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My quest for JBL L 100 T a fascinating tale

B

bobspets

Well-Known Member
It was a dark and stormy night... woops wrong story.
So I have always wanted a pair of JBL L 100 T. It was never anything I thought I would achieve. How could I afford that? I'm still not sure I can, but read on. So I found a guy who had a pair and I thought what the hell I'll go take a look, at least I'll be able to feast my eyes on them. I get there and I'm all jazzed up to see (And hear) them he shows E'm to me. He painted the damn things black! What the hell! I could not believe someone could commit such a sacrilege to gorgeous wood grain cabinets, but wait the tale gets scarier. Not only did he paint the cabinets, but he replaced the woofers with some aftermarket crap, that's right he replaced the woofers! Apparently in a misguided attempt to find more bass. So I tell him all the mistakes he made and how that just destroys the value. I figure he'll stick to his guns and I'll go home disappointed. Well... I offer him $50 and he takes it! I did not prepare ahead (Lesson learned) and I have to take my Honda Accord home to take out some stuff so I can get the speakers in. I'm back and I start to pick one of these things up and just about bust a gut. I get it over to the car and I'm thinkin' Is this going in there? well with a little fenageling I manage to get em in and away I go.

Fortunately the paint seems to be coming off fairly easily, although some of it is still tenaciously sticking. I'd welcome suggestions on removing the paint without damaging the cabinets.
Now I need to see if I can afford to replace the woofers with originals. Well... Changed my mind Decided to let these go.

Stay tuned I'm going to post pics as soon as I find out how to do that.
 
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did ya ask him if he still had the old woofers? Acetone is the solvent to use. Unless JBL used solvent based glue to glue on the veneer. Of which i have no clue.
 
You could cut your loss at fifty dollars and take a chance on finding a pair of woofers priced within your willingness to pay.
There is one being offered on Ebay at this very moment.
 
bobspets said:
It was a dark and stormy night... woops wrong story.
So I have always wanted a pair of JBL L 100 T. It was never anything I thought I would achieve. How could I afford that? I'm still not sure I can, but read on. So I found a guy who had a pair and I thought what the hell I'll go take a look, at least I'll be able to feast my eyes on them. I get there and I'm all jazzed up to see (And hear) them he shows E'm to me. He painted the damn things black! What the hell! I could not believe someone could commit such a sacrilege to gorgeous wood grain cabinets, but wait the tale gets scarier. Not only did he paint the cabinets, but he replaced the woofers with some aftermarket crap, that's right he replaced the woofers! Apparently in a misguided attempt to find more bass. So I tell him all the mistakes he made and how that just destroys the value. I figure he'll stick to his guns and I'll go home disappointed. Well... I offer him $50 and he takes it!

Fortunately the paint seems to be coming off fairly easily, although some of it is still tenaciously sticking. I'd welcome suggestions on removing the paint without damaging the cabinets.
Now I need to see if I can afford to replace the woofers with originals. Who knows maybe I can make a trade, look for posts in Barter Town on that.

Stay tuned I'm going to post pics as soon as I find out how to do that.
Click to expand...
Most paint removers will do the job. Most will not stain the wood (assuming real wood veneer, not familiar enough with them). I've used this method to take 40 years worth of paint off doors and trim inside our home. Scrapping takes far to long, but is another option, with a paint scraper, not just any scraper.

Those woofers do turn up. If I recall correctly they use foam surrounds so keep an eye for a pair that need foam, you'll likely get a better deal that way.

Good luck!
 
bobspets said:
It was a dark and stormy deal
Click to expand...

Sorry for correction, seemed more appropriate.

I would look on the plus side, you will one day find a pair of woofers, look how long you waited for a pair of these speakers. On the down side, I am sure that the remaining drivers are worth all of what you paid, plus the cabinets.

Good find.

Pete
 
Copa1934 said:
Most paint removers will do the job. Most will not stain the wood (assuming real wood veneer, not familiar enough with them). I've used this method to take 40 years worth of paint off doors and trim inside our home. Scrapping takes far to long, but is another option, with a paint scraper, not just any scraper.

Those woofers do turn up. If I recall correctly they use foam surrounds so keep an eye for a pair that need foam, you'll likely get a better deal that way.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Yeah 2214H is what you are looking for, I found 2 sets of L100T components on CL, and decent empty cabinets too, all in one month, so they do turn up from time to time. Just watch out for ones that have been stored face down or face to face, the foam protrudes from the front, and the spiders get pushed in. Look for perfectly flat spiders and you'll be OK.

I once took all the white paint off an old door because it was painted on only one side, or so I thought. Decided to also strip the "wood" side, big mistake...

Turned out the wood grain had been hand painted on cheap plywood panels. The frame was at least redwood, but the grain is pretty sad now, compared to what the artist made me believe I was gong to see under the "stain"...

L100T's have fairly thin veneer, so heavy sanding is NOT advised.
 
Personally, I'd part them. The tweeters alone will triple your investment. Then put that money toward buying a complete pair of L100Ts. In my experience, you'll pay less for a pair of complete speaker systems locally than you'll pay for two woofers alone on Ebay.

I wouldn't have passed them up either for fifty-bucks. But then I paid $50 for a pair of L80Ts in need of surrounds and probably came out ahead of what you got. If you find a pair of woofers, fantastic, but I'd consider the alternative route to your goal of L100Ts.
 
BMWCCA said:
Personally, I'd part them. The tweeters alone will triple your investment. Then put that money toward buying a complete pair of L100Ts. In my experience, you'll pay less for a pair of complete speaker systems locally than you'll pay for two woofers alone on Ebay.

I wouldn't have passed them up either for fifty-bucks. But then I paid $50 for a pair of L80Ts in need of surrounds and probably came out ahead of what you got. If you find a pair of woofers, fantastic, but I'd consider the alternative route to your goal of L100Ts.
Click to expand...

That's something to think about, but you just don't see this stuff on CL or at garage sales around here. It's taken me years to find a pair I could afford. :music:
 
4343 said:
Yeah 2214H is what you are looking for, I found 2 sets of L100T components on CL, and decent empty cabinets too, all in one month, so they do turn up from time to time. Just watch out for ones that have been stored face down or face to face, the foam protrudes from the front, and the spiders get pushed in. Look for perfectly flat spiders and you'll be OK.

I once took all the white paint off an old door because it was painted on only one side, or so I thought. Decided to also strip the "wood" side, big mistake...

Turned out the wood grain had been hand painted on cheap plywood panels. The frame was at least redwood, but the grain is pretty sad now, compared to what the artist made me believe I was gong to see under the "stain"...

L100T's have fairly thin veneer, so heavy sanding is NOT advised.
Click to expand...

Nice finds. You just don't see that stuff around here. Thanks for the heads up on the veneer.
 
bogle111 said:
Sorry for correction, seemed more appropriate.

I would look on the plus side, you will one day find a pair of woofers, look how long you waited for a pair of these speakers. On the down side, I am sure that the remaining drivers are worth all of what you paid, plus the cabinets.

Good find.

Pete
Click to expand...

Good point, there is positive and negative in every situation.:music:
 
So I'm getting more of the paint off and it doesn't look so pretty. Looks like there is a mold/mildew like substance beneath the paint. Yeah I know still working on the photos. Tried to remove one of the tweeters and it would not budge. Where do I go from here?
 
Take out the woofer, reach around the mid-range enclosure and smack the back of the tweeter to remove it. Be very careful when you remove the Faston connectors from the tweeter as you can break the fine wire to the diaphragm if you move the connectors. Don't wiggle them!
 
BMWCCA said:
Take out the woofer, reach around the mid-range enclosure and smack the back of the tweeter to remove it. Be very careful when you remove the Faston connectors from the tweeter as you can break the fine wire to the diaphragm if you move the connectors. Don't wiggle them!
Click to expand...

Ok I see the strategy, but isn't there a good chance of damaging the tweeter by smacking it?
 
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