said alot about what people were willing to pay for it. By comparison, the L200 cost from $600-$1200, and the L300 cost $900-1500 (75-85).
http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/jbl/reference/price-lists/1970-1999-prices.htm

Now importantly, JBL did not sit on their laurels - far from it. As studio tastes evolved, as more information from around the world about speaker design, crossover design, and measurement were invented, and as consumer and professional tastes evolved, so did JBL's speakers. The 4320/4325 (consumer equivalents were the L200/L200B Studio Master) two ways gave way to new woofer versions and better crossovers (4331) which led directly to the major 3 way large monitors using slot tweeters, the 4333/4333A/433B (consumer equivalent the famous L300 Summit) and the superlative 4 way studio monitors (12 in woofer based 4315, the 15 inch woofer based 4341/4343, the ungodly 18" woofer based 4344 and 4345, and even 4 way double 15" woofer behemoths in the 4350 and 4355. Most of these multiway units came about through the work of Greg Timbers after he joined JBL in the mid 70's. The JBL equivalents are few, mainly the aborted L400, and then the L212, L220 Oracle, L222 Disco, and the whole L250, 250, and 250Ti series.

JBL's smaller monitors also progressed, becoming smoother in frequency response, variants produced for different tastes (4311 series for original, 4312 for somewhat smoother, 4410/4411/4412 for smooth acoustic power output) with corresponding consumer models like the L112 (Century II), 4313 monitor/L110, L96 Delta, and the L166 Horizon.

People still associated JBL with the "West Coast Sound" but JBL moved away from that through the 80's and produced many great speakers which were quite smooth but had extended frequency response. They matched with many consumer's tastes, and didn't match with many consumer's tastes. So it is with consumer products, preferences, and the ever changing Audio world through the last 50 years.