not even an L100 deserves THIS kind of treatment

[GordonW]

I helped a friend of mine, at his PA repair shop, diagnose a broken L100, today.

Man, can you say totally f'ed up? Here's the litany of problems.

Wrong tweeter (some Pioneer dome), DEAD.

LE5-2 had been reconed with the WRONG stuff, and shoddily repaired (cone had a patched hole, and was coated with some nasty brushed on black stuff covering the whole cone... and had a SOFT FELT "fuzzy" dustcap!) DEAD too.

123A, DEAD

That's one wrong driver, one bollixed up reconed driver, and one original driver, ALL OPEN CIRCUIT. On top of that, one of the L-pads in the crossover looked like it had been bent (the adjuster is crooked, jammed against one side of the hole it sits in).

On top of that, someone had removed and reinstalled the crossover at some point- BORING A HOLE in the foilcal to get to the hidden screw (which is now sunk flush INTO the front of the foilcal.

I know some people don't respect the L100 as much as other JBL stuff... but did it REALLY deserve THIS kind of SHEER ABUSE and MOLESTATION??

I'm thinking of trying to offer to sell the owner of these things another WORKING pair of speakers (because even using aftermarket parts, repairing JUST THIS ONE cabinet is going to be $200 or so, possibly more) of another brand (NOT JBL)... and offfering to buy the remains of this pair of L100s, for $20-25 or so for the pair. Maybe some nice Cerwin-Vegas might be more his flavor, huh guys??

Regards,
Gordon.

[Maron Horonzakz]

Poor slob he does,nt deserve another set of L100,s Get him a Boze.

[Robh3606]

Gordon I know how you feel! It amazes me what people do to their stuff. I E-Bayed a pair of L3. From the pictures there was some damage put they were cheap and I figured why not. I go to pick them up and they are covered in dried mud!! Even the 8" cones were brownish from dirt. They cleaned up fine but here was a nice and not cheap pair of speakers tossed into a crawl space for storage. Didn't even but a tarp under them or blocks to keep them up off the dirt???? Well I asked why they were going and quess what the answer was??

A Bose Lifestyle system!!!!!!

Well they are my sons now but before he got them I took them on our yearly Winter Weekend in Vermont. Usually the same Bose system comes up for stereo duty but one year I brought these JBL's instead. Well every year after it's been when are the JBL's comming back!

Rob

[GordonW]

I almost feel bad... because the speakers that MAY get offered to the bozo, are a pair of Altec Model 9s. The guy who I helped diagnose the speaker, has a pair in his shop, that we fixed (reconed woofers, refoamed mids) not long ago.

Man, this is the time I wish I had a pair of CV D5s sitting around...

Regards,
Gordon.

[jackz4000]

the pair of L80T's you have? They are kinda unheralded, unhyped. If I needed a pair of speakers for a home application the $350 you mentioned for your L80T's would be a good deal for me, probably a better deal for him.

Audio equipment can get pretty beat up from the owners or previous owners. Amazing how stupid some people are. And careless.

On another note the L100's take a forum beating here and why? I don't know? Compared to most speakers of the era they were very exciting speakers for the price point and eclipsed much consumer stuff then being peddeled. Now, that does depend upon what your expectations are and your sonic criteria and whats in your wallet.

I have a cousin of the L100's, the 4311B's and in my room they do a great job. Maybe it's the room and the tweaked low end eq....but its a nice speaker.

The L100 stuff is like entry level to sonic quality. If some guy loves (and I know a couple) his L100's....he will worship a 4333.

[Robh3606]

"On another note the L100's take a forum beating here and why? I don't know? Compared to most speakers of the era they were very exciting speakers for the price point and eclipsed much consumer stuff then being peddeled. Now, that does depend upon what your expectations are and your sonic criteria and whats in your wallet."

I got a pair in 1974 and they were damn expensive compared to much of their competition. But they are still going strong today and they have not lost their value figure list was $273 and now a good pair goes for damn near the same.

They take a beating cause they are not by any means JBL's best effort. I still like them, kind of like an old friend that has some issues, you just deal with them.

"The L100 stuff is like entry level to sonic quality. If some guy loves (and I know a couple) his L100's....he will worship a 4333."

Yes now you got it.

Rob

[jackz4000]

I kinda view the L100's like a Ford Mustang of the 68-70's era. This is a kinda sporty workingmans sports car, but it ain't no Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston-Martin, or Porsche 911ST of the era. It's an entry level price point offering for the freeways and Ford made millions off of the design. So did JBL with their little Mustang for the workinguy.

Back then, I was an audio buyer for a chain...L100's sold like hotcakes. There were people who thought they heard God for the first time. HAD to have them. All biz.

Me? At the time I was spending time in NYC's top recording studios (Record Plant, ElectricLady, A&R, MediaS, Atlantic etc) and I was hearing JBL's Big Boys singing. Wow! No comparison. Hendrix in the control room on the Big Boys...Whoa! But, for most people of the day, consumers, the L100's were mighty impressive. My salesmen never had to "sell" them...people came from 100 miles away just to be luckly enough to buy a pair. And the promo leaflets sold the units alone. JBL made a mint off those speakers and....they were a pedestrian offering.

[GordonW]

Originally posted by jackz4000
the pair of L80T's you have? They are kinda unheralded, unhyped. If I needed a pair of speakers for a home application the $350 you mentioned for your L80T's would be a good deal for me, probably a better deal for him.

I hope that was a joke?

I wouldn't dream of "sentencing" a speaker as GENUINELY GOOD SOUNDING and looking as the L80T to someone like that, I wouldn't think. I mean, I'd even feel a LITTLE bad handing him a pair of JBL Radience '133s, or something.

I may try to put a pair of CV HED-10s I have, on him. At least in that speaker, the parts are a) made for abuse, b) cheap to recone/replace if they blow up and c) not all that important from a historical standpoint and whatnot...

Regards,
Gordon.

[Robh3606]

Here sell him this. A symphony orchestra in a box. You have seen the commercials. You will be completely guiltless then.


Rob

[Titanium Dome]

Originally posted by Robh3606
Here sell him this. A symphony orchestra in a box. You have seen the commercials. You will be completely guiltless then.


Rob

Somebody, Please! Get me a paper bag.

[boputnam]

Originally posted by jackz4000
...L100's sold like hotcakes. Me? ... I was hearing JBL's Big Boys singing. Wow! No comparison. But, for most people of the day, consumers, the L100's were mighty impressive. ... JBL made a mint off those speakers and....they were a pedestrian offering.

Kiss me...

[maggnepan]

I well remember going to several audio shops in l973 and listening to all kind of speakers i wanted , i auditioned altecs, ads 910s ,ess tower speakers and others, but the one that always sounded like music were the L-100s even with the grills on they had a kind of dynamic prescence that blew all the others away and seemed to be very fast in the bass, even if they did not go real low, they were still fast in the transient response. My friend bought a pair of L-200b ,s and after hearing those i wanted more than the 200s could deliver and upon the advice of a salesman named chuck (are you out there?) from Larsons stereo den in medford oregon, i bought a pair of L-166 horizons and never looked back until a few years ago when i aquired 3 pair of 100s and have hoarded them ever since,,,,,they still sound really good, only on the tweeter do i feel short changed. nevertheless it makes me feel young again to have them since i wanted them in my youth and now i have them in my closet (along with a few other jbl toys), i knew lots of people who boutht them and noone, i repeat, no one ever regretted it...they were simply so much better than any thing in their price range, it was amazing that jbl could sell them for what theydid, but it was a lot of money in those days..i paid 1100 for my l66 horizons and the 100s were only a little less money and my house payment was 200 a month.........i had to do a lot of ass kissing to the old lady to get them into the home, but she tolerated my hobby...she is gone now , but the hobby is still here.......i have my priorities straight.

[mikebake]

But what is with your moniker, magnnepan?

[JBLRaiser]

But, I will take him to the woodshed for a moniker makeove!

[maggnepan]

my moniker refers to a tonearm, not the speaker...is that ok?