Can Speakers From 1970s Sound Better Than Modern Speakers?

[@Jayiyagi]

Hey everyone ! Sorry about the terrible quality of the video. Didn't think I was going to do a video on it and got rushed last minute ! Anyways I think ive said everything I wanted to say one way or the other in the video Disclaimer/ Personal interest in my reviews - nbtsmedia.com/about-us/

[@commentcommenter3529]

The Next Best Thing Studio Your grammar is just as bad as the video quality.

[@Jayiyagi]

@@commentcommenter3529 yeap. I don't deny that my grammar is bad. Good thing this isn't a channel teaching english

[@commentcommenter3529]

The Next Best Thing Studio Hahaha. Lucky for you that I am not your english teacher.

[@Jayiyagi]

@@commentcommenter3529 are you an english teacher?

[@anahe1m]

What are the speakers on your desk?

[@LILRIPPER71]

JBL stands for James B. Lansing. He was a pioneer developer who broke off from Altec Lannsing who was mainly involved in the professional side of the music business. Altec studio monitors the famous "604" was more widely used by professional recording studios than all other brands combined. They also made professional stage systems which were used by all the "old groups" Rolling Stones, Beetles Etc. Earlier they were part of Western Electric (Telephone)which designed them in their state of the art, Bell Laboratories. One speaker that they designed back in the 50's was the designated the "755" it is still known as the best 8 inch speaker ever developed. In the 50's Western Electric was broken-up because it had become a monopoly. Harmon Kardon has the rights to the "Altec Lansing" name.

[@Mr.Robert1]

I thought I was the only person on the planet that knew that fack. I have told people but NEVER heard anyone say it or put in in print. Especially about Altec Lansing. My father had a receiver that was made by Harman Kardon. I didn't even know who they were at that point in my life I was a kid. My first job in the summertime I saved up and purchased my first receiver. It was when they were having the big receiver Wars of the seventies. Ended up getting a Pioneer SX 1080 I still have it 45 years later. Never had a problem with it never needed to be serviced. Frequency response 5 - 100,000 120 Watts per Channel rms. 10 years later I purchased a bob Carver 500 watt rms amplifier. Did not sound any better I sold it.

[@jblackjack]

Correction; Altec is not owned by Harman International and never was . In July 2011, Altec Lansing LLC announced the opening of new West Coast headquarters in San Diego, California. Brendon Stead joined as Vice President of Product Management and Engineering. Stead was formerly the General Manager and Vice President of Harman International and Labtec.[21] On October 18, 2012, The Infinity Group bought Altec Lansing for $17.5 million at auction thus saving the company from bankruptcy. Infinity specializes in acquiring and turning around struggling or bankrupt consumer brands.

[@RUfromthe40s]

yes ,his company was Altec ,after JBL, L for Lansing than Pioneer , in my 1970 home studio ,assembled by my father ,first he had two big altec lansing monitors after he bought almost the same with some improvements the JBL and at home the 2401 twin from Pioneer Exclusive series ,anyone today that when i put to work my 70´s exclusive system they can´t believe how a so old system sounds better than higher reference components extremelly expensive today, but here i read some weird coments and James Bullough Lansing, who was born in 1902 or close by a year in excess or defect proximety, so did he really started JBL? Well he was still in his 70´s but i remenber the story diferentelly told when JBL was created also the fact that he died in 1949 one year after i was born into this world but who am i to say so ,all history of the 70´s now is totally changed as in everything that happened in the world and about company´s , Infinity was always a go to brand in speakers as some other good brands,n tomorrow it all could change as an example Hitler would be santified as he was not even 1/20 parts evil than any pope in Rome or Imperor as anyone chooses to call it, as today vikings did the discovery of the world(and weren´t terminated as they lived like tribes as in Africa,after by some miarcle arrived by sea to the North of England in boats that were dangerous to sail even in a big river and only could fit two men side by side and somehopw they surfed to the north american continent) not the portuguese who only were pirates and slaves seller´s, and not owned half of the world divided with the Spain as signed in the Tordesillas tratey(that how stupid was the portuguese king ,he didn´t wanted to sign the treaty because he wanted one more parallel to the west were only water was there, how stupid can he be, but they did offer him one more parallel and he sign it ,he could have now a lot of water to sail ,only to a litle later discover that by having that stupid parallel to the west made him owner of the North American continent that nobody knew about it. Also english and french never were enemy´s and the 100 years war is a myth as the Roses war never happened, either than having a 5 year degree in Informatic taken in 1972 and only 3 year degree in electronics this in the best Technvcal universitie of europe, i also studied mechanics and History and the last one when already in my 40´s i took a multimedia 5 year degree, one when has the oportunity studies instead of takin`only drugs but also was an adicted for almost 50 years in Heroin and cooked Cocaine(i was considered a chef)but today i only have one wife and smoke only cigars or a bit of weed and hi-fi is my main interest after my family

[@RUfromthe40s]

@@Mr.Robert1 you made the right move but i have a beautifull master hand work Carver complete system at home, only under my bed ,at the end of 7 years almost nothing worked and i´m in Europe ,even more dificult to find anyone who could hadle it and make it work, but i´m the proud owner of one system made by Carver, only my 70´s phase linear series two system says in the back of the power amplifier Made by Carver and still works as all my 70´s Pioneer stuff, the brand that in the 80´s hi-fi magazines don´t even refer to it,oh! i forgot they talk good about a piece of garbage called A-400 integrated amplifier ,so i learned that if a component sounds bad and built cheap it´s the best in the world but my ears might have some problem as all audiophile quality components sound worst than my grandmothers 60´s Dual system that worked all days as she cleaned alone a huge house ,as me and my cousins couldn´t get out of the living room or she would notice footprints on the wooden floor in the hallways, but she was a very nice lady ,every day after lunch she made us a cake for us to eat at 5 o'clock in the afternoon snack

[@RUfromthe40s]

never heard of that ,Harman got involved in Altec Lansing brand ,well in the 70´s deals were dificult to know off but in magazines one would find deals made all over the world in any type of working area, in the same Magazine i learned about the work and investment in the making of MAD MAX II and the profit made estupid high value of money compared to the invested. One of my favorite movies ever as either than HI-FI my other hobbies are Motorcycles and cars ,women are not a hobby but i runned after them till i had not strenght to do it .The sad part of a man´s life.

[@Nicnackity]

For a young guy, you nailed it better then any other reviewer I’ve heard. You are not just pushing new products. Excellent and soooo true.

[@greenmonalisa]

1:50 music lovers listen to the music. Audiophiles listen to their gear.

[@dr.OgataSerizawa]

Ken Huffman SO TRUE.

[@dperry7309]

Steve Gutenberg said, “my definition of an audiophile is someone who listens to music without multi-tasking.” Interesting pov’s.

[@lobstame]

Sad but true.

[@RUfromthe40s]

yes ,more than 90% of auto proclaimed Audiophiles don´t have a clue about what is sound but they buy expensive gear and say they are Audiophiles ,but money don´t make people better than others in any working area, i call myself a audio enthusiast as audiophile is today a bad word like others as M...F...R, as an example i read here on coment section of diferent youtube channels that the SL-1200 was never built for DJ´s but to audiophiles, and i remenber people that are "audiophiles" till 2010 saying that the SL-1200 was a working horse and in reality was not a good technics turntable in sound quality and myself in 2006 when i stoped working as a dj i sold my two SL-1210MKII bought in 79 with two original cartridges and stylus for it as DJ cartridges from technics and stylus plus two concord from Ortofon with at the most 2 hours of use bought in 1997 when stylus had 5x more hours of use also it´s extra weights to assemble in the back near the counter weight in the SL-1200 original arm and with luck i could get almost 600€ for all looking new and in perfect working order and now they ask a fortune for it but none of the new SL-1200MKVI or whatever they are selling now are built very poorly and far from 1979 MKII quality

[@kellyfaulkenbury1584]

You will regret selling them.

[@sting64az]

He might be losing a little sleep too.

[@sting64az]

I still have my JBL 100 that I bought new back in the days..Those were featured on Maxell cassette ads back in the days...

[@Montreal_Audio_Systems]

Good luck trying to replace those

[@Montreal_Audio_Systems]

You said the sub punches bit with a McIntosh it won't punch and will sounds super!!!

[@flrn6233]

Those JBLs are irreplaceable, you need to improve those caps from the crossover and they are gonna sound stunning. He doesn't know what he got. He's an "I"

[@mikejames-drummerreginacan1386]

JBL made a full professional line AND a full home audio line in the 1970's ...home models: L 26, L36, L50, Jubal, L100, L200 and L300

[@RUfromthe40s]

yes i bought to my first house some L100, at home in my bedroom which was bigger than all my new house i had the old studio monitors

[@rotorfix]

I've encountered a couple vintage speakers that can match the refinement of most modern $4K/pair models. Imaging is often a weak point as you noted, but I believe that's mostly because large woofers were commonplace back then. Most modern speakers with large woofers also fail to image as well as a small bookshelf speaker with

[@Mr.Robert1]

I still have my amplifier from 45 years ago although I had to replace my JBL speakers. Lots of gimmicks and pricing is ridiculous.

[@trog69]

I was very fortunate to grab a pair of Adcom 555's, back when shipping was cheaper and the Adcoms weren't on very many radars. I also lucked into a NAD 208thx and a Carver m-500. All of these are 200+wpc @ 8ohms. @@Mr.Robert1

[@danielethier2015]

Thanks for the great video an the walk through memory lane. Had a friend from the 70s who had jbl 15s which he had the cabinets professionally customized to suit these. If my memory serves me well, he was also using the altec model 19 horns along with the altec crossovers. He was using a tube amplifier and preamp to drive these. He was very fortunate to own a fairly large house in which his speakers were positioned for optimal sound quality and the bottom end that could compete with an earthquake. All's this to say...for all you audiophiles who still posses these rare vintage systems...hang on to them, for the quality and the ambiance that they produce will never be surpassed.

[@Billfish57]

Getting the right room, or the room right, will do more to improve the sound than any single thing you can change in your stereo system. Also, combining McIntosh and JBL's is a sweat sound that I love. In the 70's and 80's, it was the best I could do and I still miss it sometimes.

[@KevKruz]

on a similar note for the younger crew, it would probably help to research which speaker lines were designed for your favorite music genre in mind. Some were made for Chopin and Bach, some were made for Earth Wind + Fire and Led Zepplin

[@Lee.Higginbotham]

I have a brand new yamaha amp A-S1200 and still using my Kenwood 777D's I bought back in 1976. My technics 1200 GR sounds great playing thru them. 🎸🎸🎸

[@runningdeer2111]

I love my 777D’s. Fantastic sound.

[@Guitar387]

Even recorded on your iPhone and then compressed by KZbin the detail in those speakers that I can hear is just from another world

[@ebiros2]

The L300 was designed after JBL's 4333 monitor speaker, that used 3/4" particle board but after designing the L300, which was made out of 1" particle board, they found that :L300 had better bass and redesigned the 4333 into 4333A that used the thicker material for the enclosure.

[@keithmoriyama5421]

The L300 was the home equivalent of the 4330. Just as the L100 was the home version of the JBL 4310. The JBL blue face legacy series started after that. I own the JBL 4315 which came out just before the 4333 series.

[@gerryk3114]

My Speakers I purchased in 1978 Have been Amazing Me ALL THESE YEARS !!! MY SYSTEM IS HOOKED UP TO MY VIDEO SYSTEM AND THE IMAGING AND ACCURACY BLOW ME AWAY !!! TODAY I WAS WATCHING AN EPISODE OF A TV SHOW: SNEAKY PETE !! I ACTUALLY THOUGHT SOMEONE WAS KNOCKING ON MY FRONT DOOR !!! INFINITY QLS-1’s (1978)

[@ip2networkz81]

Infinity QLS-1s are pretty high end ; for an older speaker. However ; compared to current offerings - they are merely decent. QLS had problems with a bloated mid-bass and integration with the fast mid range drivers. It's pretty well documented.

[@morayjames92]

I have a set of JBL L200B which are the two way version with all Alnico drivers, the tweeter horn is similar to the mid horn in your L300 but it is a little bit shorter. I have found that the optical diffraction style lens while providing the designed dispersion messes up the stage and the image of the loudspeaker. You might want to experiment with listening to your trumpets without the diffraction lens on, they are held in place with Velcro tabs and they are easily removed/replaced. I much prefer the sound of the trumpets without the lens. Great Plains Audio (who are Altec today) can recharge all your Alnico motors and rebuild your horn drivers to better than new. With hard play Alnico magnets do loose magnetic strength but they can be re charged. Magnetic loss is due to excessive heat buildup over time with very high level playback. the mid horn of the L300 and the tweeter of the L200 are truly magical sounding drivers. These aluminum diaphragm drivers can be over driven and if the diaphragms slap the phase plug they will work harden and crack eventually. If you hear a pair that fail to amaze you they have damaged diaphragms. JBL rebuilds are available but VERY expensive but take heart Radian have replacement diaphragms which many prefer to the factory original. Thanks for posting.

[@roberte.andrews4621]

Horns, in particular, set the little aluminum fins of JBL's waveguides buzzing with resonance. That's why you prefer the sound of trumpets when the "guides" they have to pass through aren't excited. You will note current JBL speakers do not use this experimental design. It didn't work out. Like a lot of stuff produced after Lansing left.

[@morayjames92]

@@roberte.andrews4621 the acoustical louvers on my L200B are reasonably thick plastic. I simply do not like what the lens do to the sound. I suspect that they mess with the phase? The lens does disperse as advertised they just don't sound any good as they mess up the stage and the image. They did not last long and they have been forgotten to time and that is not by accident as you have noted. Yes not what they were nothing is but they can still do better than most.

[@russmaleartist]

I agree. I have a set of Dahlquist DQ10s, that has gone through some upgrades. In fact, recently I converted these speakers from passive speakers to active speakers. I am using a DBX DriveTrack PA2 to do the digital crossovers . . . and I have to say that the details, the bass control, the lack of distortion, etc. is outstanding.

[@tonychand4789]

Great video. I restored a pair of AR-2ax speakers. Replaced caps and added a resistor also bypassed the pots. I love these speakers,, so musical. I'll never get rid of them. When I'm gone my boys can fight over them.

[@Jayiyagi]

Can you adopt me so that I can fight over it too?

[@hitty9]

Congrats! Well done on fielding questions and comments. Never let them see you sweat!

[@ddmau7995]

We had a company picnic one hot summer day in the forest preserves . The stereo we used was 2 pairs of JBL 200's ,a preamp and a PHASE LINEAR 700 watt RMS amplifier! I swear it sounded like ZEPPELIN was live !

[@new-knowledge8040]

I still use my 35 year old speakers. They sound great and each have one 12" woofer speaker, 2 midrange speakers, and 4 tweeters. No way will I replace these babies.

[@zombielandiii2711]

Which brand and model?

[@new-knowledge8040]

@@zombielandiii2711 See ibb.co/jSWGOo . I built these speaker cabinets myself. I don't recall who made the 12" woofer, but the 2 dome midrange speakers are the Philips AD 02110SQ8, and the 4 tweeters are the Philips AD 0160T8.

[@Gcrilla]

How you combat comb filtering running that many Twitter's?

[@clementc7297]

I am glad you have been there. I had 4312a and regret having selling them until today. There nothing alike James Lansing designs!

[@lesmatthews459]

You just described me!! After many sets of speakers when I was young, I finally took the big plunge and bought a pair of Cerwin Vegas D-9's! 40 years later I still have them and have no desire to replace them!

[@a0r0a7]

Yes is the answer. You feel it with those JBLs. The scale and bass response out weigh so many modern speakers. They are also very smooth and detailed sounding, not fatiguing. Many so called higher end speakers leave me feeling very underwhelmed with gutless bass and tiring listening. JBLs are beautiful sounding.

[@Bladerunner220]

I really love this review. You seem to me to be like an old sole in a young body (compliment) . I remember the JBL 300s. I had the L36, L65 and then the L220s which I still have 40 years later and have posted here on you tube. I currently use a Mcintosh system driving Magnepan 3.7i speakers. Sometimes I switch out the Mac with a tube integrated. Great job and I am subscribing cause you bring up a lot of good thoughts about the hardware😊

[@bobspringer5370]

Old sole? You mean like the bottom of a shoe?

[@Bladerunner220]

Bob Springer sorry meant old soul. Thanks for catching that😊

[@bobspringer5370]

I hoped so, but don't get me wrong I've got comfy shoes older than the young making this video.

[@mikemadden2729]

Equalizers were & still are the trick for fixing funky speakers & crummy recordings! They work with speakers & recordings from any era, old or new, vintage or modern.

[@otaviosmartins1]

Funky rooms too

[@Doggeslife]

I got a chance to audition a pair of these in the early 1990s played through a Carver component system and listening to The Doors' "L.A. Woman". Never had that song sounded so live to me before, as if the band was right there. INCREDIBLE speakers, but I just didn't have the room for those monsters. If you do, GET them!

[@jrberg327]

I have owned a pair of these, the L300 Summit ‘s for almost 40 years now and still enjoy them. The only thing I ever had to do was have the woofers re-coned a couple of times. Looking at addressing the crossovers soon.

[@JimButler1234567890]

The vaned acoustic lense that you were discussing is a diffuser and as you were explaining, it disperses the sound. The purpose of that, is to minimize directionality so that the sound will appear to be coming from the general area and not a specific point. This actually does help with imaging.

[@Jayiyagi]

You are correct. However to make a small correction, this does not help with imaging and jbls were never made to image very well. Cheers !

[@jwinstonh1926]

There is something very special about vintage when it’s done right. I’ve always told my friends that if I could have saved and transported my father’s stereo system to Canada, which was put together in the 70s I would be a happy man and would never have bought another system as I have never heard another system that made me as happy 😃 😃😆 for, me the greatest sounding system of all times. Over the years I’ve gone through many different systems (all of which I’ve enjoyed)....

[@WindmillChef]

Those are some great speakers! FYI, they are not (by a long shot) JBL's first entries into home audio. There is no argument and/or doubt that the technology, design and build of every aspect of speakers has improved over the years. The reason for why we can often find vintage speakers that sound better than today's speakers is because in the 70's people spent (reletavely) more money on their hi-fi systems and they spent a greater portion of their Hi-Fi budget on their speakers over the other components in their system. Second, there was less emphasis on developing small speaker cabinet size. People had larger speakers than we have now, and there is a lot that can be done in modern design to achieve great sound from a small package, BUT in speaker design the phrase "there is no substitute for size (size matters :-))" is still true to an extend. Third, there were a lot of very crappy, bad speakers in the 70's, they were everywhere and available everywhere, just like today. Of course looking 50 years later we find that the 70's speakers that were "preserved" were the ones that were worth preserving and those are the ones that are still with us today. There are millions of truly bad speakers from the 70's that have since long ended in land fills and have been recycled out of existence.

[@ProjectOverseer]

You're a true audiophile. 👍

[@NATIVESUNSETS65]

Those old Big watt Silver faced Receivers really pack a punch with the older Speakers I bet a Sansui G-33000 - 300 WPC , Marantz 2600 - 300 WPC ,Technics SA-1000 - 330 WPC , Pioneer SX-1980 - 270 WPC to name a few would make those JBL's put out a sound second to none.

[@jammasterj13]

Nice video. My main rigs are Dynaudios. And as great as they are i still love my Celestion UL8s hooked up to a Marantz 2285 vintage receiver. Just a gorgeous warm , musical & very easy to listen sound. The Dynaudios are clinical and can overwhelm sometimes. Music is sound & vibration. Ear for sound and your soul for vibration. .

[@Audfile]

I have MK S1Bs from the '80s in my collection and I'm running them right now. Jaw droppers.

[@MilGrip76]

The 5dB rise between 50-150Hz would account for that "slam". Would love to hear these vintage Era someday.

[@kellyfaulkenbury1584]

There is a reason the seller wanted to take them right away. New speakers are designed for aesthetics more than functionality

[@ChaiBearProductions]

Wow this is beautiful. My dad owns the L200s but sadly I don’t have a big enough space so I got some LS50W’s.

[@jsmctch]

Then you replace the electrolytic capacitors in the crossovers of the vintage speakers with modern film and foil type and then you are really blown away

[@mickeytaylor5734]

I tweaked a pair of inexpensive when new JBL 's. 8 inch paper cone bass driver , 3/4 titanium coated plastic dome tweeter. Replaced circuit board with hard wired crossover. Bennic caps, air core coils, bypass caps on tweeter with Solen fast caps. Restuffed with Dacron. Big improvement.

[@my2cents395]

Changed capacitors in 1973 Altec model 7. I have 2 pair so I can listen to difference of stock vs. updated. Was it worth the $200, yes. Sounds like they have new tweeters.

[@jsmctch]

That's great to hear guys. Let me do you one more. Line the inner walls of the speakers with No-Rez or No-Res. Parts express or parts connexion carries it. It's an adhesive backed foam sheeting. Deeper tighter bass is the result. You won't believe the difference. And it's cheap

[@christopherward5065]

The effortlessness coming from huge headroom and enormous bandwidth allows music to breathe naturally. Those drive units never get out of their comfort zone so, the tendency to distort that most speakers have, is always a long way away. In modern speakers there is often a tendency to emphasise, detail and bass power and mid-forwardness. Their sound has a hyper-detailed surface sheen that seems to be an artefact of how the speaker’s mechanics work hard and obviously to get the sound out. Their harmony is displaced and their inner colour is lacking subtlety. New speakers are therefore good but, not cohesive in the best sense. The guys over at Kenrick seem to have picked up on this a while ago and they make superb vintage JBLs into fabulous musical transducers. Listening seems more like an occasion there. I can see why you loved your L300s they sounded like the real deal.

[@ingridgustavsson3012]

I love this guy! Very informative and i decided to buy these speakers after watching this review.

[@shb8124]

See, you've hit the nail right on the head there. It's about getting to the heart of the music, the feeling, not nitpicking tiny details.

[@simply_psi]

What these lack in clarity and precision of modern speakers they more than make up for it in tonality, musicality and they seem to have a wider sound stage than modern speakers giving the instruments much more space and separation, they are so nice, such a shame you had to say good bye to them.

[@margix1172]

Abolutely yes! because they were MUSICAL and not ANALYTICAL.....now speakers are like surgery tools without any soul...as well as most of the music...it is time to ged rid of both!

[@ivane1168]

up to 1990, I think, was only one personal entertainment thing is audio, hence audio engineering was a cutting edge of technology with lots of smart guys inside, similar to space research etc. Today that place occupied by smartphones, and again we can see great progress and lots of novelty there. Audio industry becomes stupid, greedy and formal, instead of smart engineers and novelties only nude marketing. No_soul audio isn't dying, it's dead already.

[@dougg1075]

Cool interview with a German speaker designer on Johnny Darko’s channel, he said “ an insult in the recording industry about speaker is when they say it sounds like Hifi “

[@user-bc6ok1yh4s]

@@ivane1168 Long time audio person here, and still using a very desirable class a seventies rig for maximum enjoyment. I agree somewhat with your point, but what I have aiways hated about this HiI-FI hobby is the magnetic like power to attract every snake oil salesmen and con man in existence. I haven't visited a hi fi store since the mid nineties, and proud of it! BTW, I'm very impressed with the young mans video, especially his thinking and hearing skills.

[@TheMentalblockrock]

That's also why vinyl records will always sound better than CD's.

[@avapire2359]

Extremist.

[@Fatdogrecords]

Hi What you think sound comparison to these and 4429

[@Jayiyagi]

check the 4429 review on this channel that I did. thanks !

[@Fatdogrecords]

The Next Best Thing Studio Ah Thanks Great channel btw I’m torn between jBL and Cornwall (klipsch) they are both difficult to audition in the UK

[@Celestialrob]

I have a vintage pair of Naim speakers and will never sell them. They communicate with me. Nice video, who cares about the AV quality?

[@x5-acousticguitarstuff.2]

I love how Honest this Chap is. Straight to the Point. Q: Can Vintage Speakers, sound better than Modern Speakers? A: YES!!!

[@mciavarini]

these are amazing. i own 4 KSP-400 klipsch... not a scratch they are perfect... my friend had these and i never forgot what they sounded like.

[@robertparkphotography2451]

I was absolutely floored when I heard JBL summits.

[@allanpowell7208]

Kef Concertos. Leak 2060. I found these far more precise for orchestral classic and jazz. Glad you're looking into it for your listening pleasure. Cheers young man.

[@stevenmiller579]

Hi i use Pioneer cs-901A's from the 70's and I have 6 of them and I love the sound. Thanks Steve

[@2574mcu]

I love my realistic mach ones and my mach 3 with super tweeters added. I do own some modern speakers as well. I miss my JBL's and my EPI speakers. I use a realistic sta 2300 and a pioneer sa 8800. The Mach 1 and mach 3 speakers, you can feel the base. The super tweeters gives extended high frequencies. The late 70s and early 80s was the best time to buy audio equipment. The different audio companies were always trying to top each other. The build quality was fantastic. Even 20 watt receivers sounded better than a lot of the ones that are out today ( in my opinion) I must have listened to at least 50 receivers and could not find one that sounds as good as my vintage receiver. I have 3 setups. Two vintage and a modern surround sound system. I never listen to music on the modern system.

[@ford1546]

One thing people do not think of is that expensive speakers from 70`s that people could not afford to buy are now sold cheaply used. Then you get a high model that was expensive you now get cheap. That is what many people do not think about. And then many people compare old speakers that were a higher model and expensive with today's cheaper speakers. You have to compare about the same with the same. For example, you can't compare Mercedes' S-class from 2005 with a new polo. No problems buying good speakers now in 2019

[@birdsoup777]

Thanks for your time making this video

[@jamesveach6918]

Those are state of the art speakers from the 1970s worth about $3,000 some people would give as much as $5,000 for a set of them and I'm not. kidding you

[@cgambarrotti]

James Veach are you serious?

[@Timewaits4no1]

I hope he got a good price for them. They're commanding big $ on E-Bay and will only go up in value. His looked cherry

[@RWL2012]

Finally I learned what AlNiCo stands for! Thanks :)

[@jilldelapena566]

Only now ive learned too😁😁

[@Montreal_Audio_Systems]

I feel sorry for you lol they will be hard to beat! If ever you are in Montreal you are welcome to hear mine!

[@martyjewell5683]

Really nice informative video. With the 1970's JBL's you can hear the forward (almost PA style) midrange. Funny, back in the 1970's most folks either loved or hated this kind of sound. Like the West Coast/East Coast sound wars. These are, however, great BIG sounding systems. I didn't care much for the JBL, Cerwin Vega, Altec sound. I was/am more a fan of EPI, Polk, Ohm, AR, Genesis style. No denying that lots of people did/do like JBL's as they are still very popular and they ain't cheap.

[@ebiros2]

from the golden age of jbl. Speakers from that vintage was great, I love them

[@stephensmith3111]

Back in the ancient days of the mid 1970s, there was a brick-and-mortar stereo specialist (can't recall the name for certain, "Done Got Old", Mission Audio?) located in Mission, KS (part of the 'Greater Kansas City' metroplex that spans 5 counties in 2 states) that had a JBL Paragon stereo loudspeaker system for sale, a single 9 ft. wide, beautiful piece of furniture that also sounded, to cite another Steve, "insanely great!" Way above my pay grade, but back in those halcyon days, dealers knew how to cultivate future customers (it worked) and would let archetypal impoverished students and recent graduates bring in a favorite LP and listen to the good stuff if they weren't busy with actual customers. I had the pleasure of listening to this magnificent behemoth a couple times. The details fade, but the warm glow remains.

[@gregorytrane7828]

The Altecs always gave JBL a run for their money but I always liked both of them and had a friend that had a new pair of Altec 19's back in the day. They sounded crystal clear but in a "hard room" you had to tone down the volume because they could be ear bleeders.

[@Mr.Robert1]

JBL, James B Lansing. Altec Lansing. look familiar?

[@Montreal_Audio_Systems]

I will never get rid of mine unless I find the 4 ways

[@ddmau7995]

I managed a stereo store in Chicago, we had a "stereo blue book " of everything soup to nuts in used equipment. I took a trade in one day for a McIntosh tube Amp and preamp system . Bought it and hooked it up to JBL studio monitors. This was 1972 . After awhile I was getting audible distortion from the system especially when warming up the tube. I asked the McIntosh rep about this and he said sell the Mac. You see Mac guaranteed their specs "lifetime " but had to stop because MALLARD tube company went out of business. He told me that old Mallards would sound better than new available tubes, so I sold the Mac. Still have the JBL's 4311's, L100 towers and L26's .

[@wayne611]

Had a pair of these in the 70s very good and yes very efficient. L100 and 166 were excellent too

[@socksumi]

The 70s was the golden decade of audio. So much good stuff from back then. I'm partial to British designs and BBC monitors as well as German speakers like ADS. But JBL and Altec while less refined than the best of the British outperformed them when it came to efficiency, dynamics and bass slam. The L300 is one of JBL's very best. Altec made the wonderful Model 19, different than the JBL but just as good.

[@socksumi]

Having since heard both the JBL L300 and the Altec 19, I can say I definitely prefer the Altec 19. It sounds more balanced, natural and effortless while still retaining the awesome dynamics of both designs. The L300 is still a very nice speaker but the Altec 19 sounds better to my ears.

[@roberte.andrews4621]

My ears are 1934 models, so my old studio monitor speakers sound futuristic to me! I still get up and boogie. My musicians are right in my studio with 1 watt input. Addictive audio!

[@jpdj2715]

1:50 "if you are an audiophile" - in my book does not imply you are a music lover. You may just be after attributes that reflect your (desired) social status. You may have G.A.S. (gear acquisition syndrome). In a market economy, these are all valid, from a market perspective. What is interesting, is that whatever qualities (parameters, variables and attributes) we use in describing music reproduction systems, apparently not some simple thing will predict how we will experience music. How is it possible that a system can be very analytical but not musical?

[@bighands69]

You can be an audiophile with $500 systems and a music lover as well.

[@jual-rakid]

would love to hear this in person one day, its on my to do list

[@Bambam21476]

I had a pair I bought in 1975. The bass could shake the pictures on my wall with no problem. I sold them for 200 dollars 20 years later.

[@davidclark6896]

I still have my AR11speakersvI bought new in 1977. Still sound amazing! Oh and I still have my first bass amp that has two 15” JBL D140. It too sounds awesome! That was 1967.

[@drivethrou]

I love those speakers. I bought mine 1984 and i still love them but a little modified

[@davidn8656]

I just bought a set of focals that are 7 year old demos from my dealer.Can I expect to get many years out of these speakers even though there 7 year old demos?

[@MisterAMuck]

The only way I can imagine making this work is by having two rooms, one for music and one for Home Theater. Man I hated giving away my hand made big-ass speakers. You've gotta keep those new electronics safe from all those huge magnets of the past tho. Fortunately JBL still puts out quality equipment, I sit surrounded by Infinity and JBL. A 500 dollar JBL Center Channel sits behind and is connected to my iMac which gives me 5.1 Surround that's just amazing. Great video, what's their replacements gonna be? Thanks Dude!!!

[@travisgulley2652]

Yes they can because they produce deeper bass and are able to make your windows rattle if they have really big woofers that are 8 inches big or 10 or 12 inches big plus one of the things that vintage speakers have that modern speakers don't have is a crossover that is sometimes adjustable via a switch or a little knob on the front or the back of the speaker enclosure

[@scottlowell493]

Yes, A/D/S (or Braun) L710/810 etc are incredibly transparent, detailed, neutral and uncolored. Gale, DCM time frame, Infinity and Kef 107 all were superb, and still are.

[@ronaldrice2936]

But don't forget my #1 speaker of all time is the Herry Kloss The ADVENT Loudspeaker, still got a pair, still

[@lesmatthews459]

They used that type of speaker construction in a lot of top end guitar amps back in the day.

[@GiantRock62]

Those speakers deserve to be in a much better place and driven by a powertrain preferably valve state!

[@mrelac6817]

I love these speakers I grew up with these .my father and my mother divorced my mom got them and she used them as in tables for years and never hooked them up but when she wasn't home I hooked them up to her marantz 2325 and I'd shake the whole apartment and she get complaints and she didn't understand because she never had them hooked up but I love those things even to this day it's hard too find a sound and equals to them.

[@jimovergaard1254]

The Braun tri-amp brought me into high fidelity back in 1973. They could play wonderfully soft and very loud without distortion.

[@hitechrr]

I use a pair of acoustic research AR16 in my system. I bought them in 1977. I just upgraded the Caps in the crossover.

[@Digiphex]

Guitar amps still use huge speakers because they need to play really loud. At normal volumes, a 15 inch speaker is not ideal at all. It won't give you tight bass at a normal volume. You may like the idea of it though and it has a psychological impact.

[@Jayiyagi]

I did say that. Small woofers have more control, hence why its used nowadays. I am saying these control it goddamn well for a 15inch woofer

[@James-hb6ee]

@@Jayiyagi Digiphex Electronics Actually, IMHO, you are both incorrect. I am guessing both of you guys are young, I am going to try and clear some things up for you here. I have been around the block a few times, I remember hearing these when they were NEW in a great dealer in Dallas TX called Arnold & Morgan. A guitar amp that has a 15 inch speaker within is designed differently than an audio speaker with a 15 inch woofer. The guitar driver is designed to play loud, distortion and damping be damned, for the most part, while the audio 15 inch woofer IN HIGH EFFICIENCY speakers only, are designed with multiple targets: efficiency, low distortion and good sound. I am not talking subwoofer 15 inchers or 15 inch drivers used in the large Focal bass reflex cabinets, etc., they are a TOTALLY different speaker design than high efficiency 15 inch drivers used in the classic audio designs of old. A long time ago, before you guys were born, the tube amps available then didn't have much power, so efficiency was a must. Any driver intended for home music reproduction, would also require low distortion. Also, good sound was also a requirement, but that was usually more a result of the cabinet used than the driver. The huge Alnico magnets on these old speakers are what keeps the very light 15 inch paper cones under absolute control. These paper cones are not even close to the design of the big 15 inch speakers used in the big home bass reflex systems. The only thing they have in common is a 15 inch frame. Totally different animals. You guys are dreaming if you think one of those small speakers flopping around trying with all of its might to reproduce some low frequencies is under more control than a classic woofer, just ain't so. Any speaker, I don't care what size, the further it has to move, the harder it is to control. That's just physics. The only control you can hope for on small speakers is to run a behemoth solid state amplifier with a very high damping factor. But why do all that when you can just run an old classic like big JBL's, Altec or Klipsch with a sweet little tube amp running EL84 or EL34 or 6v6 or whatever tube rocks your world and still rock the house? The classic speakers will rock the house in a way no smal speaker ever will, I don't care how much wattage you put into it. What the classic 15 inch drivers give up is low bass UNLESS they are mounted in a large enough cabinet, or even better, into a wall mounted horn. I am lucky enough to own two speakers with 15 inch high efficiency drivers, Klipsch Cornwall's and Altec Model 19's. The 19's have lower bass response in room because of the larger low frequency cabinet design. They measure in my current room pretty flat down to 30hz with an unscientific iPad analyzer (hey, that's all I've got). The Klipsch I've never measured, probably 35hz or so by my best guess. Plenty of grunt for most music unless you are into really low synth sounds. Then you can always buy a subwoofer. :) Best of luck guys. I'm sorry you had to sell your JBL's.

[@Jayiyagi]

@@James-hb6ee thanks for your honest opinon !

[@512bb]

Being you mentioned you owned 4311's, I thought you would like this story Jay. I was in the studio when they recorded George Duke, Master of the Game. In the front wall was mounted 4311s as were most all of the studios at the time. My uncle was George Duke's manager as well as Frank Zappa's. I was a 17 year old kid at the time but Frank & I really hit it off, which didn't have as much to do with music but rather much more about geo global politics. Yes, the guys used to laugh at us but he was brilliant & much more conservative then most would believe. Most of the guys at the time had 4311's at home & much to my surprise Frank bought me my very first speakers, yelp, 4311b"s which I still proudly own today. At the same time the guys cut me a cassette of Master of the Game direct from the master on a Nakamichi 582 which I still have as well. And yes it sounds spectacular, thought you might enjoy this story which was a very special time in my life, rock on!

[@moonday928]

That's awesome man. Sounds like you treasure those memories! I will always rock with JBL products, they have never let me down.

[@CUSTOMWORKS7.3PSD]

I agree the old vintage equipment has a better sound to me

[@NickP333]

I have a pair of mid century modern Pioneer CS-201’s from 1959 in my “vintage” system. There’s a L & a R 16 ohm speaker because I assume stereo was still very new at that time. They are 100% original and still sound great. The “crossover” is only 1 very large capacitor that I’d change, but I’m worried they wouldn’t sound the same anymore. I guess it’s worth a try though. Now you’ve got me thinking... Thanks for the cool vid!

[@ThresholdZhor]

I have been a JBL fan since I was 15 years old, I have heard many models, I have had L19, L220 and L112 and have heard L300, 4311 and L100...of all of them the L112 was the best in terms of natural reproduction, the voices sound with almost no coloration and they sound better than your L300 but let me tell you something if I can get a L300 as clean as yours I will buy them, why if L112 sounds more natural? because the L300 is a mix of their finest speaker components at that era, the tweeter 077 is the same as the 2405 but the difference is that is use a cristal in the center and it look gorgeous, the lens on the midrange should go as it comes originaly because is used to provide more dispersion on the midrange as well as this is a compression driver too much efficient it could sound fatiguing without it, the woofer is a big 15 inch is not as fast as a 8 inch polypropylene or kevlar but with a muscle amplifier with very high damping factor it could sound fast and tight, I would reccomend you a Mark Levinson but is too expensive then there is a Pro amplifier with even more damping factor as the Levinson and is the Crest Audio CA12 pro amplifier and no one would believe me how fantastic it sounds, it will make you dance twice, is an old amplifier but it manage bass like no other amp on earth as well with clean hights, if you have a friend that haves one ask him to test it in your home, tha bad news is that you may not want him to take it out of your home :p Try also the L112 if they are in mint condition and I'll bet you are going to make another room for them jeje

[@stephensams709]

I've still got a mint pair of L112;s that I bought in Japan while in the military in 1981. Over time, I've had to have the woofers re coned a couple of times, but to this day, they still sound incredible. Would never part with them!

[@ThresholdZhor]

@@stephensams709 You don't have to recone, only change the foam suspension, I do it myself using a 200 hz tone signal in order to find the center while applying contact cement, first is to remove the old suspension with a bictury and thinner to clean residues

[@stephensams709]

@@ThresholdZhor You are 100% right and that's the only way you can do it now because JBL doesn't make the kits to re cone anymore. Before I had them re coned the last time, I looked for the foam surrounds, but I couldn't find ones for that woofer. I'm sure they probably existed, I just couldn't find them. Anyway, I appreciate your response very much. The L112 is one hell of a speaker : )

[@mikecampbell5856]

My son has 4 JBL S99 Lancers from the 60s. They are awesome!

[@assai74]

A secret: Maybe the reason for your liking of this vintage-speaker is, that they had less components in the crossover to level the impedance or frequency-response. The benefit for that is, that the timing of the drivers is more correct. So the music makes more sense and fun. Maybe one of you find yourself accidently enjoying music with an offically crappy one speaker radio. Now you know why...

[@1990notch]

Proper crossover design is definitely an art.

[@tonyjuarez6296]

Hello I was wondering where I can get these speakers and for how much do they sell for ? Thank u

[@jvinsnes]

I've got the Grundig RB box 500 from the 80s. installed a modern SPA 60wrms plate amp in it and holy crap they blow any sub- $300 speakers of today. Back in the 80s, speaker systems didn't use subwoofers. Because of this, floorstanding and bookshelf speakers were made to play the whole frequency range on their own. Modern speakers are made to play along with a subwoofer and therfore aren't built to play much of below 100hz.

[@rakitakhan]

Alnico is the magnet used in the tweeter, not what the tweeter driver is made of. BTW, if you were to open up the cabinets and get to the crossovers, you should replace the capacitors. Capacitors dry out after about 10 yrs and can make you music sound a bit "muddy" even though you may not notice it. My current speakers are from 1978, Delcoid LM-1 satellite/ subwoofer setup. Being 40 yrs old, I replaced the caps in mine and it made a huge difference in high end and imaging. Check it out. Those JBL's will come too life !

[@koylesmasterpeice]

Beautiful speakers. I am sorry that they had to go. A lot of them were bought up and shipped to Japan, were these speakers have always had a high appreciation.

[@Jayiyagi]

Yea. But I bought few things thats coming up for review ! And I think JBLs will always have a place in my heart and life. Besides... As you will see in future videos...This is not the only one I owned or own..

[@dillonsaudio]

Brilliant video

[@RichardGjerdin]

what is the song in the end?

[@2574mcu]

I had a old pair of EPI speakers. Unfortunately they got destroyed due to flooding. I could not find a modern speaker with that same sound. They sounded so alive. The only identification on the speakers were the name on the back. I can't find them on the internet anywhere. I also have a pair of realistic mach one and a pair of mach 3. They are not bad. Very deep bass. I added the realistic super tweeters to them. I have some modern klipsch tower speakers, they cost a lot but don't come close to the EPI speakers. I also prefer the sound of my vintage amps and receivers over my new, expensive surround system.

[@wichtelchen]

That wave guide mounted in front to the squawker does not redirect the waves down to the floor. Once the waves coming from the squawker hit that guide, they reflect a few times in it until they leave it in the same vertical angle as they came in. Imagine the thing is made of mirrors and the speaker is a laser pointer. The beam would hit the upper mirror first, then the lower and then leaves. Why that? That thing is an acoustic lens that spreads the narrow midrange wide horizontally. That's why there is a notch in the middle. So turning it upside down changes nothing in the end ;).

[@pags8591]

You are a wise young man..and you totally get it! Having grown up in the 70s and 80s I know how good these products are..the sansui au 717 you and I dealt with I will never get rid of.paired with new school focal 814..the sound and slam is unbelievable...the jbl summit l300 are incredible it's my next buy with mcintosh..you have to spend a ton of money to get that same quality sound from the new stuff...jbl were and are used in many recording studios...Remember the most important thing ..like you said ..it's all about the music..and the 70s rolled like no other!!!!

[@bdc211]

oh yea they can... the amplifiers that were made through the late 60's to the mid 80's actually compare to audio quality of todays high end special order units... it was like the companies were in a build off.. marantz sounded like bliss... pioneer spec systems are the coolest things i ever seen.. i owned a spec rack system and two pairs of cs 99a's... .. i had that around 02 or so.. around 40 years old, and rocked like brand new... was awesome center piece.. the technics su-v8 was the awesomest thing i ever owned besides a 83 honda atc 200x.. i will have another of both someday... if i can find them.... anyways👍

[@paulhaack7400]

The studio monitor version of these speakers were the most popular units in use during the 1970’s, so odds are that your ‘70’s music was mixed while listening to the speakers. Think about that, this is how the music was supposed to sound! There were 3 different home versions s of these speakers that were issued during the decade. The best of these are the final revision that have the Alinco V magnets and the “large” binding posts. I purchased mine new and the woofer surrounds and cross-overs are being refurbished for the second time. I have had numerous other speakers over the years including high end Tannoy, Wharfdale and Tekton, the Tekton’s are more accurate with a more precise soundstage, but like the others I typically support the lower frequency end with an active sub. These JBL L300’s are still the best full range speakers I’ve ever heard. Any speaker will sound better with certain systems or components, but these work with many types of technology and genres of music. These babies can rock, with the 15” woofers punching you in the chest and then reproduce pipe organ music. You will regret selling these speakers and I won’t sell you mine...

[@WV591]

the answer is hell yes. minimalist approach and design based on sound not software.and most were eye candy.

[@eyuptony]

Hi I'm enjoying your vintage speaker tech. I have two pairs of Tangent TM3's and a pair of Ram 200's that I love the sound of. How do these fair in your new to old technology comparison sound wise. Thanks Tony...………..

[@del1rn]

1973 JBL Century, L-100's were awesome. They were bookshelf studio monitors made for home use, in a beautifully Walnut crafted wood cabinet. These monitors were used in the studios of Capitol, RCA, Columbia, and Epic records just to name a few. I regretfully got rid of them, (how stupid,) now I would love to have them back!

[@atoz6552]

Love your channel so far