1 Attachment(s)
The wait is over; L100 Classics are breaking in nicely
I received my L100 Classics speakers last week. They're not fully broken in, but a few initial observations:
- They are party speakers, in every good way. If there wasn't a party going on when you fire them up, there will be one soon.
- They seem enormous by 21st century standards.
- The tweeter is pretty sweet for a metal dome (and it still looks like a Revel-sourced driver).
- Mids are dynamic and seem to be smoothing out over time.
- Bass is prodigious, and unlike the original L100, it goes down into the low 40's with authority, if not total control. I'm using ancient wooden stands, which don't help bass. I'll probably have Sound Anchors build stands similar to what they make for Harbeth 40's. It's an expensive solution, but the stock stands only raise the speaker 8" off the floor, and I'm not finding commercially available 12-14" stands that can support 60lb speakers with a big footprint.
- One grille fits like a glove; the other requires a fist. Since the speakers sound better without a foam pillow in front of them, and the grilles have to be off to adjust the 'tone controls', but the only reason you got away with buying them was because of their looks, I wish Harman had opted for magnetic fasteners. I wonder how many owners will end up with rattling grilles that require chewing gum to keep them secured--just like the originals.
- They image better than I expected. Obviously, JBL didn't think we'd care, since they didn't opt to provide L & R mirrored speakers, but from 8 feet away, it's OK.
- One week in, and the cats haven't started using them as scratching posts. It's only a matter of time, though. Maybe I should buy a pair of old Magnepans to keep the little dears distracted.
I'll post more after they're broken in, but I'm pleased so far. They seem to be what every L100 wanted to be back when we didn't know any better.
Attachment 82862
Thanks and awesome review!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
2440
I received my L100 Classics speakers last week. They're not fully broken in, but a few initial observations:
- They are party speakers, in every good way. If there wasn't a party going on when you fire them up, there will be one soon.
- They seem enormous by 21st century standards.
- The tweeter is pretty sweet for a metal dome (and it still looks like a Revel-sourced driver).
- Mids are dynamic and seem to be smoothing out over time.
- Bass is prodigious, and unlike the original L100, it goes down into the low 40's with authority, if not total control. I'm using ancient wooden stands, which don't help bass. I'll probably have Sound Anchors build stands similar to what they make for Harbeth 40's. It's an expensive solution, but the stock stands only raise the speaker 8" off the floor, and I'm not finding commercially available 12-14" stands that can support 60lb speakers with a big footprint.
- One grille fits like a glove; the other requires a fist. Since the speakers sound better without a foam pillow in front of them, and the grilles have to be off to adjust the 'tone controls', but the only reason you got away with buying them was because of their looks, I wish Harman had opted for magnetic fasteners. I wonder how many owners will end up with rattling grilles that require chewing gum to keep them secured--just like the originals.
- They image better than I expected. Obviously, JBL didn't think we'd care, since they didn't opt to provide L & R mirrored speakers, but from 8 feet away, it's OK.
- One week in, and the cats haven't started using them as scratching posts. It's only a matter of time, though. Maybe I should buy a pair of old Magnepans to keep the little dears distracted.
I'll post more after they're broken in, but I'm pleased so far. They seem to be what every L100 wanted to be back when we didn't know any better.
Attachment 82862
Great review! Good luck with distracting the cats. All the speaker grills of my three sets of JBLs were continually visited over the years by our cat. Where were your L100 Classics manufactured? I saw some photos with "Made in Indonesia". Just pondering now based on your review on now buying a set of the JBL L100 Classics or a set of JBL 4429s. Sounds like the JBL L100 Classics will allow us to relive our youth as we want to remember it.
Hopefully, my cats don't like Indonesian foam
Quote:
Originally Posted by
NEWYORKER
Great review! Good luck with distracting the cats. All the speaker grills of my three sets of JBLs were continually visited over the years by our cat. Where were your L100 Classics manufactured? I saw some photos with "Made in Indonesia". Just pondering now based on your review on now buying a set of the JBL L100 Classics or a set of JBL 4429s. Sounds like the JBL L100 Classics will allow us to relive our youth as we want to remember it.
The L100 Classic is indeed Indonesian. Some Revel speakers come from there, I believe, so maybe they're built in the same facility. The 4429 looks cool but L100s were at the top of my budget, and my wife loves how they look. After putting up with the industrial look of 4425, LSR28P, and ATC SCM20 studio monitors over the past 25 years, she deserves a break. The L100's bass may be tuned more for American tastes than the 4429's, but I've never heard them.
I got pricing on Sound Anchor stands for L100s, from $600-800 plus shipping, depending on whether you choose 3 or 4 post stands. That is a lot of money, but they're made in Florida, so there ya go.
The birth of the Tom Waits speaker company!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sonofagun
And made here!!
Step right up, step right up, step right up,
Everyone's a winner, bargains galore
That's right, you too can be the proud owner
Of the quality goes in before the name goes on