When JBL focused on offering foremost consumer electronics (vs. Professional studio equipment) in the 70ies, it started the L100 model, which became the most sold speaker model up to that date. No other company had produced a speaker with similar sales. Therefore JBL continued to build and sell the L- series and introduced newer versions with improved drivers and crossovers throughout the 80ies.Those newer speakers of the L-series do not have much in common with the original L-100.

This photo-essay details the restoration of a pair of JBL L100 Century, and a pair of JBL 4311's. The L100's are going to be re-veneered with quarter-sawn sapele mahogany veneer from 'Certainly Wood'. The 4311's will. Notice the serial number, which was originally on the front as part of the plate at the bottom. Vintage JBL L100 Century Audiophile Speakers, Rare in-line Design, early model, Serial Number: 11666 and 12174, in very good condition for their age. There are minor surface scratches on boxes mainly.

Read for example our review of the JBL L112 Century II speaker. As mentioned, the L-100 has a few weak spots, some of which decreased over the years with new versions of the L-100, other models and other drivers. Commonly claimed weak spots of the L-100 are: • The JBL has great drivers (considering the cost), but lacked a decent crossover. Upgrading the crossover can be fairly difficult and its finetuning requires special equipment. Overall, it can be overly costly to work on the crossover, if you are not a professional. • They have the frequently called 'West Coast' sound, a little flat with fairly punchy bass. The JBL L100 measures 23 1/2' to 14 ½” to 13 5/8' and is therefore a rather large bookshelf speaker.

The cabinets are made out of real wood, which causes the weight of 45 lbs. This combination was a bit of a problem for me, as the speakers were neither suitable for any of my shelves, nor were they suitable to stand on the ground due to their sze. I, and many other owners did finally buy small stands, which I can also recommend, as it gives the speakers the elevation, hight and position they require to shine. The JBL-100 is definetily worth it being refoamed. Many of them have rotted foam surrounds which can easily be replaced.

A refoaming kit can usually be bought for around $30-40, replacing the old foams will take around 1 to 2 hours and is not difficult at all! It does not require any particular skill, just a calm hand and a little patience.

Lista Seriale Blogul Lui Aniola. We tried out several available foams and recommend to use an 12 inch Surround Kit from Parts Express. You can find a fitting refoam kit here:.

Alternatively, ask in one of the big HiFi forums, you will likely find assistance quickly. Anonymous Sometime around 1974 I had purchased a pair of Bose 901-series II. The bass response was such that it rattled everything in the house that was not nailed down. After 2 weeks, I returned the speakers to the store where I had bought the 901's. Because I had drilled holes into the bottom of the 901's in order to attach the speaker stands, the best the store would do is offer me a pair of JBL L100's and a pair of speaker stands in return for the 901`'s. I took the deal and it was one of the smartest decisions I've ever made. Anonymous Hello, None of the drivers in the JBL L100 have foam surrounds; all three have cloth/textile surrounds so you should disregard the 'Re-foaming' paragraph above.

The only foam on the L100 is around the tweeter baffle which should be replaced. In a normal room (not too live or dead) the midrange control should be turned down quite a bit. The only real acoustic problem with them is that from around 200Hz to around 1500Hz they are lacking detail. Thus the problem with vocals and jazz through the middle midrange although it is more forgiving on rock and pop.

A pair of L100s were booming inside a 4,000 square foot Salvation Army in 2004. Wasn't familiar with the model but they were JBL.