I went into my favorite thriftstore today looking for sweatshirts and after finding none to my liking went over to the electronic section. There were a pair of jbl speakers for $49.95 and after removing the grills and much to my joy and surprise saw they were jbl l100 centurys. I checked to make sure the base, tweeter and midrange were not ruined and other than the rotting foam on the midrange the centurys are in great shape. I already purchased the surrounds on ebay today I hooked them up to my Pioneer 737 which is also driving a pair of JBL 4311s and Pioneer hpm 900s and they are just plain kickin butt. I have read of others finding great deals on jbls in the thrift stores and always wished it could happen to me. Well today my wish came true!! My system sounds absolutely fantastic But then it should with two pair of jbls. ROCK ON.

Hi
Have own them since 1970. The latest years i have bought and sold sevrels of cd´s amps,speakers,cabels and so on. Always trying to improve the sound. I thought that the L 100 was out of time,and tried to change them to something better. What has happend is that evrything else is gone sewerel time,and that L 100 is still with me,they just play better and better by what you feed them with. Today i have good Quad ll as amps,and the latest change with nordost red dawn as speakercabel,and heimdall on rca it has got a taste of the old esl 57,electrostatspeakers...transparans,+ a vibrant powerbass and good mids,never thougt they could play this good.!!! They are underpriced,( a speaker of my dream whould be Quads 2905,plying better then real life.)

This is not a review, this a comment on many of the reviews already posted. I'm 57 and I remember how the JBL L100's were important and highly sought after speakers back in the golden era of stereo. I did not own a pair, but I did own a pair of their Marantz clones...the Imperial 7 speakers. I also remember a lot of discussions of them in the audio press.

What is interesting is how in their day the L100's were very popular with rock fans because they had a punchy mid-range down to the lower mid-range and they could play very loud with not much amplifier power. They were, however, regarded as a joke by people interested in flat response, deep bass, and a clean high end. No audiophile would admit to having them in their home, anymore than they would admit to owning any Bose product.

It is interesting to see how they have become something of a classic model and some people even think that are accurate transdeucers. I don't think even their fans claimed that back then.

Pure quality in every respect (with the new crossover and binding posts)

absolutely none - it'll cost you £3000 for an equivalent sound today and alot more for something better.

Well what can I say - I got my JBL 100's as and "hand me down" from my Dad who originally bought them in the late 70's. I've had them since 1984 when I enticed him into buying some Bose system he had his eye on (which he regretted in a matter of days) but there was no way I was giving them up!!

I've upgraded the binding posts and crossover myself - courtesy of a company in Denmark called Jantzen-Audio - they produce a kit you can install yourself. As most of these speakers have lost the foam etc after 30 or so years they need a bit of work to restore them. I stumbled across this audio company specialising in components to JBL!!!! and I thought why not - cost me £190 for the kit and I spent £75 on new speaker cloth and foam for the tweeters as well as some sound insulatiing foam for inside the cabinets as recommended by Jantzen Audio.

Wonderful sound - very much improved in the mid range and tweeters - no need to replace them as many of the other reviews have stated. Have a read of Jantzen Audio's testing etc here http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/JBL_L100.htm

Sonic impact - no subwoofer needed! Beautiful clear and precise. Impress your old college buddies!

Not a real natural/transparent sounding speaker, but the studio engineers used them to mix the albums I'm listening to, so what do I know?

Well, I've read every one of the reviews on this model from Audio Review and they all say pretty much the same thing - best speaker ever, will trade mother to the Arabs before I part with them, etc. As much as I wanted to be original in my review, I'm afraid I'm forced to agree. In fact, I've been reading reviews on this site for years, and have had dozens of pairs of speakers, but I've never felt compelled to write a review until today. I signed up specifically to write this review.

As I sit here typing this I'm listening to Funeral for a Friend by Elton John on the Century's. I'll tell you that there are times during the song that I have to turn and look at the speaker because I'm startled as my ears are queued into instruments and sounds that I've never heard before. The L-100s are amazing. Detail and clarity is astounding.

Now, I will say this - what you hear when you listen to these is a wonderful pair of speakers, but you do HEAR the speakers. The L-100s are not the most transparent, natural-sounding speakers in the world. For natural, un-colored sound, I turn to my Advent Loudspeakers which sound good with just about every type of music, but don't have nearly the 'punch' as these JBLs. These JBLs aren't too far removed from my BIC Venturi Formula Six's which were big 'club' speakers during the days of disco. The Venturi's are very colorful - you really HEAR the speakers, but they too are impressive.

So, Yes, the Century's are my new favorites and I'll probably request to be buried with them, or in them if I'm cremated. For sheer sonic impact where you hear every instrument, every bass pluck, the Century's are for you. Ahhhh. . .Elton never sounded so good, and probably never will again. . .

Similar Products Used:

BIC Venturi Formula Six

Hi,

I have a pair of JBL L100t3 speakers and looking to sell them. I'm not a audio person and have no idea what to ask for them. An friend gave them to me b/c they were too big for their apt. After reading some reviews, I'm getting a general idea of what they might be worth but there is a huge price discrepancy for one review to another.

Can anyone help?

Thank you.

Strong bass and realistic soundstage. A true contender in replicating the sould that defined 1970's high-end audio.

Occasionally tubby bass that tends to drown out high frequencies.

I recieved these speakers from my grandparents when they no longer had need for them. Their hearing aids made the speakers virtually unlistenable and I was slated to recieve the speakers.

I already had a custom pair of JBLs manufactured from a Bozak cabinat housing LE-14A's and rather large JBL horns, the names of which elude me at the moment.

The Century L-100's sound fantastic. Mated to a McIntosh MA-6100 Integrated Amp and a Bang & Olufsen Beogram 1800 Turntable fitted with an MMC-1 cartridge the speakers yield a warm tone that recalls the era from which they derive. The speakers are certainly suited to playing music of a louder sort.

My one complaint about the Century is that the details of the highs are lost in a sea of lows and mids. Taking into consideration the technologies at the time and the sheer care in construction of the speakers they come highly reccomended by myself.

I was lucky enough to recieve a pair that had intact the original grilles (in chocolate brown) that perhaps affects the sound.

I do hope that if the opportunity presents itself the you do listen to this piece of audio history.

They play loud without straining. Good for rock & roll and other high-energy music. Nice cabinets!

No real deep bass. Rolled-off high frequencies. Crappy cheap binding posts.

These were the speakers I lusted after 30 years ago when I was a much poorer and listened mostly to rock & roll. They excel at putting out a LOT of sound with a lot of "punch," and that's what I wanted at the time. Plus the burnt-orange "egg crate" grills were just so cool! Unfortunately they cost about a month's pay for a pair, so I wasn't about to acquire a ny.

A couple of years ago I ran across a pair at a local used gear shop. The original grills were long gone, but the driver were all intact and the walnut veneer on the cabinets was too. The store wanted $500 for the pair, but I talked them down to $350. I took 'em home, replaced the binding posts, oiled up the cabinets, and hooked 'em up to an old Rotel receiver from about the same era.

Well, I have to say that for $350 they're a fair bargain, but I don't love them as much as I expected to. Their sound is too "in your face" for my present tastes, and while they play loud without straining, the bass isn't really all that deep. I'm glad I bought them,. just to indulge my long-ago dream, but I really wish I could put them in a time machine and send them back to my younger self.

Customer Service

n/a

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Aztec Picassos (a direct copy) and ESS speakers with the Heil Air Motion Transformer

The best speaker you can own dollar for dollar. You might find a better one if you want to clean out your bank account. Just close your eyes when listen and you will think the group is in the room with you. Great with Rock ,Jazz or anything you put into them. God bless James B Lansing.

Grills and speaker posts.

WOW what more can i say. I bought mine in the early 70's my bad boys are JBL L 100A CENTURY #73609a & 73611a. This was the best purchase that I made in my lifetime. Houses and nice cars have come and gone but I have been in sound haven for the last 35 years. I have told my son when I die and he gets them to NEVER sell them and when he is a old man if he see his great grandson or granddaughter huging the JBL's its me and to give back. The JBL L100 were given the award as best speakers of the decade I would have voted for best for the century. Mine were bought by accident I had Ecolets speakers 4 ft columns with advent speakers on top in my bedroom. My parents told me they had to go so I traded them in for some speakers that sounded good at the showroom but like crap at home. Went back the next day to return them and get my columns back but he sold them. He said why don't you take the JBL 's home and give them a try. Ran back the next day and paid in full. Mom and Dad were happy for about a day when he told me things were falling off the walls and the roof would come off soon. I am sure the neightbors in Hicksville, Mineola, North Centereach and Commack on long island just loved them as much as I did. Now the people on the South west coast of Florida get to hear them and maybe over in Texas as well. I could go on and on how great they are but I know you know that from reading you posts. I have gone thru 3 grills and now have the cloth one for the last 15 years. I blew one of the tweeters the first year I had them and JBL fixed it for free. Had them serviced in 2002 for new speakers posts and foam for the around the speakers

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Advent, Epi,

everything about these speakers, studio sound

just the bad grills

I bought my Jbl L 100,s at a yard sale for 20 dollers for the both of them and man what a steal.I had no idea how awsome these speakers were.I have always liked big speakers with big sound but these speakers sound better than any other speaker I have ever heard. I have alot of other speakers like bose,advent, pioneer ect but none compare. the speakers have nice rich base and plenty of trible ,I believe they sound better than any new speakers out on the market today.

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advent , bose, pioneer