Efficiency

Dispersion, imaging, lows, highs.

Could help but notice the rave reviews for this speaker which typies the old "west coast" sound. This is a rock 'n roll speaker - it has a bump around 80 cycles (maybe a little deeper) and starts rolling off at 50hz, and not much under 40 hz. It is a VERY forward speaker - the voices, and pretty much everything else are right there at the speaker. It's impressive and fun, but it's far from accurate. There are speakers that cost less that do more and do it better. Off axis it falls apart.

The highs - it has an upper mid-range bump, and then the highs - well - they sparkle, but they're not sweet. Not much in the way of air.

This is not an audiophile speaker.

But if you want a party speaker you can crank that goes pretty damn loud with very little juice, then this is the speaker for you!

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Dynaudio

these are great old speakers.they have a bright sound.any one know where i can obtain grills , the foam is completely gone, rotted away.the surounds are made very well not of foam or theyed be gone too, but of sticky ,rubbery.tar like substance guess thats why they have lasted this long.the new home jbl line cant hold a candle these.

Excellent Mid and Low frequencies from low to high input

Tweeter

I hv used it for 24 years until now with only little improvement in it's tweeter - replaced with present 130 watts titanium type. The Bass, Mid and High are excellent from very low to high input. Maybe sombody can help to give an another improved suggestion including cross over replacement. I used it with my very old Quad33/405 Pre/Main Amp also with only little improvement by Mr. Ludwig posted at Tripod.

Size and weight

Bought them new in 1976, salesman twisted my arm, all of my friends thought that JBLs were too bassy. Best arm twisting I ever had. Now I want to downsize and can't find any thing out there that is more compact but delivers the overall quality of sound that my old L-100s do! Any suggestions?

Great sound

none

I have had these for over 20 years of pure pleasure. These speakers are built to last forever. These speakers will blow away any speaker in the same class. For the people who need new grills you can go to jblpro.com and find a listing for authorized jbl repair shops, these guys then can order the replacement grills from jbl for you. Mine cost 50 dollars per speaker but they will make your speakers look brand new. I bought mine at slice speaker repair in Kansas City the phone number is 816-221-8031.

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none

Quality built drivers, good sound for the age and cost

Out of date crossover and tweeter

I purchased these units new in 1971 and am still using them, but with a few modifications. Crossovers and tweeters have been replaced according to a 1/89 Speaker Builder article. The article was actually evaluating speaker design software but used these speakers as a test case. The stock tweeters were replaced with Focal T-120s and the crossover was completely redone.

The modifications made a great difference in eliminating inaccuracies in response and overall smoothness and stability of midrange. One other note, my speaker cabinets are slightly larger than later versions and contain the three drivers in line rather than staggered midrange/tweeter. I have the speakers mounted on about 16" metal stands.

Clean sound. Beautiful mid-range.

speaker terminals

Well, where do I begin. I walked into a stereo store back in the mid 70's and heard the L100's playing. It was love at first listen. But back then, I couldn't afford a tuna fish sandwich let alone $1100.00 for a pair of these gems.
So now, a quarter of a ( century ) no pun intended, later, I went onto good ol' ebay and purchased a pair of beat-up,scratched, abused, no grilled, no foam on the tweeters pair of JBL L100 Century's. And guess what??? They still sound as good to me as they did back in the 70's...when the Rock & Roll was real and the amps put out real watts. I'm happy to say that I love these gems. For the size of these speakers they sure do pump out gobs of good clean, rich, soothing, satisfying, puts tears in your eyes sound! I love 'em.
I have them hooked to a Marantz 3800 preamp and Ampzilla
( Gasworks tweeked ) amplifier. Yep, back then I wanted an ampzilla too, but couldn't afford one. ( Got one on EBAY ).
At the risk of sounding childish, ( I'm a fifty year old kid with bad knees and a worse attitude ) - I gotta tell ya....These speakers ROCK!

great low end,classic style and design with an excellent PUNCH on the complete spectrum

age,but what the hell for the price,these are an excellent piece of GREAT american audio history.original speaker grills

i found another PAIR!!!i am viewing these speakers as a 56 chevy,i reconed the first pair,linseed oiled and steel wooled them and they are show room,the whole concept of this system is beyond explanation.i understand that the new age of audio design is here,but what these offer in sound reproduction is still heart stopping.i guess that i am lost and enjoying 70's(old school)sound reproduction in the new 01.FIND a pair and lovingly run the pants off of them,they will make you blink,CRY and understand what clean audio really is. peace

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ar-tsw-910 advent l-110 sansui-9500

The most superb speaker ever made. The only thing that actually sounds better is a pair of Wilson Grand slam´s ($20,000 used).These speakers will take your system to the next level.

They weigh like 50 pounds, a killer for your back.

I bought these speakers on E-Bay, and then shipped them to my estate in El Salvador. They were well worth the money.
I heard them from a room-mate in college and for the past 3 years i have been searching for a pair. These speakers are very good with rock music, but they do lack sound disperssion, the sweet spot is very small, but o my god is it sweet i dont need a bigger one. The sound clarity these babies put out can only be matched by speakers ten times the price i paid for these.
I highly recommend a pair, just make shure that all the cones and box is original, no reconing done.
These will be your best speakers you will own.

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Wilson Grand Slam´s, but for the money nothing imaginable.

a great stage presence,excellent even with vinyl.

too much bass,i have to tone it down

as listed earlier i found a pair of jbl-110's they &*#@ ROCK,to say the least,i was impressed.well, i have tried on e-bay to acquire a pair of the legendary century L 100 loudspeakers. the price has alway run over 700.00 to include shipping,well one morning these were listed on audioshopper for 350.00 with a phone number,i called and we hooked up,410 dollars later they are here..my sixteen year old son cried when he played one of his cd's.the units are in excellent condition,to include that ugly brown sponge grill plate.i am going to have both tweeters rebuilt, it's a male thing they work fine. my wife has even noticed the difference,i am totally amazed that these units,after all these years can display and produce such an awesome sound reference to what should have never changed. hey jbl,take the hint and quit trying to compete with people that sell equipment by the pound. the world was yours,these %$#@ kick!

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jbl-110 advent ar