JBL lovers

Older JBLs played loud and had a peaky response, sometimes with undue emphasis on midbass and the "presence" band, upper midrange through lower treble. There is a good chance you will lose considerable detail, although this may not be so important with rock material. The L200s were big, floor standing 2-way speakers with louvers on the treble driver, sold during the mid to late 1960s. I had a friend who bought a pair and stuffed them into his small bedroom, facing each other about three feet apart. He would sit between them and jack up the volume with rock material. He had a great time.

MY SYSTEM CONSISTS OF A PIONEER SX-1980 RECEIVER, JBL CENTURY 100 SPEAKERS (ON SOUND ANCHOR STANDS), MARANTZ SA14 SACD PLAYER, TECHNICS A10 DVD-A PLAYER, HORIZON SE/RB250/CLEARAUDIO AURUM BETA S M/M CARTRIDGE, AU24 IC, MOGAMI SPEAKER CABLE. WALLS AND CEILING OF 12 X 15 ROOM ARE TREATED AT STRATEGIC POINTS WITH SONOX PYRAMID ACOUSTICAL PANELS AND ROOMTUNE DEVICES AS WELL. THE SOUND IS NOT TO BE BELIEVED. A HIGH END AUDIO DEALER FRIEND IN VIRGINIA CAME DOWN TO SET UP MY HORIZON SE AND WAS BLOW AWAY BY THE SOUND. THE JBL SPEAKERS ARE GREAT. WALL TO WALL SOUND STAGE WITH VERY GOOD DEPTH AND PINPOINT IMAGING. THE TRICK IS GETTING THE ROOM AND SPEAKERS IN TUNE WITH EACH OTHER. THE CONDITION OF THE ROOM AS WITH ANY SYSTEM IS CRUCIAL TO GETTING THE BEST SOUND FROM YOUR EQUIPMENT - WHETHER IT BE VINTAGE EQUIPMENT OR NOT. I SEE NO REASON TO HAVE ANY FEAR OF JBL VINTAGE SPEAKERS. LET ME KNOW HOW THINGS WORK OUT. BEST OF LUCK.

If you like classic rock you really should look into the JBL 4300 series. My favor is the 4350, which is a four way with dual 15” woofers, a 12” mid-bass, a mid-range horn, and a crystal tweeter. If it is too big you might want to consider the 4343, which is a little bigger than half the size of a 4350. The 4343 has a single 15” woofer instead of two and a 10” mid-bass instead of 12", and the rest are the same. Both are killer rock speakers. I used to install them in night clubs back in the 70s’.