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JBL L112

I recently acquired a nice pair of JBL L112 from my lawyer who was cleaning out his basement. After a fun restoration ,surrounds,midrange dust caps and cabinet refinishing they turned out beautiful. I'm driving them with a XL600 and a mcintosh pre amp..These speakers are 44 years old and sound great,they are so lively and dynamic and well balanced.They also have some shortfalls but lt makes me think 

Speakers have gotten better but not by much...my Mcintosh Revel Ultima setup  plays louder with less distortion.....but these JBL L112 's will hold there own and they are truly fun to listen to ..brings you back to a high-school party.would it be a mistake to sell them and get the new L100 anniversary models?

128x128vinnydabully
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,464 posts
 

Did you replace the old electrolytic caps? They are bad by now for sure. Dried up and out of spec. Resistors can also wander far off spec in 40 years. I bet you have not really heard them yet.

 

If the caps are all film they can still be upgraded with modest cost to caps like Clarity CSA, Audience Auricap XO and Jantzen Superior Z ……Replace resistors with Mills MRA at $5.50 each. 

grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,464 posts
 

Check this link out,

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/JBL-L112.htm

 

missioncoonery
1,214 posts
 

I bought a pair at auction that were immaculate and a great price about a year ago ...they sounded ok but not even close to modern speakers. Good for Rock and roll but that's about it...Off they went.

vinnydabully's avatar
vinnydabully OP
86 posts
 

 IMO there worth keeping around for casual 70"s 80's rock listening....they would be great for a den or office,bar shelf...probably not for your #1 listening room...cool old design...

erik_squires
16,021 posts
 

@grannyring 

 

You beat me to the punch. I like TG a great deal but the most fun projects he writes about are evaluating vintage gear with modern eyes. I often wonder if crossover designers were limited by their tools.   Would they have done better if they had better measurement and simulation tools.  The power of crossover simulators is huge.  Being able to virtually try out an idea in 3 seconds vs. 2 hours is a huge enabling technology.

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