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Thread: Quarter million L100's !!!

  1. #1
    RIP 2021 SEAWOLF97's Avatar
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    Wink Quarter million L100's !!!

    somehow had never seen these pages before

    http://www.jblpro.com/company/history/index.html

    or

    http://www.jblpro.com/company/histor...ilstones8.html

    a really interesting read...cant fit it all in a post.

    1969 - The L-100, a consumer version of the 4311, is introduced, eventually reaching sales of 125,000 pairs during the decade of the seventies.
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

  2. #2
    Senior Member macaroonie's Avatar
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    It would be interesting to speculate as to how many of those are still on the go after all these years. Also how many are languishing in attics / garages / basements just waiting to be rescued.

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    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    somehow had never seen these pages before
    They recently put them up. I wonder what John Eargle would say about JBL moving all manufacturing out of the United States. That could be the 2010 milestone.

    We've been chatting almost non-stop about this for several weeks now and everyone but one (a Marketing guy) is sick to their stomach over this debacle.

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    Quote Originally Posted by macaroonie View Post
    It would be interesting to speculate as to how many of those are still on the go after all these years. Also how many are languishing in attics / garages / basements just waiting to be rescued.
    There are still four of the 250,000 units (125,000 pairs) working in my house, including my originals from 1970. There will always be a place for my first pair of JBLs.
    Out.

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    Quote Originally Posted by 4313B View Post
    They recently put them up. I wonder what John Eargle would say about JBL moving all manufacturing out of the United States. That could be the 2010 milestone.

    We've been chatting almost non-stop about this for several weeks now and everyone but one (a Marketing guy) is sick to their stomach over this debacle.
    As someone who's spent many thousands of dollars on current, top-tier JBL products made (or at least assembled) in the USA and buying new JBL gear for nearly 40 years, I'd like to know whom I need to speak with to really get someone's attention at Harman.
    Out.

  6. #6
    Senior Member lgvenable's Avatar
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    My L100A's are my center channels, each powered by one amp. They still sound outstanding.

    I've still got my 4312's too, While I never had ar 44XX series, I am about to start building a threesome clone of a 4732; having scored a bunch of JBL Pro 2446J compression drivers & bi-radial horns, as well as 2404H baby cheeks and 2206's on the cheap in the past 2 years.

    I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for my L100A's ..cost me 175 each in 1978ish. Still have a Pacific Stereo receipt for their sale. I got my 4312A's at a Highland Stereo midnight madness sale for 195 each. Back then their list was for 450 each.

    Those memories like the days of wine and roses. I guess I grew up in the next 30 years to become this grouchy old man I am.
    Integra DHC80.1,3x 4636LF, 2360-2446J 2404H,12 x 8340 Surrounds, 2 x4645B, BGW 250D's,250E's,& 750B's 16 amps...7600 watts

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    RIP 2021 SEAWOLF97's Avatar
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    I did NOT know

    "Thomas secured the services of industrial designer,
    Robert Hartsfield, and together they created the Hartsfield system
    (which was still built in Japan as late as the mid eighties)"


    http://www.jblpro.com/company/histor...ytwoyrs_6.html

    it looks like Thomas did a lot of good for the company.


    Quote Originally Posted by Titanium Dome View Post
    There will always be a place for my first pair of JBLs.
    I still keep my very first "real" speakers, tho the HF is dead and unrepairable. I ordered them through PACEX during the Great Asian Adventure , sight unseen, but for $68 dollars new (each) , they were well crafted (CS-77a's) and sounded fine for 1969.
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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    Quote Originally Posted by Titanium Dome View Post
    As someone who's spent many thousands of dollars on current, top-tier JBL products made (or at least assembled) in the USA and buying new JBL gear for nearly 40 years, I'd like to know whom I need to speak with to really get someone's attention at Harman.
    The guy padding his resume with "I saved the company millions of dollars..."

  9. #9
    Senior Member SpeakerLabFan's Avatar
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    A pair of 4311Bs here.

    My favorite milestone:

    1981 - Bi-Radial monitors introduced.

    Building on the acoustical concept of flat power response, the 4400-series monitors quickly gain acceptance by the recording industry.
    Fosgate Signature Tube Phono Pre/Rega P9/Benz Wood/McIntosh MC 2205/JBL 4430

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    Senior Member JoMoCo's Avatar
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    Lamprey Syndrome - Been there saw that...

    Quote Originally Posted by 4313B View Post
    The guy padding his resume with "I saved the company millions of dollars..."
    Or is it the Emperor's new Clothes...."is that the best you czar's can come up with"...

    I love my 123A's. That said...it's never pretty when a company is deconstructed. Its more than ironic that the ones who would not market or sell us the products we seem to be interested in, are most hopeful the host will keep on surviving in the self inflicted mode. Only the bottom feeders & scavengers seem to benefit as a company goes down...

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    Junior Member Old curmudgeon's Avatar
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    Smile Shall we attempt to account for them all?

    And I have a few of those 125,000 pairs in my "Stereo Den" as well.

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    Webmaster Don McRitchie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    somehow had never seen these pages before
    http://www.jblpro.com/company/history/index.html

    They've been on our site since 2003 and were actually first published here. For those that don't know, this is the work of John Eargle whose 1981 - "A Brief of JBL" is the foundation of this website. John updated his 1981 article in 2003 with revisions related to new information that we discovered in the development of this website. He allowed us to put his article on this website as its first public publishing.

    I need to point out that the 125K figure for the L100 is at best a good guess. JBL never did keep production records for a prolonged period of time, and what they did keep was largely lost in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. I remember discussing this with John, and he could not remember the source of this number or whether it represented individual speakers or pairs. Whatever the origin of the number, it likely represents individual speakers since they were not packaged into pairs for distribution and sale.
    Regards

    Don McRitchie

  13. #13
    Senior Member macaroonie's Avatar
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    Are the serial nos a likely clue here ? It might be amusing to see what we come up with on early ----------- late L100 serials and also 4311 by means of a comparison.

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    I've got four of 'em; bought two in 1972 or 73 and the other two in '74. I was working my way through school with a full-time, evening factory job and really had to stretch to buy them. To paraphrase an old saying, "they got me through times of no money better than money would have gotten me through times of no L100s."

    When I look at the pride and craftsmanship that went into old speakers like this and think about where we're heading with "Hencho en Mexico" products it really saddens me to no end.

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