I would not shoehorn the AR's into the Jazz-blues-acoustic guitar category and call it a day. I listen to a variety of genres. Especially a lot of electronica, funk, and live recordings, and the 3's can rock just as great as with any other speaker I own. Keep in mind, they must be restored to preform as designed. Tweeters and mids are now being able to be restored to near new output and the improvements are astonishing.
You'll not find many knowledgeable music or hi-fi fans defending either as being anywhere near the best you can do for the money. I'm a JBL hoarder and you won't hear me defending the L100, even against other JBLs of much lesser monetary value in today's market. My LSR305s at $200/pair new will quite honesty shame the L100. I grew-up when the L100 and the ARs were new, and didn't care for either back then. I now own the first pair of L100s I ever heard which belonged to a friend from high-school and college. I keep them for an historical reference, only.Agreed. I see that response a lot re: east coast vs west coast sound - JBL = rock, AR = jazz etc - and for me it's always been the opposite. I find JBLs to be fatiguing on rock, many rock records are bright and punchy so combined with the JBLs it's too much of a good thing. I find the ARs much more forgiving and take the edge off of a lot of harsh rock recordings - making them much easier to crank up.