My second system has 86 db that’s driven by an 8 watt per channel tube amp. Doesn’t get super loud, but sounds great and gets loud enough for a living room system
Those are indeed great looking speakers, only listened to them briefly in a showroom - bigger than I expected you would go, Harbeth would also have been a contender at this size, but the price would of course be somewhat higher. My guess is you might have bought a pair of Wharfedale Lintons to see how something different yet in a similar visual style compares…
If the JBL speakers you got don't work out, the GR Reaserch Old School Brute kit is 90db with a large woofer. You can customize the crossover with tweeks to fit your room and amps. Happy holiday Steph
That teasing tho, I love it 😅 Nice speakers! Talked about them the other day and that I would love to hear them sometime. I always wonder with these speakers how that thick looking grill will impact the sound.
Awesome choice Stephe, I think you're gonna like em.. I've Always liked JBL's and have a Whole bunch of em.! (It's a sickness I think) I have from small to large.. L16, L19, L82, L100, L300, Studio monitor 4320, and Studio monitor 4345.. Love em all..
Sweet! Look forward to hearing your impressions! I’ve been wanting a pair of their tiny 4312M’s. Given your musical preferences, with all that classic rock in the mix, they seem like a “sound” choice :) I understand your feelings on Eq, I tend to share them. Though I do take advantage of Eq when figuring out speaker crossover/tuning. What I am going to suggest you look into, is putting a simple high pass filter between your preamp and amp…. If your speakers don’t go below 40, then remove those frequencies. They play much cleaner all around. Enjoy your new speakers, hope they deliver for you!
Yeah! Excellent choice. Can’t believe I didn’t think of JBL’s. They’re such a classic brand. When I think JBL, I tend to think of tubes or old solid state receivers. I don’t think any of your amps will have an issue driving them. Maybe I’m way wrong, but I think you made a great choice.
You ordered a pair of the new Cerwin-Vega LA165. As the second budget set....you will love them....the mids and vocals are amazing and open with incredible sound stage and imaging. Unbeatable at the $270 price.
Very nice grate choice, I have a kt88 tube amp cut I am running a pair of Q acoustics 2050i tower speakers there 6 ohm nominal at 92 dB. looking forward to your assessment of your new speakers. Keep up the good work.🇬🇧😎
Great, a speaker nobody had on their radar :-) Looking forward to your review, hope we can all learn something here. Maybe you even try a low-ohm speaker someday and find a recipe how to alter DIY tube amps to drive such loads better.
I've used JBL Studio monitors over the years and they never disappointed. The 44 series was classic for large Solid State receivers. I still have a pair of 4406's in my office teamed up with a Pioneer SX-1010. Good choice. I'm sure these newer versions knock it out of the park.
Yeah I'm not sure yet what to "team up" with these? While my 300B can drive them, I'm thinking these are more of a match for the KT120 mono amps or the R8.
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics I've only ever used JBL's on SS amps. I have Triangles for my 300B amp. I'm would think the 300b would struggle with these.
Definitely nice and classic looking speakers! Definitely not looking like garbage, quite the opposite - I like the '70s look and feel. Hope they sound sweet :)
I recommended something from Omega Speakers, as they fit all of your criteria (including rear port design) + they are gorgeous + transparency that will allow you to hear all the nuances of tubes and different tube designs. Congrats on the JBLs! They look awesome. This has been fun!
Did I miss something? It was only yesterday that I saw your vid asking us to recommend a new pair of speakers to buy, and voila, today you have got the new speakers.
I thought about JBL. I’m always thinking about JBL. I grew up with them in the 70s 🖤 JBLs love power but they may love absolutely love your tubes. Heck I can drive my Maggies with my R8 using 6550 to decent levels. Crutchfield has been a leader in electronics as long as I can remember. And I’m old. You did good on both choices 👍
Sweet! I got my first pair of JBL's a little while back, 4411's, and I'm really liking them. I couldn't possibly guess what else you've got coming, but I'll put in another plug for ADS, if you find a pair locally. Have fun!
I had some JBL TLX8 speakers back in the 90s. They were made in Denmark and had a soft dome tweeter with a titanium coating on them. I can't say I remember much about their sound quality other than their replacement, some Vaf DCX tower speakers just blew them away.
JBL is iconic and that is an iconic looking JBL Interested to see your listening test results Also interested to see speaker pair number 2 I will not hazard a guess If these two get returned check out the OGY speakers with a small down-firing REL subwoofer That is how I would go about things and within your budget I don’t expect my bookshelf speakers to get me into the sub frequency zone which is not directional This allows for super efficient smaller speakers and a small subwoofer to make the sound to work well Very space efficient
@SkunkieDesignsElectronics I certainly LOVE the classic/vintage look of these JBL speakers, and the size seems like they will suit your space well, too! 👍 I also agree regarding the variable L-pad for the tweeter output level! There is some music (both old & new) that just wasn't recorded, mixed, or mastered well, and having that type of tweeter level adjustment can help to make at least some of those recordings more tolerable and enjoyable. :) I'll be really interested to hear your thoughts on these! 😃 I'd also really like to see a simple "tear-down" of these JBLs by simply removing the drivers and inspecting the quality of materials & construction used in the cabinets/enclosures, crossovers, and the drivers themselves. Knowing some of the drivers that JBL uses in other similar offerings, I would have a really hard time forking out $3k for these fairly basic 2-way bass-reflex/ported loudspeakers that use what look to be ~$15 OEM tweeters & ~$35 midwoofers. 🙄 That's A LOT of money left over to put towards top-level cabinet construction and finishes, as well as top notch crossovers. I'm a longtime DIY speaker builder, and you quickly learn both what various types of raw drivers cost to manufacture as well as what type of cabinets/enclosures and/or speaker layouts and configurations generally work well, and also what doesn't work well. As a start, I'm not too keen on the potential for erratic HF diffraction elements and comb-filtering issues that WILL be caused by placing a large port right next to the tweeter, while the opposite side has a typical flat baffle surface. In addition, if there are any inherent cabinet or drive unit resonances, they can be much more apparent when a large, front-firing port tube is used. For all of their research and vast wells of knowledge, you'd think that EVERY loudspeaker that JBL designed and produced would perform well above average regardless of cost. But for some perplexing reason, that is just not the reality, and JBL continues to produce some incredibly poor performing and sounding speakers. :( And it seems to be somewhat random and hit-or-miss, with no rhyme or reason. 🤷♂ Obviously, some of JBL's loudspeaker products are class-leading while still being relatively affordable. But at the same time, other JBL speakers are just...well, complete garbage. ☹ It's sad, because the general public and everyday consumers just assume that because it's made by JBL and has their name on it, it is ALWAYS going to perform and sound great. Not so, unfortunately. CHALLENGE: What I think would be EXTREMLY INTERESTING for you to try, is to purchase a pair of JBL's 308P MkII 8" 2-way active/powered studio monitors that can regularly found Online for $420/Pair, and then compare them directly with your JBL L82 Classic MK II's! Speaking of liking the L-PAD for the tweeters, the JBL 308P MkII have a 3-position High Frequency (High-Shelf) Trim control, as well as a 3 position Low Frequency (Low-Shelf) "Boundary EQ" control. This adjusts their bass response according to their distance/placement relative to the nearest rear boundary wall, which is a specific issue you noted. You can read LOTS reviews for the JBL 308P MkII studio monitors on Sweetwater, and there are several on utoob as well. NO, they don't compare AT ALL in regards to their aesthetic design, just for testing purposes, you can place your L82 Classic's blue grills in front of them as a temporary fix, LOL. It's not my favorite demo track by a longshot, but every HiFi enthusiast has probably heard The Eagles' "Hotel California (Live)" from the "Hell Freezes Over" album. I'd like to learn how your L82 Classic Mk II compare to the JBL 308P Mk II when playing this track. 😉 I'd even be willing to send you my 1st Generation JBL LSR305 5" 2-way active studio monitors that I use for background music in my garage workshop, but since they are just 5" midwoofers, it really wouldn't be an apples-to-apples comparison. Looking forward to the other pair of speakers as well, and your real-world impressions of the JBL L82 Classic Mk II. 👍 Cheers!
Yeah DIY speakers are gonna be the cheapest route, so far I've had about a 20$ success rate on kits or "plans" given with a specific driver sounding decent. And of course there is no way to return a kit once you are the point of listening to it. The learning curve on designing speakers is very steep from what I have seen and could easily surpass the time it's taken to become decent at understanding tube gear. Are these JBL speakers worth $3K? The jury is still out. There is no way to really know if a speaker is going to have synergy with your room/system without trying them. And I doubt I will take them apart to show what's inside unless I 100% decide to keep them. Like most things in audio, you aren't paying for the parts, you are paying for the design and a finished product!
Nice,very nice looking speakers..Epos es11's might be worth a go although ported in the rear not massively bassy,but a good bass for small cones small box,...and quality mids and highs,.. I've run them with an unmodified Reisong A10 (yes I know,modify it!!...one day😅)and they sounded great,so with better tube amps I'd think they sound fantastic..also have run them with my Pioneer A400 and they really do sound awesome.. Great video and enjoy them. p.s presently running a pair of Kef 104.2's with the A10 and they sound suprisingly good 😮
I wanted to rewatch you other video on asking for advice. I looked at your video list, not sure which one it was? I did suggest Triangle in that one. I guess they don't have enough bass for you & they surely don't come near the cost of the JBLs. I do use my Bro 3s with a subwoofer. Maybe I like the high-end of the speakers especially female vocals. I have come close to trying some JBLs. I do like their top of line vintage speakers but, they are way out of my price range.
Zu Audio DWX is my new guess. Would be interesting to hear what you say, fairly affordable ultra high efficient speaker someone would more likely say to use with a tube amp
Hi Steph, that is a nice choice, and I can also not imagine they that they will have problems with tube amps. As you say, worse case, they will run with a push pull tube amp. BTW, I did mention a vintage JBL, does that count for something :)
@Skunkie. Okay, I certainly wasn't expecting JBL. Now, my experience with JBL is mostly on a commercial level. I sold and serviced DJ systems back in the 90's and then JBL was one of the biggest names in commercial sound systems. However, they were not without their faults. I despised the MR series and Eon speakers intensely. They were not built as nice as the SR series and they didn't sound all that fantastic either. With my experience with several commercial JBL lines, they seemed to share a common characteristic. An overly veiled midrange and a shrill top end, especially with horn loaded cabinets. But the biggest issue was the price. JBL was one of the first companies that I had slapped with the label of being a 'troll' company. They were far too expensive, and definitely inferior to their cousin company, Altec Lansing. The latter I preferred even though they were very expensive as well. The difference was that Altec Lansing products sounded great! My preferences for speakers (back then) were Electrovoice (which I still love to this day), Community, and RCF. Granted this was for commercial use. However, for home speaker, outside of some exceptions, such as the L100 and some studio speakers, such as the 530, there wasn't much that grabbed me. It is true that sometimes JBL creates a decent speaker for a good price, but they still tend to overcharge. Not to diss your purchase, but a couple red flags outside of the rather high price tag, is the off center drivers. I usually don't like this, as if the other speaker isn't a mirror image, the timing will be off from the midrange to the woofer on each respective side. While initially having a pad on the tweeter looks good on paper since you can adjust the speaker to the room response, those controls ALWAYS get scratchy and dirty over time. Also, given that they are a rheostat, it is nearly impossible to set accurately using the position of the control alone. Test tones and a DB meter will help here. In fact, I would think it is mandatory given that room reflections are rarely symmetrical. The 88db sensitivity is good and overall the frequency response of 44 Hz-40 kHz, however, the down point is -6 dB and not -3. That is significant. I am guessing the roll off at -3db is probably more like 55 or 60hz. The central location of the tweeter will probably have issues with cabinet reflections and off axis response. You really want the front baffle to be as small as possible with the tweeter as close to the woofer as possible and in line. I surmise that this speaker will definitely be louder than the RP600m's and it certainly could be used as a "party speaker". But, I think it will show its short comings when it comes to sound stage and imaging. I would say for high efficiency and big sound, you could do the same with Cerwin Vega and, perhaps, spend far less. Now, that is just my speculation. For all I know, the speaker can blow you away. It goes by what you hear. Other than that, the other thing I have to say is that for $3000 (not that I would ever spend that much on a set a of speakers), you certainly would do better with the Zu DWX, which has a larger woofer (I think it is 10"), about the same sensitivity, and from what I heard they sound similar to the Klipsch Forte's. Thery are about half the price of the JBL's. That is just my 2 cents. However, I will say that I am far more optimistic of your second choice.
A few things here. First I'm not "defending my choice", honestly I have never listened to them before and maybe was a mistake going off some really good reviews these "little brother of the L100" have gotten. And the speakers are a mirror image if that helps, swapping them L>R does change their in room sound.. I'm also not a speaker designer and isn't a rabbit hole I plan to go down :) Mostly I picked these to try/demo after seeing people online parroting "These can't be used with tube amps" which doesn't make sense. And my 300B drives them fine so I was right, that is BS. DOZENS of people have pitched those Zu DWX, and it's not like I didn't look at them. Or those Mofi 8's. Those both are slightly larger,and these JBL's are a little bigger than I really wanted as well. And I've not said "nah nah nah you are all wrong", these might really be overpriced garbage that I send back. I don't think it would be fair to not allow then a couple of weeks to break in and see what they are about. I am hearing some things I don't care for, but I want to be fair on my review. Yeah the price was more than I wanted to pay, but a lot of speakers people recommended were 5K+ so there is that. And it does seem kinda odd, given how honestly I have reviewed other stuff, that so many people are replying like I will be different on this and are not willing to even wait for a review? Maybe I shouldn't have even shown any of this until I had finished reviewing them to avoid this...
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics I hear you, and I don't mean to come off as dissing EVERYTHING by JBL. I actually do like the 530s. The L100 (original) is a nice speaker too, but I have been exposed to enough of JBL's products to know what they are, and yeah, they are a troll company. What I knew before you even plugged the speaker in. Even if they sounded amazing, I knew they were charging too much for what it is. BUT, I did the same thing. Everyone loved the RP600m's. However, when I received them and hooked them up, right away, I knew something was wrong. And this was the hole in the midrange. Then I noticed that the high end didn't sound right with many recordings I have. Very sibilant. I did have high hopes for the speaker and I figured I would do Danny's (GR Research) upgrade on it. But that was before I got the Q350s. Now this speaker, believe it or not, I didn't like it either. I recall having to ram the treble control up all the way on my amplifier. BUT, I had found that once the speaker started to 'break in", I was able to bring this down. I regularly have it in the 2 to 3 o'clock position. Still higher than on the Klipsch, but not anywhere near as high as when I first got the speakers. I never knew a tweeter had to break in, but apparently so. I just think in your case, with the way you were describing the response going all over the place (on the JBLs), I would say that not all of those problems would have went away after a break in period. It just wasn't a well designed speaker. Does JBL still make a decent speaker? Yes, probably, but given the amount of misses I had with them, it just isn't a company I look to for speakers. And it is not just them either. It is other well known brands and yes, even Klipsch has had made quite a few duds too.
They have already opened up a lot after a few hours of break in. Even if these end up needing a PP amp to really sing, that's fine. I have one of those too and plan more in the future.
They look like nice speakers. I have a question though. I looked them up online and they do indeed have a frequency response from 44Hz to 40 kHz at -6dB and that’s where I’m confused, I thought the range of human hearing was roughly between 20Hz to 20 kHz so why have a speaker that can reach 40,000Hz?
JBL Makes great speakers and they started out with tube amp drivers. You might want to take all pictures and anything hanging on the wall down. JBL sounds better the louder you turn them up.
James Bullough Lansing who designed the famous Altec Lansing voice of the theater speakers. there is a danger. I got stuck with some garage sale JBL speakers so bad I had to throw them away. I found out there was a time when a crap company got ahold of the JBL name and made crap. be careful and get the real things.
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics I look forward to hearing your opinion after you've put in some listening hours. They are a very old school design with a wide baffle. Also, I am skeptical of the pot they put in to the signal path. Again, I look forward to your opinion, especially on how well they image
Oh, JBL has certain,y made a lot of garbage over the years. They have been guilty of marketing the brand like all the other old names. Personally I’m not a fan of those classic JBL monitors, don’t like the imaging and have always found their tonal balance off. But as you say, some people love them and you’re bound to have fun. Good luck!
There was no point in me recommending the 'Silicon Chip' magazine Majestics for you, since you obviously don't have room for a couple of 'refrigerators' in your listening room! I don't need my subwoofer any more; it just gets in the way of these anyway, so that's going into the car when I get around to it. The 15" Etone woofers do an excellent job! Good selection of the JBL's Stephe! I'm pretty sure you're gonna like them, as the company has a good long standing reputation. A 2-way system is gonna have a more sensible impedance curve, peaking at the port frequency, & are generally more efficient than 3-ways. Like you say, having a tweeter level control will be very useful, & would likely be a 'set & forget' kinda thing once you find the setting that suits your listening. My speakers have a 'tweeter boost' switch, which I have switched off, as the those Celestion horn loaded tweeters just tear up my eardrums otherwise! I can't think of what other speakers you might have ordered, as I've built the last pair of speakers I'll ever need or want, & don't bother looking at others any more!
