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Harman ExPLORE – 75th Anniversary JBL L100 Classic 75

As part of the Harman ExPLORE virtual event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the JBL brand, Harman International Industries Ltd. presented a loudspeaker system whose roots go way back to the 1970s. As a tribute to the JBL L100, the JBL L100 Classic 75 was offered in limited quantities.


When a brand like JBL celebrates its 75th birthday, it is of course a very special event. Harman International Industries, to which the brand has belonged for years, marked the occasion with a virtual event, the Harman ExPLORE, and presented some truly outstanding solutions, such as a loudspeaker system whose roots go far, even very far back, namely the JBL L100 Classic 75.

75 years after the founding of JBL and 51 years after the launch of the iconic JBL L100 Century loudspeaker system, these two landmark events will be celebrated at Harman ExPLORE in Northridge, California, according to Harman International Industries, with the launch of the limited edition JBL L100 Classic 75, an exclusive version of the legendary and, incidentally, best-selling JBL L100 loudspeaker. A more than worthy product, then, which was hereby chosen to celebrate JBL’s 75th birthday in conjunction with the new JBL SA-750 Integrated Amplifier.

But it is not by chance that this speaker system was chosen, after all, one can rely on a basis that has also proven itself in the meantime. In 2018, the company made an extremely clever move by presenting the JBL L100 Classic, which represented the concept of the original from the 1970s in the most modern form and was a complete success. Continuing this concept in the form of a limited edition is sure to please many customers.

JBL L100 Classic 75 01

The most striking feature of the new JBL L100 Classic 75 is, of course, once again the beautiful teak veneer that adorns all sides of the speaker cabinet. The wood finish is complemented by a black Quadrex foam grille accented with a gold and black JBL logo. On the front and back of the speaker are special edition plaques, including a commemorative plaque bearing the signature of lead systems engineer Chris Hagen and the individual pair number of the 750-pair production run.

Acoustically, the JBL L100 Classic 75 features an improved woofer suspension and a revised network with bi-wire capability via a high-quality connection panel with two sets of gold-plated binding posts.

The JBL L100 Classic 75 features a JT025Ti2-4 25mm titanium tweeter connected to a wave guide with acoustic lens for optimum integration with the JM125PC-8 125mm cast-frame midrange driver with pure cellulose cone located directly below. The vertical arrangement of the tweeter and midrange drivers is slightly offset to the right of the woofer below, with the HF and MF attenuators located on the top left of the baffle. The JW300SW-8 woofer, with white cellulose cone, cast-frame construction and a substantial 300 mm diameter, operates in a bass-reflex enclosure system tuned via a single, front-firing bass-reflex tube with flared exit.

The JBL L100 Classic 75 is sold as a matched-pair system and includes a set of JBL JS-120 floor stands, which have to be budgeted separately for the standard version. The entire system comes in a custom wooden box with limited edition artwork on the side panels.

“We’ve experienced tremendous success with the latest L100 Classic model, which we launched in autumn 2018. We thought there was no better way to honour the 75th anniversary of the JBL brand than with a limited edition version of perhaps our most iconic speaker ever. This one-of-a-kind speaker is destined to become a highly sought-after model among music lovers around the world.”

Jim Garrett, Senior Director, Product Strategy and Planning, Luxury Audio, Harman 

The new limited edition JBL L100 Classic 75 will be available from April 2021 and is expected to cost US$5,500 per pair.

Getting to the point…

The JBL L100 Classic 75 features the same signature retro 1970s-style design as the JBL L100 Classic, with classic JBL styling including the iconic black Quadrex foam grille and exquisite teak veneer cabinets. Only 750 copies of this historic product are available. The exclusive speaker features a unique signed plaque on the back and a certificate of authenticity commemorating the 75th anniversary.

Manufacturer:Harman International Industries Inc.
Distribution:Harman Deutschland GmbH
Price:US$ 5.500,-
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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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