JBL L26 - any opinions?

[philv]

As per title?

Any thoughts?

Anyone heatd them?

It must be a disease.
I’m listening to a 15wpc marantz receiver with ms pageant 2.
Stevie Ray vaughn sounds great.

And...i’m thinking jbl for some reason.

Thanks.

[walpurgis]

I heard these ages ago. They're OK, quite fancied a pair myself. Trouble is, the foam cone surrounds didn't last and needed replacing every ten years or so. I guess most have gone to the tip.

The same likely applies to the L16 and L36.

If you want something equally dynamic, try and find a pair of Tannoy DC 1000's. They won't fall apart.

[philv]

Ah yes.
Tannoys....now i did contemplate those.
A safe investment as well.

I maybe am being a bit daft with rhe jbl think.

What does 5-600 get n the world of v tage tannoys
.

[walpurgis]

Ah yes.
Tannoys....now i did contemplate those.
A safe investment as well.

I maybe am being a bit daft with rhe jbl think.

What does 5-600 get n the world of v tage tannoys
.

A pair of DC1000's should be around £150 these days. They are great fun.

However, the entry level into 'pepperpot' dual concentrics is I suppose the Ascot and the rest of the 'T' series. Ascots tend to have asking prices of around £300 to £400 now. Despite the first generation plastic cones, they sound rather good.

£600 may get you the HPD series Eatons or Devons. My preference is for the Eatons, despite the smaller ten inch driver. It punches well and is reliable (rubber cone surrounds, not foam).

[jandl100]

Vintage JBL and Tannoys.

Very different beasts, imo.

I love vintage JBLs ..... :whistle: :lol:

[philv]

Different beasties in what way?

[Macca]

JBL is more up front, some might say a little cruder, some might say a little more fun.

[jandl100]

I hate Tannoys dual concentrics with a passion. Fatally coloured to my ears with hashy honky resonances. Each model has a different set!
Paul RFC manages to reduce the Tannoyness with his bespoke crossovers and other mods. But they still do sound like Tannoys to a degree.
I couldn't tolerate them, others love them. Some folk hear the same issues as me but it doesn't matter to them, others don't hear anything wrong at all!
To each their own.

I love vintage JBLs for their energy, clarity, openness and the ability to pass through the excitement of the music. JBLs rock - and they rock on classical music, too, my preferred genre. I had a pair of JBL L110 for quite a while, cost me about £150 and they replaced (and imo improved on) £5k rrp of Kharma Ceramique 3 speakers.

To my ears JBLs and Tannoys have a totally different presentation.
Have a listen and decide for yourself. It can take up to several hours before I get thoroughly sick of Tannoy DCs, but it's usually much quicker than that, a few 10s of seconds before the upper mid hash drives me crazy. It's like the soft 'ch' in a scottish loch overlaying everything. Unbearable for me.
But fair do's, if you don't mind or don't hear that then Tannoys do a lot that is impressive.

[walpurgis]

Nothing is perfect. But after forty plus years of using Tannoys, little else sounds quite right to me.

[philv]

It does seem like i will have to be patient and try both.

Thanks very much ofr all the replies.

[Audioflyer]

I currently using a pair or JBL L40's these are similar to the L26.
The main difference between the two models was the lower cross over point and the dome tweeter on the L40.

Both the L26 or the L40 would probably need some work on them unless you can find a restored pair

How do they sound good question?

There major strength is speed and dynamics, with instruments and vocals have a realistic presentation.
They are one of the only speakers I've heard that make brass instruments sound like they are being play in front of you.

Stereo image is not as sharp as a tall skinny speaker but the music is presented with a good front to back depth.

Sharif.

PS. I hope to set-up a bake-off this month for up to seven people if anybody is interested?