Other Vintage Speakers

everpress

Hey guys, I recently ran across some vintage JBLs.
I haven't purchased them, and chances are they aren't available anymore.
But does anyone know the quality of the vintage JBL's.
The ones in question were a floorstanding pair with black grillcloth and a large white driver. There was also a sub-style port on the front, for those in-the-know.

I didn't grab a model name/number. But since I'm in the market now apparently of saving vintage audio gear from the garbage, anything anyone knows of any vintage speakers might help me out.

Thanks in advance, guys.

comfortablycurt

I love the vintage JBL's. I've only ever heard a few pairs...but they all sounded great. Very solid low end, and great sounding highs...mid-range is excellent. They aren't scared of volume either. They can get LOUD.

I've got newer JBL 15" monitors in my PA system, and couldn't be happier.

Tony M

Best thing you can do when getting started is if you don't know the speaker by looks, get the model# and search the Net.Also upon first inspection, make sure the surrounds are intact.

Infinity and Advent are two brands to look out for...(great speakers if you want to put a little more $$ and time replacing their surrounds)

If it's a yard sale or flea market, I know you have to make a decision there and then, so don't pay any more than you can just throw away.

Polk audio speakers are the exception to the rule. They (if the mid woofers push in freely) should all bring you joy if purchased cheaply.

There have been many other brands that I have bought and then read about after I've gotten them home. Heavy cabinets helps to indicate quality construction.Stay away from very light tower speakers.

Ohm Walsh towers are kind of light but HIGH quality.Their surrounds(you can't see them because they're in a coffee can like encloser on top)might also need redoing and that can only be done by them.$$. They are costly but some find they're worth every penny. That's all for now.

everpress

tony millard wrote: »

Best thing you can do when getting started is if you don't know the speaker by looks, get the model# and search the Net.Also upon first inspection, make sure the surrounds are intact.

Infinity and Advent are two brands to look out for...(great speakers if you want to put a little more $$ and time replacing their surrounds)

If it's a yard sale or flea market, I know you have to make a decision there and then, so don't pay any more than you can just throw away.

Polk audio speakers are the exception to the rule. They (if the mid woofers push in freely) should all bring you joy if purchased cheaply.

There have been many other brands that I have bought and then read about after I've gotten them home. Heavy cabinets helps to indicate quality construction.Stay away from very light tower speakers.

Ohm Walsh towers are kind of light but HIGH quality.Their surrounds(you can't see them because they're in a coffee can like encloser on top)might also need redoing and that can only be done by them.$$. They are costly but some find they're worth every penny. That's all for now.

The weight of the cabinet is why I walked away from the JBL's. My Polk's are all really dense, and I know they are quality. I have purchased some steals in the past (my favorite was the cerwin-vega bookshelf speakers at $2.00 for the pair), but when I lifted the JBL's up, they were too manageable to be quality. Judging from prices on the web and from different forums, I was in the wrong to pass these up.

Polkersince85

I don't know what the price was on the JBLs, but the vintage drivers go for good money. Lot of JBL fans out there.

Tony M

I know about the white woofer JBL's. I was hoping they weren't one of the nicer prs.! I've heard them and would recognize them anywhere. I think I've seen cheaper JBL's with the white woofers too. Nothing like the classic ones the size of Polk monitor 10's!

concealer404

Classic JBL, Infinity, and Cerwin Vegas will always hold a special place in my heart for pure ROCK ability.

ben62670

A/D/S 3 ways. They don't have to be large. I just want the nice dome midrange in there. The tweeters are very very nice.

mhardy6647

JBL speakers (and drivers) range, over the years, from the sublime to the ridiculous.
JBL, historically, were purveyors of what was known as the "West Coast Sound" - very forward midrange, rather harsh treble, and accentuated midbass (without, in some cases, much low bass). Their studio monitors were (probably still are) widely used, and their pro drivers are still something to be reckoned with.

In more recent years, their consumer loudspeakers have been pretty unremarkable. All in all... it's really hard to say whether the speakers you saw were trash or treasure. Generally the "white woofers" make me think of the "Century Series" (e.g., L-100 and its pro monitor brethren). These are much sought-after and valuable speakers (although I don't much care for them myself). The similarly vaunted (but flawed) Pioneer HPM-100 speakers of the late 1970s were deliberately designed to better the L-100 for the consumer market (Pioneer had hired Bart Locanthi, ex-JBL, to oversee their design).

I am not a big fan of the JBL sound; I prefer the vintage Altec Lansing sound (which, while similar in overall character, offers much less aggressive high treble, IMO).

You can get the skinny on classic JBL and Altec products at www.lansingheritage.org

vc69

Yep I have a set of 4412's that need to be gone through. Had them for 20 years and they
desperately need to be gone through and refinished. They are some rock n' rollers though and someday will live again. Classic JBL sound is quite different from Classic Polk sound as someone said. These days, I prefer the classic Polks.

DollarDave

ben62670 wrote: »

A/D/S 3 ways. They don't have to be large. I just want the nice dome midrange in there. The tweeters are very very nice.

I agree.

Face

Some Tannoys still go for huge money.

mhardy6647

mostly the coax Tannoys, which are drivers for the ages (not "for the aged").

dee1949

...I had the Century L100's for years. They were great for Rock and Roll....probably because studios used them for mix downs. Always had a second pair of speakers for Classical , Jazz and acoustic. Used ADS, Genesis Physics, Epi, Dahlquist, Polk, Snell and my ole favorite - DCM Time Windows or QED's

snow

The JBL's you seen were most likely a pair of the Decade series which were not of that high of quality. I suggest when in doubt bring em home post a pic and model # if there no good you can always take em back to where you found em.



REGARDS SNOW

everpress

They didn't look like any of the Decade's online, but if they are still available, I'll look.
I'm not interested in holding onto them anyway. I need to recoup my cost for my current setup so I'll be selling whatever I find for awhile.
They looked more like the Century line, if I remember correctly.

gtu2004

anyone know what these are?

they look friggin awesome

Face

They sound pretty good too.

mmadden28

gtu2004 wrote: »

anyone know what these are?

they look friggin awesome

(Look at the path of the image you posted)

They are the Polk SRT system.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/recent/srtsystem/

gdb

Old JBLs and new JBLs are two entirely different animals. Lots of JBL discussion on AK:)

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=27

Tony M

I had a pr. of Pioneers's HPM 100's and was blown away by their ability to play anything anyway any volume. But Damn they were BIG.HEAVY too. A friend had to move them for me a few months ago when my shoulder was at its' worst. When I get the space back:rolleyes: I might just look up another pr..

I also learned alot about the JBL connection after buying them.

Tony M

Everpress , I hope they're still there and you get the century kind. You'll maybe hold on to them just to hear some music collection all over again. They are quite smooth and will ROCK with the best.

everpress

Went back tonight to the thrift store that had them. They were gone. There was an old pair of yamaha floorspeakers and a pair of nasty JVCs. That was it on the vintage side. They actually wanted more for both of those pairs than they did for the JBL's from a few days ago.
I just didn't see any deals there tonight. But I'll be seriously making a list of all the models you guys mentioned and see what I run across; don't stop naming them, though... I'm getting a pretty good education here!

mhardy6647

tony millard wrote: »

I had a pr. of Pioneers's HPM 100's and was blown away by their ability to play anything anyway any volume. But Damn they were BIG.HEAVY too. A friend had to move them for me a few months ago when my shoulder was at its' worst. When I get the space back:rolleyes: I might just look up another pr..

I also learned alot about the JBL connection after buying them.

HPM-100s are neither big nor heavy. HPM-1100s, HPM-200s or HPM-1500s are big and heavy (or REALLY big and heavy in the latter two cases).



(Sorry, I only have a pair of the HPM-1100s to illustrate this)

snow

everpress wrote: »

Went back tonight to the thrift store that had them. They were gone. There was an old pair of yamaha floorspeakers and a pair of nasty JVCs. That was it on the vintage side. They actually wanted more for both of those pairs than they did for the JBL's from a few days ago.
I just didn't see any deals there tonight. But I'll be seriously making a list of all the models you guys mentioned and see what I run across; don't stop naming them, though... I'm getting a pretty good education here!

The Yamaha's could be a good deal if they were NS1000M's



REGARDS SNOW

Toolfan66

gtu2004 wrote: »

anyone know what these are?

they look friggin awesome

I would Love to get my ears on the SRT's

Harder to find then SDA's

Tony M

Man those ARE BIG. DA*N... I think the 100's were 68 lbs. That's alot for a one armed man.. LOL.. My friend(62 yrs old) who helped me move them would have suggested I call another friend if I had those monsters in the picture or bigger ones.:D

Eileenes tacky glue eh? good stuff, it is!

danz1906

mmadden28 wrote: »

(Look at the path of the image you posted)

They are the Polk SRT system.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/recent/srtsystem/

The SRT system was $10,000.00 new,what do they go for used?

mhardy6647

tony millard wrote: »

Man those ARE BIG. DA*N... I think the 100's were 68 lbs. That's alot for a one armed man.. LOL.. My friend(62 yrs old) who helped me move them would have suggested I call another friend if I had those monsters in the picture or bigger ones.:D

Eileenes tacky glue eh? good stuff, it is!

It's all I can do to lug thes up and down the basement steps. Not that they are so heavy (about 75 lbs)... but they're just a really awkward size.
The Tacky Glue had just been used to refoam the 1100s' woofers.

Polkersince85

everpress wrote: »

Went back tonight to the thrift store that had them. They were gone. There was an old pair of yamaha floorspeakers and a pair of nasty JVCs. That was it on the vintage side. They actually wanted more for both of those pairs than they did for the JBL's from a few days ago.
I just didn't see any deals there tonight. But I'll be seriously making a list of all the models you guys mentioned and see what I run across; don't stop naming them, though... I'm getting a pretty good education here!

If you are looking for bargains at thrifts, you have to make an instant decision on the buy. Blink you eyes or take your hand off of it and consider it gone. It's important to know what is a deal or not.

Last pair of JBL L-100s I bought at the SA had a price of 5 point 99 each. It was half price day. It didn't take a day to decide on that one.

mhardy6647

Heck, I'd buy a pair of L-100s for that price.