Well back in 1976, stationed Air Force in Germany, the base had an "audio club" not really a club more like a store. There were 3 choices for speakers.
1. Pioneer HPM 100
2. Bose 901's
3. JBL 100's
After listening to all 3 sets, I chose the JBL's 'caus my ears told me they sounded the best. That's my story, have never looked back.
"It only costs 80% extra to go first class"
You must have been at a pretty small post... I remember visiting a cousin who was stationed in Germany and walking into an "Audio Club" about that time and feeling like I was back home at a Pacific Stereo... except the prices were better.Originally Posted by invstbiker
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HAHN Air Base to be specific, Now HAHN regional airport.You must have been at a pretty small post... I remember visiting a cousin who was stationed in Germany and walking into an "Audio Club" about that time and feeling like I was back home at a Pacific Stereo... except the prices were better.
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"It only costs 80% extra to go first class"
What a great website you've got here!
I've just made a donation I hope will cover all the site's bandwidth I've consumed over the past month of voracious reading.
I got hooked on the JBL sound twenty-four years ago when my college roommate brought his L50s into our dorm. I'd never heard music sound like that before. I knew then I'd like to own a pair someday, but never really pursued the dream.
Until recently. About a month ago I picked up a pair of Decade 36 with LE25-4 and "A" serial numbers. I guess that makes them L36A. The MF cones aren't the same shade of black, but they're both LE5-6.
They sound nice--miles ahead of the speakers I've been enduring in the intervening years, yet somehow the bass response isn't quite what I seem to recall.
In DIY I saw a closeup picture of R.Cobb's foam surround for 125A, and I noticed my foam is much thicker and probably way too stiff. So I've ordered his kit. I hope that solves my problem, although I can't forget Greg Timbers' statement about 125A "only had to see an amplifier in the room and they got really nervous." Maybe they need re-gaussed. I read about a guy in Oklahoma....
Or maybe I should save my money for the inevitable next pair of JBL. Maybe try something with a 3" coil. 4313B is probably out of my budget. L96 perhaps?
Anyway, I'm glad I found this place to rekindle my old love affair.
Here is a typical 1970’s experience:
You enter the premises and stare at the stock. It’s bookshelf ALTEC and JBL speakers; the cream of affordable US made amplifiers (Marantz, HK); some almost hidden Japanese electronics; and classical English speakers. The owner asks you not to brush against the ‘counter’. You then realize the counter is a grey 4350 cabinet turned backwards. The owner comments about this being a real ‘bookshelf sized’ speaker. You ask who would buy a grey colored speaker. He says they are going to spray it white for a special order. Customer modifications and home installations are their specialty.
You mention an interest in JBL and follow him into the Sound Room. A passion for JBL is apparent by the range of sizes from big to small and color choices. In the top spot is another 4350 pair. The grills are removed for to you salivate at the wall of drivers. Questions follow about room size. You can’t do much about the room (always too small) and you toe in the boxes for the closer listening distances. Then comes a pitch about being ‘professional’ quality with local installation, home tuning, and service.
You notice enough equipment racks for a telephone exchange. He says these speakers justify an excellent front end and that US speakers sound best with US amps. I think they were using HK Citation with the power level LEDS in a row. The stereo amps were bridged mono (200W ?) with a rats nest of cables, connectors, and switch boxes. This hardware was going to cost about as much as the speakers. Lower power amps would do when budget is a problem. The golden rule was don’t compromise on the speakers. Buy them first and work backwards.
The source was a Linn on its own shelf bolted to the brick wall. The lid was permanently removed because the draft rocked it like a sail. The recommendation was for a concrete filled pipe passing through the floor and sunk into the soil. The shop could do this for you.
The owner asks about your favorites. On comes Deep Purple and Supertramp. The speakers sound harsh and bright at ‘background’ listening levels, probably because the room is too small. The amp LEDs are on low range and you can see an occasional blink (.01W ?). A twirl of the volume knob convinces you that all the amps and speakers are working. At ‘loud’ volumes, the LEDs flash rows of pretty colours (1 W ?) and the speakers are sounding more balanced. The bass drivers are actually starting to move (ie vibrate). The sound is open and dynamic. These speakers are not straining to produce great sound. After 3 or 4 tracks you are convinced that these speakers really special. Good enough for any home. The sell is that you use the dynamic range to focus in on a particular sound within the track.
Now comes Dark side of the Moon. You attention is drawn to this being an imported limited edition pressing which the shop also sells. The amp LEDS are switched to full scale and selections played. You see the four15 inch bass drivers pumping. You feel the draft from the ports. It sounds absolutely superb and so effortless. The amp LEDs show 5-40W bursts and the owner gives a spiel about headroom and power handling (200W+). You experience the bass notes move along your ear canal. The owner identifies extraneous noise from cables flapping inside the stud walls, plaster cracks, and where the ceiling fell during a previous demonstration. More volume is applied to offset hearing fatigue. The quality is still superb but it feels like a garden hose is stuck in your ear with the water pushing against the drum in time to the music. You remember reading the warning in the brochure about permanent deafness and so enough for now.
After a thank you for the education and with mumblings about needing to save more money you exit.
Your hearing returns to normal two hours later. The shop: Insound Crows Nest NSW Australia (still JBL agents). How could someone resist ?
That took some work and very intertaining. Appreciated. Might be just a touch a truth as well
Ah, to be 17 again...
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I not to explain it ... they have his beauty.
I was stationed at a radar repair site right out side of Baumholder Germany.
I bought a Pioneer SPEC 1 and SPEC 2 from a friend in my unit. I needed
speakers to go with them.
I went to the Sight and Sound store in Baumholder Germany.
It was a military store (run by AAFES) on post.
There were many loudspeakers to choose from. After a lot
of listening, I narrowed it down to the JBL L100T or the Polk SDA SRS.
The JBLs won out.
I bought an ADC CD100X CD player and some CDs and was up and running. CDs were fairly new so I had to mail order the CD player.
There was a pretty good CD shop, however, right by the post.
My most enjoyable experience was putting in a brand new CD,
not hearing anything, turing the volume up and then BAMMMM a
drum hit LOUD! THe power amp was pegged but wow the speakers
played clear and hit hard and fast.
These were my first step up from the junk speakers that come with
Fisher-type systems. I had no idea before then how much better
good speakers sounded, (compared to department store junk).
I still have those up and running in my son's room. I have replaced
the L100Ts with 250TIs in my stereo room.
well because its a brand thats down to earth, building quality is good (not as good as the older stuff offcourse)they still use big woofers.
and who doesnt like a big woofer
no hocus pocus mambo jambo materials that will do wonders.
everything they claim is meassurable.
and nothing wrong with a company that has a history.
in the end ...i choose it because im a metalhead en no brand comes closer to the marshall,fender,lesPaul sound as JBL
followed by Tannoy, klipsch and cabasse
finally i have a pair of 604 8g's....there not easy to find in the netherlands
Wayback in 1968 i built my own loudspeakersystem consisting out of a pair of 10" Goodmans extended range units and a pair of conventional Philips paper cones for the high frequencies. I crossed the speakers with only 4,7 uF capacitors and i believe the crossover point was at 3500 Hz.
My amplifier was a Danish 2 x 10 Watt Arena design, manufactured by Hede Nielsen A/S in Horssens. Later on the factory was damaged by fire. My turntable was a Perpetuum Ebner from the Black Forest region in Germany (PE34) suited with an Empire cartridge. Well, it sounded very nice to my ears and i was completely satisfied with that system, till...................one day.
Some guy i vagely knew came along for something i can't recall and i showed him my hifi equipment. Listening to the reproduced sound he stated: "Well Jan, not that bad, but it can't be compared to the system of a friend of mine !". At that moment i felt if i had been stitched by a wasp, but my curiosity won from my hurt feelings.
I asked him to introduce me to that friend and one Saturday the both of us went to his friend's house.
My Goodness, entering the livingroom i saw a pair of huge cabinets (JBL Baron with D130 and 075 - enclosure C38), a soft glowing tube amplifier and a massive Thorens TD-124 MKII turntable with a Ortofon moving coil cartridge.
The owner of that equipment who became my friend till his death played Lorilee, a David Gates song, at that memorable moment.
Holy Moly, the sound was breathtaking and i was totally gobsmacked and it blew away all my opinions about sound reproduction. A new standard had been created. From that moment on i suffered from the JBL disease and I was often at my (new) friend's place. Together we also listened to the Paragon at a High End Exhibition in Germany.
Unfortunately American products were very expensive at that time (1 US$ was Dutch 3,65 Guilders).
After having had several loudspeakersysems such as, Dynaco A25X, Cambridge Audio TL200, Infinty Quantum2, Cabasse Galliote, i always kept thinking about JBL and i finally bought my first pair of JBL4312A Control Monitors in 2005, followed by a pair of JBL Control Ones and a pair of JBL L110's. The JBL L110's have been restored a few weeks ago.
http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/s...ad.php?t=21629
I also acquired a JBL SA -600 integrated amplifier from 1966 and a the restoration can be seen on:
http://www.hififorum.nl/index.php?topic=10420.0
Well, i am very glad to have different kind of JBL equipment in my collection, but i have noticed it has become a kind of addiction and i can't stop searching on Ebay. Who knows what comes across next time ?
Kind regards,
Jan Slagman
The Netherlands
Good story and I know what you mean. I think you need to search for 4315's
-- Mac
Hi Macaroonie,
Thanks for thr information. I really will think about that suggestion !
Kind regards,
Jan Slagman
The Netherlands
I've never been a real fan of specific brands, but I do like a lot of JBL product.
I first heard a JBL speaker in a store (now closed) in York St, Sydney in the early 80's when I was wagging school for the day. It has stuck in my memory. I don't recall the model, but I think L100 as it had a coloured foam grille.
When I got back into DIY-ing gear, I got some KHorns and fell in love with high efficiency. As I modified these to remove some of their limitations (all non-invasive/reversible) I found a great source of second hand JBL drivers locally. I've since used, owned and still own a lot of drivers. One of my current projects involved a WMTMW with 2225 and 2123 and a B&C DE250.
Great drivers, very expensive new over here, but if you know where to look, they can be found in good condition at decent prices.
Dynamic range. Headroom. Low distortion. Always has been among the most important characteristics of high quality audio to me.
I grew up listening to Lansing Iconics at home. Stephens TruSonics at Grand dads (below).
You get used to that, and it's hard to stray too far (second photo).
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