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JBL Decade 36 Value

canuckaudiog

canuckaudiog

On a quest for high fidelity
Hey AKers,

Usually I don't post valuation questions because it's pretty simple to look up value, but I'd like to get an opinion on not only the value but also whether or not I should even bother with them.

A pair of JBL Decade 36s were offered to me by a co-worker. He asked me to find out what their value was, so I looked online, and as far as I could tell, it seemed between $100-$150 was about the going rate. His pair appear to be original, but obviously suffer from foam rot. On top of that, at one point someone tried to apply what appears to be silicone to the surround to keep them intact. So, they're going to need a bit of work. The cabinets are also sun faded and I honestly don't know what sort of condition they're in as I didn't get a good look at them. I'm expecting the cabinets are going to need a bit of work.

At any rate, he came back to me today and made me an offer of $150. I was honestly hoping closer to $50, which is a good deal for me obviously. But what say you? I'm currently running big Wharfedales and so the JBLs would be a large departure, and really the only reason I want to get them is to try them out. I had L110s before and wasn't a fan of the sound (they were recapped/refoamed), so I'm curious about these 36s but since it's only an experiment and to see how good they are, and also perhaps a fun project, I've got a lot of other projects already and I have more speakers than I need so I don't know if this is worth it.

In short - what would you pay for a pair of Decade 36s in this sort of shape? Keep in mind this is Canadian dollars, so add about 20%.
 
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IMO the L36s are great speakers. But I like the JBL sound. If the cabs are not water damaged and all drivers original and working
I would be in at $150. I'm not sure where you got your value of $100- $150 but it seems to me that L series speakers hold their value.
If you are not a fan of JBL sound and already have too many projects, then what's the point. Just take a pass.
 
bandg69 said:
IMO the L36s are great speakers. But I like the JBL sound. If the cabs are not water damaged and all drivers original and working
I would be in at $150. I'm not sure where you got your value of $100- $150 but it seems to me that L series speakers hold their value.
If you are not a fan of JBL sound and already have too many projects, then what's the point. Just take a pass.
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To be honest I don't know if I don't like the JBL sound or not. I have only heard one model and I don't think that's a fair representation of what the "JBL sound" is. I was just wondering if these 36s were an interesting grab - maybe they're special. The reviews online seem positive, I just don't know if for me it would be worth taking up the extra space and also of course the extra money in restoring them.

The value I found was based on previous sales here in Canada, with the speakers in similar condition (all original requiring a refoam).

I'll probably pass, but I'll certainly think on it.
 
I am more inclined to think that the market on a nice set of L36's is in the $250 neighborhood. At least here in the SF Bay Area, they would be

I would be in @ $150 as long as the grilles were in good shape.
 
kkd said:
I am more inclined to think that the market on a nice set of L36's is in the $250 neighborhood. At least here in the SF Bay Area, they would be

I would be in @ $150 as long as the grilles were in good shape.
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Here locally (or rather, in Canada) they seem to be around $100-$150 in need of fixing up. Restored examples I found were about $300-$400.

But I don't think this pair is in nice shape, they've been stored in garbage bags their whole life and the veneer is faded. The cabinets would need some elbow grease (i.e., sanding and restaining) to come out looking fresh again. No idea what the grills look like but they are included.
 
I got my unrestored pair in great condition with original boxed for $260 back on may 2016 in Midwest region.
 
I have a pair of 36's that I really like.I just refoamed them and cleaned up the cabs,did not recap.I really like them for rock and roll,good tight heavy bottom plus they have the pots for the tweeter and mids to tweek.
If I sold mine I would ask 3to 400 clams usd.
 
Pair for sale right now in the SF Bay Area. Granted this is high in my book but we are used to people asking silly prices for gear out here.
No connection to these what so ever. L-36's are a fun iconic speaker that I would be in for at $150 if the cabinets were good and the tweeter domes were not pushed in and the grills were solid and not covered in dog wizz etc.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/ele/5636088905.html
 
I bought a pair of L-26's last year for $200.00. Refoamed ready to go. My son is quite happy with them. Buffalo,NY market.
 
Nice sounsing speakers. If the cabinets are nice, all original components and the grills are nice, I'd be in at $150.00. A fair price for both parties imo.
 
I've had two pairs and sold them for $400 and $350 respectively. They were not fully restored, but we're in good condition and had new foam surrounds on the woofers.
 
It is hard to imagine that anything JBL, from the vintage era, could be had at $50 - unless the seller was completely unaware of current values (and this does happen). I have a few of the L series (L86, L88, L100) and could not imagine a situation where I would let a pair go for $50. If you don't want them for near market value, don't bicker with your friend. Friends are much harder to find than speakers.
 
Make sure the tweeters work and that the woofers are original. I've run across two pairs of L26s here and they've both had infinite issues.

I personally would not pay $150 for those unless you really wanted them.
 
CAG, what was it about the L110 that you didn't like? The L110 is a bit "drier" than other vintage JBL's of that era - the woofer and mid are tuned a bit flatter. and the woofer has a lot less boom in its tuning. IME, the L36 is something like a smoother (less midrange) JBL 3 way, and the woofer, being smaller, is actually less boomy as well. In many reviews, the L36 and similar L50 are nice mid size, midrange (price point) JBL's, a level below the more typical 12" woofer models (L100, L166, L96).

In some senses, you said the going price for speakers needing work was in the $100-150 range, and those are probably not perfect. Needing foam is pretty much par for the course unless done in the last 5 years. Sun fade on the oak cabinets is common, but some judicious work usually brings them back fairly easily. (see Wardsweb's thread on his L26 refurbishment). As long as the drivers are all original, and the drivers are in good condition (not torn, massively pushed in or damaged), and the grilles are reasonably intact, the value of $100-150 is a very good buy - assuming you want these speakers. If you don't, no amount of discount is going to, IMO, outweigh the buyer's remorse unless you may intend to resell after refurbishing only.

If you're going for a JBL trial with relatively little monetary loss or risk, this is probably a decent buy, but the market for nicely restored JBL's in your Canadian area may be small, depressing the value factor. If you were selling in the US, there would be much less risk.

Personally, if you are game to try and you still think $150 is too much (I don't), then counter-offer with a $20-$30 (20%) discount. I think expecting $100 or even a $50 value is a bit much from a friend. Hard dickering on CL would be a different matter.

considering your experience and skills with your IMF and Fostex speakers, you should have no trouble refurbishing these speakers, assuming the core of them is still intact.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone.

I should probably clear something up, he's not really a friend, just a co worker. He told me he was likely going to toss them out, and that's when I expressed interest in them. That's when he told me to look up their value so I did. To have me do the research on them and then ask me for the highest valuation I offered (which is a legitimate value based on what I could find online) I thought wasn't exactly kosher but eh, whatever.

And yeah, $50 is low. However, I'm not about to put a bunch of time and effort into these to only turn around and get a little bit of money for my time. That's why I'm balking at the $150 price a bit. I want to keep them of course, but just to have a chance to hear what they sound like isn't rewarding enough (in my opinion) for the amount of work they will need.

I think I'll counter at $100, and go from there. I think it's fair - he was originally going to throw them out and get nothing for them, and now he will potentially get something for them because I tipped him off and showed interest. Of course if he isn't happy with that he can now go ahead and put them up for sale and will likely get more money for them, which is fine by me.

Anyway, thank you all for the info! It's been really helpful in deciding on this. I wasn't aware they were so well thought of to be worth his $150 ask. I was going to pass on them but I might go for them now.
 
A little update.

I bought them. We talked about it and agreed on $120. They're in pretty good shape, no major damage, but the finish on one of them is nearly gone. The other one isn't so bad. It'll take a little elbow grease to get these back to looking good but they have good bones.

Of course the surrounds are totally gone, but everything is original.

I haven't looked at the grills but as he owned no pets they're probably okay.

Should be a fun project!
 
Keep us updated and congrats on picking up those JBL's. I think at $120.00 you did well for some real nice sounding speakers. With the bit of work you put in, you'll be rewarded:music:
 
Karmices said:
Keep us updated and congrats on picking up those JBL's. I think at $120.00 you did well for some real nice sounding speakers. With the bit of work you put in, you'll be rewarded:music:
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Thanks! It's been a while since I've done a full restoration so I'm really looking forward to it. I'm definitely curious about the sound. These will have the full meal deal - recap, refoam and the cabinets will be attended to.

Also, looks like I got a bit lucky because these come with the very cool burnt orange grills! I haven't seen many L36s with these grills so I imagine it's a bit rare to find. That's my favourite color on the L100 so I'm pretty stoked!

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Sorry the picture isn't great, but yeah these are gonna look sweet when finished.
 
Congrats. Get us some before pics so we know what you're working with and for posterity. If you need new foams for the tweeters, let me know.
 
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