Newly Aquired L100t3

[dmac67]

Hi, I am new to this forum and was brought here by a pair of immaculate L100t3's that I aquired from the original owner this weekend. These would easily rate a 9 on a 10 point scale - cabinets nearly perfect with straight edges and corners and all original drivers working perfectly. The woofers were resurrounded about two years ago and they appear to have been done very well. I have been listening to them since yesterday and they sound nice - quite different in the low end but a similar wide soundstage to the Magnepans I have been running for nearly 20 years. I paid $250 for the pair and I am quite pleased with them at that price. Plan to run them for a 6 month tryout and then decide what to do from there. I look forward to learning alot from this sight.

[hjames]

Welcome to the forum!
Kudos and congrats on the speakers -
they look very nice & sounds like you got a great deal!

Hi, I am new to this forum and was brought here by a pair of immaculate L100t3's that I aquired from the original owner this weekend. These would easily rate a 9 on a 10 point scale - cabinets nearly perfect with straight edges and corners and all original drivers working perfectly. The woofers were resurrounded about two years ago and they appear to have been done very well. I have been listening to them since yesterday and they sound nice - quite different in the low end but a similar wide soundstage to the Magnepans I have been running for nearly 20 years. I paid $250 for the pair and I am quite pleased with them at that price. Plan to run them for a 6 month tryout and then decide what to do from there. I look forward to learning alot from this sight.

[BMWCCA]

Great find!

Bet you don't give 'em up.


More lucky Texans if you do!

[pathfindermwd]

Very nice set you got there! I always liked the darker T3 finish. These are my favorite speaker, mostly because they were my first JBL's, but I always like coming back to the sound of them. They are a lively speaker, they make you move! .

They are famous for sounding great even at very low listening levels, and they're airy highs, oh..they will play loud!. The 2214 12" woofer is excellent, if you like bass!!!

They can be a little a little bright at times, especially in an under-damped room, and can be a little fatiguing (even for me). I also added L-pads to mine so I can just dial down the excitement if I am not up for it.

If you place them correctly these speakers disappear like nothing I've ever heard, and the realism is chilling.

Let us hear more of your impressions as you can. Congrats!!

[dmac67]

Thanks for the replies. I listened to L100t3's all day Sunday using a Dussun V8i (250 watt/channel @ 8 ohm) SS integrated amp and they certainly boogied! This evening, I tried powering them with an Onix SP3 (38 watts/channel @ 8 ohms) tube integrated and it definitely changed the presentation. With the Onix, they lost some of their bottom end while the top was only slightly altered. The Onix has a reputation for sounding less "tube like" than many other amps because it has a SS rectifier. Overall, I definitely preferred listening with the big Dussun. I have come to the conclusion that, even though they are very efficient, they benefit from massive quantities of power. Another thing I can say for sure is they are a completely different experience than listening through the Magnepan speakers I have been using for almost two decades. Next step? Back to the Dussun and begin listening to a wide variety of musical genre's.

[Don Mascali]

Welcome aboard.
Nice catch, they are one of my favorites.

[svollmer]

Congratulations; great catch!

It looks like the original owner was very conscientious about taking care of them and keeping them out of sunlight. If you look around on this forum, you'll see picture of L100T3's with what is called "bikini tan." It's where the cabinet that's exposed to the light fades while the portion behind the grill cloth remains darker. From what I've read here, it's very difficult if not impossible to fix.

And remember to keep the veneer oiled (the L100Ts need it; I assume the T3's do as well - other T3 owners should verify before you do anything). If you do need to oil them, many here, including myself, have used and like Howard Feed-N-Wax. Here's a link to my and my son's journey with a pair of L100T's that might be helpful. Although it looks like yours just need to be enjoyed and maintained, not fixed up.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...0t3+bikini+tan