I have a pair of JBL L-100's that I bought new in 1974. Recently I've been thinking of selling them and have a question about the serial numbers. One speaker is 66326A and the other one is 119062A. Never thought anything about the serial numbers before I started looking at ads for L100's. Some ads mention close serial numbers as this is a selling point. I can somewhat understand this but my question is how could I buy these on the same day and the #'s be so far apart?. Also what is the significance of the A at the end of the #"s. Also will the #'s being so far apart affect their value? Any info would be appreciated.
JBL-L100 serial numbers
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911s55
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Even if they were shipped as a pair with consecutive serial numbers they were put into inventory at retail stores and not pulled and sold as matched pairs other than the grill colors, many could sit in stock for quite a while. Since these were so popular there could be many in stock and got mixed up. Sales persons grabbed them from inventory usually just matching grill colors.
The "A" is just the later production of the L-100.
Far apart serial numbers are less desirable, generally, consecutive the most. One other thing regarding far apart numbers is the speakers can have different appearing finishes due to not being made in the same batches, different veneers and stain mixes.
Value and price chat should be done in "dollars and sense" forum.
The "A" is just the later production of the L-100.
Far apart serial numbers are less desirable, generally, consecutive the most. One other thing regarding far apart numbers is the speakers can have different appearing finishes due to not being made in the same batches, different veneers and stain mixes.
Value and price chat should be done in "dollars and sense" forum.
The A designation means that it has the staggered tweeter & mid arrangement and is the consumer version of the 4311 monitor. The non-A has the tweeter, mid, and woofer aligned and is the consumer version of the JBL 4310 monitor.
Personally I prefer the A/4311, but that's just preference. The non-A is less common than the A. Also less common is the L100A (late) which is identifiable by the black pegs for the grille. I'm not sure if your 119062A is a (late), hopefully not as they make a better pair if the same generation. The (late) has updated (positive) woofers with a corresponding updated crossover. Prior to this change the woofers moved inward with a positive-to-positive connection. Just an update to match industry standard really.
Regarding is that a bad thing? For me it would be, I prefer to buy only sequential S/Ns, but only because I'm a collector. Close S/Ns are also good for collectors. Sonically there should be no difference between them, JBL has a great reputation for controlling the quality of their drivers and tight tolerances, they should pair well with each other if the same generation.
As 911 mentioned above they were produced in fairly high numbers, stocked in some stores in high numbers also, it would be a special request for a salesman to search for a sequential pair (although usually much closer than yours are) so the serial numbers are somewhat random. The grilles came in a separate box so that you could choose the color and pair the grilles with the speakers at the store.
Personally I prefer the A/4311, but that's just preference. The non-A is less common than the A. Also less common is the L100A (late) which is identifiable by the black pegs for the grille. I'm not sure if your 119062A is a (late), hopefully not as they make a better pair if the same generation. The (late) has updated (positive) woofers with a corresponding updated crossover. Prior to this change the woofers moved inward with a positive-to-positive connection. Just an update to match industry standard really.
Regarding is that a bad thing? For me it would be, I prefer to buy only sequential S/Ns, but only because I'm a collector. Close S/Ns are also good for collectors. Sonically there should be no difference between them, JBL has a great reputation for controlling the quality of their drivers and tight tolerances, they should pair well with each other if the same generation.
As 911 mentioned above they were produced in fairly high numbers, stocked in some stores in high numbers also, it would be a special request for a salesman to search for a sequential pair (although usually much closer than yours are) so the serial numbers are somewhat random. The grilles came in a separate box so that you could choose the color and pair the grilles with the speakers at the store.
The pegs on both speakers are white. Is there any way to tell what year they were built by the serial numbers? I can't remember for sure what year I bought these, it was either 73 or 74. I bought them in a store that mainly sold pianos and organs but they had a small room where they sold a limited amount of stereo equipment. Thanks Saturation Point for the info, by the way are you selling a pair of these with the blue foam grills? If those are yours they look nice.
Yes they are and thanks.
exhippy
I use to have long hair. Now I'm lucky to have any
I bought my new L100a's in 1978. The pegs are black. I'm not sure how the consecutive works. I'm guessing in my case the last 2 numbers.
Mine are 309031 and 309050.
As a 19 year old I wasn't thinking 'consecutive serial numbers' as I grabbed 2 speakers out of about a dozen off the floor in the Pacific Stereo show room. My biggest decision, what color grills? I stayed on the conservative side and went with the brown. When I received the letter from JBL about the foam replacement offer I decided to do it, brown cloth it was. I still own them.
Mine are 309031 and 309050.
As a 19 year old I wasn't thinking 'consecutive serial numbers' as I grabbed 2 speakers out of about a dozen off the floor in the Pacific Stereo show room. My biggest decision, what color grills? I stayed on the conservative side and went with the brown. When I received the letter from JBL about the foam replacement offer I decided to do it, brown cloth it was. I still own them.
Those are pretty late production, and 19 apart are very close. The black pegs and "Model L100" foilcal make them the "L100A (late)" which are much less common than the L100A. Nice that you got a pair of the cloth grille inserts also!
Out of a production of a million speakers even 100 or so apart S/Ns are fairly close and likely produced on the same week, maybe even within the same day. They probably were delivered to the same dealer and sold to the same buyer but it can be hard to tell for sure.
When they are close S/Ns and thus purchased together when new, they played the same music, lived in the same environment, were hooked to the same amplifier, so I consider them as good a match as is practical after 45 years. The thing I avoid with distant S/Ns is the pair that was united decades later (you see singles for sale occasionally) from two orphans, ... one was used hard and in the sun and no air conditioning, maybe a frat-house system for a few years before being retired to the garage system, the other lived happily in an adult environment that was climate controlled and played carefully all of its days maybe spending the last decade or so in a dark closet. These might or might not match sonically, chances are much better with a pair that has been together all of its life.
With the popularity now of some of these classic JBLs there are many people out there trying to find and flip pairs as pristine closet-kept pairs, it's just easier when they match unless you're buying from the original owner.
Value? I think that there are collectors out there (I am one) who prefers sequential S/Ns, or at least close so you can get a premium on sequentail and close if/when you find the right buyer. How much premium is hard to pinpoint. I feel that value in these speakers really comes down to how well they fit into a collection as collectibles where average ones with a few blemishes and random S/Ns, maybe refinished cabinets etc. are fairly easy to find and perfect ones more difficult, so those perfect ones can be worth 2-3 times the average garage-speaker quality ones.
Out of a production of a million speakers even 100 or so apart S/Ns are fairly close and likely produced on the same week, maybe even within the same day. They probably were delivered to the same dealer and sold to the same buyer but it can be hard to tell for sure.
When they are close S/Ns and thus purchased together when new, they played the same music, lived in the same environment, were hooked to the same amplifier, so I consider them as good a match as is practical after 45 years. The thing I avoid with distant S/Ns is the pair that was united decades later (you see singles for sale occasionally) from two orphans, ... one was used hard and in the sun and no air conditioning, maybe a frat-house system for a few years before being retired to the garage system, the other lived happily in an adult environment that was climate controlled and played carefully all of its days maybe spending the last decade or so in a dark closet. These might or might not match sonically, chances are much better with a pair that has been together all of its life.
With the popularity now of some of these classic JBLs there are many people out there trying to find and flip pairs as pristine closet-kept pairs, it's just easier when they match unless you're buying from the original owner.
Value? I think that there are collectors out there (I am one) who prefers sequential S/Ns, or at least close so you can get a premium on sequentail and close if/when you find the right buyer. How much premium is hard to pinpoint. I feel that value in these speakers really comes down to how well they fit into a collection as collectibles where average ones with a few blemishes and random S/Ns, maybe refinished cabinets etc. are fairly easy to find and perfect ones more difficult, so those perfect ones can be worth 2-3 times the average garage-speaker quality ones.
I have a pair of JBL 4310 that I bought at a thrift store and the cabinets were in sad shape so I restored them they do have sequential serial numbers 11235 and 11236 it would be nice to know when they were made but I don't know where to look. I also have a pair of Century L-100's also with sequential numbers 171420A and 171421A does anyone know when they were made?
The L100 Century was manufactured, shipped, stocked, and sold in such high numbers that it would take a Salesman actually looking for sequential numbers for you to get a sequential pair (or sometimes even close). Some stores / Salesmen took this care, others did not. I still try to buy in sequential numbers but my new JBLs are one-off like @BMWCCA above has. It's even less common to have sequential pairs in monitors as commercial customers / dealers just loaded a truck and sent it out. FIFO was not a thing back then, if a speaker hid in the back of the stockroom for a couple of delivery cycles, it could easily be off a couple-thousand.