Any members here own the L71 Verona?

[oldsoundz]

I do not see any in the registry and there is not much said about them in the forum.

http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/jbl/specs/home-speakers/1972-l71/page1.jpg

[saeman]

The Verona is scarce and near impossible to find. JBL offered it for 3 product years 72, 73 and 74. During this period of time the Mediterranean design was a very popular furniture style. Sales were not good so it was dropped from production after a short run. It likely didn't blend into most living rooms unless you were in to Italian Provincial or heavy Mediterranean styled decor. I think it was beat out hands down by the Sovereign - for a couple of reasons. The Sovereign's Med design is not as deliberate as the Verona and was easier to place in provincial as well as contemporary room designs. Additionally the Sovereign came horn loaded and the Verona did not. For a small amount of additional cost you could have the Sovereign with LE85/H91 and keep in mind that back in those days horn loaded systems were considered top dog.

The Verona came one way - 3 way with the 135A white cone 15" woofer and the same mid and tweet as the L100. There were no other options offered. The cabinet is not deep enough to allow mounting the LE85/H91.

I bought Sovereigns in 74 and back then never saw an actual pair of Veronas. In my 10 years on ebay I've seen maybe 2 or 3 pairs offered for sale and they weren't in very good shape. In my opinion the Verona is the rarest of all the console systems that JBL offered - Sovereign, Olympus, Apollo or Alpha.

I have a pair of Veronas that are near mint but I'm sad to say that they are crated and have been stored for over 3 years as I don't have room in the house to place them. Out of sight, out of mind but now after this thread I'm thinking that I need to somehow get them back into the house. I had a second pair but sold them to a Verona lover in Missouri maybe 3-4 years ago. He wanted a second pair to use in the same room.

Let me know if I can supply any more info.

Rick

[57BELAIRE]

I read your post with great interest and would like to ad that
the L71 Verona was actually available (4/72)with four JBL systems
installed; 001, 030, S1, S12....the S1 incorporates the 175DLH.

Maybe at the end run it was available with the option you desribe in yours.

If you ever decide to unpack them please share some pics...the L71
is indeed a rare bird ;)

[oldsoundz]

The pair my friend has, is loaded with the 135a, le5-3, and le25-1.

[saeman]

the L71 Verona was actually available (4/72)with four JBL systems
installed; 001, 030, S1, S12....the S1 incorporates the 175DLH.

The optional systems that you mention were in fact available for installation into the Verona cabinet but not factory installed.

From the factory if you ordered the L71 Verona it came with the standard 135A, LE5-3 and LE-25. If you wanted something different you had to order the empty C71 Verona cabinet as a separate item (specifying the desired speaker package ) and the desired component package as a separate item. These were then shipped to your JBL dealer and he did the final assembly.

During that time frame JBL offered several kits that allowed their dealers the ability to install varying components in cabinets like the Verona, Sovereign II, Apollo and the C45 Flair. These kits included woofer and horn adapter rings, hardware and blank covers for unused ports. Some of the old JBL price lists show these kits and there are also flyers in the old dealer catalogs that list them and show detail drawings of each kit.

I wouldn't bet the ranch that JBL never shipped out the door a pair of Veronas with an optional speaker package as anything is possible - but it's a safe bet to say that a non-standard package was assembled by one of their dealers in the field as this was the method that JBL used to allow variations from their standard package systems. The Sovereign, Olympus, Verona, Apollo and Flair were all offered as bare cabinets to allow custom installation.

I do need to uncrate my Veronas to make sure they are ok after their long time in storage. I'm now getting a bit nervous about not laying my eyes on them for such a long time. I'll gladly take a few pics and post them when I get them home.

Rick

[saeman]

Last night I made my way to my storage place and started to uncrate my Veronas. After this thread popped up I started to get nervous about leaving them sit for such a long time. I got one of them unpacked and transported to the house and will get the second one later this week. All looks well with number one and I feel better having layed my eyes on them.

From my notes there were two versions of the Verona as packaged from the factory and I have loosely called them early and late models. Below are some pics of the ones I own or have owned.

The early pair which I sold a few years ago have the port tube mounted near the 135A woofer. The later models have the port located to the right lower corner. This is the only construction difference that I have noted.

Later models had a foam sheet with self adhesive mounted on the baffle over the L-Pad foil cal and the mid range and tweeter. I am told that this was added to reduce stray reflections. Maybe some of you gurus with more knowledge on this idea can explain it's benefit.

My late pair came to me with feld pad material in place of the deteriorated foam. I have since replaced it with a piece of die cut 1/4" gray foam as installed by JBL.

[saeman]

Here's a few more pics related to the Verona. One pic shows a beater pair I saw on eBay. They are the late version and you can see where the foam pad was placed on the baffle.

One unique feature of the Verona is the JBL Emblem that was installed on the grille. Instead of the typical black and silver one that you always see, the Verona had an emblem that was a solid bronze color. I have not seen this on any other system on this vintage.

I had one pair of my Veronas in the bedroom for a while but removed them to allow placing my Sovereigns bacn in the house. My wife made use of the tops for some of her gadgets so there were no complaints.

Also shown is an original 10" x 10" black and white photo of the Verona that I have had in my files for 35 years. It is an original from JBL's files which they sent it to me after an inquiry on building plans for the Sovereign, Olympus and Verona.

[oldsoundz]

Thanks for all the info saeman and the excellent pics.

I am guessing my friends pair are the earlier as I don't recall seeing the foam around the speakers and L-pads.

Yours look to be in excellent condition. Very beautiful speakers imo.

But, how do they sound?

Chris

[oldsoundz]

The Verona came one way - 3 way with the 135A white cone 15" woofer and the same mid and tweet as the L100. There were no other options offered. The cabinet is not deep enough to allow mounting the LE85/H91.

Rick



I was looking in the catalog and found this. It says the Verona came with a LE14 and passive radiator?

Has anyone see one of these?

http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/jbl/catalogs/1971-home/page12.jpg

[modviews]

hi, i am eyeing a sovereign I now. if i just had a budget for one console type of jbl , regardless of price, which would be the best sounding for audiophile recording playing? sovereign I or Olympus or apollo :)? thanks !

[pgoat]

This is actually my old speaker (recognized my mom's house!)

I got them for free :applaud:from my neighbor - he was the original owner and was moving, so he had to get them out of his parents' basement. He and I dragged them up some stairs and used a hand truck to roll them across the street and into my back yard. I was having a BBQ that day so I ran some wire into the house and used them for the party....by evening, after enough imbibing, some women got up atop the enclosures and danced, turning my backyard into a night club. Good times....

Fwiw, they originally had the white cone woofers; the surrounds were rotted when they came to me so I sent them to Lansing and they came back with the grey cones, which the company assured me were the identical equivalent, sonically speaking. Imho, they sounded spectacular! I regret selling :banghead: but my mom was selling her house and I couldn't fit them into my 1BR apt, to say nothing of what the neighbors would have thought about 15" woofers...

As it happens, I just came across a free pair of 2500 bookshelf JBLs (2-way with 4" TI woofer, porthole) and can't wait to try them out. A big step down from the Veronas, but they'll have to do until we buy a detached house (if that ever even happens...)

[JBLverona]

I have owned a pair of the JBL Verona speakers since 1972. Still Love them and have them in daily use and the cabinets look like new since no one goes near them except me. They still have the White Woofer Cones, but the white rubber surrounds have now started cracking, and the foam baffle panel had deteriorated so it was removed. I'm going to have Miller Sound do the new black surrounds on them as the white is no longer available. I still have their original purchase paperwork from "Electro-Craft Stereo Center" on Roosevelt Ave. in Seattle, plus their original Owners Manuals in their plastic bags. And,.......I'm the Guy that bought the set of JBL Verona speakers from Rick ( SAEMAN ), that is in this blog and he shipped them to Missouri for me as i had a house there for several years and wanted an identical sound system like i had in my Seattle house. The Missouri house was just Sold, so those JBL Verona speakers are now here in Seattle Washington with my original pair. The pair he Sold me were mint and i had saved the sturdy crates he shipped them to Missouri in, to re-ship them to Seattle. I use my ( 2 ), original purchased SAE 2500 Power Amps ( 300watts per/chan ) to drive them with ( 2 ) SAE 2100L Pre-Amps, ( 2 ) ADC Paragraphic Equalizers and i have ( 2 ) Klipsch SW-15 Sub-Woofers with 15" Passive Radiators for the extra low Bass. My system is now set up as a Quadraphonic system for SACD multi-channel discs and Quad "open reel" tapes. The Verona's style has always fit into my life style, from a 70's house to a 1908 house to the 1890 Missouri house to a 2012 new house where they now reside.. They are "classics" to me now and have no intention of parting with the 4 of them.

[RichA]

I bought a badly beaten-up pair back in 2003. I refinished them, replaced the awful grille cloth with something a bit less gaudy, had the midrange and tweeters re-coned and installed upgraded binding posts. Of course, in refinishing, I found that the grilles are plastic and didn't take stain the same way as the wooden cabinets, but I achieved a close match. The speakers now look less "Mediterranean," which for me is a plus. I had to do without them for a year while I was living in temporary quarters and had to listen to my Rodgers Studio 1s. While they were serviceable, they weren't Veronas. As soon as I hooked them back up, I realized that with the Veronas, I wasn't listening to speakers, but to music. I long ago stopped buying-in to the latest in audiophile snake oil. All my equipment other than my CD player and my VPI Scout turntable, is from the 1970s and I am sublimely satisfied with it. I ceased the search for the Holy Grail of audio and now concentrate on listening to music. In my opinion, the Veronas can't be beaten for pure musicality.

[Johnfull]

I have owned a pair of the JBL Verona speakers since 1972. Still Love them and have them in daily use and the cabinets look like new since no one goes near them except me. They still have the White Woofer Cones, but the white rubber surrounds have now started cracking, and the foam baffle panel had deteriorated so it was removed. I'm going to have Miller Sound do the new black surrounds on them as the white is no longer available. I still have their original purchase paperwork from "Electro-Craft Stereo Center" on Roosevelt Ave. in Seattle, plus their original Owners Manuals in their plastic bags. And,.......I'm the Guy that bought the set of JBL Verona speakers from Rick ( SAEMAN ), that is in this blog and he shipped them to Missouri for me as i had a house there for several years and wanted an identical sound system like i had in my Seattle house. The Missouri house was just Sold, so those JBL Verona speakers are now here in Seattle Washington with my original pair. The pair he Sold me were mint and i had saved the sturdy crates he shipped them to Missouri in, to re-ship them to Seattle. I use my ( 2 ), original purchased SAE 2500 Power Amps ( 300watts per/chan ) to drive them with ( 2 ) SAE 2100L Pre-Amps, ( 2 ) ADC Paragraphic Equalizers and i have ( 2 ) Klipsch SW-15 Sub-Woofers with 15" Passive Radiators for the extra low Bass. My system is now set up as a Quadraphonic system for SACD multi-channel discs and Quad "open reel" tapes. The Verona's style has always fit into my life style, from a 70's house to a 1908 house to the 1890 Missouri house to a 2012 new house where they now reside.. They are "classics" to me now and have no intention of parting with the 4 of them.

The guy who called himself JBLVerona has passed away, leaving 2 pairs of Veronas and a lot of SAE and other
high-end equipment behind. Anyone interested in more information can contact me here. I knew the guy 32 years...:(

[oldsoundz]

The guy who called himself JBLVerona has passed away, leaving 2 pairs of Veronas and a lot of SAE and other
high-end equipment behind. Anyone interested in more information can contact me here. I knew the guy 32 years...:(

Sorry to hear it Johnfull. My condolences to his loved ones.

[Mr. Widget]

The guy who called himself JBLVerona has passed away, leaving 2 pairs of Veronas and a lot of SAE and other
high-end equipment behind. Anyone interested in more information can contact me here. I knew the guy 32 years...:(
Thank you for letting us know... sad news indeed.

If you could post a list of the non JBL gear in our Market Place area and the JBLs in the Lansing Market Place area, that would be very helpful. Pictures are always much appreciated.


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[hjames]

awww - that's too sad. Thank you for letting us know -
Its always tough when one of us goes quiet - offline,

[Johnfull]

Thank you for letting us know... sad news indeed.

If you could post a list of the non JBL gear in our Market Place area and the JBLs in the Lansing Market Place area, that would be very helpful. Pictures are always much appreciated.


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Thank you all for your condolences.
I will take some pictures and post them in the next few months...