On the dawn of a virtual CES, this week Harman announced a special edition of the JBL L100. 51 years after the release of the JBL L100 Century (and 75 years after JBL’s founding) the now Samsung-owned Northridge-based company is launching a limited release in the form of the JBL L100 Classic 75.
The company has been tapping into consumer nostalgia for the past few years with new releases of the iconic square-foam-grill series of monitors.
“We have seen tremendous success with the latest L100 Classic model that we introduced in the fall of 2018,” said Jim Garrett, Senior Director, Product Strategy and Planning, Luxury Audio, HARMAN. “We thought there was no better way to honor the 75th anniversary of the JBL brand than with a limited edition version of what is perhaps our most iconic loudspeaker of all time. This one-of-a-kind loudspeaker is destined to become a highly sought-after model by music lovers around the world.”
Harman CES PR Release, Jan 2021
The most immediately striking feature of the L100 Classic 75 is the beautiful teak wood veneer that graces all sides of the loudspeaker enclosure. The wood finish is complemented by a black Quadrex foam grille accented with a gold and black JBL logo. Special edition badges are found on the front and rear of the loudspeaker including a commemorative plaque that includes the signature of the principal system engineer, Chris Hagen, as well as the individual pair number out of the total 750 pair production run. Acoustically, the L100 Classic 75 features an improved woofer suspension design and a revised network to include bi-wire capabilities via a premium input cup with dual sets of gold plated binding posts. The L100 Classic 75 is sold as a matched pair system and includes a set of JS-120 floor stands. The entire system ships inside a specially-crafted wooden crate with limited edition artwork on the side panels.
The L100 Classic 75 features the JT025Ti2-4 1-inch (25mm) Titanium dome tweeter mated to a waveguide with an acoustic lens for optimal integration to the JM125PC-8 5-inch (125mm) cast-frame, pure-pulp cone midrange driver located directly below. The vertical HF and MF transducer arrangement is slightly offset to the right of the woofer below, with HF and MF attenuators located on the upper left of the front baffle. Low frequencies are delivered by the JW300SW-8 12-inch (300mm) cast-frame, white pure-pulp cone woofer operating in a bass-reflex enclosure system that is tuned via a single, front-firing port tube with flared exit.
The new JBL Classic 75 will hit the streets in April of this year for $5.5k a pair.
More info: Harman