L100T/L100S as a reference/studio monitor

[ldizac]

I saw in a previous post that the L100T was very similar to the 4412. How do you think it would serve as a reference monitor? B/c of some of your suggestions I was thinking of buying a pair of 4412's but if my pair of L100S's will do then why waste the money? I understand that the spcing of the drivers might cause some problems. Thanks.

[BMWCCA]

Waste money? I just paid $197.50 for a pair of 4412s on Epay. They should be here in a couple of days. That price is actually less than most of the L100ts have gone for recently, though not by much. Of course they don't have that pretty wood veneer, either.

[jim3860]

if you are looking for a studio monitor go for the 4412 or L112 etc if you want a nice loud rock and roll speaker go for the L100ts. it all depends on what your looking for a really nice studio monitor or a really nice reasonbly priced hi fi speaker.

[Zilch]

I saw in a previous post that the L100T was very similar to the 4412. How do you think it would serve as a reference monitor

Voicing is everything in this rarefied area.

If you really want a studio/reference monitor, you gotta buy that.

If "pretend" is good enough, well, whatever, then....

[BMWCCA]

if you are looking for a studio monitor go for the 4412 or L112 etc if you want a nice loud rock and roll speaker go for the L100ts.

Not that it really matters much at this point, but I'm curious as to the differences here. I guess what I'm saying is I've owned a pair of L112s for over twenty years and like them a bunch. (But then what I compare everything to are my fifty-year-old 030s, so what do I know?)

So, if I like loud rock'n-roll on my L112s am I missing something by not having "nice" speakers? I guess I'm assuming from what I read that my new-to-me 4412s I'm waiting to hear will dove-tail nicely with what I'm used to hearing in my L112s. Safe assumption? I know the point of a monitor and I've used EQs in my systems for over thirty years. I also know in my youth when I rocked-out listening to Little Feat, that no EQ was necessary. I always assumed that was because Lowell George always worked with JBL monitors. So why would you not want to listen to music the same way as the engineers who helped create the recording? Are we talking about the difference between Kodachrome and Ektachrome in how it "enhances" the reality? Or the personal preference similar to what drove folks to swear by the "bedroom" sound of the big McIntosh systems? And isn't it really a matter of what your ears are used to hearing? I have yet to accomplish the re-surrounding of my "new" L150As but I expect those to be good "rockers" to complement the L112s. Should sound damn good on Lee Michael's "5th", too Just curious.

[jim3860]

First off congratulations on being the owner of L112s and L150as They are both very nice in my opinion. I also own a pair of L112s and would like to be the owner of L150as I think if you own both of them allready you have the best of both worlds. No need for L100ts I think your L150as would out perform them. As far as 4412s i cant say how they would compare to the L112s you own. I havent heard them yet REGARDS JIM

[Zilch]

I guess I'm assuming from what I read that my new-to-me 4412s I'm waiting to hear will dove-tail nicely with what I'm used to hearing in my L112s. Safe assumption?

We're counting on you telling US your impressions of the differences....

[BMWCCA]

I'm certainly happy to oblige! It could take a while since both my L112s and my L150As are waiting for those six new surrounds to magically install themselves. The 4412 idea was justified as being cheaper than paying someone to re-foam either of the other pairs, and thus allowing me to DIY, on my schedule. That schedule includes three daughters from ages 11 to 20, college search for the middle child, and, oh yeah, working to pay for all of this! Then there's the space program; not enough space to lay-out an L150 to work on it without someone needing to use the living room for....living. And those new house plans seem to go on hold everytime I quit a job after 20-years, or we send another kid off to college. I'm sure there are a few of you who can relate.

So, I promise, I will make the comparison, but only with properly restored L-series boxes to make it a fair one. BTW, UPS just arrived with the 4412s in U-haul boxes. From the outside looks like they were packed and handled with care but today I have to drive to DC for my Father-in-law's funeral at Arlington National so they'll just likely stay in the boxes until I return. Unless I want to ruin a perfectly good funeral by taking a peak and risking being P.O.'s for the rest of the week.

Thanks for listening and for your informative replies. I'm happy to be able to contribute to this great group even in a small way.

[billyboyJBL]

bmwcca,IMHO ,great price fo a set of 4412's,if i understand you ,that do not need refoaming. i paided $260 for mine about a year ago ,and they did need new surrounds. i hope you love yours as much as i have mine!

[duaneage]

The woofers in the L100T were used in the 4425 but not in a 3 wy studio monitor in the traditional sense. I have LF and mids from a l100t and was thinking about making a studio monitor out of them. Same layout as the 4411/4412/4311/4312 series but with the excellent 2214H woofer.

[BMWCCA]

Well, the 4412s arrived ahead of schedule and very well packed: bagged in 30-gallon trash bags then placed in boxes with post-formed Styrofoam corner pieces with mylar-laminated 1" Stryrofoam panels cut to fit and then doubled-up as the top and bottom pieces. Closed-cell foam panels covering the grille side and more Styrofoam on the others, all inside big U-Haul dishware boxes. Everything arrived as described with one dented dust cap and one small bang on a corner. You can put Ebay's roamer1740 on the good-guy list so far.

I've run them a bit with some spare stuff but the spare D-150-II amp seems to have developed a problem just sitting unused and caused a loud hum in one channel when I first turned it on so I switched it off immediately. I unhooked the Pomona plugs, checked all connections, and tried it again without the speakers. This time it blew the 6.25A MDX 313 fuse. So I went out to Radio Shack and got some 4 and 6A MDL 313s and tried it again. The room lights dimmed as smoke billowed from the Crown. What a lovely sight! In retrospect, this was one amp I'd bought used and later found it had all funky screws holding it together. Guess it was someone elses electronics project but I had it playing for several hours when I first got it with no problems. Oh well. Easy come....

So I'll have to get my other owned-from-new D-150-II back from a friend whose Flame Linear blew up many months ago, or wait until things calm down around here kid-wise and hook them up on top of the L112s or the 030s. Or pull the old faceless D150 (also owned since new) out of the upstairs system and hook it up to the temporary one I've got set up with the 4412s. I was psyched because I actually thought I could have identical electronics to compare the two speakers. Same preamp (Soundcraftsmen DX4400) and amps. Right now they're playing out of a portable boom box with input from the Soundcraftsmen just to make sure all voices are accounted for.
More to come.

[Audiobeer]

For my litening tastes here's the order I would put them in.

1.) L-150s

2.) 4412s

3.) L-112s

That is just my opinion. It will be good to hear yours!

[BMWCCA]

Just a thought, and I'm sorry to have taken this way off-topic, but from the beginning I've heard negative comment on systems using passive radiators. While I welcome the opportunity to hear any compact system that could possibly be an improvement over my beloved L112s, I wonder what an L150 would sound like if you replaced the PR300 with a wooden plate with a duct in it. Should it be a larger sized duct than that in an L112? Would the 128H benefit from the larger enclosure? Again, just a thought.

(I swear I'm gonna get the 4412s cranking tomorrow as soon as I finish this article I'm working on that's already over deadline!)

[Zilch]

Your questions can be quickly answered by a box modeling program such as BaseBox 6 Pro, which includes passive radiators.

[Well, not "answered," per se, maybe, but "indicated," rather. Somewhat.... ]

[BMWCCA]

Zilch, thanks. I'm assuming you meant "Bassbox 6 Pro" though Google hit on both. Alas, it seems to require a Windoze box to operate it and I'm one of those Apple weenies you see holding hands on the TV (see Network)! I do believe the old JBL enclosure design kit I have has tables for calculating bass reflex ports. I'll have to figure out where I stashed that cool box with it's vacu-formed top decades ago. In your considered opinion, would the L112 benefit from a larger box, say one a foot taller like the L150?