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JBL L100t power

J

janeej22

New Member
Hello,

I recently came into some JBL L100t's. I replaced the tweeters and refoamed the woofers and they sound great...one at a time. The problem is, I have a Marantz 1070, which I believe is only 35 wpc. From what I've researched, the JBL's should have at least 100wpc or up to 400. Can I hook up an external power amp to make up for the lack of power coming from the Marantz? If so, any recommendations?
Many thanks!
 
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Not aure what you mean by "they sound great...one at a time" Do they not sound great when both are playing ? Out of phase ?
 
If I have them both playing the right channel has significantly less bass output. I've tried switching the phase and it's not that. Not sure if it's an issue within the Marantz or the speaker. I had them both playing and at about 30% volume and the right channel has had less output. There could be an issue in the Marantz as well. It was sitting relatively unused for years. Is the 1070 enough power for the L100Ts?
 
janeej22 said:
Can I hook up an external power amp to make up for the lack of power coming from the Marantz? If so, any recommendations?
Many thanks!
Click to expand...

Sure you can hook up an external amp. Question then becomes, what is your budget, and are you looking for new or used? Plenty of good used gear out there, but one of us recommending a piece that you may not ever even be able to find is probably not ideal. Your best bet IMO is to scour places like Craigslist every night for when amps pop up on there and then research them here to see if they are what you are looking for and worth buying. Start with what is available to you in your used market.
 
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janeej22 said:
If I have them both playing the right channel has significantly less bass output. I've tried switching the phase and it's not that. Not sure if it's an issue within the Marantz or the speaker. I had them both playing and at about 30% volume and the right channel has had less output. There could be an issue in the Marantz as well. It was sitting relatively unused for years.
Click to expand...

If you swap the speakers, does the problem switch with the speaker or stay on that side?

janeej22 said:
Is the 1070 enough power for the L100Ts?
Click to expand...

35WPC would be enough for *most* listening, but you would run out of power quickly if you turned things up loud at all. Most listening is done within the 1-20wpc range or so, but power requirements go up quick as the volume goes up, particularly with bass heavy content. With my Yamaha P2200/P2201 amps, they give out about ~230wpc in stereo and about 700wpc bridged and even in that case (when I switched to running the amps bridged) I feel my L100Ts benefited from the extra wattage, but I push mine hard.
 
Thanks for the info so far. When I have it on the "stereo" setting the right channel is noticeably quieter than the left. If I have it on "reverse" then it's quieter on the left. If I have it in "Mono L+R", they sound even. Perhaps the switch needs some attention.
I've been testing it on an Audio Technica turn table with optional pre amp-using the Marantz pre amp. Same result if it's in the aux input using the turn table's preamp. Also same if aux input is playing an MP3.
 
janeej22 said:
Thanks for the info so far. When I have it on the "stereo" setting the right channel is noticeably quieter than the left. If I have it on "reverse" then it's quieter on the left. If I have it in "Mono L+R", they sound even. Perhaps the switch needs some attention.
I've been testing it on an Audio Technica turn table with optional pre amp-using the Marantz pre amp. Same result if it's in the aux input using the turn table's preamp. Also same if aux input is playing an MP3.
Click to expand...

I have a Marantz 1060 (30wpc) and I either use a Marantz 250 or other power amps around 120 wpc. On a whim I snagged a Kenwood 106 off of eBay for $60 and the dumb thing sounds just fine. Marantz integrateds have really nice pre-amps and will play nicely with most any external amp.
 
Find a newer used amp and you'll have less to worry about with aging capacitors, switches, etc. You can't trust 40+ year old parts and believe the amp will sound like it did when new. Find a pro audio amp. Lots of good power for not a lot of money.
 
did the op ever state whether the issue was the source or in the cabinet?
is it possible that one woofer is wired into the crossover out of phase?
-as in when it was re-installed after the refoam?
 
janeej22 said:
Hello,

I recently came into some JBL L100t's. I replaced the tweeters and refoamed the woofers and they sound great...one at a time. The problem is, I have a Marantz 1070, which I believe is only 35 wpc. From what I've researched, the JBL's should have at least 100wpc or up to 400. Can I hook up an external power amp to make up for the lack of power coming from the Marantz? If so, any recommendations?
Many thanks!
Click to expand...


Hi, we’re you able to get this problem resolved? I’m having a similar issues with my L100ts and a Sansui G-5700 amp
 
I've had a couple pairs of L100T speakers over the years - they do well with 100+ watts and are happy with 200-250 watts
(don't run them wide open, but the extra power helps with room filling bass)
 
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