Here are some pics of a set of L300's I got from an estate sale. I didn't know what they were at the time. :dont-know I offered to remove them from the house for free because of their weight. (125 Lbs each!) They were happy to get rid of them!
Later when I brought them into the house I looked closer at them and thought Hmm these things look pretty cool!! Like 70's High End! It wasn't that hard to guess they were high end because of the Oracle TT that was with them.
I looked up the ebay auctions for L300's and...... PARTY TIME!!!
They are in great condition. A little dusty (no problem) and the foam surrounds on the 135A woofers have degraded.
I tested the one with the best surround against my Paradigm Studio 100's and I have to say........
I've never heard anything like THAT before
They blew me away!! Actually the woofer damage was evident when I listened to them but the mids and tweeter were out of this world. The presence and diffusion throughout the room was infectious! The dispersion filters over the horns must do some magic because the mids were so smooth and present at the same time.
I posted my opinions about how these would fair against my Paradigms in another thread a while ago but I hadn't tested my theory at that time. Even though I tested them out now I realize the test is not a fair one because of the woofer damage. I thought the 15" woofers would produce a less controlled sound compared to the multiple array woofers in the Paradigms. In reality right now, the 15" woofers didn't produce much bass at all. I know they'll be quite capable when they are redone. :thmbsp:
What I did note was the mids and highs did one up my Paradigms though. The highs were comparable in frequency response but not in performance. The imaging on the JBL's was really quite special. I can't say what the heck it was, but they gave the music a fluidic third dimension I had never experienced with any other speaker I've ever heard. (I frequent high end audio shops too) I can't wait to hear what the whole package will produce with the woofers in tact.
Here's what they look like now:
I can't justify keeping them no matter how great they are. With what they are going for nowadays on the Bay, I need much more play money then I need these. Actually I don't need these at all. I wish I could use them in place of the Paradigms but my wife put the kibosh on that idea. She likes the light color of the Paradigms and completely detests the look of the L300's.
I think they look awesome!!
Now I'm not sure what to do for repair. I'm going to try to clean up the grills but I'm almost 100% sure I'll need to redo the material. Should I have the woofers reconed or simply refoamed? I also checked out the crossover and the Caps are accessible. Should I recap them? Remember, I am asking not for myself but rather for resale.