JBL revives its retro L100 loudspeakers

The new incarnation is called the JBL L100 Classic and the retro-looking speakers share a lot of similarities with the original model, from their 12in three-way design to the Quadrex foam grilles available in black, blue or orange.​

But beneath that satin wood walnut veneer, there have been significant upgrades to the internal components, the enclosure tuning and the crossover design. The speakers also use a new 25mm titanium dome tweeter together with a 12.5cm pure-pulp midrange driver and 20cm pure-pulp bass driver, all contained in a sealed cabinet.

The speakers can be positioned either vertically or horizontally and JBL will also offer a pair of optional floorstands that angle the speakers to fire upwards, which you can see in our picture. They're also single-wired and feature a front-firing bass reflex port.

The original JBL L100s were launched at CES Chicago back in 1970 and were a huge hit for the company. "They were not only JBL's all-time, best-selling loudspeakers but, from all indications, they were the best-selling system of that decade," said Jim Garrett, Senior Director, Product Strategy and Planning, Luxury Audio, Harman.

You'll have to wait until Spring 2018 to get your hands on a pair, though, and they're set to cost $4000.

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Andy Madden

Andy is Deputy Editor of What Hi-Fi? and a consumer electronics journalist with nearly 20 years of experience writing news, reviews and features. Over the years he's also contributed to a number of other outlets, including The Sunday Times, the BBC, Stuff, and BA High Life Magazine. Premium wireless earbuds are his passion but he's also keen on car tech and in-car audio systems and can often be found cruising the countryside testing the latest set-ups. In his spare time Andy is a keen golfer and gamer.