Jbl yeah, but

[Slim-Shaddy]

Ok, I'm on pair 2 of the vintage JBL species and I'm not really sure why there is such a buzz around these speakers. They sound good, but the jagoffs putting their resale into the roof need to have their ears checked. I'm going to give a quick review here of what I'm listening to.

Set-up:
Musichall MMF5-to-Yamaha C-2-to-Carver TFM 22-to JBL L166 HORIZON

These speakers have a very "open" sound. Like a rubber band thats been stretched a few thousand times. Like an engine with 500,000 miles on it. Just very easy. Like a street corner sweet-heart. Like a hotdog down a hallway.
Now....
This is not necessarily a bad thing. Well, when it comes to sound it is not necessarily a bad thing.
The sound emulated by your stereo should NEVER sound too tight and pressurized. It should sound smooth, affortless and completely guided by the music, right? Like a finely tuned sports car cruising at 70mph on clear pavement.
I think this is what JBL was going for (the sports car analogy).  Here's where they F'd up.
They sound like a v6 mustang on ice. Follow? They have almost all the grit, balls, power to get the job done, but when all those  are put into action  they slide around and sound sloppy.
The highs aren't very crisp.
The mids aren't accurate.
The Lows are booming in the upper octaves and lacking in the lower.
The soundstage is decent when I sit directly between the two with my head cocked at precisely at 13.76 degrees.

Quite a bash,eh?
Not my intent, but based on all the hype these vintage speakers get, I expected more!!
These are all in all decent sounding speakers, but they are by and by not worth their reputation!!

[F1nut]

Seems about right. Good speakers for college frat parties and fuel for bonfires.

[BB3]

Well.....Thanks For The Review, ED.

I Appreciate Your Time With All Of That, And More Importantly.....Your Knowledge.

Sincerely, Bill

[paden501]

The V6 mustang on ice analogy works.  I can attest to that not being fun :-S

As for the JBLs, that's a shame.  I think there's a fine line between smooth and precise in audio.  It looks like the JBLs must have crossed that line for you.


Nice review.

[e_just]

 Thanks for the review Ed! I have always heard good things about these speakers but haven't had a chance to audition them. Did you by chance snag the pair that were at the shop? On a side note, I just bought a pair of L100 Century speakers and I am very happy with them even though I tend to lean more towards the east coast sound. I haven't had a lot of time to sit back and really listen to them critically but I plan to do that soon.

[Slim-Shaddy]

Yeah, the ones I have are from the shop. Before these I had a pair of L46s. Neither are bad sounding speakers, they just aren't refined. At all.
I had these playing for awhile on my stereo upstairs, but never really listened to the critically. I pulled my Mac's upstairs and put the JBLs in the basement which is my main listening area. I guess this was less a review and more a comparison to a sound I had become accustomed to. I hate bashing a classic speaker, so I'm just going to say to each their own. The JBL sound is just not appealing to me.

[Magnaryder]

I think thet might sound '70s'ish with a good mid-70s reciever. Put in some ELP, Floyd or Stones fire up a doobie and rock out.

ray

[confused]

I have to add my 2 cents .  I liked the 90's HLS series for home theater (sounded great in stereo too) very much when I owned them.  Upgraded to Jamo, then finally Infinity.

Own a pair of Jubal L65's and they just don't do it for me.   Not enough bass and way too much high end for my taste.