In good shape with the right parts, grills, glass top and such they are worth over $2000. The fact that they are for sale for much less implies you need to put some money into them to make them right. It depends on how much money you are willing to work with to get these in good shape. Someone put non-standard woofers in them. So - if you are willing to drop $400-500 for the right woofers you can get them much closer to stock.
If not, let someone else know where they are so they can have a look at them and figure if they want to invest in a hacked-up pair of speakers.
He never had the original woofers... he thought they were the originals. He did not know what he had. I have sold them actually...
The speakers are no longer sold. I did some research on how easy it could be for a buyer to screw me using paypal, and I did not want to risk that. I think I will look to fix these speakers, probably gradually, as I get the money and parts.
Scroe of the year! Just use them as is until you can find/afford a pair of 136A woofers. I really doubt that anyone messed with the crossovers, as just getting to the components is a real chore. It sounds like you read my L300/PayPal horror story thread.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=599477
I don't take PayPal (fee) for expensive freight items anymore.
Not sure what you mean about the April 1st thing. Would it be a cardinal sin to install some relatively inexpensive woofers until the proper replacement comes along? I would like to have better than junk car subwoofers installed to hear in them.
those would probably work for now, but that's $150 you could put towards a pair of 136A's
Sorry to pop in like this after 3 days of this thread. Interesting progression, buy/flip/retain. Personally, my answer is always to retain if you got such a great deal on most of the guts of the L300. Owning vintage JBL speakers, especially the more sought after models, takes some intestinal fortitude and many times some dollars. JBL's are built very well, generally sound good, and retain and many times increase their value over time. I know what I say, having owned 2 working pairs, plus 3 working pairs of the similar 4333/4331 pro monitors.
This is an iconic speaker design, one that sounds pretty good (depending on your tastes of course) and has a very distinct look and appearance, assuming the grilles are in good shape, and the veneers are ok or restorable, and the glass on top is ok. The glass is easily replicated by any glass shop, just be sure to put 1/4" black foamboard under them, and then get 1/4" beveled black or smoked glass cut to fit. Search AK about how to steam out scratches, lightly sand the veneer, and then use a good finishing method to renew their very considerable beauty - many like to use Howard Restor-A-Finish (light walnut or neutral here - dark walnut is too dark) followed by Feed-N-Wax. Or you could use a good Tung oil or Danish oil (with or without light walnut coloring). Either way, they can become a prized piece of furniture as well as speaker system, and you'll go a long way towards making them look good, enhancing their value.
As for the drivers, if the mid/horn and tweeter are playing, for now, no need to get into them or open them up. Yes, it is important to get the L91 or 2308 (JBL Professional number) slant acoustic lens to provide the proper midrange sound dispersion. They are available used from Ebay, or from Kenrick in Japan in reproductions, also available on Ebay. For now, you can use the speakers without them, just angle them in just a bit towards your listening position, but not fully towards you.
As for the woofers, suggest you search for the JBL professional model 2235H as the most common updated version of the original JBL 136A/136H - 2231A/2231H woofers, all of which are harder to find in good condition or quantity, and they tend to be a bit more expensive.
These speakers are, for some, fantastic sounding speakers, very easy to drive (efficient) and make a lot of different music sound wonderful. They have an effortless quality to them when driven with very good and powerful amplifiers.
However, for some, they can be a bit bright (easy to turn down with the front baffle controls) and can easily show bad recordings to be bad sounding, which some blame the speaker for. Some find that if they are elevated about 12 inches off the ground, the bass tightens up a lot by reducing floor reinforcement of the woofer. Of course, have help to lift and be very certain what you put them on top of can handle the weight and support them evenly.
Be forewarned that to do the above will require some $$$ over time saved up and spent as the parts become available. If you think the current woofers sound at least decent, leave them in and save up for the correct JBL woofers listed above. $150 in the right situation could buy one good JBL woofer already.
By slowly investing in getting the right woofers and the lenses (and slightly cracked ones may be cheaper but I think the repros are very good), and putting some of your own time (and maybe the wife's time) into restoring the cabinets, you'll have something that very few have, and many others want, at a price that will be a conversation and story for your lifetime. Pride of ownership and all that counts for something too.
Now, however, if your finances are tight, and your needs are greater, then IMHO, hang onto them, get them cleaned up as best you can, and take some time to decide what you will do with them. In their current condition, they can easily increase your investment, depending on whether you part out or get them shipped whole. Its a shame to part them out IMHO though, but that's me. Whole L300 systems are still pretty rare.
