JBL speakers are they really that good?

Whats the big fuss about older JBL speaker? I notice that many people seem to pay a lot of money for older JBL speakers, like the L100's and others. Whats the big deal about them, they don't seem like they are that good. For the same price I have seen and purchased much better speakers IMO. How could a simple three way ported speakers compare to a line source or good electrostatic panel pair of speakers.

Lets start with this - Which speakers did you buy so they are better than the JBL?

And which one have you heard?

I think it's a fair question. Even JBL enthusiasts are at a loss for words to describe the insane prices L100s sometimes bring.

I just chalk it up to "I heard these speakers back when and always wanted a pair", as L100s were some of the first speakers I heard in a stereo other than a console. They were an epiphany at the time, but I never owned a pair and wouldn't seek out a pair today.

I went to lots of parties where the tunes were cranked on some 3-way JBLs, I never even saw a pair of electrostatics until years later. So electrostatics don't have that "first" association for I'm sure a lot of others, either.

.......and what were the JBLs being driven by?

No they are not. Buy something else and leave vintage JBL collecting to those with less discriminating tastes than you. Don't be fooled by their glorious history, numerous patents and widespread use in both studios and concert halls the world over. It's all just hype...they all sound bad - all the hundreds of models produced over the 60 year span.
Especially the " high end " horn based systems treasured by the Japanese audio community. Don't believe a word of it. You know better.

What happened to the "Please don't feed the trolls sign? "



Jblnut

JBL speakers are they really that good?

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Compared to Bose - yes.:yes:
Compared to Klipsch - no.

Well, that ought to take care of it.:thmbsp:

I collect them because I feel sorry for them

well, its fair to ask....but some questions are silly to ask, as the responses will be as varied as the number of people of own JBL.

I do agree that the L-100's dont sound nearly as well as the prices they command, but there are many JBL's that sound better than the price they command. I had very very good speakers as well, from Quad ESL-63, 3 different Tannoy setups, Odyssey Loreleis, Talon Raven's, and others, but I still and only use my JBL L-96 now...I think they are That good.

Of course there are better, different and worse speakers, and how they achieve synergy with the thousands of different gear setups make these discussions tough.

I have had;
L77
L99
L65
L45
L100
L55
L19
and L29's
I have sold every pair. I didn't care for them. Sometimes I wonder however, if it was the not caring for them, or the payoff I knew was coming when I sold them, that caused me to let them go. :scratch2:

I generally find JBL's monitor and "pro" speakers, and most of the vintage (pre-Harman) consumer speakers unacceptably harsh/shrill. That said, I have heard several DIYs with JBL components and horns that were quite sweet and real-sounding.

Personally, I far prefer the classic Altec sound to the classic JBL sound... but, obviously, tastes vary, and de gustibus non est disputandum.

There is no doubt that the JBL drivers and horns were carefully and exceptionally well made (still are, by all appearances) as, typically, were the cabinets of JBL systems.

I think the ever expanding asian market is driving prices up for some of the big names, JBL being one of them.

edit....I try not to paint any brand with too big of a brush. I think most of the larger companies that have been at it a while have made some great speakers and some that are not so great.

I have a pair of JBL L112s and will never sell them, they sound that good to me being driven by nice tube amp, DAC and digital source.

A lot of speakers have come and gone, but the L112s are right up there with the best vintage speakers I own (i.e., Dahlquist DQ-10s, ADS L1230s, multiple Econowaves).

Wow Ken, you walked yourself into a potential flame war with that question. It's a credit to the AK philosophy and the members here that the responses have been tempered and well reasoned.

Well, I heard some speakers in a fancy shmancy vintage furniture, etc... store the other day, and they sounded pretty good to my somewhat inexperienced ears. The guy had Thelonius Monk on the turntable and I looked at the speaker price tag and it read: " JBL L110 - $625 / pair. " Mind you this was my first introduction to the JBL L110, and my first time attentively listening to any " decent " vintage speakers, for that matter. I guessed that from the part of town I was in they were overpriced. The store owner's gotta make that monthly lease in Hipsterville... I get it, but they sounded great to me. The list goes on and on, it's like anything - there's always a " better speaker ", but given my room size, what they'd be used for, my tastes, etc... I'd say those JBL's would be fine. Just not for $625. I'll give a listen to a bunch more in different sizes and brands, before making my decision... All suggestions are welcome... My listening room is about 12x18 feet. Thanks

jimreeves said:

Wow Ken, you walked yourself into a potential flame war with that question. It's a credit to the AK philosophy and the members here that the responses have been tempered and well reasoned.

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The only part that bugs me is that so many people think all JBL speakers sound exactly like L100s.

Wow I didn't know I would face a riot just because I simply questioned the merits of why a simple box ported designed speaker with drivers which were not that exotic demand such high prices. I love just surfing the net looking for good deals on classic audio gear espesically speakers, and I always come across scores of JBL's at high prices. Even though they didn't sell for that much new, and are of pretty basic design. I only have three pairs of basic box type enclosure speakers, don't get me wrong I like them but they just don't really seem that good to me. Those are, one pair of Yamaha NS1000m's, a pair of Yamaha NS500m's, and a Infinity QLS-5. Of those three pairs I paid more for the yamaha's than for the QLS-5, but of the three I prefer the Infinity. I didn't pay much for the QLS-5's but I bought them just because they were baby bothers of my larger Infinity's and I thought they would make some good rear surrounds for a home theather set up, which I have never set up. I maybe paid around 100 dollars for the pair, it is a sealed enclosure, with a 12" bass Dual Voice Coil driver which I IMO is far better than that of most JBL 12 drivers. The midrange is I beleive a German made soft dome driver which is incredible sounding and is the same that is used in all of the Older big Infinity QLS line, and the hi frequency driver is one of their EMIT drivers, a magnetic version of a electrostatic ribbon driver. I paid less for the Yamaha NS1000m for many pairs of JBL's I have seen sold and it and the lesser model the 500 use the Be (don't know how to spell it) driver. They have some great Mids and Bass drivers and the crossovers in them are of very good quality. I see that the new top of line JBL everest is using the Be in the mids and hi drivers, took them thirty years to do what Yamaha did in the 80's. The rest of my line of speakers are

Infinity QLS-1's, a six foot 200lb line source di-pole design with 7 forward firing EMIT's,I rear firing EMIT, 6 mid-dome midranges, I beligum mid base driver with rear firing port, and 1 12" Dual Voice Coil bass driver. The QLS was introduced in the 1970's so like the JBL's they are a vintage speaker but unlike the JBL were much more expensive. They were feature by Sterophile magazine in their dream system.
I paid 800 dollars for them, repaired a few drivers, and cleaned them up with some wood polish. I am wondering which pair of JBL's would be on par with them.

Infinity QLS-2's almost the same only it has only three EMIT's and Two mid-domes, I paid 400 for them, but had to refoam the bass driver.

Infinity RS-1b's system of four speaker enclosures, two bass towers each with 6 8 inch servo controlled from a OEM active crossover which has considerable adjustments to suit different room settings, 2 mid hi panels consisting of 7 EMIM's and 3 EMIT's all of which are set in a di-pole arrangement. The entire arrangement around 400 pounds. These to are a vingage set built around 1980or so.

I also have a pair of Kappa 8's which I paid less than a hundred dollars for
A Pair of Kappa 9's both pairs 25 years or older I think.

And I also have a pretty old pair of Phase Linear III's, designed by Bob Carver when he was with Phase Linear. They are two panels of 5 way design, di-pole in that the drivers are firing both front and back 1 super tweeter forward firing, 4 di-pole 360 degree tweeters, two mids one forward firing one rear firing, two mid bass drivers open in the back as a di-pole arrangment, and a bass Commode with two rear firing 12" drivers, all controlled with speaker control module wired between the pre amp and main amp.

Their are so many other kinds of speakers like these that had great reveiws in the days, sold for many times the price of the more simple JBL's, and I would have to say I can't beleive would come near the audio quality of these types but still the JBL's seem to sell for so much money, for what they are. I have heard a few JBL's at friends homes, I found them quite boring, but I question if they were some of JBL's best. Some day I hope to hear someone who has a good system set up with some good JBL's to help me understand the large popularity of the JBL's.

You're right...they come in many flavors. But one should also remember that JBL pretty much defines what some call the West Coast sound. Big sound, punchy, moving bass, forward vocals, and somewhat bright highs (at least in the classic models of that era).

And, as pointed out, above, they've been used in venues as expansive as live Rock, Studio, Cinema, Concert Hall to home.

Too many different JBLs to judge this. But if we're referring primarily to the L100 series, a lot of those are collectors' items. IMO the later Titanium dome series upped the ante for JBL studio monitors (some of those are superb at what they do)!

There are also higher end models that would compete well with some of the speakers mentioned above.

cnh2

mhardy6647 said:

I generally find JBL's monitor and "pro" speakers, and most of the vintage (pre-Harman) consumer speakers unacceptably harsh/shrill. That said, I have heard several DIYs with JBL components and horns that were quite sweet and real-sounding.

Personally, I far prefer the classic Altec sound to the classic JBL sound... but, obviously, tastes vary, and de gustibus non est disputandum.

There is no doubt that the JBL drivers and horns were carefully and exceptionally well made (still are, by all appearances) as, typically, were the cabinets of JBL systems.

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+1. I've sold all the mid size JBL I've owned, except the 4301b's. Each to their own tastes. I now own more BOSE speakers than JBLs.....

OTOH, I've never heard some of the real TOTL, such as L300s, 250tis, 4330s and bigger....:scratch2:

Personally I preferred the L96 over the 100. The L100 was so popular it was the holy grail for my generation (1960-70s).