Why Do People Pay more For JBL L100 / 4312 Speakers but then.......

Most People here, from reading thread after thread, carry little respect for JBL L100s. But then when we look at what is selling, perfect example being Epay, JBL L100s in excellent shape, with Grills, command over 1,000 dollars! While at the same time the majority of folks here swear by other JBL speakers like L100Ts. Then why is it that JBL L100s command premium prices / value?

They must be good. Ok so my personal Experience is this, I have three sets of L100s, and one 4312. I kept my most minty L100s and sold the rest for a nice money, and even sold off some L100Ts as I was not impressed. I really liked the L100s more. They sound warmer, they are smaller, and they just have a tonal color that sounds better to me than me than the L100Ts.

My question is why do people consistently pay such high prices for an item the audio community has little respect for?
My Frustration lies in the Negative feelings of the L100s here on AK, as I sit and admire my most minty L100s and 4312s.

Jealous, We all have our favorites and I'm with you!

Why do people pay more for certain classic Mustangs and Corvettes and Ferraris? Because they're freaking classics, man. They won't outperform many more modern cars, but a lot of people love to own them, look at them, drive them, show them off, have them recognized by others.

....

I sold both my L100s* and 4311s, but I miss them. I would love to have a pair of L100s right now, with blue or orange waffle grills. They're just plain beautiful to my eyes, and they're a lot of fun to rock out to.

*Random confession time: I once parted out some mint L100s! :cry: I would never do that now.

Some people have special ability to hear that special sound from the logos more than the sound from drivers.
I, for some reason, can never hear what sound the logos have. :headscrat

tommyjonBois said:

Most People here, from reading thread after thread, carry little respect for JBL L100s. But then when we look at what is selling, perfect example being Epay, JBL L100s in excellent shape, with Grills, command over 1,000 dollars! While at the same time the majority of folks here swear by other JBL speakers like L100Ts. Then why is it that JBL L100s command premium prices / value?

They must be good. Ok so my personal Experience is this, I have three sets of L100s, and one 4312. I kept my most minty L100s and sold the rest for a nice money, and even sold off some L100Ts as I was not impressed. I really liked the L100s more. They sound warmer, they are smaller, and they just have a tonal color that sounds better to me than me than the L100Ts.

My question is why do people consistently pay such high prices for an item the audio community has little respect for?
My Frustration lies in the Negative feelings of the L100s here on AK, as I sit and admire my most minty L100s and 4312s.

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Clearly a conspiracy and it must be stopped immediately! Damn them....damn them all!!! (Where's the "tongue-in-cheek" emoticon?)

*Confession time: I once parted out some mint L100s! :cry: I would never do that now.[/QUOTE]

What the f.....??? What the hell was that all about?
Zilch was right about the L100.They are a fun speaker and that's alright by me.

No one ever said cost and value were directly related.

Once you've opened up a pair of them you really begin to appreciate how well made they were....except for the minimalist crossover and crappy binding posts. One day I'll do the do the Dennis Murphy crossover upgrade on mine just to see if it is a noticeable improvement.

donprice said:

Once you've opened up a pair of them you really begin to appreciate how well made they were....except for the minimalist crossover and crappy binding posts.

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Troo dat.

donprice said:

No one ever said cost and value were directly related.

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Exactly.

Besides, eb*y sales trends and prices don't always reflect true market reality imo. This, and the auction part of eb*y, just kinda throws the whole thing out the window in terms of cost/value.

Everybody has different preferences. The majority of non-audiokarma type people like big, powerful bass and in-your-face type sound. While L100's may not be the best speaker JBL made, many people prefer the "fun" sounding speakers over the more accurate, flat speakers. I've never heard L100's, so I don't personally understand.

superdog said:

*Confession time: I once parted out some mint L100s! :cry: I would never do that now.

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What the f.....??? What the hell was that all about?
Zilch was right about the L100.They are a fun speaker and that's alright by me.[/QUOTE]
Having once owned a 66, then 65 and then another 66 and now a 69 and 79 mustang I know all too well a mustang needs a LOT of help to compete with anything today. But plain jane stock, good grief what I could have gotten for those buggers today. As much as I love them, and have owned my share, they ain't worth what people pay for them.

I think the same applies to speakers, but also agree it's like a sentimental, nostalgic type of thing.

Don't get me started on the 1965 Mustang my father had, pony interior, HiPo 289. 4 on the floor, air conditioning, rally wheels and all factory and he was the second owner. And of course Red and Black. Oh I wish he had kept that car! Then there was the Goat. Ahhh!!!!

Mystery said:

Some people have special ability to hear that special sound from the logos more than the sound from drivers.
I, for some reason, can never hear what sound the logos have. :headscrat

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Ooooh.... Ouch. That one's gonna' burn a few fingers...

Zonker92 said:

Why do people pay more for certain Mustangs and Corvettes and Ferraris? Because they're freaking classics, man. They won't outperform many cars, but many people love to own them, look at them, drive them, show them off, have them recognized by others.

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I LIKE my Bentley Continentals... They sound gooood... I wonder what the '67 GTO of hi-fi speakers would be. Altec Valencia maybe? Or would it be the Bozak Symhony?

I agree about stylish speakers. I was never a fan of modern, black tower speakers. Even a skyscraper needs a little style, and a lot of them just spell b-l-a-h to me. But I also don't like a speaker with a huge, gawky, dayglow-blue horn sticking out the top either (I've seen a couple like that in the uber-speaker crowd).

FMB42 said:

Exactly.

Besides, eb*y sales trends and prices don't always reflect true market reality imo. This, and the auction part of eb*y, just kinda throws the whole thing out the window in terms of cost/value.

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The 'completed listings' section (or whatever it was called) was a decent reflection of the market (at least the Eb*y market), but they got rid of that, didn't they?

I can still access completed listings, but maybe I have to be logged in with my password before I can access those listings. It's a box to check on the left column of the search page.

Looks like L100s are $300-900 a pair these days, depending on condition.

Back in '76 I lusted :drool: after JBL L100's at Musicraft, I was 20 years old. All my buddies wanted them also but we could never afford them at $300 each plus tax. I can't remember what I was making per hour it was a lot less then I make now.

After 36 years I finally own a pair that came from the original owner. Build quality is excellent and I think they sound really good to my ears without mods and make me want to crank up some ole rock n' roll. My wife loves them!

If she's happy with those JBL's, bring them on!!

Their a piece if history so they are priced accordingly. Is 500-1k really that much money? Go to Best Buy and look their junk.

Copa1934 said:

Having once owned a 66, then 65 and then another 66 and now a 69 and 79 mustang I know all too well a mustang needs a LOT of help to compete with anything today. But plain jane stock, good grief what I could have gotten for those buggers today. As much as I love them, and have owned my share, they ain't worth what people pay for them.

I think the same applies to speakers, but also agree it's like a sentimental, nostalgic type of thing.

Don't get me started on the 1965 Mustang my father had, pony interior, HiPo 289. 4 on the floor, air conditioning, rally wheels and all factory and he was the second owner. And of course Red and Black. Oh I wish he had kept that car! Then there was the Goat. Ahhh!!!!

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Back in the day, my father drove a mid '60's Mini Cooper S. Raced it too (and won... A LOT) and my mother drove a 1970 Pontiac LeMans Sport with a steel crank 350 and a 3-on-the-floor Muncie. That Pontiac was sick, and my dad had stripped that Mini down to probably 1000lbs when he was racing it (The Vettes and Porsches would catch him on the straightaway, but he would lose them in the turns).

tommyjonBois said:

My Frustration lies in the Negative feelings of the L100s here on AK, as I sit and admire my most minty L100s and 4312s.

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Why does that make you frustrated? If they make you happy, who cares what people on AK or anywhere else think of L100s?

@ SteelGlam, Because I respect the majority feelings of people on AK. I just find it hard to swallow the L100s Significant Value vs the Negative Feelings.

Other times, AK, has led me to fruitful decisions, for example, choosing a Pioneer SX-1250 over a SX-1280. Examples like that.....

tommyjonBois said:

@ SteelGlam, Because I respect the majority feelings of people on AK. I just find it hard to swallow the L100s Significant Value vs the Negative Feelings.

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But at the end of the day, the only important thing is how they sound to you. It's nothing to fret about. Just enjoy them and the fact that you've found speakers with which you are satisfied.

tommyjonBois said:

@ SteelGlam, Because I respect the majority feelings of people on AK. I just find it hard to swallow the L100s Significant Value vs the Negative Feelings.

Other times, AK, has led me to fruitful decisions, for example, choosing a Pioneer SX-1250 over a SX-1280. Examples like that.....

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You gotta keep in mind there are lots of different folks here all with different trajectories and goals. The L100 tends to be a catalyst for volatile discussion for several reasons....value and sentiment to name a few. Many agree they're fun to listen to, built well, and are a solid choice for many in the hobby. Many also agree they're overpriced, antiquated, and far from the last word in fidelity.

And neither is wrong.

Where you situate yourself in the landscape of those two perspectives will be dictated by your trajectory and goals in the hobby. For those who have a soft spot for that era of audio, the JBL nameplate, and just want a great sounding set of speakers they represent a solid choice. For those who explore the frontier of audio performance beyond what the L100's are capable of they're generally regarded as limited in performance with a poor dollar to performance ratio (if not a safe investment, at least).

So you sure as hell shouldn't take it personally if there are some who are vocal about where they are positioned wrt how the L100 fits into their personal scenario. Could I sit and enjoy some time spent with L100's? Yeah, I think I could. Would they leave me wanting for more? There's not a doubt in my mind about that. I've heard better...much better....and, like they say, "you can't unhear something".