JBL Classic Series Opinions (SA550, CD350, TT350)

Yamaha NS-1000M have a good vintage look, 27" x 15", and might work for you since they're known to be lean on bass. Will probably need some service though, as they're from the mid-late 70s.

 

@Jorge, Yes JBL speakers in the advert.

 

These look fun! I should try them sometime.

 

Or the NS-690 which sounds almost as good for only a third of the price

 

I have been in Munich at the High-End Show.
While in Munich, I always stay around longer and catch up with friends. The other day while walking around in Munich, I found a JBL shop did not even know JBL had a shop.
Attached image is what I saw.

 

Very nice, thanks for sharing. That's much of the stuff I ended up with. How was the sound between the different speakers? I know the little L52s are quite different.

I also see they are still selling the large amp, the SA750. Sadly, the faceplate has shoulders and is a tad bigger than any of the other components so you can't stack it with the other components and have it look uniform. I was bummed when I found that out. Also, at the booths they are saying that the 750 is a 'much more powerful amp' than the 550, but the difference is only 30watts: 90 vs 120.

Ha, you can also see the same generic remotes stacked atop each component!

 

Okay everyone, my speakers are in... this is a very quick post, no insight on sound or detailed photos are offered yet. Once the stands arrive and I can properly listen, I'll post a more detailed analysis. @Jorge how close was your vote eh?





I purchased these JBL L112s, complete in box with grills and refurbed drivers. I don't have a photo of the grills as I didn't think to take one, I'll do that soon. I cannot speak to the sound yet as the stands I ordered haven't arrived.

These are in mint condition, really clean for something of this age, and all of the drivers seem to be working fine. So, does anyone have any experience with the L112?

 

Recaptcha I did not listen to the setup, I just happen to be walking past the store and since I did not know JBL had a store. Just wanted to have a quick look inside.

 

Ok, I've had a lot of time to play with everything and get it all sounding as 'optimal' as I think it can. It took forever to get the stands here as the company who sold them to me were really behind on orders, and they apparently are sold out in some places... hard to believe that, but ok! I've listened to so many different genres on these, and I decided to make a few recordings for you guys to listen to as well:

RECORDING 1.



This is Elton John's 'Sacrifice'. It's a popular song I'm sure everyone knows. I'm providing the first half of the song here, and it's being played back in 256 bitrate AAC over the bluetooth input on the amp. Please note, the microphones on my iPhone 14 Pro Max are side mounted, meaning it's capturing the sound directly out the side of it (as opposed to the funnels of our ears channeling the sound inward) and using software processing to compensate. This makes the recording sound more 'concert hall' like, with moderate echoing. This software compensation also looses a lot of the stereo soundstage. Sounds more compact than it should. Use good headphones. and try to imagine how it would sound without the slight echo effect with wider soundstage...

RECORDING 2.



This is Boz Scaggs' Lowdown. I wanted to choose this song because A. Boz Scaggs is an artist I am just now learning about (love his music), and B. It has the acoustic 70s funk rock sound I think these speakers do a good job of delivering on. Again, slight echo effect makes Boz's vocals sound unclear... it doesn't sound that way at all in-person.


OVERALL IMPRESSIONS.
I am very impressed with the setup. What it has going for it is this:

• Clear, detailed midrange I've never heard so clearly out of a speaker system
• Accurate bass levels (only bassy on songs that would sound bassy through a good pair of headphones)
• Detailed bass (you can hear timbre and attacks on bass instruments/low keys much better than other speakers I've heard)
• Highs that are not too crispy (Think 035ti but toned down ~30%)

The overall sound signature is more on the warm side, although definitely not akin to a tube or retro-analogue sound. To me, for a system to be warm, it needs to have its overall sound signature based mostly in low to mid range parts, and for it to be bright, it should be based primarily on high to mid range frequencies. My judgement on the L112s combined with the SA550 puts it smack in the middle; What you will remember the most about its sound signature is the mids... not the lows or highs.


DETAILED TESTING ON LOW, MID, & HIGH RANGES.

REFERENCE: JBL SA550 on L100T speakers.

Let's start low and get high. The L112s combined with the SA550 amp really surprised me in bass response. It wasn't 'boomy' or bass heavy at all, but rather, it rendered the bass much closer to how the recording is supposed to sound. That means, older pop/rock songs that lack the deep frequencies of modern pop music sound as they were recorded... no added punch. This was a problem I had with my L100ts before... they were bass heavy no matter what song you played. The T's added 'power' to tracks, but this added punch compromised the authenticity of the track. I was listening to 'What a Fool Believes' on the L112s and was so surprised to hear how lacking in bass the actual track is... both through audiophile headphones and over the loudspeakers. Even the bass instrument's tone lies primarily in the mid range. That doesn't mean that the L112s & SA550 were lacking in bass power when needed; playing back 'Desire' by Boz Scaggs rattled the walls with transparent clear bass from both the kick drum and low e-piano work. In addition, bringing over my extensive vinyl collection of 90s UK prog house hits from the likes of Dr. Atomic, Gat Decor, Fuzzy Logic, and DJ Sasha instantly brought back all the bass you'd need for a well-attended party. Simply put, this setup gives you the bass levels that I feel was very much intended and faithful to the engineer's taste.

Mid range... the mid range on this setup did not disappoint and was the most surprising part for me. Emotional vocal parts from the likes of Elton John, Phil Collins, Boz Scaggs, Jamiroquai, Jennifer Rene, Michael Bolton, Alan's Morisette, & Peabo Bryson were all played through multiple times, and the emotions, inflections, & cadence were all positively felt and not just heard. Every part of the full vocal envelope was accurately reproduced with no guesswork from the listener needed, and the breaths, cotton mouth moments, and register changes were all transparent and easy to point out. String parts, pad parts, and other mid range fillers were much easier to spot than usual, and sounded smooth & true to life. Easily the most transparent midrange speaker yet auctioned by me.

Rounding off this examination is top end. I am much happier with the aluminum tweeter over the titanium tweeter of my other JBLs. I tolerated the titanium because I appreciated the otherwise balanced sound, but having this tamed aluminum driver adds icing to the cake. Highs are clear but don't stick out... a quality I have been looking for in a speaker. Symbols, triangles, percussion, all blend nicely with the rest of the sound, and organic percussion such as bongos combine the high frequency transducer with the excellently highlighted mid range for an accurate sound reproduction. Not much else to say really, I just appreciate the way the upper frequencies are subtly rendered, vs my old L100t system on the same amp.


THE BAD.
Until now, I have yet to say a single bad thing about this system. But yes, while there are a lot of things to like, there are some things to feel less excited about.

1. No. Tone. Controls.

I'll say it, I'm not an audiophile, just a music lover. I know how to describe a sound signature, and I have perfect pitch. I can tell you any chord or single note on a piano or guitar within 3secs of it being struck. This doesn't make me an audiophile, just a picky music lover. Sometimes, this picky music lover feels like a mad scientist, wanting to add an extra ingredient that isn't in the mix... maybe a tad more bass on that kick drum? Maybe brighten up a warm German grand piano? You use tone controls to do this, and boy did I squirm a bit at first as my inner knob turner got bent all out of shape over the deletion of these controls... because with this system, you are stuck with what you are given by the engineers mixing the track.

2. Vocal heavy.

Vocals soar on this system, to the degree that it might become too much for some ears. For me, I'm in heaven, as I love feeling like the vocalist is right in front of me & if I close my eyes, I can imagine him/her singing live in my spare bedroom. They are piercing to a point, and I think as I get older and my ears age, I may find it fatiguing. In other mid range frequencies, if there are a lot of string parts, they can take over the music to a very small degree... again, nothing I dislike personally, but your mileage may vary.

STANDS!


3 stands were tried here: no stands, JBL JS-150 Stands, & some generic stands I had laying around (~28" tall). No stand at all caused an insanely muddy sound to be produced, with no highs present in the mix at all hardly... even if I sat on the floor, it still sounded very muddy & unclear. Stands make the difference I suppose... Using the generic stands, the speakers were lacking a lot of bass, although the highs & mids were very pronounced. (we'll ignore the fact that the speakers were rickety on the pole stands and could very easily have fallen off :3 ). The JS-150 makes these sing (compared to the other options), and I feel like the pitch and angle of the stands add a 'secret sauce' to the sound. The stands were $400 for the pair, which to me is daylight robbery as they are just basic steel tubes welded together and barely weigh much at all. FYI, JBL makes the JS-120, which are just like the JS-150, sans the extra support braces in the middle... the L112 weighs about a pound lighter than the L100 classic, but it's still a good idea to pony up the extra $70 and spring for the 150s. The JS-150 supports up to 80lbs, and the cheaper JS-120s do not have a max weight specified (even though a few online shops supposedly claim 250lbs LOL). I would guess the JS-120s to have a max weight right around 65-75lbs.