JBL L100

Cosmic Charlie

Well-Known Member
Just got back from Goodwill Norwich Ct. w/ a pair of JBL L100 Centurys in very good condition. I'm stoked the price was $24.99 apiece, but I got a 25% discount because of points accumulated from past purchases I did not know I had, total price $39 and change out the door. I haven't tried them out yet, but will before evening. Everything looks original. drivers, grill, badges, all look in very good shape. I took pics w/ my phone and when I figure out how to email them to my laptop I will post, and report sound quality. This is the same goodwill that a few years back I scored some Pioneer HPM 100's in likewise condition, with a Pioneer SX-750 thrown in for around $60. Have a Merry Christmas everyone, I know I will. CC
 
Just got finished listening to Led Zepplin thru the JBL's and they sound terrific. Had to jerry rig the connectors where the speaker wire connects, but nothing a few alligator clips can't fix. It looks like a small plastic bag taped to the back of one speakers containing the springs and red, and black
button thingy's, looks like the parts are there, just gotta see if I can reassemble properly. If not maybe I can replace w/ something, altho I would like to keep them as original as possible. They sound great and the boxes are almost perfect. The grills altho mostly intact do show some wear, but who am I to complain. Didn't mean to torture, or upset anybody, just passing along my own fortunate purchase. I'd still like to post pics. Good luck to everyone in their pursuit of quality vintage electronics. CC
 
Just got finished listening to Led Zepplin thru the JBL's and they sound terrific. Had to jerry rig the connectors where the speaker wire connects, but nothing a few alligator clips can't fix. It looks like a small plastic bag taped to the back of one speakers containing the springs and red, and black
button thingy's, looks like the parts are there, just gotta see if I can reassemble properly. If not maybe I can replace w/ something, altho I would like to keep them as original as possible. They sound great and the boxes are almost perfect. The grills altho mostly intact do show some wear, but who am I to complain. Didn't mean to torture, or upset anybody, just passing along my own fortunate purchase. I'd still like to post pics. Good luck to everyone in their pursuit of quality vintage electronics. CC

Terrific is the right word. I got better speakers than the L100 but I still own a pair and there is something special in the way they sound
 
I think I may try and reassemble the originals, but if unsuccessful, will replace w/ something appropriate. I just hooked them up to my Onkyo TX8511 receiver, just to see if they function. I've looked around the web and noticed a lot of people prefer the modded X-overs, will certainly consider. I'd like to hook them up to my Pioneer SA-9500, and A B them with the HPM 100's. The grills kind of crumble when touched, but they are probably 85% intact.48080926_280905772770271_5761807174292471808_n.jpg 48272853_261120511226286_116727551723831296_n.jpg
 
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I've looked around the web and noticed a lot of people prefer the modded X-overs, will certainly consider.

They didn't use any low pass filters on the mid and tweeter, just high pass caps. So there is a frequency band around 1-2k that is REALLY hot. Many times you won't even notice it, but on the right recording (or the wrong recording depending on your perspective) it is really like fingernails on a chalkboard. But it made them perfect studio monitors at the time because that is where pocket transistor radios were hot also, so music mixed on L100s tended to sound great on portables and the small factory car stereos of that era. That box is three really excellent drivers in need of some good electronics in front of them to get them to play nice together.

I also wouldn't worry about adding binding posts either. I am all for keeping things original, but it is done often enough that I don't think it will devalue them any.
 
Binding posts? The originals work find if you're just leaving them alone, if you want to hook/unhook wires often then I'd change them, ... mine are hooked to a switch so stay hooked up all of the time.

Mark's correct, the mix was designed to favor the radios that most were using at the time, but they have an iconic sound that many love.

Crossovers depend on the version, there were: L100, L100A and L100A-late versions. The simplest crossover is the L100-late.

I'm going from memory here (stuck in Utah for the week), but believe that the other differences include L100 has the LE20 tweeter, L100A went to the LE25 tweeter but still the LE5 mid, then the L100A-late has the LE5-2 mid.
 
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