JBL L Series (1990s)

[BMWCCA]

"I fight for the users!" —Tron



Thanks for giving us back this thread . . .


-an L7 user.

[grumpy]

[Regis]

I sold the L5's yesterday, to a knowledgable guy. He's owned all the L series and he's settled with the 5's as his favorite. So I'm now L' less. Reading this thread, I find it amazing how controversial the L7 is! In all the years here, never seen the absolute angst about a particular speaker as the L7. Even the bizarre Aquarius, doesn't get that kind of notoriety.

And it's all about the placement and finding that ever so elusive sweet spot. I actually liked the L7's I once had, once I EQ'd them. Keep on exploring, as I doubt this will ever go away. These are a great pair of speakers for the money and that's why they're so popular, but if they give you that much grief, than by all means sell them! There are numerous JBL models that perform superbly for about the same amount of money! I find my 4310's are still excellent sounding speakers and imagine the 4311's, 4312's, L-112's and other bookshelf monitors will give you much enjoyment. Combine any of these with a decent audio-quality subwoofer and you will be stoked at the result!

BTW, the L5 buyer, didn't like my 4315's ! There's a JBL out there for everyone!

[BMWCCA]

Reading this thread, I find it amazing how controversial the L7 is! In all the years here, never seen the absolute angst about a particular speaker as the L7. Even the bizarre Aquarius, doesn't get that kind of notoriety.

And it's all about the placement and finding that ever so elusive sweet spot. I actually liked the L7's I once had, once I EQ'd them. Keep on exploring, as I doubt this will ever go away. These are a great pair of speakers for the money and that's why they're so popular, but if they give you that much grief, than by all means sell them! There are numerous JBL models that perform superbly for about the same amount of money!

I disagree. But then I have since my first pair of L7s. They're not that picky with placement. A badly placed L7 sounds better than nearly anything else out there near their original cost—or double it. At their current going market rate, they are nearly impossible to better.

I can stick them in the middle of any room and they sound incredible. Right now one pair is shoved against a wall in a small upstairs bedroom, three-feet apart, toed-in slightly, with an amp rack in between . . . and they sound phenomenal. The bass seems to focus somewhere in the living room downstairs, but they're very listenable in that small room. I have L5s next to them for comparison and L96s on top of the L5s, with stacked L80T/3s outside of those. The L7s still make everyone smile.

No one needs to be this angsty about these speakers. Just buy them, give 'em some decent power, and enjoy their room-filling soundstage. Tweak their position any way you like, but don't worry about not liking them if you don't have the perfect room . . . unless you're as Super-O.C. as some here!

[SEAWOLF97]

I HAD L7's, they were fine, no real complaints except their looks....got them at a bargain price and was confronted with a trade that was irresistible. No regrets in their loss.

replaced them with AR90 towers - nearly the same size , but walnut and handsome - 4 ways, but a side firing 10 on each side instead of the single 12...better freq response - (23Hz - 30kHz) - not placement dependent.

I had the 4 tens and 2 eights out for refoaming..and will be the first to admit that the AR drivers look cheap & cheesy next to the JBL's ....but the proof is in the listening, and they sound good.

have been around the forum a bit and really appreciate JBL's , but I'm not married to them ( or BMW or Nikon) , the forum pro's arent either ...they grab TAD when they get a chance (or many others)


I guess the summation of this messy post is that if you find L7's at a reasonable price - give them a GO , if you like them..well COOL , if not , they are pretty easy to move on to someone else.

[BMWCCA]

replaced them with AR90 towers - nearly the same size , but walnut and handsome

Definitely an "eye-of-the-beholder" thing:



Makes me think of "pants on the ground".

[SEAWOLF97]

Definitely an "eye-of-the-beholder" thing:



Makes me think of "pants on the ground".

yeah, you're right ......(as always )...L7'always remind me of
those "remnants of a forest fire" pix..you know, the charred stub of a tree
(still standing and smoking).

[hjames]

yeah, you're right ......(as always )...L7'always remind me of
those "remnants of a forest fire" pix..you know, the charred stub of a tree
(still standing and smoking).

Gotta says - I'm with Seawolf on this - I def prefer walnut and regular wood tones opposed to black ash
or whatever name they give to blackened wood product these days ... black boxes strike me too much like PA/pro cabinets ...
Given a choice between equal quality sound and either walnut or "expresso black wood", I'd take the walnut.

[BMWCCA]

yeah, you're right ......(as always )...L7'always remind me of
those "remnants of a forest fire" pix..you know, the charred stub of a tree
(still standing and smoking).

Awe, you're right . . . as always! I'm just giving you a hard time. Heck, I'm even fond of that "spaghetti-wood" the L80Ts are made of.

Your only fault is you're too easily played . . . particularly when the subject is black ash.

Remember, only you can prevent L7s!

[SEAWOLF97]

Gotta says - I'm with Seawolf on this - I def prefer walnut and regular wood tones opposed to black ash
or whatever name they give to blackened wood product these days ... black boxes strike me too much like PA/pro cabinets ...
Given a choice between equal quality sound and either walnut or "expresso black wood", I'd take the walnut.

yup...the reduced quality pic doesnt show it well, but the AR veneer is as good or better than the 70's JBL's (unlike the spaghetti wood/charred ash eras of the 80's/90's JBL's) ...OTOH , almost everyone loves the teak on my 80's era Ti's.

and I agree with HJ...if equal sound, price, etc... I'll take the better looking speakers, most of the time

I did mention the vastly superior build of the JBL drivers, but the stamped steel AR ones that I don't really like to look at, sound virtually as good.

Hey Phil...did BMW ever do charred ash dashboards ??

Your only fault is you're too easily played . . .

and you're too good at it.....expect a post from you that just says

"4412 , L80"

to see if I'll bite at the bait , just one mo' time ...

[BMWCCA]

Hey Phil...did BMW ever do charred ash dashboards ??

Not that I can recall. Though I doubt you'd like the Dark Bamboo or the Carbon Leather dashes in the new ones. Piano Black is even a little weird in a car. I recently talked a B7 buyer out of it in favor of the Individual Alpina Myrle Wood instead. A wood dash should have a grain, IMHO.

[gferrell]

So you guys and gals think the L7's are ugly. Here is my solution!




Just hide them behind some pretty speakers.

[JBLAddict]

well played

now, is that that the Jubilee, LE, BQ, or standard

[gferrell]

well played

now, is that that the Jubilee, LE, BQ, or standard

Depends on what I'm drinking at the time!

[SEAWOLF97]

So you guys and gals think the L7's are ugly.

I looked around and couldn't find a pic of Sidney posing with his L7's ...sorry

(courtesy HJ)