Would a 80 wpc rms amp be enough to drive JBL L300s?

[Kreshna]

Well, like I said on this thread (http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?34583-JBL-4311with-damaged-woofer-dust-cap-does-it-also-damage-the-woofer), I'm looking for a replacement for my late dad's 4311s, but the one I found on ebay has damaged woofer dust cap. And there is no way for me to test the speakers since it's far away in the UK.

As alternative, a local vintage audio store here is selling a pair of JBL L300. Based from what I read from an article, the L300 is supposed to sound better. But is that true? How much will it be different than 4311?

Also, I'm using Sansui AU-7900 watt amplifier (currently its relay is damaged, but I think it will be fine once the relay is fixed), which is rated at 80 wpc rms. On the other hand, the L300 manual said that its power capacity is 150 watts continuous. As such, my amplifier has lower power than the L300 power capacity.

The L300's sensitivity, on the other hand, is 80db per watt at the distance of 15' (not 80db per watt per 1m). I guess it supposed to be louder than the 4311, am I correct?

Will the AU-7900 amplifier be sufficient to power the L300?

Many thanks,
-Kresh

[frank23]

Sure, 80W will be enough. Can't say anything about your other questions though, but the L300 is a totally different speaker than the 4311.

[hjames]

The L300s are old school, classic JBL 3-ways - Big woofer, horn midrange and Compression Driver high tweeter -
it is a much different sound than the 4311 type system. The L300s have been somewhat collectable in the US ...
I'd take some music and have a listen - lots of folks prefer the L300 style JBL sound - but you may not ...
Not good or bad, just a different sound.


Well, like I said on this thread (http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?34583-JBL-4311with-damaged-woofer-dust-cap-does-it-also-damage-the-woofer), I'm looking for a replacement for my late dad's 4311s, but the one I found on ebay has damaged woofer dust cap. And there is no way for me to test the speakers since it's far away in the UK.

As alternative, a local vintage audio store here is selling a pair of JBL L300. Based from what I read from an article, the L300 is supposed to sound better. But is that true? How much will it be different than 4311?

Also, I'm using Sansui AU-7900 watt amplifier (currently its relay is damaged, but I think it will be fine once the relay is fixed), which is rated at 80 wpc rms. On the other hand, the L300 manual said that its power capacity is 150 watts continuous. As such, my amplifier has lower power than the L300 power capacity.

The L300's sensitivity, on the other hand, is 80db per watt at the distance of 15' (not 80db per watt per 1m). I guess it supposed to be louder than the 4311, am I correct?

Will the AU-7900 amplifier be sufficient to power the L300?

Many thanks,
-Kresh

[Kreshna]

Sure, 80W will be enough. Can't say anything about your other questions though, but the L300 is a totally different speaker than the 4311.

The L300s are old school, classic JBL 3-ways - Big woofer, horn midrange and Compression Driver high tweeter -
it is a much different sound than the 4311 type system. The L300s have been somewhat collectable in the US ...
I'd take some music and have a listen - lots of folks prefer the L300 style JBL sound - but you may not ...
Not good or bad, just a different sound.
I see, thanks.

(1) how much different L300 than 4311? Does the L300 still have the distinctive west coast sound? I mean, strong bass and forward vocals. I grew up with that kind of song, so I miss it quite much. Can the L300 satisfy my desire for west coast sound? :(

(2) how about the bass? I remember, when we were kids (me and my little brother), dad used to play Miriam Makeba's Pata Pata (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=miriam+makeba+pata+pata&oq=miriam+makeba+pata+pata&gs_l=youtube.3...10398345.10401742.0.10401910.23.1 2.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.) using the 4311. The intro piano was notably solid and "bassy" (well, the intro was low octave piano after all). Dad also played some classic disco and pop rock at that time, and the bass was notably powerful. Dad did not use subwoofer, he only used the 4311, and the bass sound rivaled many modern day subwoofer. Is the L300's bass sound equally strong, even with merely 80 wpc rms the Sansui AU-7900 can deliver?

Thanks again,

[hjames]

I see, thanks.

(1) how much different L300 than 4311? Does the L300 still have the distinctive west coast sound? I mean, strong bass and forward vocals. I grew up with that kind of song, so I miss it quite much. Can the L300 satisfy my desire for west coast sound? :(

(2) how about the bass? I remember, when we were kids (me and my little brother), dad used to play Miriam Makeba's Pata Pata (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=miriam+makeba+pata+pata&oq=miriam+makeba+pata+pata&gs_l=youtube.3...10398345.10401742.0.10401910.23.1 2.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.) using the 4311. The intro piano was notably solid and "bassy" (well, the intro was low octave piano after all). Dad also played some classic disco and pop rock at that time, and the bass was notably powerful. Dad did not use subwoofer, he only used the 4311, and the bass sound rivaled many modern day subwoofer. Is the L300's bass sound equally strong?

Thanks again,

Yes, if those L300s are in good shape, there will be plenty of bass - it has a 15 inch woofer ... the 4311 just has a 12 inch woofer.
Vocals should be nice and clear with the horns - if you like jazz or music with horns the L300s will be a revelation compared to the paper cone midrange of 4311 speakers. I had L100 Century speakers and 4312blk speakers and greatly prefer the L200/L300 horn style systems.

You may not, so I do recommend you take some music along and see what you think on the real things ...

http://www.jblpro.com/pub/obsolete/4311.pdf

[Kreshna]

Yes, if those L300s are in good shape, there will be plenty of bass - it has a 15 inch woofer ... the 4311 just has a 12 inch woofer.
Vocals should be nice and clear with the horns - if you like jazz or music with horns the L300s will be a revelation compared to the paper cone midrange of 4311 speakers. I had L100 Century speakers and 4312blk speakers and greatly prefer the L200/L300 horn style systems.

You may not, so I do recommend you take some music along and see what you think on the real things ...

http://www.jblpro.com/pub/obsolete/4311.pdf

Thanks hjames, I'll definitely bring my favorite CDs when testing the L300. :)

Too bad I cannot bring the Sansui amp because it still needs repair, but I hope the store owner has low power amp (80 wpc or so) so I can judge the speakers with the same power that I have.

[Kreshna]

Well, I think the question has become moot, because the JBL L300 has been snatched by some other buyer.

However, the store owner told me that he still has JBL 4315 available.

Question:

(a) does the JBL 4315 has similar sound with the 4311?

(b) is the JBL 4315's bass as strong as the 4311?

(c) to me, who have grown with the west coast sound of 4311, would the JBL 4315 be satisfying enough? Is it west coast enough? What if I listen to disco, for example? Would the bass be as strong as the 4311?

(d) is the JBL 4315 near field or mid field? And if it's mid field, what is its minimum comfortable listening distance?

From the specs alone, I think the 4315 should match my Sansui AU-7900 amp greatly, because its power handling is 60 wrms, which is only slightly below my amp. But from sound color, does it sound as good as, or even better, than the 4311?

Thanks again,

[hjames]

Unlike the L300, the 4315 uses multiple drivers that are no longer available or repairable in the US and are probably even MORE rare overseas.
Please use the SEARCH function on this site and others to read older discussions on the JBL 4315 Studio Monitor.

Making a decision ahead of time is moot (irrelevant) if the speakers are sold before you get there.

You really need to go LISTEN to the speakers the store owner has and YOU need to decide if you like the sound -
none of us can tell you if YOU will or won't like them.






Well, I think the question has become moot, because the JBL L300 has been snatched by some other buyer.

However, the store owner told me that he still has JBL 4315 available.

Question:

(a) does the JBL 4315 has similar sound with the 4311?

(b) is the JBL 4315's bass as strong as the 4311?

(c) to me, who have grown with the west coast sound of 4311, would the JBL 4315 be satisfying enough? Is it west coast enough? What if I listen to disco, for example? Would the bass be as strong as the 4311?

(d) is the JBL 4315 near field or mid field? And if it's mid field, what is its minimum comfortable listening distance?

From the specs alone, I think the 4315 should match my Sansui AU-7900 amp greatly, because its power handling is 60 wrms, which is only slightly below my amp. But from sound color, does it sound as good as, or even better, than the 4311?

Thanks again,

[Fort Knox]

Well, I think the question has become moot, because the JBL L300 has been snatched by some other buyer.

However, the store owner told me that he still has JBL 4315 available.

Question:

(a) does the JBL 4315 has similar sound with the 4311?

(b) is the JBL 4315's bass as strong as the 4311?

(c) to me, who have grown with the west coast sound of 4311, would the JBL 4315 be satisfying enough? Is it west coast enough? What if I listen to disco, for example? Would the bass be as strong as the 4311?

(d) is the JBL 4315 near field or mid field? And if it's mid field, what is its minimum comfortable listening distance?

From the specs alone, I think the 4315 should match my Sansui AU-7900 amp greatly, because its power handling is 60 wrms, which is only slightly below my amp. But from sound color, does it sound as good as, or even better, than the 4311?

Thanks again,
You can hear the speaker on You tube ...I thought it sounded pretty good ...considering what I've heard on there

[hjames]

You can hear the speaker on You tube ...I thought it sounded pretty good ...considering what I've heard on there

Dog gone it - you can't hear ANYTHING on youtube except through the speaker your computer is connected to!!

People, get REAL about this ...

[macaroonie]

The 4315 is a great speaker in all its versions. If you feel like the price is good then GRAB THEM , you will not be disappointed. It is by far a better speaker than 4311 /4312 etc , very few in LH forums would argue with that. If you want big thump bass then look at the L220 , L150 L200.

However :- To sound best they do need to have a lot of power there in the amp. Not for loudness but for control. The 4315 will play very loud for domestic use but it is deceptive , as it has the band spread across 4 drivers it is very clean and stays that way until it is much louder than you think. That's when you need the control of a good size amp.

What to look for before you buy.

2203a Bass driver , make sure the foam is good although that can be replaced. Check that the cone moves cleanly with no rubbing or scratching. There are NO recone kits for these although some reconers with experience might be able to put something together.

2108 mid bass as above but less chance of any recone kits at all. Having said that if there are problems with the 2108 then the whole speaker has been driven very hard.

2105 mid normally these are fine although you may find the cones have faded colour.

2405 slot tweet. Service parts are available as far as I know but normally these work properly or are blown.

By and large if you get a pair that have been looked after then the only thing you will need to worry about is the foam on the 2203 and 2108

The crossover network will probably benefit fro new capacitors. There are two big electrolytic caps in there that will not be the best by now. Not to worry about this at present as its something you can fix later.
Remember this is a 40 year old pair of speakers .

In conclusion , buy them as if there was no tomorrow but be prepared to have to do some maintainance to keep them alive. If you are lucky you will have them as long as I had mine , 28 years.

Good luck.

[Greg86z28]

With these more rare models (L300, 4315) you gotta move when they become available. Go listen and buy them if the price is right. You can always resell them later if you decide they aren't your thing. Those 4311 you posted in the other thread looked like somewhat of a 'project'.

[SEAWOLF97]

Dog gone it - you can't hear ANYTHING on youtube except through the speaker your computer is connected to!!

People, get REAL about this ...

NOT altogether true . The system connected to my computer is better than most peoples "main systems" . streaming audio (even from YouTube) can be quite good . I run Pandora a lot and it's very acceptable.

In my LR , the laptop runs net audio through a DAC and off to the 250's. Really does sound fine.

I think the limiting factor with streaming audio is what produced it. If someone holds up their smart phone and records their speakers.... well, most everything is going to be sameish/yuckish. :crying:

[hjames]

NOT altogether true . The system connected to my computer is better than most peoples "main systems" . streaming audio (even from YouTube) can be quite good . I run Pandora a lot and it's very acceptable.

In my LR , the laptop runs net audio through a DAC and off to the 250's. Really does sound fine.

I think the limiting factor with streaming audio is what produced it. If someone holds up their smart phone and records their speakers.... well, most everything is going to be sameish/yuckish. :crying:

I did not say it did not sound fine, what I said is you are hearing the sound of YOUR speakers.

Its like looking at a picture of someone's TV through the web or through your TV ...
You would only see the grossest of differences -

[Fort Knox]

Dog gone it - you can't hear ANYTHING on youtube except through the speaker your computer is connected to!!

People, get REAL about this ...

My computer is hooked into 4 A7's:)

[hjames]

My computer is hooked into 4 A7's:)

So its sounds like 2 pair of A7s ...

... not like a pair of 4315.

[SEAWOLF97]

You would only see the grossest of differences -

there should be gross differences between L300 & 4315 , even on a phone you should hear mucho diferentes . :blink:

[Fort Knox]

So its sounds like 2 pair of A7s ...

... not like a pair of 4315.

I've listened to many many speakers.......over the years........and the relative differances become easy to spot.......:)

[hjames]

I've listened to many many speakers.......over the years........and the relative differances become easy to spot.......:)

None of this side-debate gets our original poster anywhere ...
we don't know what gear he has to audition YouTube gear with ...