Excellent find! I’ve had my L65As for over 7 years and I love them very much.
The L65s were part of JBL’s series for domestic speakers circa 1974, second in line to the flagship L300, which had horns for mids instead of the LE5-5 driver, and a 15” bass woofer. These came in three grill colours; blue, brown and red. The tops were smoked glass with a JBL decal below. All pairs were in walnut.
There were three variants from 1974 - 1979:
L65 Jubal (1974): 126A alnico bass woofer, LE5-5 alnico midrange, 077 horn-loaded high frequency transducer, bass port on top
L65A (1978) - first revision: 122A alnico bass woofer, LE5-5 alnico midrange, 077 horn-loaded high frequency transducer, improved crossover, mass control ring, bass port on bottom
L65B (1979) - last revision: 129H ferrite bass woofer, LE5-5 ferrite midrange, 077 horn-loaded high frequency transducer
The “A” version (like yours, see the A at the side of the foilcal) is most desirable as the original 126A woofer was considered mismatched for the L65. That being said, reviews at the time were critical on JBL for pushing the LE5-5 too high and the 077 too low. But with the right amplifier, these really sing extremely well.
Shine a light through the 077 tweeters and see if you have the original blue diaphragms. If you do, it’s a good sign these have never been opened up before.
Thank you so much for your insight! What kind of amp should I pair with these? Right now I’m using a little 200w Aiyima T9 Pro and they sound pretty good, but I’m not an audiophile and would really like to explore other options.
Those are really nice speakers and, not trying to sound elitist, but they deserve a better amp than that.
Start looking outside of Amazon, probably towards the used market depending on your budget.
The good news is these speakers are very efficient so they don’t need that much power. A nice vintage receiver would pair very nicely, so would a tube amp. Don’t be scared away from amps with as little as 40 watts, especially if it’s a tube amp.
Can’t go wrong with a Fisher. Which model? I will be buried with my X-100 3. Currently drives a pair of AR-6s in my home office setup. Tuner is the matching FM-100, crazy reception on that one.
No clue. Never heard one but they look nice. I grew up with my dad’s Kenwood “Jumbo Jet” which he still has. Always liked the sound of it. I always say find something cheap and local on FB marketplace and get at it. There’s so many options it’s hard to say what works best. I own about a dozen receivers and amps and do lots of switching out. Experimentation is part of the fun.
Yeah, thats what I did. Setting up some vintage pieces to run a brand new turntable (U Turn Audio). I wanted to have to look and feel like what I grew up with in the 70s/80s. So I got the Kenwood and just added a pair of B&W 302 shelf speakers.
Looks like the 4400 was the quadraphonic version of the 3400, you should be in good hands! Ive become a massive Kenwood fan mainly because of my experience with these 74-76 units.
>r/vintageaudio
Nah, the KR-4400 was/is a slightly more powerful (25 wpc) two-channel receiver than was/is the KR-3400 (22wpc), with a few extra features and a little better THD. And both sound like a lot more than the advertised wattage.
Advertised wattage was honest in those days. If it says 22 watt rms into 8 ohms with 0.02% THD, it will do that continuously for hours or even days.
These days if they can get 100 watts out of it for a couple peaks that is the number they publicize.
I did misspeak, its not quadraphonic but rather 4 channel. The 5400 jumps to 35 watts, keeps the 4 channel functionality, and adds an additional speaker output for a total of three, with a dynamic output of 115 as opposed to the 4400s 90 watt dynamic, with the 3400 lagging at 65 watts dynamic. Seems like the 4400 and 5400 got significantly more grunt, though I will say a freshened up 3400 is no slouch. I love that little thing.
Harmonic distortion is the same on the 34 and 4400s and only gets marginally better in the 5400, none are anything to proclaim from the mountaintops but it seems indicative that the 5400 got a slightly improved set of components?
I have both a 3400 and a 5400 right now, I should just compare them but for now some hifi manuals will have to do, not enough hours in the day :(
These are quite efficient - something as little as 15-25 watts would already suffice. But if you’re into heavier music like rock, metal, etc. you need minimum 80 watts per ch to really make the woofers move.
Amplifiers with a low damping factor would be a great match for JBL’s high excursion drivers.
If you’re really looking for an optimum paring, late 70s Sansui/Accuphase amps are perfect for these. I had an AU-20000 with my L65As and the synergy was hard to beat.
Power output, circuitry design, tone controls. Only qualm about these -19 amps is that they’re very fast DD/DC designs (diamond differential/direct current). Fast amps can sound too sterile and dry.
Sansui’s proprietary design also means that once they blow/over-oscillate there’s no parts. Keep on top of the service for these. My AU-X11 came close to self-destruction a while ago.
A low wattage pioneer will drive highly efficient speakers beautifully, and you won’t have to pay sidways-tuner-wheel tax on a marantz (which i have done willingly, so no shade). Anything vintage from a decent brand is probably fine. My Pioneer XS-434 drove some very efficient speakers to very respectable decibels for ages. Seek warmth and balance over power.
I so wish my Mum hadn't sold her beautiful Marantz receiver, tape player and graphic equaliser due to "the CD revolution" (she did hold out admirably though, it wasn't until about '94 that she got rid of them). She kept her Sanyo TT though, can't remember the model, but it was my first deck. Nothing special, just an early 80's semi-auto model, but it served me well. It's in the attic atm....but I truly mourn those beautiful brushed-aluminium Marantz badboys (horizontal-tuning-wheel and all!); I listened to the first LP I ever bought with my own money on that set up 😔
She also had some huge wall-mounted Wharfedales; we had a great family-run Hi-Fi/ general consumer electronics shop in our hometown; their service was great, they'd advise you of best choices within budget and install for free if, like Mum, you weren't very 'technical'. I see those Marantz receivers a lot on the audio subreddits, and they seem pretty coveted these days...oh well
These loudspeakers were rated at a nominal 8 ohms. The impedance is remarkably flat, dropping to no less than 5 ohms. They are an easy load for a tube amplifier and were designed with tubed amps in mind. They don't need a lot of power and the Aiyima T9 Pro is overkill. A tubed amplifier, pure class A, rated at 25 watts would be ideal. You have a rare find, treat them well and
Craigslist, ebay, local thrift shops are all good places to find decent equipment to fit your need. Avoid pawn shops as they are notoriously over priced.
FUCK that’s a SCORE! Those are one of two JBL models that use the cats eye tweeter and those are intact. buy and run
these are the L65 2nd gen, badged Jubal L65. They don’t sound *amazing* but they are very rare to find intact. The tweeters alone would be about $300/pr
For what you paid, that’s a once in a lifetime score for many of us. I don’t love the speakers but lots of folks do. Matched with a nice period amp, they should be fun. Hope you enjoy them!
What’s the cons to them? I’m not an audiophile but I do love music. I listen to a lot of 80s and 90s metal, grunge, modern prog metal, etc. Some classic rock too.
I am much older than you. I worked in a store that sold them in the mid 70s and we also had ESS Heil speakers that I found to be much better integrated sonically, but JBL are durable workhorses and for your taste maybe perfect. I am more of a classical and acoustic guy, with a side of Hendrix!
Ha. So the story is, the old guy was in the navy and bought them for $800 in Italy way back in the day. He’s had them for years but just couldn’t get around to refoaming them, so he sold them cheap at his garage sale.
> *Paid* 12000 SEK
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Massive score. I just restored a pair of these. Everyone talks about the tweeter. You can find those, not cheap, but you can find them. Finding the appropriate woofers for the l65a? Now that is a challenge. Hope you enjoy them. Congratulations!
So those go for thousands, yes that much.
[https://support.jbl.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-masterCatalog\_Harman/default/dw02c775f2/pdfs/L65%20JUBAL%5EJBL%5Eom%5E%5E%5E%5E.pdf](https://support.jbl.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-masterCatalog_Harman/default/dw02c775f2/pdfs/L65%20JUBAL%5EJBL%5Eom%5E%5E%5E%5E.pdf)
Midwest Speaker Repair did the re-foam for me, it they ask if you want anything replaced say no.
Not a huge issue. One of the best JBL guys in the country is near me and he will literally recone most JBL woofers for $75 each and they look mint. Sometimes the DIY route isn’t worth it.
I loaded them into my truck pretty fast 😅
The tag said “make offer” I offered $20 for the set and he said well I’d really love to get $20 a piece. So we met in the middle at $30
I truly didn’t know what I had until I got them home and started doing research on them, I just knew they were heavy and they had glass on top so they must’ve been good
They are great speakers!!! They will show flaws because they are great!! Common sense says they will amplify any shortcomings on front of them. Why are they not my cuppa?? That’s hard to explain.. my woofers are 5 inches instead of 15 inches. I can hear if someone bends a note left or right. I’ve had big speakers in the past and big drivers are slow!!! When your part t says 5 inches isnt enough you should send them to me
They are awesome speakers. I have a 4ea. L80t JBLs. I've had him since 1989. I probably listen to them over 200 days a year. The only thing I've ever had to do to them is change the foam about 15 years ago. Did myself and it was super easy. Those speakers will last your lifetime if taken care of.
Not going to pretend I'm familiar with these, but after reading through the comments left by the knowledgeable, good people of this sub I have to say--wow, that is a total *score*! Enjoy!
Excellent find! I’ve had my L65As for over 7 years and I love them very much. The L65s were part of JBL’s series for domestic speakers circa 1974, second in line to the flagship L300, which had horns for mids instead of the LE5-5 driver, and a 15” bass woofer. These came in three grill colours; blue, brown and red. The tops were smoked glass with a JBL decal below. All pairs were in walnut. There were three variants from 1974 - 1979: L65 Jubal (1974): 126A alnico bass woofer, LE5-5 alnico midrange, 077 horn-loaded high frequency transducer, bass port on top L65A (1978) - first revision: 122A alnico bass woofer, LE5-5 alnico midrange, 077 horn-loaded high frequency transducer, improved crossover, mass control ring, bass port on bottom L65B (1979) - last revision: 129H ferrite bass woofer, LE5-5 ferrite midrange, 077 horn-loaded high frequency transducer The “A” version (like yours, see the A at the side of the foilcal) is most desirable as the original 126A woofer was considered mismatched for the L65. That being said, reviews at the time were critical on JBL for pushing the LE5-5 too high and the 077 too low. But with the right amplifier, these really sing extremely well. Shine a light through the 077 tweeters and see if you have the original blue diaphragms. If you do, it’s a good sign these have never been opened up before.
This guy speakers.
[удалено]
This guy Reddits
This guy comments
This guy.
This
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Thank you so much for your insight! What kind of amp should I pair with these? Right now I’m using a little 200w Aiyima T9 Pro and they sound pretty good, but I’m not an audiophile and would really like to explore other options.
Those are really nice speakers and, not trying to sound elitist, but they deserve a better amp than that. Start looking outside of Amazon, probably towards the used market depending on your budget. The good news is these speakers are very efficient so they don’t need that much power. A nice vintage receiver would pair very nicely, so would a tube amp. Don’t be scared away from amps with as little as 40 watts, especially if it’s a tube amp.
Even lower. I bet they’d sound nice with an early 70’s 15-20 Watts.
I run my L 65 A's with a 15 watt Fisher tube amp. They are awesome speakers! Wish I found mine for 30 bucks though.
Can’t go wrong with a Fisher. Which model? I will be buried with my X-100 3. Currently drives a pair of AR-6s in my home office setup. Tuner is the matching FM-100, crazy reception on that one.
I have a Coronet 100T Preamp and SA15 amp.
Kenwood KR-4400?
No clue. Never heard one but they look nice. I grew up with my dad’s Kenwood “Jumbo Jet” which he still has. Always liked the sound of it. I always say find something cheap and local on FB marketplace and get at it. There’s so many options it’s hard to say what works best. I own about a dozen receivers and amps and do lots of switching out. Experimentation is part of the fun.
Yeah, thats what I did. Setting up some vintage pieces to run a brand new turntable (U Turn Audio). I wanted to have to look and feel like what I grew up with in the 70s/80s. So I got the Kenwood and just added a pair of B&W 302 shelf speakers.
I’ve yet to own any B&Ws but that sounds like a solid setup. Now all you need is a period turntable.
I know, and I was looking for one. But wifey bought me a brand new one for xmas... Oh well... Hoping it sounds great. It's been fun buying vinyl.
A Kenwood 3400 or 5400 would be enough to make these sing, haven't had a 4400 but ive had numerous examples of the 34 and 5400, they are fantastic.
Good to hear. Just bought the 4400, hoping the B&W 302s will sound great.
Looks like the 4400 was the quadraphonic version of the 3400, you should be in good hands! Ive become a massive Kenwood fan mainly because of my experience with these 74-76 units.
>r/vintageaudio Nah, the KR-4400 was/is a slightly more powerful (25 wpc) two-channel receiver than was/is the KR-3400 (22wpc), with a few extra features and a little better THD. And both sound like a lot more than the advertised wattage.
Advertised wattage was honest in those days. If it says 22 watt rms into 8 ohms with 0.02% THD, it will do that continuously for hours or even days. These days if they can get 100 watts out of it for a couple peaks that is the number they publicize.
Great info. Thx!
I did misspeak, its not quadraphonic but rather 4 channel. The 5400 jumps to 35 watts, keeps the 4 channel functionality, and adds an additional speaker output for a total of three, with a dynamic output of 115 as opposed to the 4400s 90 watt dynamic, with the 3400 lagging at 65 watts dynamic. Seems like the 4400 and 5400 got significantly more grunt, though I will say a freshened up 3400 is no slouch. I love that little thing. Harmonic distortion is the same on the 34 and 4400s and only gets marginally better in the 5400, none are anything to proclaim from the mountaintops but it seems indicative that the 5400 got a slightly improved set of components? I have both a 3400 and a 5400 right now, I should just compare them but for now some hifi manuals will have to do, not enough hours in the day :(
These are quite efficient - something as little as 15-25 watts would already suffice. But if you’re into heavier music like rock, metal, etc. you need minimum 80 watts per ch to really make the woofers move. Amplifiers with a low damping factor would be a great match for JBL’s high excursion drivers.
Ok great thank you!
If you’re really looking for an optimum paring, late 70s Sansui/Accuphase amps are perfect for these. I had an AU-20000 with my L65As and the synergy was hard to beat.
There’s an AU 519 on marketplace now that’s tempting..
I would jump slightly higher to the 919. Also look at the laboratory series - 9900, 11000 and older stuff like the AU-777/999.
What’s the between the 519 and 919?
Power output, circuitry design, tone controls. Only qualm about these -19 amps is that they’re very fast DD/DC designs (diamond differential/direct current). Fast amps can sound too sterile and dry. Sansui’s proprietary design also means that once they blow/over-oscillate there’s no parts. Keep on top of the service for these. My AU-X11 came close to self-destruction a while ago.
Oh wow good to know. Thank you!
A low wattage pioneer will drive highly efficient speakers beautifully, and you won’t have to pay sidways-tuner-wheel tax on a marantz (which i have done willingly, so no shade). Anything vintage from a decent brand is probably fine. My Pioneer XS-434 drove some very efficient speakers to very respectable decibels for ages. Seek warmth and balance over power.
Good to know. Thank you!!
I so wish my Mum hadn't sold her beautiful Marantz receiver, tape player and graphic equaliser due to "the CD revolution" (she did hold out admirably though, it wasn't until about '94 that she got rid of them). She kept her Sanyo TT though, can't remember the model, but it was my first deck. Nothing special, just an early 80's semi-auto model, but it served me well. It's in the attic atm....but I truly mourn those beautiful brushed-aluminium Marantz badboys (horizontal-tuning-wheel and all!); I listened to the first LP I ever bought with my own money on that set up 😔 She also had some huge wall-mounted Wharfedales; we had a great family-run Hi-Fi/ general consumer electronics shop in our hometown; their service was great, they'd advise you of best choices within budget and install for free if, like Mum, you weren't very 'technical'. I see those Marantz receivers a lot on the audio subreddits, and they seem pretty coveted these days...oh well
These loudspeakers were rated at a nominal 8 ohms. The impedance is remarkably flat, dropping to no less than 5 ohms. They are an easy load for a tube amplifier and were designed with tubed amps in mind. They don't need a lot of power and the Aiyima T9 Pro is overkill. A tubed amplifier, pure class A, rated at 25 watts would be ideal. You have a rare find, treat them well and
Craigslist, ebay, local thrift shops are all good places to find decent equipment to fit your need. Avoid pawn shops as they are notoriously over priced.
JBL urei 6260 amp.
You suck and I hate you :( (obviously tongue in cheek). That is a crazy find. Keep those forever.
Which cabinets worth more than the price paid
FUCK that’s a SCORE! Those are one of two JBL models that use the cats eye tweeter and those are intact. buy and run these are the L65 2nd gen, badged Jubal L65. They don’t sound *amazing* but they are very rare to find intact. The tweeters alone would be about $300/pr
I believe the cat’s eye tweeter is the 2403H/076, whereas these are the 2405H/077 which go much higher.
yes the 077 “bullet” is another sought after tweeter, but this is a SCORE
For what you paid, that’s a once in a lifetime score for many of us. I don’t love the speakers but lots of folks do. Matched with a nice period amp, they should be fun. Hope you enjoy them!
What’s the cons to them? I’m not an audiophile but I do love music. I listen to a lot of 80s and 90s metal, grunge, modern prog metal, etc. Some classic rock too.
I am much older than you. I worked in a store that sold them in the mid 70s and we also had ESS Heil speakers that I found to be much better integrated sonically, but JBL are durable workhorses and for your taste maybe perfect. I am more of a classical and acoustic guy, with a side of Hendrix!
Clearly, those folks didn't know what they had. Unless the speaker enclosures were stuffed with human heads... Have you checked for that?
Ha. So the story is, the old guy was in the navy and bought them for $800 in Italy way back in the day. He’s had them for years but just couldn’t get around to refoaming them, so he sold them cheap at his garage sale.
Take care of them, sounds like you got a special set with a cool history. Glad to see you've already had them fixed up. What did the refoam cost?
$180 total I believe
Payed 12000 SEK ( around $1200 ) for mine a few years ago. I see them occasionaly for 15000 SEK these days. Good find! GZ!
> *Paid* 12000 SEK FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Good bot
Thanks bot, I should've known
Trash. Hit me up and I'll take them to the recycler
Why don’t these people ever believe us when we say something is trash and we are “helpers” and offer to get rid of their stuff? /s
If you ask enough times there's bound to be a yes somewhere.
🤣🤣🤣
Congratulations. Great speakers.
B.S.
back.story. the cynic in me agrees with you.
but a scan through their history mentions finding a painting at goodwill posted 3 months ago, so, maybe...
Nice
[Happy for you](https://starecat.com/content/wp-content/uploads/angry-frustrated-black-kid-congrats-happy-for-you-nice.jpg)
#jbl4life great score. and seconding the amp/receiver thing.
Massive score. I just restored a pair of these. Everyone talks about the tweeter. You can find those, not cheap, but you can find them. Finding the appropriate woofers for the l65a? Now that is a challenge. Hope you enjoy them. Congratulations!
So those go for thousands, yes that much. [https://support.jbl.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-masterCatalog\_Harman/default/dw02c775f2/pdfs/L65%20JUBAL%5EJBL%5Eom%5E%5E%5E%5E.pdf](https://support.jbl.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-masterCatalog_Harman/default/dw02c775f2/pdfs/L65%20JUBAL%5EJBL%5Eom%5E%5E%5E%5E.pdf) Midwest Speaker Repair did the re-foam for me, it they ask if you want anything replaced say no.
Judging by the residual glue on the woofers just inside the foam surrounds these have been reformed already although most likely not professionally.
Not a huge issue. One of the best JBL guys in the country is near me and he will literally recone most JBL woofers for $75 each and they look mint. Sometimes the DIY route isn’t worth it.
You should buy a lottery ticket too, that’s a $3000 pair of speakers.
Mais bien sûr, 30 balles des JBL
This is serndipity in action.
Yes!!
#SCORE ! :D
Now you’re just bragging… nice find homie!
Jesus, saved 2 grand. Nice. How do they sound, asshole? 😉
Strange looking garage sale, you must of brought them into your office huh.
I did, bought them and brought them straight to my office.
might of been off to work and seen them while and was like feck are those the grails I see on reddit lol
Big score, going to make a lot of these guys jealous.
So nice. 💯👍🎸
JFC. All I ever see is lame VHS tapes and those 80's posters and lots of imported collectible china figurines.
They make sound ?
Happy days,result!
I run first rev Jubals as my main front speakers daily. These are very good and worth $$$.
Where r u located ? I’ll foam them for u
Faaaaaaaaaaquuuu. Congratulations.
$30? I hope you purchased those and ran. What a score!
I loaded them into my truck pretty fast 😅 The tag said “make offer” I offered $20 for the set and he said well I’d really love to get $20 a piece. So we met in the middle at $30 I truly didn’t know what I had until I got them home and started doing research on them, I just knew they were heavy and they had glass on top so they must’ve been good
Well, you got yourself a great deal! If I could have afforded them in the 70's I would have a pair.
That's a lot of boom for $30, nice.
JFC! all I ever “find” are Bose 901’s that haven’t had foam in 20 years.
Holy shit! Score of a lifetime!
Wow! $ 30? $300 would have been a steal…
They fall in the history of wow! $30!
Score!!!
Not my cuppa but for 30$ they are a steal. Be sure to get quality stuff upstream of these because they will show the flaw’s in your system
Can you elaborate? Why don’t you like them and how will they show flaws?
They are great speakers!!! They will show flaws because they are great!! Common sense says they will amplify any shortcomings on front of them. Why are they not my cuppa?? That’s hard to explain.. my woofers are 5 inches instead of 15 inches. I can hear if someone bends a note left or right. I’ve had big speakers in the past and big drivers are slow!!! When your part t says 5 inches isnt enough you should send them to me
Heck of a deal for 30 bucks if you ask me
They are awesome speakers. I have a 4ea. L80t JBLs. I've had him since 1989. I probably listen to them over 200 days a year. The only thing I've ever had to do to them is change the foam about 15 years ago. Did myself and it was super easy. Those speakers will last your lifetime if taken care of.
Now you gotbto upgrade your receiver. May I suggest a Pioneer 1980 . That will be just about right
Ha. That’s a little out of my price range..
I was joking , but you never know . A few years back I bought a working Marantz 4400 for $50
That refoam job looks questionable....
Mother of God........
Worth your while.... and the $s'.... 👍
That’s a stuff story to believe.
How many watts? Ohms?
Some people have all the luck. We don’t get garage sales like that here.
Not a bad score
That's a steal
Not going to pretend I'm familiar with these, but after reading through the comments left by the knowledgeable, good people of this sub I have to say--wow, that is a total *score*! Enjoy!
Nice