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JBL Vintage L220 Oracle Speakers

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Now really are they "that good of a speaker"? I don't know who is buying those speakers for that high a price because I don't think its the Asian market because I just linked a few pages from a Japanese Audio dealer and the have much nicer models of JBL's for better prices.
 
Ken Boyd said:
Now really are they "that good of a speaker"? I don't know who is buying those speakers for that high a price because I don't think its the Asian market because I just linked a few pages from a Japanese Audio dealer and the have much nicer models of JBL's for better prices.
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No way in hell.
 
Yeah now those would be some JBL's that I would be proud to own! Or even a smaller set like these would be something I would rather have and only a little more than the set that just sold. My wife has been wanting to go to Korea maybe I should agree to go soon, and make a stop in Japan, we could go window shopping my wife is Korean and she would also love to go to Japan! Plus I am lucky she likes all my big speakers, sometimes at first she has a comment when another big set of speakers appears in the house, but once she sits and listens to some music that we both like she comments on how nice they sound and how nice the new speakers look. When ever I make a statment like maybe I should get rid of a particular pair she will say but those are so nice and she will say why would you want to sell those.

http://www.hifido.co.jp/KWspeakers/G1/P0/A10/E/80-10/S0/C11-62286-30274-00/
 
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Sorry but that's a ridiculous amount of money to pay for a pair of L220's in average condition. They can be had for half that or less.

As to dropping $4K-$5K for pro monitors from that period (4345, 4350, etc.) in order to use them for a stereo system, that's just insane. Most of those speakers are way overkill for any halfway normal listening room; they were designed to produce concert-level output in commercial venues. The runup on prices on those reflects their rarity and the extreme performance and build quality of the cabinets and drivers, compounded by years of "legend."

You would be far better served buying one of the consumer models from that period, with the L300 probably at the pinnacle and "lesser" models like the L150A, L112, the later L7/L5 models etc. They are better suited to the application you likely envision, are easier to maintain when necessary, offer superlative performance, and were made in larger quantities, making them easier to come by and somewhat more reasonably priced, this auction result notwithstanding.

John
 
jdurbin1 said:
Sorry but that's a ridiculous amount of money to pay for a pair of L220's in average condition. They can be had for half that or less.

As to dropping $4K-$5K for pro monitors from that period (4345, 4350, etc.) in order to use them for a stereo system, that's just insane. Most of those speakers are way overkill for any halfway normal listening room; they were designed to produce concert-level output in commercial venues. The runup on prices on those reflects their rarity and the extreme performance and build quality of the cabinets and drivers, compounded by years of "legend."

You would be far better served buying one of the consumer models from that period, with the L300 probably at the pinnacle and "lesser" models like the L150A, L112, the later L7/L5 models etc. They are better suited to the application you likely envision, are easier to maintain when necessary, offer superlative performance, and were made in larger quantities, making them easier to come by and somewhat more reasonably priced, this auction result notwithstanding.

John
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Great analogy John, I couldn't agree more. Having had most of the high end consumer grade JBL's at one time or another, I would rate the L200/L222 at the bottom of my top 10 list. $4+K is crazy money but I'm sure the seller is happy, provided he gets paid. I guess the up side is, if you have a pair, you may have struck gold. I sold a near perfect pair of L222's for $1100 a year and a half ago and was happy to get that. Such is life.:yes:
 
jdurbin1 said:
As to dropping $4K-$5K for pro monitors from that period (4345, 4350, etc.) in order to use them for a stereo system, that's just insane. Most of those speakers are way overkill for any halfway normal listening room; they were designed to produce concert-level output in commercial venues. The runup on prices on those reflects their rarity and the extreme performance and build quality of the cabinets and drivers, compounded by years of "legend."

You would be far better served buying one of the consumer models from that period, with the L300 probably at the pinnacle and "lesser" models like the L150A, L112, the later L7/L5 models etc. They are better suited to the application you likely envision, are easier to maintain when necessary, offer superlative performance, and were made in larger quantities, making them easier to come by and somewhat more reasonably priced, this auction result notwithstanding.
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I don't disagree with what has been said about the L220 value, but the presentation and condition of those is what brought the seller the big bucks and someone will be happy showing off a great looking pair of JBLs, even if they sound so-so.

But the comments on the large format monitors is simply narrow-minded. Those were never used in commercial venues—as in SR—but in recording studios to monitor the recordings for engineering and for client playback at realistic live-performance levels. They work fantastic in a home system.

I own L150A, L112, L5, and L7 JBLs (and a few more) and it was listening to a pair of 4333 (pro-version of L300) that got me thinking about the pro 4-way systems as a viable alternative to my life-long goal of owning L300s. Now as the owner of a pair of 4345 Kenrick "clones" I couldn't be happier that I made that decision. I'm listening to them right now in a 12'x16' room and the amazing thing is you don't have to play them loud to appreciate what they're capable of. Sure, they'll go loud, but their original owner referred to them as the "Velvet Hammer" and that's a fair appraisal of how they'll hit you in a normal living room at normal listening level. An eighteen-inch woofer doesn't really have to work that hard to move some air! At the time, my decision was between the 1400 Array and the 4345 clones and I just couldn't pull the trigger on the Arrays even at a great price. But the 4345s sucked me in, thankfully.

Believe me, I love my L7s (both pair) and I've owned my L112s for over thirty years, but I could never go back to having any of those in my main system for critical listening after experiencing the 4345. Bi-amped with just Crown PS400 and PS200 they are simply awesome right now listening to Bill Frisell's "Nashville" CD. But you'd better bring your "A" recordings or they'll spit out crap. Nearly any Greg Calbi-mastered recording is a great experience. :thmbsp:

(And no, I didn't pay as much for them as what the L220s brought even if I include the custom CC passive crossovers, active electronic crossover . . . and both amps.)

4345-14-2s.jpg
 
I would consider a recording studio a commercial venue, and these big boys were also used in other commercial applications like houses of worship, clubs, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I DO love them too. I had the pleasure of a brief encounter with one of the weaker members of the group - pair of 4315B's that graced the living room of my apartment back around 1978 or so. I have a very clear recollection of just how effortlessly they dominated that space using only a 75 WPC receiver for power. You could hear every note at moderately low output levels, while still being able to converse over the music (sacrilege I know but at that age parties were more about hooking up than enjoying music!). Hitting near-concert levels was also easy though my retired neighbors didn't appreciate that much. But, that's what you would expect given the larger drivers and bigger cabinets these speakers used.

I just think the bang for buck ratio starts to distort more than a bit when you get away from the more available (and somewhat smaller) consumer models to these 43xx critters. The other factors I mentioned come into play and the price jumps disproportionately relative to the sonics (IMO). For instance, compare a pair of L150A's to the 4315, roughly same size speakers. The 4315 wins for efficiency but is it any better balanced or able to dominate a room at LF any better than the 150A, to justify the $400-$500 delta in price?

I'll still buy a pair if the right deal comes along (and have money burning a hole in my pocket) but I'm increasingly less interested in spending thousands of dollars in the process.

BTW, I don't disagree with you on the 43xx vs. L300 comparison - that's another one where the market price has soared way higher than the absolute performance might explain.

Of course, if people regularly start dropping $4,000 to own the consumer models as happened with this listing, I'll probably just sell off of my collection and buy a new car.

John
 
jdurbin1 said:
I would consider a recording studio a commercial venue, and these big boys were also used in other commercial applications like houses of worship, clubs, etc.
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If so, that would be an incorrect use. These were, and are, studio monitors "for monitoring recording sessions and for final mixdown of master tapes." Says it right on the front of the brochure:
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jdurbin1 said:
Of course, if people regularly start dropping $4,000 to own the consumer models as happened with this listing, I'll probably just sell off of my collection and buy a new car.
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Hah! Isn't that the truth. (Can I sell you one if you do?)
 
Why would that kind of usage be any more incorrect than using them at home? :scratch2:

JBL may have chosen to use that for marketing these speakers but they'd have failed miserably if the 43xx series sales were confined to in-studio use only. Trust me, I worked for a JBL dealer in Denver when these models were current and we sold plenty to people with clubs etc. They turn up in other non-studio installations regularly too, as any casual read of people's "barn finds" will confirm.

Unless you are a car dealer, the answer on that would be no - it wouldn't really be "new" otherwise, right? :D

Anyway, I like my current car despite its age & would have real trouble making a decision to sell off any of my remaining JBL speakers too.

John
 
jdurbin1 said:
Why would that kind of usage be any more incorrect than using them at home? :scratch2:
John
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I'm guessing what he means is, they were designed to be used in a well damped relatively small control room, and a living room is much more similar to that than plopping them on the stage of a gymnasium, which is the exact opposite. I own two pairs of studio monitors, ADS L1530s and original B&W 801s, and both work great in my LR.
 
They definitely look better, other than the faded finish on the tops which is probably an easy restoration.

John
 
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