New to JBL Club

[jaynemo]

My quest for a pair of L100's ended, I found a pair locally-mint cabs (except for bottoms) & mint drivers, pots have a little scratchiness, overall excellent survivors. Already have an order into to son of a gun for new quadrex grills. I plan to either use them as back ground monitors with my Marantz 2270 or possibly 510M/3600 combo.

They are early vertical array models. When exactly were the first L100's introduced and when did they switch to the staggered array pattern?

I always prefer to upgrade caps in all of my vintage speakers, however, peeling off the century labels to remove the x-overs probably is a mistake, they wrinkle up, I'm trying to preserve the resale value of these as much as possible for that day when I'm ready to upgrade up the JBL food chain (or buy new). I also usually mod my gear also, but I'm not touching these want to keep them as original as possible. However, the wire posts on these are aweful (in 30 yr retrospect of course), tight connections are not possible and I'm not taking the chance of shorting out an amp. Havent pulled the woofs yet, but these connectors are the post type and replacing them with good 5 ways looks easy, -try to match a new 5 way pair to the originals (ie same drilled hole size) & keep the original posts on hand. Any thoughts on the degradation of value with updated binding posts? Thanks for any feedback!

[JBLnsince1959]

Welcome to the Club and congrads on a nice score:applaud:

I'll let other people who know more about your questions answer them.

anyway, have fun and enjoy.

[Earl K]

Hi Jay, And welcome to the forum .

- In case you are unawares , this forum is attached to a much larger site that ( among other things ) profiles a bunch of Lansing products that have historical significance .
- One such profile was done on the 4310 / L100 speaker . That profile is found here ! (http://www.audioheritage.org/html/profiles/jbl/l100.htm)


They are early vertical array models. When exactly were the first L100's introduced and when did they switch to the staggered array pattern?

- The "L100 profile" doesn't directly answer your "inline" question but there are some tidbits of good info in there .
- It seems to me the "inline" was introduced at the 1970 launch date and then phased out within a year or two . ( Though, that's just my interpretation of the written text, loosely translated into the "reason" for the "inlines" different look ) .


I always prefer to upgrade caps in all of my vintage speakers, however, peeling off the century labels to remove the x-overs probably is a mistake, they wrinkle up, I'm trying to preserve the resale value of these as much as possible for that day when I'm ready to upgrade up the JBL food chain (or buy new). I also usually mod my gear also, but I'm not touching these want to keep them as original as possible.

- Nowadays, it seems most L100 enthusiasts don't part with their L100s / they simply add onto their collection of JBL speakers .

- So, my advice ; enjoy these speakers for what they are and don't worry too much about the future resale value .

- Others here have had good success with removing those fragile foilcals ( without crinkling them ) by using a heat gun ( paint stripper ) or hair dryer to first soften the underlying glue ( and then gently lifting with a putty knife ) . I would add that one should protect any nearby components from the heat by employing a "heat dam" .

- The simplistic crossover will respond nicely to recapping with your favourite sounding capacitors / so / I would recommend that you indulge yourself in your tried & true habits of making mods . This is an effort well worth it from others testamonials .

- One beauty of the network design is that the woofer has no inline inductor . It runs flat out, up to it's natural roll-off . So, the highish Qts of the woofer ( aound .5 ) isn't made anyworse by the presence of an inline coil . IMHO, this is one " contributing factor " behind the attraction many have for the sound of the L100/4310 .
- The L100/4310 is an immediate and fun sounding speaker with its' own unique forward presence . I have to admit that I was quite surprised how much I liked them when I first heard a friends' pair of old 4310s ( though they did have replacement / no-name tweeters in them ) .


Any thoughts on the degradation of value with updated binding posts? Thanks for any feedback!

- As you can imagine from the above statements, I would simply buy something that seems to fit the holes for the existing binding posts. Perhaps if you are worried about maintaining the speakers "future investment value" / you could explore / removing "in whole" any existing wooden plate holding the original terminals. Again, a heat gun will be of great value to soften any old glue .


Okay , my rambling time is over <> :)

[Ian Mackenzie]

Welcome to the Club and congrads on a nice score:applaud:

I'll let other people who know more about your questions answer them.

anyway, have fun and enjoy.

Wrong Thread...Wrong Model.....LOL:D

[Titanium Dome]

Many L100 doubters and many believers here...

You have to forgive Ian, he's standing upside down at the moment. :spin:

Some see the L100 as the speaker that "made" JBL a household name, while others see it as the bane of all the great JBLs because it gave the public a wrong impression of what true JBLs were all about.

I have two pairs of the inline L100 Century models, so I'm a big fan. My first pair were the first JBLs I ever owned and the first JBLs I bought brand new. I've had them longer than my ex-wife (28 years) and my kids (30, 32, and 33), so I'm pretty attached to them after 36 years. I have lots of other JBLs, many of which cost lots more, but the L100s have always given me pleasure.

Once you take the speaker binding posts out, it's pretty simple to sub in some better posts using the stock holes, which you can get from most electronic shops, even Radio Shack. Save the old ones in case you ever sell them to a "original vintage" nut who needs only OEM stuff. Otherwise, the new posts will be worlds better that the originals.

Earl gave some great advice, which I recommend you follow.

Good luck.

[boputnam]

...peeling off the century labels to remove the x-overs probably is a mistake, they wrinkle upNot necessarily the outcome. SEARCH here for "foilcal removal" "foilcal" etc, and you will find some very clever methods for removal of these. It involves a hot sweaty iron, and patience. It can and has been done with great success.


...Any thoughts on the degradation of value with updated binding posts?Go to PartsExpress.com and search for posts of diameter that match the existing holes, and provide the upgrade you want. This upgrade will enhance resale value, if that is your concern.

I'm not a fan of the L100, but appreciate your enthusiasm for them. Go slow, treat them carefully and there will be only improvements from your efforts.

[JBLnsince1959]

Wrong Thread...Wrong Model.....LOL:D

:rotfl:

[jaynemo]

I sure know parts express well! I will have to research the foilcal removal a bit more. Are the cap values in the x-overs labeled on them? If not, perhaps someone can tell me the values? Also, does any one know the value rating of the pots? :)

[Zilch]

This maybe?

http://manuals.harman.com/JBL/HOM/Technical%20Sheet/L100%20CENTURY%20ts.pdf

[jaynemo]

Thanks for the excellent info! I will have to see if the L-pads are available from JBL, although parts express probably has a comparable replacement....