Hey Bob…first of all, I love reading you…and I don’t know how in the world you find the time to do all you do! I just wanted to say thanks for the kind mention you gave me about "Laid Back". I miss Gregg so much…and am just glad we got to do the "All My Friends" tribute to him a few years back, with so many great guest artists…including Gregory’s old roommate and friend, Jackson Browne. Those were golden days for me…and for all of us that were involved. But then, these are golden days as well…getting to play with the Stones all these years has been such an amazing privilege…not to mention quite a lot of fun! Glad you got those JBLs humming. Cheers and all the best, Chuck Leavell
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Bob, Loved this!
When we went to Canada in 1972 to do the 2nd PPL Album. We blocked out 2 months in RCA's Studio right accross the street from Maple Leaf Gardens in downtown Toronto. Bob Ezrin found us a rental house an hr north in Aurora, so we had a marvelous 60 days recording, dining out, etc. While we were there Gordon Lightfoot came in after us in the evenings with Russ Titleman and Lenny Wornoker, and recorded an album in a couple of weeks. Stompin' Tom Connor came in over a weekend and recorded a whole album! But the impetus of my email is to tell you that our producer, Bob Ringe, who was on staff at RCA at the time, had his JBL L100's shipped up to Toronto to mix on! I'm not sure they're the truest speaker out there, but he was familiar with them and they sounded great!
Also, every music lover should have at least 2 sets of speakers.
Cheers,
Craig Fuller
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Hi Bob - When I signed with Polydor (I know, I know!) in 1972 I didn’t have a stereo system, only a very cool Sony portable cassette recorder/player I’d been traveling around Europe with that came in a leatherette briefcase with two speakers and a stereo mic. (There’s a photo of Keith Richards carrying one through an airport in the early 70’s.) I was a dedicated singer-songwriter who thought he who travels light travels fast and was sure this was all I’d ever need. Then my album Aquashow came out in 1973 and due to the piss poor advance I got from Polydor I couldn’t afford to buy anything to play it on so my producer Peter Siegel (and Polydor head of A&R) took me through the record company offices and scrounged up a turntable, amp and speakers for me to borrow. A year later RCA bought out my contract and Lou Reed (who had brought me to the label) accompanied me to his favorite audio shop and insisted I buy a Marantz amp and most importantly, blue foam JBL L100 speakers. And the audio store even let me buy on credit! Most musicians I know have terrible Hi-Fi setups at home and I went without for years when I moved to Paris. But when I turned 65 I figured it was time to listen in style and bought a Pro-ject turntable, NAD amp and Focal speakers and my vinyl collection is growing and I can listen to John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme on vinyl every day even if my tinnitus keeps me from listening to anything too loud or too long. But nothing was as exciting as busking through Europe with that portable Sony cassette recorder when I was 22 and ready for anything. Less is more and smart people spend their dough on experiences not things. And wise people know you can never go back. But back in the day those JBL L100 speakers meant you had arrived baby!
From Paris,
Elliott Murphy
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Since I was always technically ignorant, after producing and mixing a few albums I came to rely firmly on small, inexpensive speakers for mixing a record. Record buyers aren’t all audiophiles.
The tiny Auratone Sound Cubes were reliable, and later on the wonderful (and very popular)Yamaha NS-10’s – both very affordable.
The really discriminating engineer would drape a Kleenex tissue over the NS-10 tweeter, deeming it just a touch too shrill.
I seem to recall that one good LA studio (may have been A&M) had a Chevy out back with a factory-issue radio, and they had installed a cassette deck so you could play your mono mix and hear how it would sound in your average vehicle.
If the mono mix sounded good on that dashboard speaker, you could be pretty sure that a high end stereo system would do it justice.
In spite of all the monster megawatt studio monitors available to us, all you really needed for a solid rock & roll mix was a simple pair of bookshelf speakers.
Tom Werman
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Dear Bob,
I've read your letter for years, but this is the first time I've replied. Not that I haven't wanted to before, but these speakers are the speakers of my childhood. My Dad was a salesman for a large security alarm company based in the Bay Area during the early seventies. He was newly out of college and making more money than he knew what to do with. He bought a house in the Cupertino hills (I can't imagine how many millions it is worth today) and set out to furnish the house. One of the first things he did was buy a sound system. My Dad, my Mom, and his best friend went to the stereo store (so goes the story) and started listening to equipment. And then the salesman pulled out Court and Spark and queued up Help Me. And the sale was made (including a copy of Court and Spark that I have today). Dad bought the JBL L100s and has them to this day. Uses them to this day. I wish I could remember the turntable and receiver, but I can't. What I do remember is sitting in front of those speakers listening to the Eagles, Elton, Fleetwod Mac, Doobies, The Who, Credence, Janis, all the greats. Listening and day dreaming. My parents and their friends in the background smoking weed. A gigantic thunderstorm that terrified me, but I stayed out in the living room to listen to the music. I remember whenever we moved one of the first things set up was the stereo and the first song always was Help Me. My Mom is gone and Dad let me have her albums. Maybe someday soon I can convince him to give me the speakers. Music is my religion and live music is my church. I have found my tribe thanks to my love of live music. My life would be much smaller without the love and it all started when I was a little girl daydreaming in front of the speakers.
Thanks for reminding me of a much brighter time on a dark Sunday evening.
Best
Jenn Thomas
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Thanks for a little walk down Memory Lane. I had all of those speakers below and never had to buy them. My Dad, Stan Pressman, followed my Dutch Uncle Henry Kloss around from company to company doing the marketing for him.
Adam
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I have a pair of JBL 100's that haven't been plugged in for twenty years, until just before I retired from Pollstar in June. They had been stored in our warehouse and I had to move them. One of my employees wanted to buy them, but after I heard them I couldn't give them up.
Now what, I have to plug them back in again? As always, thanks for your insight.
Best, Gary Smith
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Bob great story. Glad you stuck it through till the end to get it all woking.
I have a Sansui 881 that i still use as my primary. My uncle bought it new and i got it from him 30 years ago for 50 bucks.
I have a custom built set of Utah speakers i got from him as well. 3-way with 15" woofers. He had a guy make the cabinets out of solid walnut back in the 70's. Three coats of varnish and they are absolutely beautiful to this day. Not top of the line to be sure but they sound great.
The neighbors aren't big fans, but I still love to crank my big old stereo.
neighborhood office solutions
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Hi Bob
Go see Howard at audio specialists on Ventura in studio city - have him fix the Panasonic SL1300 - which is really a Technics
He did wonders with my SL1350 the stacker version of yours - he’s a good kibitzer!
Stay cool.
Marc Federman
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Awesome, Bob. You are the Hifi man! I was just working with Fremer at a tradeshow, he's an icon...the JBL's and the THIEL's couldn't be more different. Enjoy!!
Micah Sheveloff
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And best thing yet, they make them again:
www.musicdirect.com/best-selling-cost-no-object-reference-gear/JBL-L100-Bookshelf-Speakers Now these are not the same speakers that you own, but in truth they’re probably much better. Don’t know, haven’t heard them, but I bet Harman Int. (JBL’s parent brand) would send you a review pair if you asked nicely.
Larry Fisher
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Now that you have the L100s set up go and listen to “There Goes Rhymin’ Simon”
I had the studio version of these speakers (JBL 4310s) and to hear some of the best players playing some great songs with superior production you’re in heaven.
Bill Garrett
Managing Partner
Borealis Records
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Nice one! I just hooked up my pair of L100's a few weeks ago and dropped the needle of my Dual CS 607 to play James Taylor's Anywhere Like Heaven from Sweet Baby James. The turntable is playing through a Harmon Kardon hk825 pre-amp / hk870 amp through the thickest speaker cable known to man. Heaven. Any Major Dude sounded superb as well, as did More Than A Feeling, Killer Queen, and That's The Way of The World (best EWF song ever, BTW).
Trouble is, you really do need to drive the L100's for them to sound as great as they can - they're not the paragons of efficiency that my modern day KEF's are. As you'd expect, they also sound better playing music that was recorded through an analog console on tape than they do playing modern digital stuff. Modern music is recorded and mixed in too pristine a manner - the result of an infinite number of tracks available and a perfectly clean signal chain. Old school recording was very much more of a gumbo than a steak with a bunch of separate sides. The L100's play that funky music right, boy.
Andy Dayes
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I actually bought an extremely affordable pair of AR-4s for my tiny NYC dining room a couple years back.
I got them as I found an entire subculture of new plug and play replacement parts for those old Acoustic Research speakers online with guides and whatnot.
I have a beautiful pair of klipsch speakers hooked upto a tube McIntosh in my living room - but people swear by the solid state marantz coupled with those AR-4s when they come over.
So much so that a few of my friends have bought AR-4s and refurbished them - and we are all under 45.
I wonder sometimes if it’s because that dining room stereo setup of the AR speakers and the Marantz is probably what we heard great music on when we were young.
Either way the Allman Brothers sound great on that system, as does everything else but especially DEREK AND THE DOMINOES!
This was a fun one to read / thanks!
Best
Rich Zerbo
PS - I’ve had so many NAD systems die on me lol
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Yep, I still listen to vinyl on my stereo I bought at Pacific Stereo in 1978: Kenwood KA-601 High Speed Integrated Amp, Yamaha CT810II Tuner, Thorens TD145MKII turntable with a Stanton cartridge and Klipsch Heresy speakers. Certainly takes you back....
Mitch Roth
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I still have the JBL 4311B 's ...same great sound!
Gregory Beasley
C-Town Records
Cleveland Unlimited Records
Centurian Music Group
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Oh Bob, one of your best! In my dorm room in 1970 at UB (University of Buffalo, not anything related to Boston) we had the JBL's and another guy a few doors down had the AR's. We had soooo much fun blasting each other! The Dead, Allman Bros, Santana, you name it.
And Bob, I still open all my windows and roof top and blast that shit down the road. Especially when I pass Mar A Lago, the baby's house.
Best,
David E. Parker
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Haha I can see you stripping wires etc.
Jake Gold
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Bob-
Wow, hadn’t experienced genuine jealousy in awhile. . .
Michael Battiston
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took me back.
Joel Marver
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For all of my audio and video wiring needs, I can’t recommend Blue Jeans Cable enough. I believe they hit the bullseye on having the highest quality for the price. I’ve been using them for at least a decade now; every system in my house is wired with their products, even the in-wall and outdoor speakers. You may specifically like their ultrasonically welded terminated speaker cables.
www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/indexmob.htm Randy Stine
Straight No Chaser
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I remember when!!! (-:
Scott Palazzo
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Bob, since 1980 I've fed JVC 60w/channel (with a built-in 5-band EQ) into a pair of JBL 4312s in my den., and another pair in the living room. Same rig for almost 40 years. Can't beat it! Before that, in my starving musician years I plugged an old turntable into my Fender Twin. Paul Lanning
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Best email you’ve sent out in a long while. The journey to the joy of it is worth all of the effort. Nothing beats being completely enveloped in the most incredible music ever made.
Put on Bird Song by Grateful Dead from the “Reckoning” live album. Try not to move in that chorus. It’s nice bluesy modal rock music, right up your alley.
Music First,
Elliot Kleinfelder
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Use to be the JBL factory rep for mid-atlantic are from 1974-77. Selling these were the easiest thing - even for those customers who wanted a 12" woofer three way. I would take the woofer out of the speakers and show the difference - JBL had a cast iron speaker basket versus an aluminum frame; show them the machine screws versus wood screws; the flattened voice coil wire that enable 47% more conductivity on a fire-retardant voice coil material. The we would sit down and really listen to the bass, mids and highs - voices, cymbals - all crystal clear. The final pitch was that most JBL had a sensitivity of 1 watt input delivered 91dB sound pressure level (SPL) at 1 meter and so what does that mean? paired with 64 watt amp the JBL's would deliver 114 dB of SPL - like a loud rock concert....
Terrance Moran
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This is so sad and you REALLY need to upgrade your stuff. At this point, it’s not even called hifi gear. The EAT Turntable is a gem and the Thiel’s are good as long as they are not ancient like everything else. The JBL’s only play loud. You are missing so much of the music. It’s a shame for someone into music as much as your are.
Wayne Krauss
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I have a pair of JBL 4311b home version studio monitors I bought at Pacific Stereo in 1981 along with a Dual turntable. I still love the sound. They have bass but great midrange, which is where most of the sound of the music is. When I remodeled my house many years ago, I put JBL in wall speakers in some of the rooms but not the living room where the 4311s were and are still.
Ted Gerdes
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Like you i was always chasing audio nirvana on ever improving gear in the 70/80s. Had a pair of JBL L112 for awhile and loved them. Hope to get back after it at some point. Regarding "Laid Back"..wow that one never gets old and one of my faves, especially "Queen of Hearts". I actually prefer this version of "Midnight Rider". Thanks for the "words" ..always enjoyable.
Best,
Steve Gietka
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Love this Bob. Long live big audio!
Peter
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Dang... I lusted after those things but could never afford them. Now, I think if you can find a good set, they cost more than they did new.
Dave Wood
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Bob,
Good news! JBL reissued the Classic L100’s this year!
Bad news: they’re $4k for a pair…
-Tom
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Next time, Bob, feel free to contact me. I’m right here in LA; 50 years in audiophilia, vinyl through digital. Been through everything. Two full systems in my house; happy to help.
Phil Ressler
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I won’t be the first person to share the news, but JBL just re-released the L100s. They’re supposed to be better than ever.
Lane Buschel
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Bob, I had 4311’s, the studio equivalent of the L100’s back in the 70’s. Through an unfortunate series of events they went elsewhere. I bought Bose and other things but nothing were like the 4311’s.
Last winter I found a pair from an estate sale here in Durham. Not a scratch on them.
They looked so good I was afraid they were fake.
When I fired them up I knew they weren’t. The smile curve sound with the high bass (the low end sound you described) and the amazing top end were both there.
They’ll have to pry them from my cold dead hands for me to lose them again.
Stephen Knill
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Dear Bob,
And all your guys in their seventies are in heaven with each of these gear articles, too!
Dennis Brent
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Wow - I miss the days of high end audio. It’s sad that young people will never know the experience of hearing music through a high end system.
Victor Lassandro
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Bob, the Eico HF-81, a cheesy looking, 14 watt kit amp, from 1960 can’t be beat for musicality, warmth, and detail. The secret? EL-84 tubes and big transformers.
But because of the low wattage, you need high efficiency speakers. I use the Dynacos A35 or A25, great speakers from Denmark from the 1970s.
I hear timbre and clarity I never experienced before from any classic stereo system! You can find all of the above on EBay.... but you may need the amp’s capacitors replaced due to age.
John Rhode
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Bob, does your integrated amp have a setting for Quadraphonic sound? Does it have an RCA jack for 8-track? Do you still store your vinyl in milk crates? Come on Bob, you’re tangentially in the music biz. Isn’t it time to upgrade your audio components rather than relying on bubble gum, bailing wire and a swift kick to get some sound? Bite the bullet and buy a new system. Donate your old system to charity, along with the mirrored disco ball, and invest. It’s likely a write-off for you. I just bought a new, high end system and I’m loving it. My friends think I’m crazy for what I spent, but I’m hearing sounds on my old LP’s that I swear wasn’t there when purchased years ago. You do realize this is 2019, not 1975?
Stuart K. Marvin
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I broke my sonic virginity on my dads 4311s and I was lucky enough to take them with me to college. Everything sounded great. Bass baby bass
A few years after getting my first gig with BMG and I had a few bucks in my pocket, I became a Dunlavy guy with much thanks from a tip from Denny Purcell @ Georgetown Masters (who has since passed). John Dunlavy was the brains behind Duntech. He has also passed but he still lives on in some of the most brilliant cabinets and crossovers ever built, check them out if you can ever find them.
Christian Svendsen
W.A.Y Entertainment
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JBL L100 RE-CONE 12" Speaker Kit White Cone! re-cone 12/3" "AquaPlax" PMR | eBay
www.ebay.com/itm/JBL-L100-RE-CONE-12-Speaker-Kit-White-Cone-re-cone-12-3-AquaPlax-PMR-/183762871665?_ul=CA Regards Sam Boyd
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Klipsch La Scalas, McIntosh Tuner, Crown DC300A amp. Technics Turntable... I Robot from Alan Parsons Project... Vinyl.
Heaven
Keith Miller
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Hey Bob
Enjoy your writing.
In case you weren’t aware the JBL L100 is back. With all the best of the old and current technology.
Enjoy
Levino
www.musicdirect.com/Speakers/JBL-L100-Bookshelf-Speakers _______________________________________
I’ve been procrastinating to fix my L 36 JBLs.
They are like the L100s, but with a 10 inch woofer.
It’s been ten years since I discovered the woofers needed new foam surrounds.
Your piece has inspired me to get them working again.
Gary Berlak
Fresno
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Bob you just took me back to my days selling Home & Car Audio for Audio Express in Searcy and Conway, Arkansas 1988 - 1992. We ruled the national car audio scene in the mid to late 80s with some amazing installers and sold a little home audio. JBL was our speakers of choice and Adcom was our high end amp / pre-amp. I actually sold a pair of the JBL Project Everest speakers to a guy out of state. Will never forget when we ran a mono GFA-555 to each speak and blew the roof off the listening room. Good days. Take care
Dan Fife
Awakening Events
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I thought you were more of a streaming man that considered the return of vinyl a bit of a fad? I am with you that there is no point in buying modern hifi equipment. Generally overpriced and made in a cottage setting. Much better to use the mass produced high end equipment of yesteryear. There is plenty about. Best Jorg Mohaupt
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1. Always trust Fremer.
2. After going through a string of preamps without satisfaction (I decided to upgrade FROM Adcom in 1999) I finally went back and bought the preamp I used to have (Adcom GFP 555-2) for $150 on ebay. Works like the charm it always was, and handles my turntable without an external preamp.
Michael Alex
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I completely agree on both subjects. I still have the JBL100 speakers I bought after college (early 80s), and Chuck Leavell is my favorite piano accompanist. His work consistently shines without overshadowing the artist he's working with. Truly a master.
All the best,
Elizabeth Butler
P.S. I double-checked my speakers, and I don't have the JBL 100s after all. They're the same speakers I've had since after college, but not as cool as yours. I still stand by my Chuck Leavell comment, though. He's the master.
Best,
Elizabeth
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Blasting off into the time machine is always a journey!
You didn't mention the snap, crackle, pop of the needle plowing and grinding its way through the groove. But hey, that was part of the '70s experience too...
Your next to last sentence describes it perfectly.
Will Eggleston
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The JBL L 100s were almost aspirational back when every penny I earned went to upgrading my stereo system. First I had Dynaco A25’s, then the larger Advents and then finally saved enough to make the trip down to Crazy Eddie to get my L100s. Those who grew up or lived in New York will remember that place.
Yup..they were the benchmark until the 4311B’s came along.
Tom Ennis
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If you think the L100's are good, try their studio counterparts, the 4311's or 4311b's... you can still find them out there, in great condition, recapped and serviced! Pair with a Fisher, Scott or Mac tube amp, and you'll never want to leave the house. Want to really blow your lid off? Try lossless streaming, with a TUBE DAC (digital to audio converter).
Enjoy!
Bart Doroz
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In about 1973, I bought a pair of JBL L-26 Decade. As of today, I am still running them. Now, that said, I've had the loudspeakers worked on, and replaced the tweeters with originals that I purchased on Ebay, but much like the L-100's when I turn them up in our rather large living room, they still bark like they did 46 years ago. Haven't really heard anything that can fill the room like them.
Tom T Ball
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You have surely transported anyone aged 50 or over to the old days when one never discarded speaker wire, connectors, alligator clips, and RCA cables, and many attempts at resuscitating any speaker that had a chance of producing sound. Now I feel justified for bringing back my JBLs from New Zealand, and storing them in three successive garages (where they still reside), along with the oversized cables with gold connectors (that fall off, as yours did).
But the most fun memory you raised was of Tom Campbell, who did the baritone hyperventilating voice overs for the Dow Stereo ads. I remember Dow, Cal Stereo, University Stereo, the Federated Group, and Pacific Stereo (where I bought all of my stuff) running ad after ad flogging all sorts of gear that no one under the age of 20 would recognize today.
So maybe I'll pull out my JBLs and my Harmon Kardon and try to convince my kids that not all music comes out of a handheld device.
Thanks for the memories, and congrats for getting your gear working again.
Adam Keller
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Bob I didn’t understand much of the technical stuff but I knew about the JBL’s and most of the other components you mentioned...yeah I hooked up my stereo back in the day but I was easy to please...once the music came through I was good...though I always tried to get a good receiver (Marantz) cuz like you I needed volume....
But man I do get the feeling you had playing Laid Back like it should be heard....
I miss those days so much that I almost hurt sometimes....crank it up Bob!
Tom Clark
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Thanks Bob
I just saw King Crimson at Radio City Music Hall and was blown away by the power and the musicianship. Like all concert experiences it was both auditory and physical (and great). Hi Fi may not be going to a concert, but the immersive and physical experience you write about is as close as we can come.
While the era of portable music thanks to iPod and smartphones has brought more listening to more places more of the time, all too often it has been less than the ecstatic experience you write about. Flat TV, smartphones, game consoles and other shiny objects have taken our attention and retail space for electronics.
However, your note shows just how wonderful and affordable the real thing is. I worked on the first Bluetooth speaker, but there are plenty of very affordable speaker and amp setups as you have that will blow those and you away if you do not need portability.
I am really happy that Amazon is now streaming full files so that when you have the gear you may be able to experience the full thing the artist made for you, and I am hoping this will help others hear what you are hearing once more.
Whether alone of with friends and family, an immersive audio experience is wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
Robert Heiblim
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Just to say I got my 40 year old Celestion Ditton 66’s back from my son a few weeks ago, traded them for my Sonos 5’s, and hooked them up to the new Sonos Amp - 125 watts per channel. My reaction was the same as yours - WOW! I have all the Allman albums on vinyl, including “Laid Back” (a highly underrated album), purchased on its release at the beginning of my last year at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick. I’ve listened to it on the new system and it’s like a time machine. The depth of the sound - not even mentioning volume here, of which there’s plenty - takes me back to the days when music was the centre of our universe. And BTW, check out the Sonos Amp - drives the pair of wired Dittons and a couple of small wireless Sonos speakers, plus input (through a switch box) from my turntable, cassette deck and CD player. Plus Apple Music and Idagio (classical) streaming. Who could ask for anything more?
Final note: could I put in a plug for the recent “Creedence at Woodstock” album as a potential add to the “best live albums of all time” list? Only heard it for the first time this summer. Always a CCR fan, but not huge in my world. This album is a revelation. Such a tight band live, and Fogerty’s lead guitar is restrained, but incendiary. It’s up there in its own way with “Live at Leeds” and “Fillmore East”. Why it took 50 years to come to light I don’t understand.
All the best,
George Goodwin
Toronto
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I haven't replied before but the line about turning up the stereo loud enough to hear it on your tractor out in the fields reminded me of Neil Young's story about having a sound system at his barn and one at his house as left and right going out on his pond in a rowboat and yelling to someone on shore "more barn!" I think it's from his autobiography Shaky.
Johnny Bee
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What an awesome read! Stripping wires...talk about a blast from the past!
Marc Reiter
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Bob, thank you for putting out your newsletter.
This recent article brought back many memories of my youth. Let me begin by telling you why it touched me. My dad was murdered back in 1983 when I was just 12 years old.
For the first 12 years of my life we drove from Lynwood, CA to Beverly Hills to visit Jonás Millers store on Wilshire where my dad would get all of his HiFi equipment. We lived in Lynwood in the 70s because my dad worked at Firestone Rubber Company. Anyhow, my dad was an intellect and a lover of classical music. We grew up in a home that had two JBL L400 cabinet speakers plus a pair of Sony bookshelf speakers that sort of look like the L100s you describe, the Monster cable was about 1 inch thick, Luxman Pre Amp and Amp, sansui tuner “I think” Nakamachi tape deck, Revox reel to reel and I don’t recall the turntable but I’m sure the caliber was equal to the above.
After Firestone shut down, my dad went to work for M&K Speakers which as you probably know was started by Jonas Miller and Ken Kreisel.
Anyhow, when i went to college i was super into college radio and booked the bands on campus that played at the noon time outdoor shows for students. I booked everybody that was cool in the early 90s including No Doubt, Sublime, 311, Ice T, Redd Kross, Rage Against the Machine, Thelonious Monster, Marys Danish yo name a few. During school I hooked up with Mitch Okmin who now runs the MOB Agency but at the time was working for Miles Copeland at IRS Records, I than went and did an intenship at Capital Records in A&R during the Blind Melon days. After school i worked for Mitch and Ian Copeland at FBI when Ian moved his office to the Hollywood Hills.
Anyhow, not sure why i shared all that with you but I guess you pulled at my heart strings remembering my dad.
Please give me a thumbs up so at least I know you read my note. lol.
Cheers
Gonzalo "Gonzo" Vasquez
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First of all.. You took me right back to setting up speakers. I've worked around audio since I was 16 so I used to love helping friends set up their systems. And the first music you hear out of the stereo once its set up is like heaven.
The advents! I bought Advent speakers when I lived in Ottawa and I actually think I bought them at the Ex because they had a booth with the newest versions of them-- But I may be misremembering or romanticizing. I just remember that they were the best for me. Warm as anything because I like a bassy, warm sound. A shrill shallow sound out of a speaker is like nails on a chalkboard for me.
I don't like lending things in general, but I lent my Advents to a friend who was throwing herself a 50th birthday party. I should have known better because she was, well, careless is the least complicated way of describing her attitude. She had the party in a loft and at the end of the night set them outside near the elevators and they were taken by someone, the thought was that they assumed they were being thrown away.
I'm still bitter about that! She never offered to pay for them either.
I love that Greg Allman record! I wore it out. Great production.. And the opening notes of Midnight Rider? Still gives me shivers.
I'm going to go listen to it now
I still have my turntable from that era. Marble base on it. I can't remember what the make is. I keep thinking I'm going to pull it upstairs and set it up, but turntables are a lot of upkeep.
In any case, I'm thinking about those Advents right now..
Karen Gordon
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Hi Bob,
I work for Don Was at Blue Note, running his "Tone Poet" reissue program.
www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/tone-poet-joe-harley-blue-note-interview/ I also have worked for the high end cable company AudioQuest for the last 35 years, helping to found and grow the company back in the early '80s. And I continue to work there, albeit in more of an advisory role, to this day.
Your story brought back such a flood of memories….Pacific Stereo, NAD and of course the JBL-100s! I owned a pair way back when… spending what I thought was an INSANE amount of money back in the 70s to get them!
I would love to offer you a couple of things that I think would make a substantial improvement to your listening experience.
First, you mentioned some troubles with speaker cables. Just tell me how long you need them to be, and whether you need spade lugs, bananas or pins (in place of bare wire which you should NEVER use) and what is needed on the amp end and what is needed on the speaker end. These are very modestly priced cables, nothing crazy at all, sub $100.
And you mentioned a power strip. I'd love to send you something that we make that is, likewise, VERY inexpensive but actually makes your system sound substantially better! I know I could be accused of being a shill, but at near 70 and having the time of my life working for Don (which has zero to do with AudioQuest), I just want you to hear this since you, so obviously, are a true LOVER of music.
If you are interested, just let me know, give me an address, and I'll make sure you have it all gratis.
Love your column Bob…. addicted to it!
Thanks,
Joe
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Bob,
Thanks for this and glad everything worked out with your L100s. We're right here in Northridge in the original JBL factory location. If you'd ever like a tour of the facility, I would be happy to take you around. You can see some historical stuff, engineering, and our torture testing (which is very impressive), We could also show you the HARMAN professional experience center which gets into our work for touring, recording and other markets and people usually find it the highlight of their visit.
Anyway, longtime, avid reader of your newsletter and I just wanted to put this out there. Hope you'll take us up on it.
Best regards,
Carl Jacobson
Global Director, Marketing Communications
HARMAN Professional Solutions
AKG | AMX | BSS | Crown | dbx| Digitech | JBL | Lexicon | Martin | Soundcraft | Studer
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Lol I thought when I got to the end you would say "and it sounded like shit"!
Michael McCarty
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