Well, this is a wonderful throwback speaker from the Nineties when JBL reign supreme in the speaker category. The L1 was the monitor version of a four speaker lineup in the L-series. The two biggest model in the lineup – L5 and L7s were extraordinary speakers if you have the room to accommodate them. The L1 you see here is the “smallest” offering if you have a smaller room but want a slice of the greatness that the L5 and L7 offers. It stands 16″ tall, 8″ wide and 10″ deep and packs a 6.5″ woofer and their infamous 1″ pure titanium tweeter. Speaker is good for 47 Hz to 27 kHz and has an easy 8 ohm impedance and a sensitivity of 87 dB. It is not as sensitive as its larger models but feed it with good quality wattage (manufacturer recommends a minimum of 35W to 200W) and the monitor speakers can project a large and satisfying soundstage that would envelope the small/medium size room it was designed for. Details were clean, sharp and precise and the bass was tight and fast. If you want a more thunderous sounding bass, adding a subwoofer for a 2.1 setup would do it. The L1 is not your Spendor, Rogers, Harbeth etc equivalent or competitor. It is more engaging, more forward, more detailed. If you want something warmer, those other brands are best suited. But if want a faster pace, detailed sound, the L1 is a good choice.
Cosmetically, they look good for its vintage. Some scuff marks here and there and a few tiny wood peel spots but nothing really bad. For those who want a pair with sequential serial numbers, look no further. Speakers will be securely packed for safe shipping.
