I wonder if there are any JBL fans in this community? Both legacy/retro models and new ones up to date users. During my years as a smal/hobby entusiast I known about JBL from the beginning but it was not known (here in Sweden) to my knowledge as a HIFI speaker brand mostly PA and car speakers (big woffers) and was not many distributers here, later years i found out that it was a huge market overseas and lots of models that never came to Europe/Nordic countries, i am very pleased with my Array 1400 but always interested in other speakers too, it would be fun to see and hear what you other JBL maniacs use and your stories. Cheers 
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I heard the L100’s recently. I was thoroughly unimpressed. Seems to my ears that all American kit seems to do is boom and tizz. Much like the mcintosh amp I recently tried it was all bass (which was ponderous) with a grainy unrefined top end.
Having come from mission 770’s and harbeth SHL5+ XD, the jbl sounded sluggish, ponderous and unrefined. Sounded more like PA gear than hifi.
Utterly not worth the money to my ears
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Ok, this is what I wanted, the L100 i have not tried, but as a former true Dynaudio fan (lots of models I had during the years) loved there esotar2 (hf) and was soo pleased for 10 years, but after listen to some of the more recent JBL speakers I was hooked, but your opinion was almost what I had in mind for many years before I tried.
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Love my JBL’s Two different models, KEF LS50, B&W’s as well. Bet I’d like the Harbeth as well. Unless you spend some time with them how can you know?
Room size, musical taste and components matching make these absolute proclamations pretty lame. Green Tea is the best and everything else is swill 
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For me it was when I first placed the JBL next to Dynaudio and did a real A/B test I noticed the difference, many visits to different hifi stores and tried others, (never borrowed them to test at home)and when I came home I was still sooo pleased with my Dynaudio Contour S5.4, but this side by side test was sooo clear. Different technology regarding HF, horn speakers can’t be that good was my opinion before, and I have a huge spectrum when it comes music, still find alot of new artist, (thanks ROON) and is always willing to give it a try, i have my favourites but they also change in my music journey, know some ppl that have spend a fortune
on there setup for just a CD and a specific track… fine by me…I play all the time different music, depends alot on mood I am in, alcohol and other emotions.
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Mine are both vintage, Decade L-26 and L-3. Both 8in two way maybe not audiophile but fun. Just like the Pioneer HPM-100’s I’ve got paired with a Pioneer 980 vintage receiver, Led Zeppelin and flip the loudness switch on😂 Too many speakers not enough rooms. Different tools for different jobs
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Hehe, like I told my friend the other day, you buy your house depending on your speakers (wish I could do that) the JBL array 1400 need there room, it is what it is… i am pleased at the moment in lack of better judgement
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Yep I get it, the Pioneer system lives in the garage currently, I think that the neighbors really enjoy it those woofers need some room to breathe 
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This old pioneer of yours is today collectables, and have some friends that is all in for this, the emotions connected to there old 70-80 setup can make the worst recording sound amazing 
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I’ve got the L-3 paired with the Marantz, honestly the L-3 are a bit thin sounding compared to the Decades probably the titanium tweeter.
Lots of knobs and buttons and switches 
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Very nice, i have helped some friend with there retro gear and soldering in some new parts/capacitors/lights for the display, many of this units are build like tanks, love this old electronics.
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The toys I couldn’t afford as a child, the older guys got me addicted to this stuff.
No rehab is possible…………hopefully 
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As I type this, I’m sitting in a house that was built in the 70’s by JBL CEO Bill Thomas (who took that role after Lansing’s suicide in 1949). There was a pair of vintage pedestal speakers from Thomas’ era left in the house when I bought it. Turns out they were from Jennings Research Inc, founded by JBL’s former marketing head who started his own company.
They’re ugly, and not worth much. So they sit idly in my garage:
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Very cool David, are the surround cloth? Don’t know if you spend much time in the garage but I have a little nostalgia fun with my vintage stuff. Little amp or receiver might be fun. I plug my old iPod into mine sometimes.
What city are you in, I have a home in Southern California presently but I’m in process of getting out.
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I think you’re asking if they’re surrounded by cloth? They’re clad in MDF with a faux walnut(?) skin.
I’m far away, up in the San Juan Islands in the northwest corner of Washington State.
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Sorry for the lack of clarity, are the drivers surrounds cloth ?( hopefully not degraded foam ) I thought they looked pretty nice. I was thinking you might be in so cal , so much of that stuff was going on in Los Angeles back then.
Edit: found this pretty sweet looking other than the foam surrounding those nice woofers, went thru this on my decades I prefer rubber or cloth now 
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They look better in photos than real life! The wood finish feels quite chintzy.
Mine are different from the ones in that listing. Here’s a snap without the grill attached (and I don’t see any foam anywhere):
And I found an EBay listing with similar speakers (these are “refurbished”): Jennings Research Elan, 4-Way, Acoustic Suspension Speakers (JBL) Reconditioned | eBay
Unsurprisingly, the listing gushes about the speakers. But perhaps they’re better than I originally thought!
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Today’s pick up, JBL m350 mkII, super pleased so far for what I paid for then, run them in parallel with array 1400… super happy…
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America has a very large and diverse population. These attributes tend to carry over to our equipment manufacturers. Don’t you think its a bit reductive to refer to American gear as “boom and tizz”?
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