JBL L100t

[bigyank]

I am actually going to check out a pair of these soon. Per the seller, the woofers had the surrounds redone and the cones "treated" whatever that means. Saw 1 pick (looked very clean as far as I could tell) but awaiting some high res ones.

Does anyone here have any experiences (good or bad) toward this speaker? With my current electronics (Adcom GFA-5800 amp/GTP-450 preamp combo), I was not at all pleased with the sound presented when I coupled them with a pair of Klipsch Heresy I's (1985 vintage). Also, good price range for pair this clean.

Are these SS friendly? Not ready to get into tube gear at this point !

John

[johnaec]

The L100T is highly regarded here. What price point are you looking at?

John

[bigyank]

Not sure. Have seen this:

JBL
SPK, L-100T L-SERIES (PAIR)

Description: 3-WAY, 12" WOOFER, 5" MIDRANGE, 1" TWEETER
Manufacture Years: 1985 - 1989

Retail
MSRP: $1,200.00

USED: $300.00

I was going in low initially but I am not as comfortable with JBL as I am with vintage electronics in general so was looking for some feed-back here! Also, if I heard that these need the tube amps to truly bring them to "life" so to speak, most likely I won't even bother to check them out.

[johnaec]

$300 is a great price. Do you know what condition the foam surrounds on the 12" speakers are in? These commonly need to be replaced by now. The foam kits are inexpensive, (usually about $25/pr), but can be tricky to replace, though there are good directions with pictures if you search here on the forums, or if needed, you could get an expert to do it.

They should sound perfectly fine with SS amps - there's too much voodo in the SS/tube thing for me anyway...a good speaker will sound good with a good amp, whether SS or tube. Your preferred Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, etc. should sound excellent with an SS amp through these!

John

[DavidF]

I am actually going to check out a pair of these soon. Per the seller, the woofers had the surrounds redone and the cones "treated" whatever that means. Saw 1 pick (looked very clean as far as I could tell) but awaiting some high res ones.

Does anyone here have any experiences (good or bad) toward this speaker? With my current electronics (Adcom GFA-5800 amp/GTP-450 preamp combo), I was not at all pleased with the sound presented when I coupled them with a pair of Klipsch Heresy I's (1985 vintage). Also, good price range for pair this clean.

Are these SS friendly? Not ready to get into tube gear at this point !

John

The Heresy I often sounds better with tube equipment because of the tube-typical roll off in the higher frequencies. The Heresy's rising high end tends to compensate for the roll off, even more with vinyl sources. Solid state may sound overly bright, especially with digital recordings with a bright mix.

The L100t is much more balanced but I have still heard others comment on its brightness, or some upper end glare. The balance is definitely not vintage JBL if vintage means a more forward mid and humped mid-bass. The L100t does not have variable attenuation, so if you are looking for a turn-key system, you should give attention to the upper end spectrum of the system. As far as the other end of spectrum, the L100t likes power and will mate with the Adcom very well.

A treated cone? To me treated means some gook applied to the paper cone. This will be evident by a "wet-look" to the cone. The net effect may well be minimal but what benefit it may have is questionable if the treatment adds weight to the cone and effects the intended response.

DavidF

[bigyank]

So, got about a dozen shots of the speakers and they look great. Now we talk turkey and I also have to sell this off to the wife as to why I have to have them

Yank

[bigyank]

Here is a shot of them. Looks like weekend of 4/2 at this point but getting closer!

[johnaec]

'Looks like they were re-foamed with the foam on the outside instead of the inside, or is that just the photo? If on the outside, that could be a good bargaining point, ('should be on the inside). 'Still, I'd consider them a very good deal at $300! It's more of an esthetic difference than sonic difference...

John

[bigyank]

I will definitely ask. His price is over 300.00 as well. Never hurts being more informed. Thanks a lot!


John

[Don Mascali]

I picked up a pair of L100T3s last night for $350. They were on Craigs List locally. They are really nice and the surrounds are in fine shape. The seller was the original owner and except for the grill cloth being a little dingy, they are cosmetically perfect.

They certainlly are a step up from the original L100s I have. Fuller sounding bass from the larger cabinet volume and that tweeter is sweet. I think you would really enjoy them.

Is there anything that can be applied to the foam or do we just sit back and watch the rot?

[GordonW]

I don't know why some people think they're "improving" on a driver, by adding that wet look coating to the cone. Yes, sometimes, it CAN improve the performance... but ONLY in situations where there is TOO MUCH energy or irregularity in the upper mids, to start with. The additional mass will serve to decrease the upper midrange output, and increase the low bass... BOTH of which will be DETRIMENTAL to an L100T, as its woofer is on the verge of not quite having enough midrange "speed" and output, to blend with the midrange driver well, and the L100T system already verges on "over-bassing" many smaller listening rooms, stock. IMHO, the L80T already has better midrange blend, due to its lighter (10") woofer... the last thing you want to do, is to make an 2214 cone HEAVIER, in a case like this.

Unfortunately, that pair of woofers will need to be reconed now, to sound like they should. That's something in the order of $150 each, or you could try to find a pair of unmodified 2214s for sale somewhere (difficult, apparently), which might be a slightly cheaper option. I'd keep that up-front in your mind and in your discussions, about the price of these speakers...

Trust me, as someone who has TRIED doing this stuff in the past, and has learned, the hard way, of its effects. It's part of the learning curve of becoming a speaker-builder and repairer/reconer... but unless you're willing to put in the hours to learn when it IS and IS NOT appropriate and are willing to "take the hits" of destroying a good driver cone assembly here and there in the learning process, it's not a good idea to mess around with a good design...

Regards,
Gordon.

[GordonW]

Is there anything that can be applied to the foam or do we just sit back and watch the rot?

Not really... nothing that won't impair the sound.

Besides, it's relatively cheap and easy to replace those surrounds... think of it as routine maintenence, just like replacing the hoses and belts on a car. Same materials (polymer compounds), same cause-and-effect relationships...

Also, most of the newer surrounds are made of polyether now (instead of polyurethane). Once they're replaced, they should last significantly longer than the originals...

Regards,
Gordon.

[bigyank]

Thanks! Here is a close up of the mid-range/tweeter areas.Owner was/is reluctant to sell them actually. We talked at work today (me from PA him from NY) and will do so again next week (I am off until Monday now ). You have all been so supportive and insightful (warts and all!) you have my thanks and gratitude!

John

[Don Mascali]

Gordon W said:
"Besides, it's relatively cheap and easy to replace those surrounds... think of it as routine maintenence, just like replacing the hoses and belts on a car. Same materials (polymer compounds), same cause-and-effect relationships..."

Yeah, I've watched you guys talk about it here. I'm a pretty handy kind of guy but I'm reluctant to wade in and do surrounds or diaphrams. I guess it's a learning curve I'll have to climb at some point.
Thanks, Don M

[johnaec]

There's a set of L100T's for sale currently on the San Francisco craigslist for $300, but I believe they may be the L100TBQ, (black lacquer), because the seller says they're black with gray grills and in perfect condition.

I'm also wondering if they're actually that set I looked at last year that were actually L100T's painted black with rotting foam...

John