The Most Famous Speaker in the History of Rock

... for those who remember the 60's and 70's !!!!

... transition of audio preferences over the ages.

- Remember the JBL 100's and then the Pioneer HPM 100's (200 watt version)

http://audiophilereview.com/affordable-speakers/the-most-famous-speaker-in-the-history-of-rock.html

... have a pair of Pioneer HPM 100's ( 200 watt version ) passing thru. I had the JBL 100's for a few years back in the 70's. Awesome sound for parties. Best bass back then.

Have to admit they still sound great for most Music. BUTTTT they need to be tamed.

...Mellower amps are a MUST. Now just being tested in a HK 6.1 receiver - 2 channel. Next up is B&K pro10mc with B&K ST 200 . Can't wait !!

....... and then in a B&K AVR 307 setup . Welcome in the New Year !!! Lots to do and so little TIME !!

Happy Holidays !!
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Comments

  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited December 2016
    (FWIW)

    Not a fan of either, even though I own, use, and love a pair of the loudspeakers which directly "inspired" the L-100 (well, more accurately, the studio monitor morph thereof, the 4311 family) -- the Altec Duplex (604E in my case, with Doug Sax' MasteringLabs crossovers).

    9595255688_0227082e9d_b.jpgDSC_5746 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    The L-100 & HPM-100 are rough and tumble loudspeakers -- although I agree, in principle, with your amplifier assessment.

    l100-431x.jpg
    Image from www.audioheritage.org


    I have a pair of HPM-1100s (from the next series of "HPM" loudspeakers from Pioneer). They're actually not half-bad with vacuum tube amplification (I used them, briefly, with a Dynaco SCA-35; a bare-bones PP EL84 integrated amplifier).


    10541818085_d115e2e01d_b.jpgHPM1100 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    The L-100 and the HPM-100'll both certainly play loud, though. They just always sound to me like they have to work at it. They draw a lot of attention to themselves -- which is not my idea of a desirable trait in a loudspeaker. YMMV, though, of course.


  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    Oh, also FWIW -- one of my favorite rock test tracks for loudspeaker behavior is the Black Crowes' "Hard to Handle" (from Shake Your Money Maker). There's a fine line between soul-stirring grittiness and ear-gouging cacophony, and that track (actually, most of the album) straddles it. Sounds great on some loudspeakers, and is just about unbearable on others.

    Sounds great -- to me -- on the Duplexes.

    How's it sound on the Centuries and the HPM-100s?

  • Msabot1
    Msabot1 Posts: 2,098
    Have a pair of JBL 120Ti's that will still hold their own when you 'put the spurs' to em...
  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 10,862
  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,288
    After the "teen radio shack phase" I had a set of the L100 and then the L150. The L150 about 10 years or so ago I got rid of. Sometimes I think I should have kept them and upgraded the binding posts and crossovers.
    Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 300, Audioquest Thunderbird Zero Speaker Cable, Tyler Highland H2, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,042
    Cool Beans Mark..........you're trading in your Altec co-axes for a pair of JBL 100's!!! Listening impressions please :)
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    The L100 was - after all - designed to replace the Duplex in the world's radio & recording studios ;)

    http://www.audioheritage.org/html/profiles/jbl/l100.htm

    t08xt3o9cu22.png

    but - yeah - not happenin' :)
  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,288
    They are re-releasing theL100
    Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 300, Audioquest Thunderbird Zero Speaker Cable, Tyler Highland H2, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    That they are.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited January 2018
    There are a few JBL components around the house -- two of them are even in use.

    :)

    32398308763_9ab0b73a8c_h.jpgDSC_7248 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    30302966376_760068a31e_h.jpgDSC_6253 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    Does this photo give any sense of scale? The horns in this latter photo are about 30 inches wide. The 2441 driver weighs about 35 lb.
  • MrBuhl
    MrBuhl Posts: 2,419
    Personally I always thought this was the most famous speaker in R&R.

    ncg3zvpmneds.jpg
    VA HT HK AVR20II, Sony S9000ES CD/DVD/SACD, Polk Audio RC80i / Polk Audio CSi3, 60" Panasonic Plasma, Nordost / Signal Cable A2 / Wireworld / Pangea / Magic Power
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    MrBuhl wrote: »
    Personally I always thought this was the most famous speaker in R&R.

    ncg3zvpmneds.jpg

    as seen elsewhere on this site :)

    xzp0q3ybpuw3.png
  • Msabot1
    Msabot1 Posts: 2,098
    Yep..Stanley's Wall Of Sound..That guy sure had his act together concerning stage reinforcement..way ahead of his time...Pain in the tush to transport though..it was said it took three semi's to haul all that gear...
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    To stay on topic :)

    Mostly JBL drivers in the Wall of Sound, too -- although it was also rife with EV diffraction horn tweeters. I can only hope they were T-350s* and not T-35s! ;)

    29jjfem0ei4c.png

    ___________
    * Probably T-350s: Bear likely would've spared no expense working with the Dead's money ;)
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    They do look like T-350s to me (as opposed to T-35s).

    T350
    9x36qllvlk1x.png

    T35
    62wwdgcv1890.png

    29jjfem0ei4c.png
  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 9,969
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    There are a few JBL components around the house -- two of them are even in use.

    :)

    Mhardy: I have a few of the vintage JBL components around the house as well, most notably using a pair of 15" JBL Pro Series 2235h low frequency drivers housed in JBL designed FYI sub enclosures. Those babies are nice and totally disappear. Always wanted to try them with some of the Pro Series tweeters and horns such as you depict.
  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,556
    Had a set of l100's for decades. Fun rock speaker, but flawed.
    Ditto the HPM. As soon as my listening expanded, so did my search for speakers.
    I even re-purchased a set, only to sell them. At lower sound levels and listening
    other types of music, they just didn't cut it.
    You did forget to mention the Bose 901 series.
    "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson
  • mikeyb128
    mikeyb128 Posts: 2,885
    For those that haven’t heard the new JBL synthesis series, really owe it to themselves to have a listen. And make sure they don’t mind turning it up. They sure are ugly though. 088zz7av05ad.jpeg
    2 channel:
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    dromunds wrote: »
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    There are a few JBL components around the house -- two of them are even in use.

    :)

    Mhardy: I have a few of the vintage JBL components around the house as well, most notably using a pair of 15" JBL Pro Series 2235h low frequency drivers housed in JBL designed FYI sub enclosures. Those babies are nice and totally disappear. Always wanted to try them with some of the Pro Series tweeters and horns such as you depict.

    Truth be told, I suspect a pair of JBL woofers is somewhere in my future. The poor Duplex LF units (which are kinda sorta Altec 515s -- kinda, sorta) are far less sensitive in vented boxes than is a 2441 on a 500 Hz horn :( I have the JBLs padded down a lot.

    Truth be told, Altec 802Ds on those EMILAR horns are b!tchen, but I just kind of
    sort of like having those massively purposeful looking 2-inch JBL drivers on there. :|
  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 9,969
    Here's one of my 2235h LF woofers in its enclosure. Those JBL Professional Series were nice.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/5021930/uploads/editor/kt/y48bbksz21hr.jpg
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    yeah, they're beefy -- as were the 515s, I must say.

    y48bbksz21hr.jpg
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    Notice any similarity in these early 1980s Pioneer (later TAD) drivers? :p

    10557043214_b1af7a8d18_b.jpgHPM1100 woofer front by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

    12347809405_f08f274897_b.jpgHPM1100wooferrear by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    OK, thanks to Stereophile we now have a full-frontal photo of the new JBL L100 Classic -- and some wry prose.

    ckdcc689ewqb.png

    https://www.stereophile.com/content/jbl-l100-classic-retro-safety-orange-foam-grill-included
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    ^^^ I'm with him.
    When I look at my Frankenaltecs, that is pretty much what I imagine I see.
    Sort of like beer goggles, I suppose.

  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
    edited January 2018
    mikeyb128 wrote: »
    For those that haven’t heard the new JBL synthesis series, really owe it to themselves to have a listen. And make sure they don’t mind turning it up. They sure are ugly though. 088zz7av05ad.jpeg

    Those owe it to the Everest series and yes very much eyes and ear candy.

    People used to make fun of my JBL HLS610's i used in all positions in my HT, they played WAY above the price i paid for them. There is something about the horns JBL used that don't Ice pick my ears the way Klipsch does.

    A lot of the JBL stuff i really liked but they also had some real dogs in their kennels.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited January 2018
    Most JBL horns do "ice pick" me :(
    (and Klipsch -- well, the Cornwalls have been gone from our house for a pretty long time)

    I'm finally starting to catch on vis-a-vis the sweet, smooth horns, thanks to enablers like Joe Rosen :)

    This being said, I'm open-eared when it comes to the current JBL offerings -- although they're not the super-high-sensitivity JBLs of old (which is a bit of a demotivator for a fleapower guy like me).
  • deronb1
    deronb1 Posts: 5,021
    The Klipsch RB5s i had for a while were in no way harsh. Actually quite dark sounding. Tons of bass for bookies and an overall coherent speaker, but the highs were just meh, and I moved em on.