As for how they sound, remember they are designed as studio monitors, and are fairly ruthless at showing imperfections in the recording process, especially tape hiss. It may also be a reason why the L100s, IMO, don't seem to do well with a lot of CD music because of the differences digital recording is mixed and done. The OP mentioned that the review he referenced said they could sound pretty good - with tube power. And maybe a lot of us have been going at it all wrong, tying L100's with a lot of SS power when maybe they could work much better, synergistically, with tube preamps and amplifiers, less damping factor and smoother transients. Stereo Review, in their Jun 1974 review, remarked on the efficiency of the L100 being about 96db/1 watt in the midrange.
The L100's are what they are. IMHO, not quite as far as what Zilch used to call them, "Fake but fun", but a real, honest window of what was close to state of the art for a small US Studio Monitor during the growth of the Rock and Roll Era. That we've all moved on in our likes and dislike doesn't diminish what they were and what they are today. Seems to me if they don't work for you, as many have said, move on. Some of us get them to work well with different gear, others like them just as they are, some modify them extensively.
For a lot of us growing up in the 70's, it was and still is a thing of beauty, and an interesting, well executed loudspeaker of its time.
I still like them a lot, and do a few things to mitigate the mid/top end - turn down the pots some, maybe a bit of tissue paper across the tweeter (ala Advent fried egg tweeter), get them off the floor (never designed to be on the floor) to prevent bass boom, even plug the vent for some. Even considered the crossover mods. The L100 is sort of the Dynaco ST-70 of the 70's, everybody bashes it, yet it remains a beloved, if somewhat polarizing product.
And they are strikingly beautiful in their own way.
And for you JBL monitor fans, here's a taste of what the big 4 way monitors look like today at Kenrick Sound in Japan. Monitor wipes mandatory :drool::drool:
A teaser at a Kenrick Exclusive monitor the 4346, BMWCCA, have you seen this one?:
The L100's are what they are. IMHO, not quite as far as what Zilch used to call them, "Fake but fun", but a real, honest window of what was close to state of the art for a small US Studio Monitor during the growth of the Rock and Roll Era. That we've all moved on in our likes and dislike doesn't diminish what they were and what they are today. Seems to me if they don't work for you, as many have said, move on. Some of us get them to work well with different gear, others like them just as they are, some modify them extensively.
For a lot of us growing up in the 70's, it was and still is a thing of beauty, and an interesting, well executed loudspeaker of its time.
I still like them a lot, and do a few things to mitigate the mid/top end - turn down the pots some, maybe a bit of tissue paper across the tweeter (ala Advent fried egg tweeter), get them off the floor (never designed to be on the floor) to prevent bass boom, even plug the vent for some. Even considered the crossover mods. The L100 is sort of the Dynaco ST-70 of the 70's, everybody bashes it, yet it remains a beloved, if somewhat polarizing product.
And they are strikingly beautiful in their own way.
And for you JBL monitor fans, here's a taste of what the big 4 way monitors look like today at Kenrick Sound in Japan. Monitor wipes mandatory :drool::drool:
A teaser at a Kenrick Exclusive monitor the 4346, BMWCCA, have you seen this one?:
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