JBL L110 against JBL L3

[jan_slagman]

Hi Friends,

I have the opportunity to change a pair of my JBL L3 loudspeakers for a pair of JBL L110 loudspeakers. The owner says one tweeter might have had a little dent, but the former owner had carefully removed the dent. Is it possible to remove the phenolic diaphragm and to remove a dent from the backside of the dome ?
Do you guys think this is a good deal.
The seller says they sound 100% and they are still looking good.
Please let me have your comments.

With kind regards,

Jan Slagman
The Netherlands

[BMWCCA]

I think most here will tell you to make the trade. L3s are actually sort of so-so and there are many L110 fans in this group. :applaud:

If you were talking L5 I'd tell you to sit tight with what you have.

[KromeDome]

I would do it, Jan. The L110 is not really that well known outside of JBL afficionados, but it was revolutionary for it's day, and even without tweaking is an impressive 3-way "bookshelf" speaker. In the several years that followed the L110's introduction, several iterations on the basic theme were manufactured, culminating with the 4313B. The goal of all versions were a very flat response as opposed to the bass & midrange-heavy sound that most people were familiar with coming fro JBL up until that point.

I think recone kits are still available for the woofers and midrange. The 033 tweeter was used in 3 models (L40, L110, L150), and there are no new parts available that I know of. You can remove the diaphragm and pop more of the dent out, but it will never come out all the way due to the memory of the fabric; ideally it will need to be reinstalled using a waveform generator and a very fine touch. It probably isn't worth the effort IMO.

Best of luck,

Bri

[clmrt]

I once owned the L5 and have since been more than satisfied with other speakers. I would trade them in.

[jan_slagman]

Thanks BMWCCA, CLMRT and KromeDone,

I really appreciate your worthy input. I had some bass problems with the JBL L3's. I think this problem was caused by the bassreflex-pipe at the backside of the speaker. I don't have these problems with my JBL 4312B Mk II's at the same spot.
Tomorrownight the seller (!!!) will bring the JBL L110's to my place in exchange for the JBL L3's. By the way, a pair of JBL L5's are for sale on Dutch Marketplace right now !!! (this knowledge makes me very nervous and creedy).

With kind regards,

Jan Slagman
Veenendaal
The Netherlands

[grumpy]

033 dome = phenolic impregnated linen = you dent it, you've "broken" it.

The linen will keep it together... you might even see or "hear no difference", but
the dome has been irreversibly altered. Phenolic resin is hard and brittle.

Personally, I'd be looking for a spare 033, for peace of mind if nothing else :).

If the 033 is anything like the 044 in construction (adhesive on periphery of
diaphragm), I would only recommend you experiment on a unit you can afford
to throw away. -grumpy

[LRBacon]

My original pair of L110's that I purchased in 1982 had one of the domes partially pushed in by one of my young kids. I used the vacuum cleaner to suck it out. It still works fine today. I have also used Gorilla Tape (like duct tape but more sticky). I have taken a piece of it and pressed (not hard enough to do more damage) it on to the dented area of the dome and then pulled it quickly off. Sometimes it works quite well and other times you have to do it several times before the dent comes out. This way works best on small dents and ones where the phenolic material has not been creased. (As Grumpy said the phenolic material is damaged when dented. I have had a few 033's that have rattled along with few LE5-10's, too.)

I would be reluctant to take it apart. I had one 033 tweeter that had a dome that was in excellent condition but the voice coil was open near where it was soldered to the ribbon wire that runs under the face plate and is connected to the terminal. I tried to solder it back together with no luck and managed to damage the fine ribbon wire (manual dexterity not what it used to be). Not much good for anything but a paper weight or a magnet now.

If you really need one that has no dents, try your luck with eBay. I think more L110's get parted out and sold on eBay than any other model except L100's.

Larry

[BMWCCA]

I once owned the L5 and have since been more than satisfied with other speakers. I would trade them in.The question was concerning the L3, not the L5. Maybe that's what you meant to type?


By the way, a pair of JBL L5's are for sale on Dutch Marketplace right now !!! (this knowledge makes me very nervous and creedy).
Most here are pretty pleased with the performance of the L5 for the price. I compare it to the 4412A and L112s I also own very favorably and for a whole lot less money these days. If you use this site's search function you'll find lots of interesting information on the L5 and L3 (and L7) but you might start out with searching for "L-5" since the search function can't handle a two-character search. This thread will give you a good start: here (http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=7498&highlight=L-5)!

[clmrt]

I meant five. I added the comment in the interest of the L3 / 5 family connection and the fact that life goes on when a speaker is sold or traded.

If regretted later, the L3 is more common and less expensive, I would think.

[jan_slagman]

Hi Friends,

Thanks for the information. I surely will try to acquire a few spareparts and i already have seen a pair of JBL LE 5-10 midranges and a pair of 033 tweeters, all in an excellent condition. I am very curious to learn the difference between my JBL 4312B MkII Control Monitors and JBL L110 loudspeakers. I also have a DIY project with JBL 4312B components in it.

See picture:

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=20771

I wonder if the crossover is correct, for the builder of these green monsters "only" installed a Visaton attenuator for the mid-section. Do you have any alternative suggestions how to use these loudspeaker-components, instead of building Control Monitors again.

With kind regards,

Jan Slagman
Veenendaal
The Netherlands

[jan_slagman]

Hello friends,

Wow,.............................you guys were so true ! Hearing the JBL 110's for the first time tonight in my living-room, i was totally gobsmacked ! Man oh man what an excellent sounding loudspeaker. Even the wife admitted she really liked these speakers and believe me, she has heard many loudspeakers during her marriage with me. Now i have the chanche to buy a pair of JBL L 112's too, but i can hardly believe they will sound any better. Tonight i spoke to the seller and he told me he liked his pair of JBL L 80 T's better than the highly praised JBL L 112. He said in his opinion his JBL L 80 T's sounded more dynamic.
Well any way, i will surely keep my JBL L 110 loudspeakers, together with my JBL 4312 A Control Monitors.
Thanks all of you for such a good advice, i really appreciate your help in this matter.

With kind regards,

Jan Slagman
The Netherlands

[LRBacon]

Glad to hear that you like them. I've been enjoying L110's for some 25 + years.

Jan, do you know if you have the L110's or L110A's? If you have L110A's, there are the letters "A" & "H" die stamped to the right of the serial number on the foilcal. No die stamped letters, you have the original L110. The L110A has a different crossover network and woofer. The L110A, I believe was the first speaker JBL used bypass capacitors in the crossover network.

I am familiar with the L96 which has the tweeter and midrange in common with the L112. I think you'll find that the L112 has a more accurately defined top end compared to the L110. I can't say much about the bottom end since I don't believe I have ever listened to the L112. If I have, it was a long time ago.

Larry

[jan_slagman]

Glad to hear that you like them. I've been enjoying L110's for some 25 + years.

Jan, do you know if you have the L110's or L110A's? If you have L110A's, there are the letters "A" & "H" die stamped to the right of the serial number on the foilcal. No die stamped letters, you have the original L110. The L110A has a different crossover network and woofer. The L110A, I believe was the first speaker JBL used bypass capacitors in the crossover network.

I am familiar with the L96 which has the tweeter and midrange in common with the L112. I think you'll find that the L112 has a more accurately defined top end compared to the L110. I can't say much about the bottom end since I don't believe I have ever listened to the L112. If I have, it was a long time ago.

Larry

Thanks Larry,

Well i am not quiete sure what L 110 i have acquired. As far as i am informed i think i have the JBL L 110, but i will check the woofer. Well, i think the L 112 is a very nice speaker, but i think a L 96 would be a better match in my living-room. The L 110 produces a very controlled and tight bass in my living-room. I think i can live with these L 110's for a long, long time !
Thanks for responding Larry.

Kind regards,

Jan Slagman
The Netherlands.

[grumpy]

Hi Jan, you may have the L110's on stands already, but if not, I can
comment that my L96's sound better to me raised up ~45cm.
(they also get listened to almost every night as opposed to my L112's
... also nice, but the bass is more suited to a larger room than where
I have the L96's) -grumpy

[BMWCCA]

Tonight i spoke to the seller and he told me he liked his pair of JBL L 80 T's better than the highly praised JBL L 112. He said in his opinion his JBL L 80 T's sounded more dynamic."Dynamic" comes close to rhyming with "semantic". I can tell you the seller is off his rocker.

[jan_slagman]

Glad to hear that you like them. I've been enjoying L110's for some 25 + years.

Jan, do you know if you have the L110's or L110A's? If you have L110A's, there are the letters "A" & "H" die stamped to the right of the serial number on the foilcal. No die stamped letters, you have the original L110. The L110A has a different crossover network and woofer. The L110A, I believe was the first speaker JBL used bypass capacitors in the crossover network.

I am familiar with the L96 which has the tweeter and midrange in common with the L112. I think you'll find that the L112 has a more accurately defined top end compared to the L110. I can't say much about the bottom end since I don't believe I have ever listened to the L112. If I have, it was a long time ago.

Larry

Hi Larry,

It seems i have a acquired a pair of the original JBL L110's. There are no indications to the right of the serial number. One of the loudspeakers has serial number 43107.

With kind regards,

Jan Slagman
The Netherlands

[jan_slagman]

Hi Jan, you may have the L110's on stands already, but if not, I can
comment that my L96's sound better to me raised up ~45cm.
(they also get listened to almost every night as opposed to my L112's
... also nice, but the bass is more suited to a larger room than where
I have the L96's) -grumpy

Hi Grumpy,

Yes i put them on stands just as you did. I already used those stands for my JBL 4312 A loudspeakers. You're quiete right regarding the connection between the measurements of the woofer and the listening room.
The L110's sound very tight and controlled in my room.

Kind regards,

Jan Slagman
The Netherlands

[SEAWOLF97]

At least 2 persons claim to have JBL L8's. Whats an L8 ?

http://www.audioreview.com/mfr/jbl/floorstanding-speakers/PRD_119740_1594crx.aspx


Tonight i spoke to the seller and he told me he liked his pair of JBL L 80 T's better than the highly praised JBL L 112. He said in his opinion his JBL L 80 T's sounded more dynamic.

I have some L80T's..they are "storage queens"....dont care for the sound, but they were a very cheap source of spare drivers for my 4410's.

[clmrt]

Euro line -

http://www.priceminister.com/offer/buy/57613694/JBL-L8-Enceintes-Enceinte.html

[SMKSoundPro]

I have my L110's in my work shop office and enjoy their sound, greatly!

I was able to fix one of my 033 tweeters, and am always looking for a spare pair.

I am very glad you have made a great trade, and am assured that you will be very happy with the L110.

Congratulations on your good fortune!

Scott.

[LRBacon]

Hi Larry,

It seems i have a acquired a pair of the original JBL L110's. There are no indications to the right of the serial number. One of the loudspeakers has serial number 43107.

With kind regards,

Jan Slagman
The Netherlands

Hi Jan,

Another way to tell is by the port or duct. If you look in the port and can see the yellow fiberglass then you have the L110's. The L110A's have an elbow shaped port.

They are a nice solid sounding speaker, sure happy you like them.

Larry

[duaneage]

The L112 features the 128H 12 inch woofer, probably the best 12 JBL made in terms of low distortion, uncolored sound. Truly a great driver.

[BMWCCA]

The L112 features the 128H 12 inch woofer, probably the best 12 JBL made in terms of low distortion, uncolored sound. Truly a great driver.Does the H-1 also make that same short list?
Just curious; my 128H inventory outnumbers my 128H-1 by two-times.

[jan_slagman]

Hi Jan,

Another way to tell is by the port or duct. If you look in the port and can see the yellow fiberglass then you have the L110's. The L110A's have an elbow shaped port.

They are a nice solid sounding speaker, sure happy you like them.

Larry

Hi Larry,

Yes, you're right ! Now i know for sure i have acquired the JBL L110's.
Thanks for your information.

With kind regards,

Jan Slagman
The Netherlands

[Chris Brown]

Does the H-1 also make that same short list?
Just curious; my 128H inventory outnumbers my 128H-1 by two-times.

Pretty sure the differences are purely cosmetic.

[jan_slagman]

Hi friends,

Tonight i scored a flawless JBL 033 tweeter on Ebay America. No dents and in good working order. Now i only have to replace the L-pads. I reoiled the cabinets and i cleaned the loudspeakerclothing. The L110's look pristine right now.
Tonight I played a CD of Nokie Edwards, solo-guitarist of the American guitar band The Ventures. (Walk don't run; Wipe out, Hawai Five 'O, etc.) I heard him "live", touring the Netherlands, The U.K. and Denmark. I was asked to be his personal supporter in the Netherlands during one of his performances. I heard him playing in the dressingroom as well and i recognised the sound of his Mosrite guitar very clearly on my JBL L110 loudspeakers.

With kind regards,

Jan Slagman
The Netherlands

[VOTT]

With the L110's, as with many speaker, the better the amp, the better the speakers. I have mine set aside for a while as I use a pair of 4312's but I once drove the L110's with an old Sony TA-N77ES amp for a while (until I sold the amp—maybe not the brightest thing to do) and those speakers sounded like they could have cost over a grand. Like any system, get a good amp if you speakers are worthy of one, and those older JBL's are worthy.

[mtnmac]

I agree with Vott concerning the amp. My L110's came alive after I got a Phase Linear 400 and Soundcraftsmen preamp. Before that I was considering recapping the x-overs. Any quality speaker will benefit from a good amp.

[Jimruns]

This is my first post as a new member. What a great site. I am not sure if I should be responding to this thread or starting a new one, so thx for your patience either way.

I bought a pair of JBL L110 speakers around 1980, along with a CR 620 Yamaha Receiver @ 35 watts per channel. Both are in still in great condition and have served us well. Specific questions:

~ The Yamaha CR 620 needs to be replaced for "size" reasons as much as anything. We do not need 'surround sound' and just desire good quality stereo to best accommodate the L110's. Question - What is the best receiver to replace the 620 asssuming a budget of 400 to 600? I know zilch about separate pre-amp and amps, and want to keep it as simple as possible while getting the most out the speakers. A local store recommended the HK 3490. The Yamaha RX 797 is another option. I'd consider "separates" but know zip about pre-amps and amps.

~ The 110's are in good condition (refoamed several yrs ago), but I would like to replace the grill fabric. Is there a company that will do this or can one buy the fabric somewhere?

Thanks! Jim

[macaroonie]

This is my first post as a new member. What a great site. I am not sure if I should be responding to this thread or starting a new one, so thx for your patience either way.

I bought a pair of JBL L110 speakers around 1980, along with a CR 620 Yamaha Receiver @ 35 watts per channel. Both are in still in great condition and have served us well. Specific questions:

~ The Yamaha CR 620 needs to be replaced for "size" reasons as much as anything. We do not need 'surround sound' and just desire good quality stereo to best accommodate the L110's. Question - What is the best receiver to replace the 620 asssuming a budget of 400 to 600? I know ZILCH about separate pre-amp and amps, and want to keep it as simple as possible while getting the most out the speakers. A local store recommended the HK 3490. The Yamaha RX 797 is another option. I'd consider "separates" but know zip about pre-amps and amps.

~ The 110's are in good condition (refoamed several yrs ago), but I would like to replace the grill fabric. Is there a company that will do this or can one buy the fabric somewhere?

Thanks! Jim

Welcome Jim. Regarding grille fabric you already intuitively mentioned the name of our resident haberdasher.. You will have great difficulty finding the almost sheer fabric original to the L110 , the gentleman you mentioned does have a stock of authentic JBL monitor blue cloth at very reasonable $$$$$.
You will have to find his member details and send him a private message.
Best regards Mac

[hjames]

This is my first post as a new member. What a great site. I am not sure if I should be responding to this thread or starting a new one, so thx for your patience either way.

I bought a pair of JBL L110 speakers around 1980, along with a CR 620 ...

~ The Yamaha CR 620 needs to be replaced for "size" reasons as much as anything. We do not need 'surround sound' and just desire good quality stereo to best accommodate the L110's. Question - What is the best receiver to replace the 620 asssuming a budget of 400 to 600?
I know zilch about separate pre-amp and amps, and want to keep it as simple as possible while getting the most out the speakers. A local store recommended the HK 3490. The Yamaha RX 797 is another option. I'd consider "separates" but know zip about pre-amps and amps.

~ The 110's are in good condition (refoamed several yrs ago), but I would like to replace the grill fabric. Is there a company that will do this or can one buy the fabric somewhere?

Thanks! Jim

Okay, what are you using for signal sources?
CD/FM only?
Tape deck (either RR or cassette?)
Turntable?
Many new receivers do not have an input for turntables - if so,
you'll need a turntable preamp with RIAA equalization to feed signal from your turntable into a contemporary receiver (One of the AUX ins)

Occasion VHS or DVD & TV sound use?

I had an Yamaha CR-400 and a pair of L-36s for many years (bought new in 1976) - for that system I haunted ebay and found a Yamaha CD-1020 (75w/channel) for around $200 and just simply upgraded to a higher end but still vintage receiver. No remote control, except "pause" on the CD player.
You can find an older Yamaha CR-2020 or similar (110w/ch) for maybe $300 - if you want to go that route, there is a guy on Audiokarma that gets the old yamahas, cleans and tunes them up, puts beautiful veneer on the cases, and sells them in your price range. Powerful and good looking, if you like the classic receivers.

For my bigger system with the TV and stuff, I went with a Harman Kardon (HK) receiver as a front end for my system. I bought a multichannel receiver because I'm doing surround in that room, but HK makes contemporary stereo receivers that are comparable and work well, with remotes and all of that ...
Some even have iPod docks, if you like the ease of music via an iPod

I got some "JBL Monitor blue" speaker cloth from a guy here named Zilch and redid my grills myself - do a search and there are some good directions posted here on how to accomplish that!

[Fred Sanford]

L110s don't use the blue cloth, they use a very sheer black material (as in my avatar). If anyone DOES have a source for this material, there are a few of us waiting for that info...

As for powering my L110s, my favorite amp is a Yamaha P2100 professional power amp. For basic stereo all-in-one packages I've also liked various older Denon integrated amps I've tried (PMA-520/720/920) and Nakamichi RE-1 & RE-10 receivers.

je

[LRBacon]

Hi Jim,

Happy to see another L110 owner at the forum.
You might try this outfit http://www.speakerworks.com/speaker_grill_cloth_fabric_s/25.htm
for your grille cloth. If you send them a self stamped and addressed envelope they will send you free samples of which ever ones you are interested in.

Good luck replacing the cloth, the L110 grilles are a real pain to take apart. Search the forum for threads on the subject.

The original L110 speaker was available only with the black semi-transparent grille cloth. The L110A was available in semi-transparent black, brown and apparently blue according to the instruction manual. I have never seen any that came with the blue grilles.

As far as receivers go, if you had no problems driving the L110's with your Yamaha, stick with Yamaha. Go with model that has all the features you need or would use.

Larry

[Jimruns]

Larry, Fred, hjames and Mac,

Thanks very much for your input and advice.

> I appreciate the ideas about used Yamaha receivers (1020 and 2020). The classic receivers DO look great, incl Yamaha and Marantz., etc. I run CD's on the CD player through the receiver, still use the old Dual 502 belt-driven turntable for the classic vinyl, and also run MP3 (Ipod) stuff from the computer to receiver and the L110's. I automotically assumed ANY stereo receiver would have a phono-input jack. Mistake, but it is hard to believe as pointed out below, that is not necessarily the case. I feel a bit like Mr. Rip Van Winkle in that regard! Thx for the heads up.

> When I had the woofers re-foamed I also explored the possibility of having the grilles re-done at the same time since the speakers still look great. My recollection is that JBL (or whoever represented that marque then) would have done the work for about $75-$80 per speaker. I dawdled and never had it done. In the process I may have missed the best and final opportunity to have acquired that great original transluscent fabric.

> In '78 or '79, prior to the L110's, I bought the "poor man's JBL's", the Bolivar Model 18's. See link below for a little history. They were a fine speaker, but I longed for the JBL's...just could not afford them! The stereo shop I worked with then (Stromboli's in Lewiston, Maine - for historical accuracy buffs) had a policy of allowing a $ for $ trade-in if done within 1 (or maybe 2) years. When that first bonus came through the next year the Bolivar's were history. They were carefully placed in the trunk of the car that very same day, driven north and the JBL's made the trip home. They have been part of the household surroundings for the last 28 years or so.
Jim
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=98012