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JBL speakers are they really that good?

PS: Really enjoyed listening to JBLNUTs 250ti a couple years ago and they were every bit as impressive as they are rumored to be. I have a pair of JBL 4301b that Zilch rebuilt the crossovers for me, they get more listening time than my L300.
 
The bottom line is, barring a score of the year, the OP is going to have to shell out some serious cash in order to procure a set of JBLs to match-up to or surpass the speakers he owns and seems to like.

My guess he needs to start looking for a pair of "improved" L300s, the 4343( Ebay 8-11,000 dollar asking prices) or better. Anything less probably wouldnt be satisfying although it'd be fun to add an $L300$ to the collection:).
 
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majick47 said:
PS: Really enjoyed listening to JBLNUTs 250ti a couple years ago and they were every bit as impressive as they are rumored to be. I have a pair of JBL 4301b that Zilch rebuilt the crossovers for me, they get more listening time than my L300.
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Any info you can share about how they were rebuilt? Thanks.
 
I just picked up a pair of Jubals

Ken Boyd said:
Yes I also have a pair of Kappa 8's and a pair of Kappa 9's, both very good speakers. I got my Kappa 8's for a steal at only 50 dollars for the pair. If I could find a real good set of JBL's for that price I would snag them and give them a try. I think it would take a pretty good pair of JBL's to match the sound of the Kappa 8's.
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For $5 at an estate sale. Being a JBL connoisseur, I knew what they were as soon as I walked in the door. They had rotted surrounds so the lady said, $5 because they don't work. I happened to have a pair of L166's that had the 122A's in them that I installed in the Jubals to test them out. Voila! :banana:Pure heaven. They can sell for as much as a $1,000 on Ebay. Once you have experienced $1,000 speaker for $5, the music just keeps getting better. I posted the pictures on LH's site.
 
I've had a lot of panel, ribbon and esl speakers and I have had a lot of horn speakers. For me, it really depends on the amplification that I am using. I really like the sound of certain tubes, especially the SETs. In order to appreciate such technology, one needs an efficient speaker voiced for it. JBLs do that very well where as panel speakers are just not going to work- inefficient. I decided I just am not moved by the sound of SS gear anymore (even high dollar SS I have heard)- hence why my whole flat speaker collection ( except the 57s) is up for sale. Until you have heard a GOOD tube amp on JBLs, I would quit wasting money on other gear. :D I would add Altecs ( with a little tweaking) or TADs as choices on the same level as JBLs. My $.02:smoke:
 
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hatrack71 said:
I've had a lot of panel, ribbon and esl speakers and I have had a lot of horn speakers. For me, it really depends on the amplification that I am using. I really like the sound of certain tubes, especially the SETs. In order to appreciate such technology, one needs an efficient speaker voiced for it. JBLs do that very well where as panel speakers are just not going to work- inefficient. I decided I just am not moved by the sound of SS gear anymore (even high dollar SS I have heard)- hence why my whole flat speaker collection ( except the 57s) is up for sale. Until you have heard a GOOD tube amp on JBLs, I would quit wasting money on other gear. :D I would add Altecs ( with a little tweaking) or TADs as choices on the same level as JBLs. My $.02:smoke:
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I have had good tubes, good altecs, good SS, and good JBLs, I'm not sure I'm with you here.
 
Ken Boyd said:
Yes I also have a pair of Kappa 8's and a pair of Kappa 9's, both very good speakers. I got my Kappa 8's for a steal at only 50 dollars for the pair. If I could find a real good set of JBL's for that price I would snag them and give them a try. I think it would take a pretty good pair of JBL's to match the sound of the Kappa 8's.
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I paid more than $50 to purchase my JBL 1400 Arrays but they certainly outperformed the RS8Kappas with my gear-IMO.
 
hatrack71 said:
We all have our own experiences. It is very likely you have heard a good synergy I have not and possibly vice versa.:dunno:
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There is no doubt your experiences aren't unique. I just wanted to offer some balance so someone buying some big JBLs don't get the impression that the only way to go is to run them off tubes. Both Altecs and JBLs can sound great on SS gear, as well, and there will be many who prefer the latter.
 
My .02

My JBL 4412's and my Fisher 500c are not the best match.
The JBL's like my Technics amp and sounded good (to me) with my Pioneer SX1050.
The Fisher 500c and My EV's are a good match as well as the Technics with the EV's.
 
I also run my JBLs on a tube amp. The Titanium tweeters respond nicely to the warmth. It really tames the metal domes and makes them sound so very smooth and musical. Any JBL with horns or metal domes would benefit from a decent tube rig, just my 2 cents (actually, as you all know, tubes cost a lot more than 2 cents, lol)!

cnh2
 
I own a pair of original JBL 4345's ( 3rd owner) these are some INCREDIBLE speakers. Right now, i 'm using them in cojunction w/ Khorns, MC352 powering the JBL's and 2 MC2000's in Mono for Khorns,.... JUst amazing sounding! I'm gonna bi-amp the jbl's (another MC352) and luckily I ive near dave K and own a pair of his passive xovers that he designed..... Can't wait to set it all up in my new house!!!
 
Yes I to would like a good pair of tube amps, and always keep my eye out for a pair. But unlike the JBL's I need a pair that have a lot of power, I am thinking a pair of Conrad Johnson Premeir Ones.
I would really like a pair of Audio Research amps, but I don't think I can afford the pairs that I like.
 
cnh2 said:
I also run my JBLs on a tube amp. The Titanium tweeters respond nicely to the warmth. It really tames the metal domes and makes them sound so very smooth and musical. Any JBL with horns or metal domes would benefit from a decent tube rig, just my 2 cents (actually, as you all know, tubes cost a lot more than 2 cents, lol)!

cnh2
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You mean tubes and JBLs have complimentary flaws? ;)
 
majick47 said:
PS: Really enjoyed listening to JBLNUTs 250ti a couple years ago and they were every bit as impressive as they are rumored to be. I have a pair of JBL 4301b that Zilch rebuilt the crossovers for me, they get more listening time than my L300.
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Thanks for the kind words Rich. You should hear them now that I have some high quality tubes (Mac 275) powering the upper ranges :yes:.

For those that are curious, I have a special set of custom made crossovers in my 250Ti's built by one of the most knowledgeable folks on the Lansing heritage site. They are actually two separate boards now and allow me to passively bi-amp them while still providing all of the regular features like the bus bars to attenuate each of the 3 upper drivers. They are also charge-coupled which is a technology that JBL developed (iirc) to keep a small positive charge on all the caps in the x-over by using a 9v battery. A search of the Lansing Heritage site will produce the thread about them and lots of pictures and descriptions.

There are many folks who associate the JBL brand with "junk but loud" and because JBL produced so many models over the last 60 years, it's entirely possible they heard a low-end speaker driven by crappy electronics and came away suitably unimpressed. But I can assure you that JBL has also produced some absolutely STELLAR speakers over that same 60 years and I would count the 250Ti among them. It's not their best, but from my perspective a used pair is still within reach of most of us (I saved and searched for about 5 years) and will provide many future years of enjoyment.

I apologize to the OP if I got my sarcasm on too hard in my initial reply to this thread. But I just get so, so, very, very tired of the JBL trolling threads that sometimes I am unable to restrain myself. It's just impossible to say anything about this brand without a lot of qualifications and specifics - there are far too many models made over too many years for any generalizations to stick.

I would encourage the OP to seek out a set of some of the "hidden gems" in the JBL line to truly see if you think they are overrated or overpriced. I will name a few here that you can get for under a grand (some well under) that will far outperform what you pay for them. You will get every dime back when you sell them if you don't pay too much.

*If* you sell them that is - they have a way of sticking around and then inviting more of the family over untill you get to have fun conversations with your SO...:D.

L5/L7 - (the L5 will re-define value in a used speaker)
L96/L112 (getting old now, but a super-smooth 3-way and easy to listen to)
4410/4412/120Ti (next gen of the 3-way, 120Ti has the best drivers and xover)
XPL140/160/200 (crazy-good titanium dome midrange that images like crazy and brings jazz trumpet and sax to life)
240TI - (cheapest way to hear the amazing bass of an LE14H-1)

jblnut
 
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