Clarity, dynamic response, accuracy.

None as far as I'm concerned!

I "grew up" with the L100 back in the mid-seventies. As a "poor college student," I could never afford them. I wound up with a pair of 4311 monitors, which I was quite happy with. I consider my later sale of those speakers as one of the stupidest things I ever did, stereo-speaking.

Move about 20 years into the future, and I purchased a pair of "new in box" 4312A's on eBay a year or so ago, and I've been very, very happy with them. While there had been "something lacking" that led me to sell those 4311's so long ago, I certainly found nothing about the 4312A's that I wasn't absolutely thrilled with.

I recently purchased a mint pair of L100's from eBay, and of course I sat down and compared them to the 4312A's the minute I got them in the house. I was very interested in finding out which one I would like the best!

Well, it didn't take too long -- I preferred the 4312A's to the L100's in absolutely every way. The "super-forward" sound of the L100's was really not in existence in the sound of the 4312A's -- everything was far more balanced, presenting what I'd call a more "coherent" sound compared to the L100's emphasis on the upper part of the audio band.

The 4312A's still had the qualities I valued in the old L100's the most -- the utter clarity of detail, and the ability to reproduce the most "dynamic" of music -- sharp bass transients, and so on. I also found that I enjoyed their sense of "imaging" -- something that was fairly non-existent with the L100's, whose "imaging" is more of a "thrusting against your chest."

I certainly disagree with those who think "the bass is boomy" -- it is the opposite in my experience -- very tight and defined. I disagree with those who think they are "too forward" or "not accurate" -- I think these remain some of the most accurate speakers to be found. And, I disagree with those who dismiss the titanium tweeters as "tinny" or anything like that -- they simply delivered the sound properly as recorded, to my ears.

In the end, I would heartily recommend a pair of 4312A's or any of the "later" versions such as the 4312B's, as they really did prove to be "the ultimate development" of the L100 and 4311 series. Truly, I believe that they include all the "good" from the old L100's, and none of the "bad" that I've got to admit even I grew tired of eventually. Indeed, if you have interest in the L100/4311 series, I think you would be very happy with a pair of these if you managed to grab a pair!

Similar Products Used:

JBL L100, JBL 4311, Infinity 3000, Altec Model 3.

These speakers are very hard on the source and style of music. They seem to be very harsh on the highs with little bass on Rock, with Jazz or Country they seem to be more foregiving. The source has to be high quality because with a poor amp they sound extemly bad over all. I do beleive the design is out of date and that newer model and brands can do better for the price.

A legendary set of speakers that can still run with the big boys. If set up correctly, the sound will knock your socks off. For $500, these monitors really deliver.

In the sweet spot, a very revealing speaker. Midrange pulls no punches if the recording is poor.

Are almost useless imaging if stood up (tweeter and mid in a line parallel to floor). Bass runs out around 50hz.

Have heard some later offerings from JBL (old Control series and the more recent HLS series) that were as revealing and natural sounding in the midrange but didn't have that lucious 12" sound in the bass. If you find a pair in good shape, the $300 or so you will spend can't be beat in today's market for near field listening.

Similar Products Used:

Had twice the price DCM Time Frame 1000's in the late 80's that had a much sweeter top end but the bass was next to immpossible to get right.

This speaker is well overprice for what it does not do. The bass drops off rapidly below 60hz. The tweeter is on the same horizontal plane as the mid, thereby compressing it's already boxy image. The 1" Titanium tweeter gets tinny as often as it reveals. This is an outdated design.Small soundstage, no low bass, tinny tweeter.

The best I can do for the performance and price of $495: 3 stars