*Awesome speaker for rock and blues music listening. *Great bass and bright, shimmering highs (if you like that kinda stuff) *Kind of a retro 70's/80's design

*Large, heavy, and bulky *Narrow sound stage - positioning is critical *Inefficient - needs a big amp to drive them well *Delicate music playback can sound a little harsh from the tweeters

I've owned these speakers since 1986, when I bought them as an employee of Circuit City. At the time they were a highly regarded speaker best suited for rock and blues. To this day those are the best music types for these speakers. Like others have said, technology and consumer preferences have passed by these speakers. By today's standards the L80T is rather inefficient, needing a high powered/high current amp to really drive them. Hook them up to something like a Harman Kardon amp, throw some hard rock in the CD player, and be amazed at how well these speakers reproduce the sound. What some people complain about harsh highs from the titanium tweeters become an accurate shimmer of cymbals and other percussion. The 10" woofer does a great job of bass reproduction, perfect to feel that kick drum or the low octaves from a bass guitar. The speakers are physically large and heavy. They look out of place compared with the modern, sophisticated, plasma screen high tech image of modern electronics. They look and feel like a 1970's design because they are. No point in whining about it or expecting them to live up to a performance and style standard that simply did not exist when they were designed - the speakers are what they are. I use mine in my all-JBL surround sound system and they work OK. I agree with the other reviewers who say they are very position-dependent. And home theater-type vocal reproduction is average. Yeah, there are lots of speakers that are more versatile and perform better than the JBL L80T. But I'd hope speaker mfr's would have improved their products since the late 70's. Someday I'll replace my L80T's with something more "21st century", but I only hope whatever new speaker I buy will rock the house as well as these.

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Nothing. I've listened to hundreds of different speakers (I used to sell them) but I've never owned anything but these.

An excellent mid-level 3-way JBL speaker from the 80's. Well built, quality throughout. Yes, cabinet is lined with fiberglass for dampening. Go to audioheritage.com for more info.

For price and performance I can't think of any. Placement is important.

Although this is not among JBL's very best speakers, it is a well-designed unit which has rich detail and a full sound. They used to sell for $800 a pair and come with excellent JBL drivers. For $100 they are a great deal, but they are not L300's or 4333's. I use mine as "B" speakers and they perform very well. Special attention must be given to placement. They should not be up against walls or corners or they can boom. Also, an acoustically dampened room works best. If you have a "slappy" room, like with most other speakers the sound will be harsh for some. These speakers like power so be sure to use a quality amplifier. These are only mid-level JBL's of the 80's, but they will outperform more pricey speakers of today easily. Alot depends on your application and what you are looking for. These are quite linear in response. And I got to give them a 5 by 5 for performance/price because they are excellent. I think a couple of the "reviewers" probably have a beat-up pair with the wrong drivers.

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JBL, Klipsch, KLH, Altec, Axiom, Infinity

good bass, crisp highs. These speakers can really rock if you want, though they sound great at lower levels too. I like the genuine wood veneer and the build quality is superb.

Wife thinks they're a bit large, but so what? They definitely have a vintage look to them, but that's a matter of taste. The Woofer surrounds are foam rubber and deteriorate over time ( 10 years or so) But it's an easy DIY project to refoam them and I think it took all of an hour and a half for both. The little plastic base the speakers came with don't cut it. I took them off and built speaker stands for them. The bass sounds better now, and the drivers are right about listening level for my armchair.

I purchased these in 1991 as closeout/demo models from the base exchange. $300.00 was a screaming deal for the pair, and all they needed was a little light sanding and oil on the walnut veneer. I've used them as my primary loudspeakers since and just love the rich sound.

Big bass and pleasent coulured sound that drives the music-ROCK!!If you don't want that go for a studio monitor these are no one star speaker by any standars.

Bloody heavy and big-if that ain't your thing go and by a boose.

Reading the rest of the reviews it's clear that you'll either love or hate these.I love mine, they sound great with dance music and rock and if that ain't your thing then you probably wont like them.Yes they sound a bit harsh(depending on where you place them) and the bass might be too much for some but considering that these speakers are 30 years old you can't really complain.Insidently a builder ripped one of the cone's and I wasn't able to use them for a while,but I've just found a great replacment that fits JBL size called Monacor,they boast simular speck and only cost me £45!The bass is more controled then the 30 year old origanal, if you need to replace your cones go for the SPH-255.These speakers rock!

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L20T and KRK KROK.

I like them OK.

they are ugly

mine were in a basement flood, the local audio/repair shop rebuilt them. i saw them while i was there and bought them. I think they are harsh. I put them in my garage and hooked them up to an AB 410 slave amp and a radioshack pre. use em for garage work. They shack the shop good.

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norman lab

These speakers are pretty damn good for the money, not kef's, but good enough for the above average listener!!

Foam surrounds on the woofers (gotta hate those!!)

Really good sound, good low bass, around 35 hz, good midrange, solid treble, somewhat bright, but overall real good!!

Solid undistorted bass, smooth overall response

None

I've had these JBL L80t3's for about 5 years, and have been very satisfied with them. Good undistorted bass down to the 30 Hz range, smooth midrange and well dispersed highs are how I characterize them. I'd been pretty much an acoustic suspension fan till I got these JBL's and have been pleasantly surprised at their bass. I've had my previous speakers (original Advents) for nearly 30 years, and have kept them because I've been happy with the sound, and the JBL's follow in that tradition-I have no inlclination to make any changes. Bought them from J&R on closeout for under $500, which I felt was a good buy.

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Advents, ARs, KLH

A good all around speaker that is well built and attractive.

size, lack of bi-wireability, no matching center channel speaker ;-)

I have had these speakers since the late 80's and they have held up very well through the years. The one thing that i dislike about them is that they are very, very dependent on there placement. Much more so than the Klipsch speakers and some others i have used. They also have a very harsh sounding treble at times due to the ringing of the titanium tweeters. I would not buy JBL's that they sell today because they are not even close to the quality of mine. I use JBL Pro III Monitors for surrounds and an Energy Center channel. (Yes I know ;) Happy Listening!

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Klipsch KLF 10

I can find none.

Horrible boxy sound.

Typical example of JBL junk. Horribly boxy sound. Seems to
be related to thin walls of cabinet and suspect no FiberGlass inside of cabinet (Yet to open the boxes).

I wonder about those who gave "5" reviews.

I have a "good" pair of JBL speakers, but when they found to be good they dropped the model :-)

Trying to fix for my boss, but little hope at this point.

This is NOT a choice to purchase, unless prepared to fix.

This is an example of how bad mass market speakers can be. Deep bass with no control, colored midrange, and thin treble. Just how much worse can a costly speaker be?