The tweeter is a titanium dome "which harkens back to some current and classic JBL designs," explains Eichenbaum. "The styling is very much reminiscent of the seventies classic." They will naturally include a sculpted foam grill (most excellent!) which will come in bright orange, blue, and the more discreet charcoal color seen in the photo below.
"What's new is that the sound is very much updated," he adds. "So it still has the dynamic JBL sound but I would say with a little more refinement than the old model." Retail will be $4,000 a pair and release date is several months away, so start saving now!
My favorite JBL L100 true story: a recording studio owner once told me he would only allow the L100s to be used when rock bands came into his studio (though he had better monitors available), since they could sustain a bass guitar being dropped on the ground with a fader wide open. Classic.
COMMENTS
Great to see the tradition live on!
The dorms at Sarah Lawrence, Williams, Middlebury, USC, Duke, and other schools for that fiscal demographic will be rocking!
I am picturing a set up up with a Technics 1200 (4K,) a Grado Statement 2 (3.5K,) these speakers at 4K, and Marantz PM 10-S1 (8K) making for a great retro dorm experience for 20K, with free zipcord speaker wires!
In the 70's, but they cost way more than I could afford back then. Memory tells me it was about $500, which would make the real price similar the new model.
But let's be honest: the original wouldn't be considered a good speaker today. I'm sure the new version is better many times over.
I acquired a pair of original L100s from a friend. They were her fathers'. He passed away and they were in her basement for years. I had to replace the tweeters, but that was it. I've got them connected to my brand new Denon 4500 and they sound awesome. They are the best speakers I'VE ever had. If I can find the dough, I would LOVE to have a pair of the new ones.
The studio version of these, the 4310/4311 was an amazing near field monitor. They may not have been so great in your home stereo (I never heard then in that context) but mounted on a console about 4 feet from your head, they were a perfect window on what you had recorded and anything you mixed on them sounded great played on any other system from a car radio to a super high-end system. I have the current iteration of these, the 4312SE in my home studio and they are wonderful. They also cost $1,500 less than these at least at street prices.
I also posted this on the Steve Hoffman Forum.
I’ve had a pair of the L100’s for a little over 2 weeks now. I can say that in all of my 30 years of chasing speakers that wow me, these are it. I have a review (non professional) on the music direct web site. I could care less if they’re not a sanctioned “high end” brand or what not. In my honest opinion, 4K is a bargain compared to what other “high end” speakers sell for. I’ve had the following. Gallo, Magnapan, ProAc, totem, audio physic Virgo, usher, elac, Thiel, golden ear and the list goes on. In my listening room, these are a vessel into the recording studio or live event. The first day we got them, my wife came home from work and I played them for her, she just started laughing. They sounded so good to her she just stated laughing and smiling. We ended up listening to them all night. This past weekend we were out listening to live music. We left early because both of us wanted to get home to listen to the new JBL’s. I don’t care what the price tag, heritage, name on the front says, no speaker has been this enjoyable to listen to. On Saturday I put on joy division unknown pleasures. I love the album, but never listen to it because I think the recording isn’t all that great. I can say it was like I was sitting in the recording studio with them. This is not a speaker that you have to explain to people why it sounds good, or what to listen for. I recently heard a pair of Uber expensive focal and top of the line paradigms. I’d take these over those, any day.
Tried hard to be objective back in 1970 when the originals came out but: 1) "Bass" was of the one note juke-box variety, "boom, boom.."; 2) Highs were harsh and edgy, fatiguing; 3) Midrange was excellent, three dimensional. Heard them in different settings with different equipment but definitely not for me. Hope this update has addressed those items.
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