JBL L100's?

575maranello · Aug 29, 2016

Will these be a decent match for my MC30 mono blocks?

thx

Tullman · Aug 29, 2016

Sure.

Steve Hoffman · Aug 29, 2016

charles robertson said: ↑

Will these be a decent match for my MC30 mono blocks?

thx
Click to expand...

NO, they truly suck.

old school · Aug 29, 2016

Steve Hoffman said: ↑

NO, they truly suck.
Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree.

Mazzy · Aug 29, 2016

I disagree that they suck too but I realize it's a taste issue.

I had an original pair w orange foam grills in the 70s that were stolen in 1986. I really missed them. Recently I acquired a totally refurbished pair that I now use downstairs in my office/music area with my second rig. I play mostly CDs downstairs and they rock and sound great soft and loud. Acoustic recordings are beautiful and crystal clear. Jazz too. I can't speak to your Amp matchup though.

It's not my main listening room as I'm usually working while I listen, but I thoroughly enjoy them.

It seems that the Pros are not huge fans

Wes_in_va · Aug 29, 2016

I thought my L100s sounded by far the best with tube amps. It helped make their inherent inaccuracies more enjoyable for my tastes: the tubes added a lushness that made some of the L100's exaggerations of certain frequencies somehow more appealing than when paired with a high power SS amp.

Mazzy · Aug 29, 2016

Wes_in_va said: ↑

I thought my L100s sounded by far the best with tube amps. It helped make their inherent inaccuracies more enjoyable for my tastes: the tubes added a lushness that made some of the L100's exaggerations of certain frequencies somehow more appealing than when paired with a high power SS amp.
Click to expand...

I've never heard them with a tube amp but would love to.

Wes_in_va · Aug 29, 2016

Mazzy said: ↑

I've never heard them with a tube amp but would love to.
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Believe it or not I liked mine best of all with a Decware ZEN SE84 amp putting out like 2.8 watts/ch. Granted, that was in a 10x12 room

575maranello · Aug 29, 2016

Steve Hoffman said: ↑

NO, they truly suck.
Click to expand...

do tell Steve....
I currently have a set up at home in OH with a C20 and an MC275 with JBL 4311's and it sounds really good.
I want to set up a system for my home in CT and was going to try the MC30's with either the C20 or the MX110 with the JBL 100's

Steve Hoffman · Aug 29, 2016

First good stereo I ever got, Pioneer receiver, table, JBL 100's. I was assured they were the "home version" of the studio JBL 4310's which I used at KPFK in the production studio. My mistake was only playing Led Zep Houses Of the Holy on them at Pacific Stereo. I bought them ($300.00) with blue foam grills.

Got home, hooked them up, played Led Zep, sounded great. Wanted to hear some classical, put Eugene Ormandy on, sounded in tonality just like Led Zep as did everything I played on them. That lasted about 3 days, they sounded NOTHING like the JBL 4310's.

So, Pacific Stereo had a trade up agreement and Fred Ampel, the guy who I was watching at KPFK told me to take a spoken word record to the stereo store and which ever speaker sounded like a human voice, that was the one. I brought my Basil Rathbone reads Sherlock Holmes record to KPFK and tried it on the JBL 4310's. Adjusted the two controls until old Basil sounded real. On the JBL 100s, Basil sounded like Led Zep.

At Pacific Stereo the guy thought I was nuts but I played that Sherlock Holmes record with all the speakers (using those push buttons, remember those?) and after a half hour of that the guy said to me "Look, dude, try the record on our reference speakers and see what it sounds like."

I asked where they were and he said: "look up!"

I did and there above everything else was a single pair of AR3a speakers. $400.00. Never even noticed them, they looked so....Conservative.

I clicked a special button that turned those on and Basil sounded like he was standing right there. So, I traded up (thanks, Dad) and got the AR3as. Was very happy.

Uncolored speakers will make most stuff sound good but I learned my lesson. If Led Zep Houses Of The Holy sounds good on a pair of speakers, DON'T BUY THOSE SPEAKERS!

Forgive me if you've read this story before. I've told it many times.

575maranello · Aug 29, 2016

Steve Hoffman said: ↑

View attachment 369417 First good stereo I ever got, Pioneer receiver, table, JBL 100's. I was assured they were the "home version" of the studio JBL 4310's which I used at KPFK in the production studio. My mistake was only playing Led Zep Houses Of the Holy on them at Pacific Stereo. I bought them ($300.00) with blue foam grills.

Got home, hooked them up, played Led Zep, sounded great. Wanted to hear some classical, put Eugene Ormandy on, sounded in tonality just like Led Zep as did everything I played on them. That lasted about 3 days, they sounded NOTHING like the JBL 4310's.

So, Pacific Stereo had a trade up agreement and Fred Ampel, the guy who I was watching at KPFK told me to take a spoken word record to the stereo store and which ever speaker sounded like a human voice, that was the one. I brought my Basil Rathbone reads Sherlock Holmes record to KPFK and tried it on the JBL 4310's. Adjusted the two controls until old Basil sounded real. On the JBL 100s, Basil sounded like Led Zep.

At Pacific Stereo the guy thought I was nuts but I played that Sherlock Holmes record with all the speakers (using those push buttons, remember those?) and after a half hour of that the guy said to me "Look, dude, try the record on our reference speakers and see what it sounds like."

I asked where they were and he said: "look up!"

I did and there above everything else was a single pair of AR3a speakers. $400.00. Never even noticed them, they looked so....Conservative.

I clicked a special button that turned those on and Basil sounded like he was standing right there. So, I traded up (thanks, Dad) and got the AR3as. Was very happy.

Uncolored speakers will make most stuff sound good but I learned my lesson. If Led Zep Houses Of The Holy sounds good on a pair of speakers, DON'T BUY THOSE SPEAKERS!

Forgive me if you've read this story before. I've told it many times.
Click to expand...

LOVE it Steve!!!!....great story, first time for me

Mazzy · Aug 29, 2016

But have your tried this great combination?

Mazzy · Aug 29, 2016

But seriously this album CD sounds wonderful on mine.

575maranello · Aug 29, 2016

Ok AR3a's for jazz and classical
JBL L100's for Zep, Dio, Rainbow etcetera.........problem solved.

Ghostworld · Aug 29, 2016

Steve Hoffman said: ↑

View attachment 369417 First good stereo I ever got, Pioneer receiver, table, JBL 100's. I was assured they were the "home version" of the studio JBL 4310's which I used at KPFK in the production studio. My mistake was only playing Led Zep Houses Of the Holy on them at Pacific Stereo. I bought them ($300.00) with blue foam grills.

Got home, hooked them up, played Led Zep, sounded great. Wanted to hear some classical, put Eugene Ormandy on, sounded in tonality just like Led Zep as did everything I played on them. That lasted about 3 days, they sounded NOTHING like the JBL 4310's.

So, Pacific Stereo had a trade up agreement and Fred Ampel, the guy who I was watching at KPFK told me to take a spoken word record to the stereo store and which ever speaker sounded like a human voice, that was the one. I brought my Basil Rathbone reads Sherlock Holmes record to KPFK and tried it on the JBL 4310's. Adjusted the two controls until old Basil sounded real. On the JBL 100s, Basil sounded like Led Zep.

At Pacific Stereo the guy thought I was nuts but I played that Sherlock Holmes record with all the speakers (using those push buttons, remember those?) and after a half hour of that the guy said to me "Look, dude, try the record on our reference speakers and see what it sounds like."

I asked where they were and he said: "look up!"

I did and there above everything else was a single pair of AR3a speakers. $400.00. Never even noticed them, they looked so....Conservative.

I clicked a special button that turned those on and Basil sounded like he was standing right there. So, I traded up (thanks, Dad) and got the AR3as. Was very happy.

Uncolored speakers will make most stuff sound good but I learned my lesson. If Led Zep Houses Of The Holy sounds good on a pair of speakers, DON'T BUY THOSE SPEAKERS!

Forgive me if you've read this story before. I've told it many times.
Click to expand...

Great story!

ronm · Aug 29, 2016

Wes_in_va said: ↑

I thought my L100s sounded by far the best with tube amps. It helped make their inherent inaccuracies more enjoyable for my tastes: the tubes added a lushness that made some of the L100's exaggerations of certain frequencies somehow more appealing than when paired with a high power SS amp.
Click to expand...

I'll agree with this.An Audio Research SP8 pre into a Hafler DH200 made them a lot more listenable than a few vintage receivers I used.They can be bad sounding with the wrong equipment or music as SH can attest too.

Long Live Analog · Aug 29, 2016

Mazzy said: ↑

But seriously this album CD sounds wonderful on mine.

Click to expand...

Mazzy, three of my favs. Nilsson Sings Newman, JBL L100's and a Martini.

Steve Hoffman · Aug 29, 2016

Ghostworld said: ↑

Great story!
Click to expand...

Sad thing is (or funny thing) about a year ago I saw a MINT pair. I think Jeff Dorgay had them or something and I was considering it. Then I remembered that they were the most inaccurate speakers I had ever heard in my life and changed my mind. A trip down memory lane for the 100s would have been a mistake.

The only WORSE sounding speaker is that JBL model that they use at RTI for checking pops and clicks on vinyl. The JBLs that look like a butt or an ink blot. From the 1980s or 90s. You know the ones I mean? Like a butt sticking out. THE worst speakers I've ever heard. Like a 20 db boost at 1k. Perfect for weeding out pops on vinyl but not much else. They made the JBL Century 100s sound like a walk in the park in comparison.

Done A Ton · Aug 29, 2016

Steve Hoffman said: ↑

View attachment 369417 First good stereo I ever got, Pioneer receiver, table, JBL 100's. I was assured they were the "home version" of the studio JBL 4310's which I used at KPFK in the production studio. My mistake was only playing Led Zep Houses Of the Holy on them at Pacific Stereo. I bought them ($300.00) with blue foam grills.

Got home, hooked them up, played Led Zep, sounded great. Wanted to hear some classical, put Eugene Ormandy on, sounded in tonality just like Led Zep as did everything I played on them. That lasted about 3 days, they sounded NOTHING like the JBL 4310's.

So, Pacific Stereo had a trade up agreement and Fred Ampel, the guy who I was watching at KPFK told me to take a spoken word record to the stereo store and which ever speaker sounded like a human voice, that was the one. I brought my Basil Rathbone reads Sherlock Holmes record to KPFK and tried it on the JBL 4310's. Adjusted the two controls until old Basil sounded real. On the JBL 100s, Basil sounded like Led Zep.

At Pacific Stereo the guy thought I was nuts but I played that Sherlock Holmes record with all the speakers (using those push buttons, remember those?) and after a half hour of that the guy said to me "Look, dude, try the record on our reference speakers and see what it sounds like."

I asked where they were and he said: "look up!"

I did and there above everything else was a single pair of AR3a speakers. $400.00. Never even noticed them, they looked so....Conservative.

I clicked a special button that turned those on and Basil sounded like he was standing right there. So, I traded up (thanks, Dad) and got the AR3as. Was very happy.

Uncolored speakers will make most stuff sound good but I learned my lesson. If Led Zep Houses Of The Holy sounds good on a pair of speakers, DON'T BUY THOSE SPEAKERS!

Forgive me if you've read this story before. I've told it many times.
Click to expand...

It wasn't until I listened to Basil Rathbone reads Sherlock Holmes on L100s that I realized he was ripping that stuff off from Willie Dixon.

ssmith3046 · Aug 29, 2016

I worked in a Stereo store in 74. Loved those buttons.

markshan · Aug 29, 2016

Steve Hoffman said: ↑

My mistake was only playing Led Zep Houses Of the Holy on them at Pacific Stereo. I bought them ($300.00) with blue foam grills.

Got home, hooked them up, played Led Zep, sounded great. Wanted to hear some classical, put Eugene Ormandy on, sounded in tonality just like Led Zep as did everything I played on them.
Click to expand...

This matches my experience pretty well. I found a pair at the thrift for $20 (yeah, I know) and eagerly took them home to compare them to my Klipsch Heresys (driven my a Marantz 2230 in case you're keeping score). Got out my copy of Abbey Road. Loved them. Everything sounded right. I especially liked the enveloping bass. Got out my copy of CSN. Same thing. Then I got to The Clash - Combat Rock. I put it on and the rose instantly lost it's bloom. That record was mastered with the same upper mid peak as the speakers themselves, and the combination was brutal. It made me want to claw my face off.

So, surprisingly, they were actually kind of similar to my Heresys. Just the peak was louder and about an octave higher. However, the story doesn't end there. Google "L-100 Dennis Murphy crossover". The original xover is just a couple caps and there is overlap and beaming of the drivers. The new crossover takes care of that nasty peak while keeping the ultra low distortion and blooming bass the L-100s are noted for. Do the mod and they compare to B&Ws rather than Heresys.

markshan · Aug 29, 2016

Steve Hoffman said: ↑

The only WORSE sounding speaker is that JBL model that they use at RTI for checking pops and clicks on vinyl. The JBLs that look like a butt or an ink blot. From the 1980s or 90s. You know the ones I mean? Like a butt sticking out.
Click to expand...

4425 or 4430 I suspect.

Steve Hoffman · Aug 29, 2016

markshan said: ↑

This matches my experience pretty well. I found a pair at the thrift for $20 (yeah, I know) and eagerly took them home to compare them to my Klipsch Heresys (driven my a Marantz 2230 in case you're keeping score). Got out my copy of Abbey Road. Loved them. Everything sounded right. I especially liked the enveloping bass. Got out my copy of CSN. Same thing. Then I got to The Clash - Combat Rock. I put it on and the rose instantly lost it's bloom. That record was mastered with the same upper mid peak as the speakers themselves, and the combination was brutal. It made me want to claw my face off.

So, surprisingly, they were actually kind of similar to my Heresys. Just the peak was louder and about an octave higher. However, the story doesn't end there. Google "L-100 Dennis Murphy crossover". The original xover is just a couple caps and there is overlap and beaming of the drivers. The new crossover takes care of that nasty peak while keeping the ultra low distortion and blooming bass the L-100s are noted for. Do the mod and they compare to B&Ws rather than Heresys.
Click to expand...

That wicked, nasty peak was haunting my dreams, even as a youngster. I knew there was something wrong when I got the JBL 100s home and I put on the first record. The surface noise of the vinyl (which should be neutral if your system is accurate) sounded like I had a 40$ BSR five band equalizer set to stun. That sinking feeling only increased until I had to get rid of them.. Make sure the OP knows about the mod..

Never buy a pair of speakers with a "sound" built into them! Never. If that sound appears on your music as well you have a double bad-ass whammy that will make you cry.

markshan · Aug 29, 2016

Steve Hoffman said: ↑

That wicked, nasty peak was haunting my dreams, even as a youngster. I knew there was something wrong when I got the JBL 100s home and I put on the first record. The surface noise of the vinyl (which should be neutral if your system is accurate) sounded like I had a 40$ BSR five band equalizer set to stun. That sinking feeling only increased until I had to get rid of them.. Make sure the OP knows about the mod..
Click to expand...

Have you ever heard a pair with the mod? I think you'd be pleasantly surprised.

Mazzy · Aug 29, 2016

Steve Hoffman said: ↑

Sad thing is (or funny thing) about a year ago I saw a MINT pair. I think Jeff Dorgay had them or something and I was considering it. Then I remembered that they were the most inaccurate speakers I had ever heard in my life and changed my mind. A trip down memory lane for the 100s would have been a mistake.

The only WORSE sounding speaker is that JBL model that they use at RTI for checking pops and clicks on vinyl. The JBLs that look like a butt or an ink blot. From the 1980s or 90s. You know the ones I mean? Like a butt sticking out. THE worst speakers I've ever heard. Like a 20 db boost at 1k. Perfect for weeding out pops on vinyl but not much else. They made the JBL Century 100s sound like a walk in the park in comparison.
Click to expand...

Well it seems we have a far different experience on our memory lane trips. After reading comments on these forums and other places over the past several years, I was prepared to be disappointed after thirty or so years since I had my pair m, but I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised of my listening experience.

Now I'm not in studios working on recordings all day but I'm thoroughly enjoying these babies. They seem more neutral than other speakers I've owned without any extra flavoring or seasoning adding to the recordings if that makes sense. In fact they do remind me of my limited sound studio experience back in my days at San Francisco State University BCA classes

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