JBL L80t '80s vintage for $60

I walked into a local pawn shop and I saw a decent looking pair of JBL 3 way speakers with the Titanium tweeters. I've been jonesin for a new pair of speakers and I wanted to kill the urge before I bought a pair of 6 foot high 100 pound electrostats.

They're a pair of L80t IIRC. Three way with an 8" (or was it 10") woofer ported in back. I didn't have space in the car so I put them on layaway with a small down payment.

I searched on AK, the Heritage site and googled but I couldn't find any info on this specific speaker. I know its probably a mid 80s $400 speaker but no reviews. Any opinions? My current Jamo Magic 14 have surprisingly tight bass for a ported box and I'd like to spend some quality time with an affordable JBL that can whip out some good bass. One version of the L80 went down to 40Hz.

I had one of those, that I found at the Salvation Army. I could not find another one so I parted it out on eBay, it brought in over $200 for the parts. It sounded good to me, but it is hard to tell with just one. I never would have parted it out if I could have found another one. Let me know if you can use a grille, I still have that somewhere.

JBL L-80T

Here Ya Go:

http://www.jbl.com/home/product_support/default.asp?ProdId=L80T

Specs for the L80T3 can be found here:

http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/jbl/specs/home-speakers/1988-l-series.htm

This system is identical to the L80T with the exception of minor x-over changes. I've attached the tech sheet for your system.

Thanks Raycomics. Never thought that JBL might have vintage product info. I'm *way* too used to companies ignoring products older than 5 years.

Don C: I might take you up on the grille if its the 6 peg style with rounded edges. The speakers have busted pegs on both grilles and that's why the price was low. I tried turning them upside down (the broken pegs were on the top) but they're assymetrical.

I saw these and I immediately thought these were a relative of the legendary L100 (and indirectly the also-legendary HPM-100). I've never seen an L100 in person - just webshots. Never knew the HPM-100 was a knockoff of the L100.

Haven't found any reviews of the L80t but reviews of other models in the Lxxx-t line (like the L100t) called it well balanced and dynamic with a better high end than the original L100. Can anybody add more?

FYI the listening room these guys will live in is rather small. They will be about a foot away from the back wall and I can't get them any farther out without a major hassle. I'd also like to put them on stands so the tweeters & mids are close to ear level. Might need to switch back to my old, short stands.

I think the lack of info on the web helped keep the price low. There weren't any L80ts on ebay so they had to go by the bluebook.

Holy $@!#... L80T's for $60???

GO GET THEM NOW.

IMHO, that was one of the top-five best JBL consumer speakers of its era, along with the 250Ti, 240Ti, 120Ti and L100T. IMHO, the L80T had better tonal balance than either the L100T or 240Ti... it was as good as the more-expensive 120Ti, but with more low bass to boot.

That was always one of the speakers I'd loved to have owned, at that time. Even now, they're still good enough, to supplant most things I'd be interested in...

Regards,
Gordon.

I'm with Gordon go get them. They are a 4410's in consumer grab.
Same drivers, bigger cabinet, different crossovers, Nice speakers.

Rob

Don't worry folks - the L80ts are not going to get away. I put $20 down on layaway so they're sitting in the back room waiting for me to come up with the other $40.

Anybody want some Sony suitcase RTRs or a Dual 1019 w/o cart? Would like to unload them before I bring another set of speakers home.

They're here!

Finally shipped off the last set of speakers to Kentucky so now I can bring a new pair into the apartment. Well, not tonight as I am dead tired and it'll be Wednesday at the earliest before I get them in the main system.

One thing I did notice while putting them in the car is that the grilles on one are fine but the sockets they plug into on the speaker face are missing. The holes are there but the plastic inserts look like the outer ring broke and the rest got pushed into the cabinet. It doesn't really matter as I could just pull off the grilles but I'd like to fix them properly.

I'll post photos once they get inside Castle McCormick.

L-80T Reviews are....

Here: http://www.audioreview.com/Main+Speaker/JBL+L80T/PRD_119741_1594crx.aspx

L-80T

Pics:

Pics

Pt II

I finally hauled them in and hooked them up to the Au9500. All drivers work but I don't want to crank the guys at 11PM. Photos as promised.

Not bad!! A little TLC and they will be looking good. I have the same problem on my L80t3 where the vernier has faded compared to the vernier behind the grills. You may be able to find the rubber gromets that are missing on some of the peg holes. I have used a soft brush and then a slightly damp cloth to clean the yuck of the woofers. The mids have a tacky coating. If you try to remove the tweeter screens watch the O- rings for cracks before you do. If they look dried out leave them be or they might fall apart if you try to pull the screens to clean under them. Try a brush, like the bigs one women use for blush. They are natural bristles, very soft and work great.

Rob

Couple months ago I passed exact same pair in much better shape which owner was begging for $50. No regrets though, too many speakers, too little time for ebay.

Hooked 'em up...

Somehow I managed to haul these 60lb cabs into my room and fit them in. One of them literally didn't have a millimeter to spare on the sides between a filing cab and my gear rack. Since both tip the scales at over 200lbs apiece I was relieved.

Unfortunately, I think the speakers are too big for my room. They are about a foot from the rear wall and the bass is excessive. I'll give them a week or two but I think I'll have to set them up downstairs in the living room. In my bedroom I can be at most 6ft from the speakers and they are about 5ft apart. Not exactly the golden triangle... Downstairs I can be 8ft from each. Much closer to the right ratio, correct?

I did find a replacement for the grille mounts. In another thread I needed a power switch for a Marantz 2230 and somebody suggested using a wall anchor to fill out a switch cap. Then I realized, the grille mounts were just wall anchors. Duh...:withstpd:

I couldn't get the rear of the anchor to lock against the inside of the cab but they hold the grilles nicely after I reamed them out.

Oh, one last thing. I was moving some huge piles of stuff around while I was testing them and after I stuck a huge box about 2 ft in front of the speakers (midway from each) suddenly they sounded a lot different. Did I break up a room node or was this a case of blocking intra-aural crosstalk?

I have a pair of L100T's in great condition. I bought them original in 86' or 87'. They are fantastic speakers. I'm just concerned about get them restored / refurbished in the future. I don't think JBL offers woofer replacements anymore. Any suggestions for restoring / reconing these puppies? Any help would be appreciated.

D

Replacement woofers are still available from JBL. The pro equivalent of this system, the 4412 monitor, is still in production. Regardless, the woofers should not need to be replaced unless they have been physically damaged. The most common rehab problem is deteriorated foam surrounds. Search this forum for detailed advice on how to fix this yourself. If you need further details about your speakers, you can find spec sheets on our Lansing Heritage site along with a forum that has other L100T owners as members.

Thanks Don! I'll check out the site.

Dennis

I was on my way to meet a friend and I stopped at a local GW. I haven't found anything there for months so my expectations were low.

Patience pays off.

Next to a cheap pair of American Acoustics three ways were another pair of L80ts for $30 sitting on their side on the bottom shelf of the electronics area. The grills had the usual broken pegs and some idiot decided to drive some wood screws about 1/2" into the cabinet. At first I though it was some insane attempt to secure some areas of veneer that were separating but the bozo did the same thing on the bottom of the cab. He must have been stinking drunk when he did it because the bottom screw was driven in at a 30 degree angle.