- A new edition of the L100 speaker, first released in 1970
- Limited to 800 pairs worldwide, marking JBL’s 80th anniversary
- $7,499 (around £5,449 / AU$10,700)
JBL has launched a new version of its legendary speaker, the L100. First released in 1970, the L100 became the best-selling speaker in JBL history. The L100s are loved for their warmth, deep bass and dynamics, which is why they have remained in production for decades with occasional updates, such as the L100 Classic in 2019 and the L100 Classic 75 in 2021, and now they are back in a new, strictly limited edition version to commemorate 80 years of JBL speakers.
The L100 Classic 80 will be limited to just 800 pairs worldwide, and while the exterior retains that iconic ’70s style, these are thoroughly modern speakers.
I know the word “iconic” gets thrown around a lot in hi-fi, but the JBL 100s really are: they have a very distinctive design that’s instantly recognizable, and they even ended up in an iconic (that word again) ad: the 1983 Maxell ad showing a man impressed by music.
JBL L100 Classic 80 comes with box expectations
The very retro design features the iconic ‘quadrex’ foam grille which makes the JBL look like it’s been transported from a 1970s bachelor pad (that’s a compliment) and in this version it’s a very retro brown shade that sits in a satin black frame. The closet enclosures are made of oak veneer.
Each pair sports anniversary edition badges on the front and back, including a numbered plaque signed by lead engineer Chris Hagen. And on the back you will find two sets of gold plated binding posts.
The drivers are a 12-inch (300mm) pure pulp cone woofer, which is paired with a front-tuned bass reflex port; a 5.25-inch (130 mm) pure pulp midrange driver; a 1-inch (25 mm) titanium dome tweeter coupled to an acoustic lens waveguide; and high and medium frequency level attenuators. The frequency response is 40 Hz to 40 kHz, the impedance is 4 ohms, and the sensitivity is 90 dB/1 W/1 m.
The JBLs are sold in pairs with stands included and will arrive inside a “specially designed” wooden box. They’re yours for $7,499 (around £5,449 / AU$10,700).
The best stereo speakers for all budgets.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and tiktok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
