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What Is The Secret To The JBL Sound?

i have a pair of l36 a pair of l166 horizon. i absolutely love both pair. i have a rare pair of cerwin vega s1 that i bought new they have more bass but the jbl,s are better. also have a pair of pioneer cs99 junk compared to jbl. a pair of bose 301, nova 7b optimus 1 optimus 25 technics dual woofers nothing compares in my opinion to the quality of the jbl,s i paid $20.00 for the l36 and $40.00 for the l166 just needed refoamed. my buy of a lifetime. just my 2 cent,s

steve
 
rcaman said:
i have a pair of l36 a pair of l166 horizon. i absolutely love both pair. i have a rare pair of cerwin vega s1 that i bought new they have more bass but the jbl,s are better. also have a pair of pioneer cs99 junk compared to jbl. a pair of bose 301, nova 7b optimus 1 optimus 25 technics dual woofers nothing compares in my opinion to the quality of the jbl,s i paid $20.00 for the l36 and $40.00 for the l166 just needed refoamed. my buy of a lifetime. just my 2 cent,s

steve
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and i want another pair of realistic mach one,s
 
Secret? No secret really. Best to demo loudspeakers on a case-by-case/price point basis exclusively. It is what it is. You either enjoy it over other models/brands in that price point range or you don't. Of the "West Coast Sound" profile speaker types, JBL's are not what i prefer. YMMV. As it should be.
 
Yep, my first pair of JBLs were L36s I bought new in 1976 ...
had some others, but pretty happy these days with the tube-driven custom 3 ways in my Avatar ...
(sort of 4333s or L300s but with smith horns & 2445 mids ...)
 
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ssmith3046 said:
I always liked the L65 Jubal and L100's.
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Oh yeah, the Jubals.
When I purchased my L100's in 1973, I wanted the Jubal's so bad, but I couldn't afford them,and I didn't have the room.
I still play the L100's nearly every day, bu they are now the rear speakers on my Home Theatre set up. They still sound great.
 
Pio1980 said:
All JBLs definitely do not sound the same tho' the original and "classic" models defined what was known as the West Coast Sound, which suited electric rock well. I loved the care and craftsmanship tho' found the signature JBL system sound not for me.
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I would agee that they seemed well suited to electric rock. In the 70's, you would see them everywhere. They always seemed to have that "slam" and yes, they could project the Strats and Les Pauls quite nicely. I couldn't afford them then, but I got a pair of L7s in the 90s. After biamping them, I was kid again.
 
I just finished rebuilding/finishing a pair of L-100 for resale. I have nothing to say about family sound but, the build quality of these thirty some year old drivers is outstanding!!
 
The build quality of their drivers is second to none. They dominated the entertainment industry, do it makes sense that that sound would transfer well to the home models.

JBL tweeters are somewhat unique in approach compared to the most popular tweeters of that era. The slot tweeter on the L-65 is a fantastic lush tweeter that sounds very different than the more ubiquitous domes. The paper tweeter on the less expensive models was also very nice sounding.

I have Jubal's and L-36's and thought they do not sound the same, to me they have the JBL house sound. I have a pair of L-110s that I have not begin restoring yet. They should be interesting in that the crossover is much more complex than the usual JBL crossover.

I also agree that they do a great job with rock music. There is nothing wrong with my Thiels, but if I want to listen to Hendrix, I will listen to my L-36s first. I'll save my Thiels for Copland. My Jubals are my go to speakers for low powered tube amps in a smallish room (12x12 roughly).
 
The secret to my JBL sound is: 4 E-140's in Bag End II's, 2345 horns loaded with Selenium drivers, and Crown power amps. A Samson S-3 crossover, dbx stereo 15-band EQ and a BBE 482i make for impressive sound, both for live bands and for personal listening.
 
I had always thought that JBL's sounded nice, especially for rock music.
Then I happened upon my pair of 250Ti's and I fell in love.
They are my favorite speaker of all time.

Al. Wise
 
michaelhigh said:
The secret to my JBL sound is: 4 E-140's in Bag End II's, 2345 horns loaded with Selenium drivers, and Crown power amps. A Samson S-3 crossover, dbx stereo 15-band EQ and a BBE 482i make for impressive sound, both for live bands and for personal listening.
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That sounds mad, do you have pics?
 
SoundOfSound said:
What is the secret to the JBL sound?

JBL speakers always seem to sound a little bit different from other speakers.
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While I've never encountered vintage JBLs that I don't like, not all JBL sound the same. JBL 4311 sounds different than JBL L80 and JBL 120Ti and JBL 4315. So, uh, I don't really believe JBL has "distinct" sound that makes it sound a little bit different from other speakers, because different JBL models already sound a little bit different with each other.


SoundOfSound said:
A) Is it the drivers?, especially the woofers with their edge wound voice coils.

B) Is it how they marry the woofers to the cabinets?
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JBL woofers and cabinet designs varies among different models.


SoundOfSound said:
C) Is it the crossover parts?

D) Is it how they blend the drivers with the crossover?
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...and the crossover too.

So I don't really understand what you mean with "distinct" JBL sound. Maybe what you meant is the "west coast sound" of 4311?
 
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