They will sound quite different. JBL are nothing like the BBC sound. Only thing is to listen for yourself. It's what sounds better to you that counts.
Like a dust cover for the turn table I listen with them off and protect them when not listening. I can tell the difference slightly and it bugs me to listen with them on. Just my idiosyncrasy.
Well I guess I’ll join in I bought @cbucki ’s L82s and have paired them with a Yamaha A-S501. So far my initial impressions are pretty good. I had been using an unrestored 70s Kenwood receiver (kr-3600) and a pair of DCM cx-17s from a thrift store. I find the L82s to be a little more smooth and soft sounding so far compared to my old setup. What I mean is, the old pair was a bit more revealing and perhaps just a touch more detailed than these L82s, but I found the old pair to really reveal pops/ticks/scratches/groove damage when playing vinyl. The L82s don’t make that as obvious, but I don’t think they hide it, just make it less noticeable. I have the tweeter dial turned just a few clicks clockwise from flat, so far I’m liking it there the most. I definitely prefer the sound with the grilles removed, and though I absolutely love the look of the orange waffle grilles (makes me feel like Alex from A Clockwork Orange ), the look isn’t spoiled sans grilles. Unfortunately that’s about all I have to say for now, none of this setup is familiar to me besides the turntable, and even my cartridge is fairly new with probably less than 150 hours on it, so I have plenty of adjusting to do before I can really make any solid judgements. I’m also waiting on my preamp to be upgraded and returned by Darlington Labs; Keith is adding a mono switch for me and switching out the stock LED to a yellow one to match my new Yamaha. I do want to try my old speakers with the Yamaha too, so I can get a better feel for what parts of the sound signature are the amplifier and what parts are the speakers. Overall, with only about 5 hours of listening, I’m still getting adjusted and still playing with placement, but my overall thoughts are that I’m used to a bit more detail, but I’ve been impressed with drums, and I’ve especially enjoyed some of my Blue Note collection this afternoon. These speakers really work with jazz IMO. Haven’t even really opened them up yet but plan to do so tomorrow with some Stooges, Led Zeppelin, Sonics, and Stones. I’ll probably revisit this thread in a few weeks or months after I have some more constructive comments or criticisms to give, but innitial impressions are pretty positive.
My sense of detail seems to be a matter of DAC, Preamplification, Phono Stage and Cartridge. About 8 months ago I replaced my 21 year old Sony TA-E9000ES Preamplifier with a Parasound P6 and the first thing noticed from analog, as well as digital sources was greater sound detail, even at low volume, and black as coal backgrounds at any volume. At any rate, I think you will have a similar impression at some point with your L82's.
Speaking of detail at any volume- I'm still really impressed with how full the L82's and Yamaha 3200 combo sound at every volume. Composure and stability all across the spectrum.
I've been thinking about the L82's with my Yamaha 2100. My room isn't quite big enough for the L100's.
I too employed an A-S801 for the L82's before I bought the A-S3200. The 801 is an excellent integrated and an incredible value for it's price. I credit the 801 as the "gateway drug" that attuned my senses to that wonderful Yamaha experience. I'm very pleased with how well the Yamaha's and JBL's get along together. System synergy relies on lots of variables and thankfully those two ingredients came together with captivating panache in my house. I never tire of listening to them and even find myself daydreaming of getting back to that space when I'm away. Truly addictive.
Well I’m about 10 hours into getting used to my new amp and speakers. I’ve had the Yamaha powered on or in standby mode for about 50 hours this week because I’ve heard some thought it sounded better after some hours. As far as the L82s are going, I think I like them with just a touch of bass and about a half a touch of trebble boost on the amp tone controls. I find the mids to be the highlight with these speakers so far, so with the bass and trebble slightly boosted, they sound a bit more flat to me. These are very smooth speakers. I definitely do not get any harshness with them and they’re not at all fatiguing to listen to. I do think they lack a bit on the analytical side, but I also think my old DCM speakers were a bit too analytical, so the change is still a bit drastic right now. My jazz LPs really are what I’ve enjoyed so far the most. I’ve gotten really into Blue Note and the Verve/Impulse catalog during the pandemic so it works out well that all of my major recent additions to my collection are sounding great. I need to spend some more time with rock and acoustic/folk. Jazz is just so enjoyable.
Congratulations! May they bring you endless hours of sonic indulgence. On a personal note, I found the L82's to have a rather lengthy break-in period. I left my pair playing 24/7 for the first week and their sound changed almost daily. Within that week I found myself both impressed and dismayed. They were showing their capabilities but also exhibiting some traits I wasn't fond of; blurry/undefined bass, sharp treble, and a lack of cohesion between the tweeter and woofer. Thankfully I let them play through and continued to give them a thorough exercising before I criticized them as they've since become incredible on every front for me. And those inclinations of ill-definition or harshness have never been heard of since. And I still can't believe how good drums in particular sound through the L82's. So good. Enjoy!
Ditto on the comment about the drums. Percussion is definitely one of the strong points. Art Blakey sounds better than I’ve ever heard.
Not only do drums sound particularly palpable w/ the L82's but so do horns. The amount of emotion and texture coming through is fantastic. I'm currently listening to Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder" and the brass sounds like it's right here. I've got a new cartridge on my turntable, and I spontaneously rearranged the furniture in this room earlier today because I've got the house to myself this week, and these L82's just keep delivering satisfying sounds. So good!
Does anyone have “designs” on the upcoming L100-75s? I’m going to make some inquiries this week. I like the look, exclusivity, and if the driver improvements are instantly noticeable…tough to ignore. I’m already expecting the supply chain delays to be worse-than-expected…
I'll happily stick with my originals. These new one's might be excellent, but they're not at all like the originals, other then name, grill and white woofer. Built to provide a completely different sound.
Apparently, the new KLH Model 5 is a much better over all speaker, and includes stand & 1/2 the price. IMHO sealed bass is a much better option, when done right, the ports. Too many issues with noise etc, not to mention sub par transient response. Placement issues, even with front ports, and getting the bass right can be a pain in situations like wood floors, til etc. And I bet that’s the big reason it sounds better…good bass is always the foundation. 70’s ported bass is no match…
Andrew Robinson discusses it in his KLH Model 5 review. Just my experience over the years-sealed vs ported-and the implications in his review-I think it's a big reason he feels it's a better overall speaker then the JBL-or even several of the new Klipsch IV models. The foundation of clean-quick bass. Ports always make noise-and add garbage-stick your ear up to your L100 port. You may not hear it specifically-but IMHO ports/slots add a lot to the "noise"-like subpar crossover caps-etc. Even those passive foam slabs. (But in general, even the best BR-IMHO is a bit sloppy compared to your average-run of the mill sealed bass box.) Not unlike cleaning up your power supply to your components-but on a even bigger level. The KLH uses pretty much standard drivers-no Heils/AMT's horns/Emits-exotic cones etc.
To clarify-you may not "hear" specific port noise in the listening position-but it add to the overall "noise"-distortion etc. But you put your ear up to it-you will hear the garbage. These are just my opinions-after messing around/building modifying speakers for many years. Sealed bass-why not as efficient-and in general won't play as loud given the same power-the lower distortion and increased transient response are worth the tradeoff. I'm down to 2 pair-both with twin 10" sealed bass cabs.
Did you see this tweet on the Home page by our host? Man those are sweet. Steve Hoffman @SteveHoffman Ah, what a perfect set of monitors to mix “Hotel California “ on. #jblstudiomonitors #vintagejbl
Too expensive. I just bought a pair of L 166's a few months ago for less than 1k. Those satisfied my itch for a nice sounding west coast speaker. Under the radar model in my opinion.
