L-100,4311,4311B,Lancer77

[bob newton]

I just read some really hairey technical stull and I got lost. Can anyone rate these speakers in English? Just a 1 to 10 please.

L-1`00
4311
4311B
Lancer77

Thanks in advance

[Zilch]

For what?

1) Bedroom ambiance?
2) Home theater mains?
3) Classical music listening?
4) Back yard beerfest?
5) Basement rec blowout?
6) Garage band?

[We assume if you ask in a Technical Help forum, you want technical responses....]

[bob newton]

[We assume if you ask in a Technical Help forum, you want technical responses....]

Yikes! My mistake. Just wanted to know which sounds better for general listening..

[your right, this is Technical Help forum. Now I go to confession - my bad]

[Steve Gonzales]

Telling people how "good" something is gonna sound is a bag of worms. It is like asking how a sandwich is going to taste. Based purely on sound to MY ears, here goes : #1 L100 (LE5-2 mid vers.) #2 4311 (wx-a)#3 4311B #4 Lancer 77. This is all subjective opinion. It just so happens that they are ranked in order of current market value too (all things being equal) with the exception of the Lancer 77's, which can command whatever some poor soul is willing to bid to on eBay, because his dad had some. I guess that is partly true of all of them, but mainly the Lancers. I hope confession went okay.....

[bob newton]

Thanks Steve, So you think (to your ears) that the L-100 sounds better than the 4311?

[Steve Gonzales]

There must be a difference in the crossovers that make the L100 sound better to me because the 4311WXA has the same (basically) driver compliment. The difference is not drastic by any means. I've actually owned 3 out of the 4 compared, for great lengths of time and the L100 is what will always stand out in my mind as the clear winner of the bunch.

[bob newton]

L100 is what will always stand out in my mind as the clear winner

Thanks again Steve. And I agree with you. I have been trying different speakers from JBL and none seem to compare to the century (to my sandwich ears!) And everyone that has been over and compaired , all say the L-100 sounds the best. There's just something about that sound. I don't trust my ears (not the best) hence the reason for this thread.

[Steve Gonzales]

YOUR ears are the most important thing YOU have. I've always trusted mine and they've NEVER LIED to ME

[allan]

Just FYI.... I'm new to the forum but not JBL. I sold this stuff back in the '70s when wheels were square. Boy, I wish I had bought a bunch of them then and sat on 'em, but time marches on.
The debate over which sounded better, 4311's or L100s was hot and heavy even then. We sold both to many studios in the SF Bay Area. Different engineers from the same studios sometimes insisted on one or the other.
There seemed to be a definate difference in the crossovers from low to mid between the two. The 4311s seemed to have a smoother transistion from the low to mid range. But that was my ear. From a consumer standpoint, we were one of the few shops to sell both home and pro equipment so we could A/B the speakers for customers. For every 10 sales, about 80 percent were L100s.
I heard, about a year ago, that production of the old classics, including 4310,4311,L100, L77,L88 had beeen started again. Don't know if it's true...I'll post an inquiry, but if anyone knows, I'd REALLLY like to pick up another set for my "home studio"
(sorry for spelling mistakes...music industry in the 60/70s didn't encourage...uhh,... responsablity...so this is just a little left over. Of what...whatja say..?... whatt?)

[bob newton]

For every 10 sales, about 80 percent were L100s.
Allan, That is very interesting. And if I am not mistaking, The 4311 was cheaper to buy back then? I was around back then when I bought my first pair of L-100's. Everyone was raving bout' the century L-100 . Do you think that it was propaganda that accounts for the 80% or do you think that most people prefered the sound of the L-100 over the 4311?

[57BELAIRE]

Over the years I've owned several pairs of L100's....my current lineup consists of six pairs of L100's, a pair of 4310's,4311's,4311B, and 4312A. I've evaluated them to decide which would remain in my collection and I must confess no two pair sounded identical to my ears.

Each pair has subtle differences... even among the L100's.

Whichever you choose, try to audition as many pairs as possible and buy the best of the bunch.

As for L77's....not bad but not my cup of tea.

[allan]

Mmmm...let me try to remove a few cobwebs. If memory serves me well (HA!), the L100s were about $275 each and the 4311s were about $245. I think the 4311s were produced fairly late in the L100 run. The Pro series speaker I remember being the nearest to the L100 was the 4310. The 4310 and 4311 were very different sounds.
But to your question...yea the L100 was a big seller. JBL really didn't push their Pro line. I cannot remember another store in the SF area that was both Pro and Consumer so the 4311 didn't have much exposure (and JBL was not pleased when we sold the 4311 to consumers). When A/B'd, buyers did go for the L100. I think some of them went for it because it was THE speaker to have and they had to keep pace with their friends, but there was also the revelation that there were mid and high ranges in the music not just the over done boominess of the usual speakers of the day. It was always amusing to see the look on customers' faces when they heard one of their favorite pieces of music through a pair of L100/4311s and biscovered what they had been missing. The L100 seemed to highlight the mid ranges more than the 4311s so buyers really discoverd guitar riffs, snare drums, high hats, etc. The audio bsiness was really starting to boom and the consumers were doing a lot of reading so they were better educated and if they could afford it, they pretty much knew what they wanted when they walked in the door.
The biggest set back, besides price, was their size. Most people wanted BIG GG, and for over $500 in 1972 money they wanted Voice of theTheaters in their living room.
Anyway...lack of availability for the 4311, better informed consumers through magazine reviews for the L100, word of mouth for the L100, a certain amount of L100 speaker envy (status), and sound quality revelation were the sales drivers. The last point was really the kicker...it was almost impossible to go back to something else after hearing JBLs or Altecs.
Sorry for all the Blah, blah, blah

[LE15-Thumper]

The last point was really the kicker...it was almost impossible to go back to something else after hearing JBLs or Altecs.
Sorry for all the Blah, blah, blah

We love "Blah Blah blah" around here ! Especially JBL blah blah blah...

Thanks for the flash backs....
It's better than having to do acid..... again !

[hitechluddite]

I bought my 4311B'a from WDS Oct 1980 $246 a piece to my doorand still have them today. I always perferred all the flavors of the 43XX to the L100's and thought the L166 was best of all at that time as a pure stereo speaker but I liked the upfront sound of the monitors so that's what I got.....