SpeakerFest! JBL/Phase Linear/HPM-100...
- Thread starter thoots
- Start date
Take the L80Ts, and lengthen the vent by 2" (use a short piece of pipe then diameter of then port- you can temporarily just attach it to the port end, inside the cabinet, with duct tape or whatnot). Then compare it to the others. IMHO, it smokes the L100 in that configuration.
The L100 just doesn't have a big enough cabinet for the 123A to "get going" the way it should... no amount of port "juggling" will help it. Put the same components in a 2.5 cubic foot box, and it's incredible. JWRags can verify that (he's got my old pair of "hot-rodded" L100s, in 2.5 cubic foot enclosures)!
Regards,
Gordon.
The L100 just doesn't have a big enough cabinet for the 123A to "get going" the way it should... no amount of port "juggling" will help it. Put the same components in a 2.5 cubic foot box, and it's incredible. JWRags can verify that (he's got my old pair of "hot-rodded" L100s, in 2.5 cubic foot enclosures)!
Regards,
Gordon.
jay
Active Member
Bully, coincidentally just last night I got the itch to hear my P-530's, so switched out the L88A's I had been using and put the 530s back in the No.1 spot, and WOW, there was that 'hot as a blast furnace' midrange again! 
A little fiddling with the controls and they're making music the way I like it!
BTW, I checked the serial numbers and found that mine were built in March, 1980. How about yours?
GordonW, man, we must have different listening priorities because IMO the L80T's were the "dullest" JBL's I've ever owned, and totally lacking in that lifelike "agility" that L100s have. If you listen to the L80T woofer, there's just nothing there, no clarity, no definition, no speed, etc. I wonder if the complex 14 piece crossover was sucking the life out of them?
Whatever it was, I couldn't wait to get rid of mine.
More power to you if you've discovered how to make something out of them, however!
A little fiddling with the controls and they're making music the way I like it!BTW, I checked the serial numbers and found that mine were built in March, 1980. How about yours?
GordonW, man, we must have different listening priorities because IMO the L80T's were the "dullest" JBL's I've ever owned, and totally lacking in that lifelike "agility" that L100s have. If you listen to the L80T woofer, there's just nothing there, no clarity, no definition, no speed, etc. I wonder if the complex 14 piece crossover was sucking the life out of them?
Whatever it was, I couldn't wait to get rid of mine.
More power to you if you've discovered how to make something out of them, however!
Hi, jay--good to meet another P-530 owner!
The serial numbers are the right speaker AE00379 and the left speaker AF00533. What does that mean to you?
Playing them right now. The stereo uses the Yamaha M-80, an exceptionally fine 250 wpc amplifier and the stunningly good Yamaha C-2x preamp. Pumping 6-18 watts into the P-530, and that is louder than I usually listen to them. No one home next door last I checked :thmbsp:
OK, now I'm pushing peaks around 30 watts. Yikes, these speakers sound great. I have always thought they had that TAD (a division of Pioneer that began around the time the P-530 were designed and built). U2, 1980-1990, and yeah I like U2. Gives a good test of speakers.
BTW, I have and really like my pair of JBL L100 and currently have them with a Technics "New Class A" 130 wpc integrated amp. The L100s sit atop my HPM-900s in the family/HT room--because the family room is where the TV is, they don't get played as often as they deserve. Both the HPM-900 and the L100 really pound and sound great at any volume, soft or loud.
I've struggled with deciding which of my speakers "sounds best" but I have always leaned to the P-530, a classic 12-inch 3-way system, and I like 12-inch 3-way systems ....
The serial numbers are the right speaker AE00379 and the left speaker AF00533. What does that mean to you?
Playing them right now. The stereo uses the Yamaha M-80, an exceptionally fine 250 wpc amplifier and the stunningly good Yamaha C-2x preamp. Pumping 6-18 watts into the P-530, and that is louder than I usually listen to them. No one home next door last I checked :thmbsp:
OK, now I'm pushing peaks around 30 watts. Yikes, these speakers sound great. I have always thought they had that TAD (a division of Pioneer that began around the time the P-530 were designed and built). U2, 1980-1990, and yeah I like U2. Gives a good test of speakers.
BTW, I have and really like my pair of JBL L100 and currently have them with a Technics "New Class A" 130 wpc integrated amp. The L100s sit atop my HPM-900s in the family/HT room--because the family room is where the TV is, they don't get played as often as they deserve. Both the HPM-900 and the L100 really pound and sound great at any volume, soft or loud.
I've struggled with deciding which of my speakers "sounds best" but I have always leaned to the P-530, a classic 12-inch 3-way system, and I like 12-inch 3-way systems ....
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jay
Active Member
Hi Bully, "solid and musical" sounds right to me! There's something 'extra' gained in the bass when the box size is increased from L100 size to HPM/P530 size.
In an opposite vein, I've been thinking of digging out the old Dyna tube amp and trying it with the P-530's. I know they would likely lose some of that immediacy and punch that they do so well, but with 95db efficiency and a fast, prominent midrange they ought to do fine on tube power with more sedate forms of music, wouldn't you agree?
BTW, I replied to your post above at the time on another thread, but darned if I can remember where.
Oh well, back to the listening.
Jay
In an opposite vein, I've been thinking of digging out the old Dyna tube amp and trying it with the P-530's. I know they would likely lose some of that immediacy and punch that they do so well, but with 95db efficiency and a fast, prominent midrange they ought to do fine on tube power with more sedate forms of music, wouldn't you agree?
BTW, I replied to your post above at the time on another thread, but darned if I can remember where.
Oh well, back to the listening.
Jay
First off, one the most enjoyable, coherent reviews I've had the pleasure to read. I have a pair of HPM 100's that I recently acquired that are run throught a KA-9100 amp ( 90 watts RMS) and I find myself liking them more and more each day, albeit , with the controls for mid and tweeter at "nuetral" that are just a tad bright. I also have the ADS L810a's and they are good for comparisons.
I was disappointed in the results of the 4333 monitor ,as I lusted after them and thier cousin the L300 in college. To me, they were the epitome of speakers. Wish someone could review a L300 . I saw\heard them once at a JBL dealer and thought they were the Sun and Moon ( in terms of what was available then )
Truly excellent photo's and they do justice to the fantastic line-up of speakers. , really sharp, and color balance is excellent.
At the risk of being dumb, are all the speaker yours?, or were some brought over?
You've got J-lo, Catherine Zeta Jones, in that line of speakers. Now............, which to choose!!!!
GREAT REVIEW
I was disappointed in the results of the 4333 monitor ,as I lusted after them and thier cousin the L300 in college. To me, they were the epitome of speakers. Wish someone could review a L300 . I saw\heard them once at a JBL dealer and thought they were the Sun and Moon ( in terms of what was available then )
Truly excellent photo's and they do justice to the fantastic line-up of speakers. , really sharp, and color balance is excellent.
At the risk of being dumb, are all the speaker yours?, or were some brought over?
You've got J-lo, Catherine Zeta Jones, in that line of speakers. Now............, which to choose!!!!
GREAT REVIEW
jay
Active Member
Mobay, thanks for the nice thoughts.
The credit for the excellent reviews and photos goes to AK member thoots, who is very skilled at both writing and picture taking. He has adopted digitial photography as his pet hobby for the last couple of years and has become very proficient at it. He maintains a photo site, with excellent "Speakers" & "Stereo" sections although he concentrates more on nature shots these days..
http://www.pbase.com/thoots
This thread is now almost two years old, so some of this equipment is long gone by now, notably the infinity 2.5's, the L150s and 4333's. It's not that they were bad speakers - I especially liked the 4333s, but I live in a two room apartment and that's a lot of meat for a small space. In a properly sized room and set up on some stands, I'm certain the 4333's would have just about killed anything else here.
As I remember, all of the speakers in the 'fest' were mine except for the L100's and P-530s. We've done some swapping and selling, so between the two of us, it's mostly bookshelf models now, with our current respective 'big 3' looking like this -
Thoots -- L150A's, L100s and L26s for bedroom
Jay -- P-530's, HPM-100s, 4312A
I'm glad you enjoyed the review. It was a fun 'fest' and I hope to do an updated version again.
The credit for the excellent reviews and photos goes to AK member thoots, who is very skilled at both writing and picture taking. He has adopted digitial photography as his pet hobby for the last couple of years and has become very proficient at it. He maintains a photo site, with excellent "Speakers" & "Stereo" sections although he concentrates more on nature shots these days..
http://www.pbase.com/thoots
This thread is now almost two years old, so some of this equipment is long gone by now, notably the infinity 2.5's, the L150s and 4333's. It's not that they were bad speakers - I especially liked the 4333s, but I live in a two room apartment and that's a lot of meat for a small space.
In a properly sized room and set up on some stands, I'm certain the 4333's would have just about killed anything else here. As I remember, all of the speakers in the 'fest' were mine except for the L100's and P-530s. We've done some swapping and selling, so between the two of us, it's mostly bookshelf models now, with our current respective 'big 3' looking like this -
Thoots -- L150A's, L100s and L26s for bedroom
Jay -- P-530's, HPM-100s, 4312A
I'm glad you enjoyed the review. It was a fun 'fest' and I hope to do an updated version again.
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speaker fest
First off great thread and posts by all. A truly enjoyable read for several reasons. I own a pair of L100s L80T3s L112s L100ts so a lot of the speakers I own were involved in this disscusion. And I have always wondered how the L150s compared to the L112s. And i have read a lot of great things about the HPM speakers.And of course the 4333s. Now is where this thread loses its former coherence. Im about to add my own ramblings :lmao: between the jbls i own L100s - L100ts - L112s - L80t3s. The L100ts seem to play the deepest loudest bass. The L80T3s have the most realistic best sounding overall sound. The L112s have the cleanest flattest response ive ever heard from a 12" woofer. more bass than the L100s but less than the the L100ts -L80t3s.the L100s seem to have a better soundstage than the rest, perhaps the forward imaging ? :scratch2: I think if i was given a choice between all the jbls mentioned here and could only choose one it would be the L80t3 it seems to do it all well. my 2 1/2 cents
First off great thread and posts by all. A truly enjoyable read for several reasons. I own a pair of L100s L80T3s L112s L100ts so a lot of the speakers I own were involved in this disscusion. And I have always wondered how the L150s compared to the L112s. And i have read a lot of great things about the HPM speakers.And of course the 4333s. Now is where this thread loses its former coherence. Im about to add my own ramblings :lmao: between the jbls i own L100s - L100ts - L112s - L80t3s. The L100ts seem to play the deepest loudest bass. The L80T3s have the most realistic best sounding overall sound. The L112s have the cleanest flattest response ive ever heard from a 12" woofer. more bass than the L100s but less than the the L100ts -L80t3s.the L100s seem to have a better soundstage than the rest, perhaps the forward imaging ? :scratch2: I think if i was given a choice between all the jbls mentioned here and could only choose one it would be the L80t3 it seems to do it all well. my 2 1/2 cents
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bellavoce
"Everybody's Different"
Hi, i just picked up on this thread and was curious about one thing. Was there something wrong with those 4333's??? Because to my way hearing they are sonically in a whole'nuther ballpark than any of those other 12" floorstanders or bookshelfs with cone & tweeter hi's. I've A/B'ed my JBL 4333's with a set of 4312's (commercial evolution of the 4311/L-100) and while see them as fantastic speakers they are in a whole other league from the JBL compression driver/horn, 15" ,slot tweeter commercial playback monitor. Again, everyone hears things differently but i thought i might have missed something.
bellavoce
bellavoce
We're talking about Phase Linear P-530 driven by the Yamaha M-80 controlled by the Yamaha CX-2.
These speakers are simply great.
They were a direct competitor with the Yamaha NS-1000 series. Instead of the NS-1000 berylium cone tweets the P-530 used boron dome tweets.
Great speaker systems are just so much fun to hear.
These speakers are simply great.
They were a direct competitor with the Yamaha NS-1000 series. Instead of the NS-1000 berylium cone tweets the P-530 used boron dome tweets.
Great speaker systems are just so much fun to hear.