Tower Speaker Reviews

Performance
Build Quality
Value

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Powerful yet refined sound
Classic design
Adjustable midrange and treble

Minus
Need stands
Take up more floor space than tower speakers

THE VERDICT
The JBL L100 Classic MkII delivers a seamless blend of vintage aesthetics and modern acoustic performance, offering punchy, refined sound whether in stereo or home theater setups.

It’s hard to dispute the legendary status of the original JBL L100 when it comes to iconic speaker designs. Those retro Quadrex foam grilles have become as much a calling card for JBL as the crisp, punchy sound signature itself. After all, they are descendants of the JBL L100 Century speakers featured in the famous "Blown Away Guy" Maxell cassette tape ad.

Obligatory selfie in the "Blown Away Guy" L100 MkII demo at Audio Advice Live 2024.

With the L100 Classic MkII, JBL has updated the beloved 12-inch three-way design with modern acoustic engineering, resulting in a speaker that seamlessly blends vintage aesthetics with contemporary fidelity. I recently paired a set of L100 Classic MkIIs with a Denon AVR-A1H receiver in both 2.0 (stereo) and 4.1 configurations to see if the new L100s lived up to their near-mythical predecessors. Spoiler alert: They do—spectacularly.

Design
JBL’s L100 Classic MkII speakers exude retro charm at first glance, but it’s their modern performance that earns them the spotlight. Each three-way “bookshelf” speaker (they do fit in a bookshelf) sports a hefty 12-inch Pure Pulp cone woofer, a 5.25-inch polymer-coated midrange, and a 1-inch titanium dome tweeter with waveguide.

Rated at 90 dB (2.83V/1m) with a nominal impedance of 4 ohms, they’re comfortable handling 25–200 watts of power. They also dig deep, extending down to 40 Hz and soaring up to 40 kHz (-6 dB), making them effectively full-range speakers for a lot of music genres.

From the outside, the L100 Classic MkII strongly resembles its predecessor: a walnut veneer cabinet with that unmistakable Quadrex foam grille (available in black, orange, or blue). But there are deeper updates under the hood. The woofer is now cast-frame with a Pure Pulp cone and dual spiders, which helps it handle power more accurately. The midrange and tweeter are also upgraded, plus a new crossover network that includes bi-wire/bi-amp terminals via dual sets of gold-plated binding posts.

Each speaker weighs a substantial 63 lb (28.6 kg). That’s not surprising given the sturdy construction and large internal volume needed to properly house a 12-inch woofer. Front-facing ports allow some flexibility in placement, should you put them near walls or (in theory) actually place them in a shelf—though in practice, most users will put them on stands like the JBL JS-120 or similar 7-inch tall stands.

Each L100 MkII features adjustable mid and high-frequency trim knobs built right into the front baffle. Purists with analog front ends (like turntable setups) often want as few components in the chain as possible. The on-speaker trim knobs are a simple yet effective means to fine-tune the sonic balance to your taste—or to your room’s acoustics—without introducing extra signal processing.

In my open-plan listening room, these L100s took center stage for both stereo music and a 4.1 home theater setup. I skipped the physical center channel in favor of a phantom center, and the JBLs never missed a beat. Even without a dedicated sub for stereo listening, that 12-inch woofer delivered a robust low-end punch—enough that I didn’t feel I was missing out on deep bass response. Nevertheless, adding a subwoofer was the icing on the cake.

Powering the L100 Classics was Denon’s AVR-A1H, a 15-channel, 150 W-per-channel (8 ohms, 20–20kHz, 0.05% THD, 2-ch driven) receiver with a massive transformer and a power supply to match. Despite its ability to drive up to 9.4.6 channels, by keeping the channel count low I ensured it could focus its power on L100s.

Performance
Playing at elevated listening levels, the Denon was barely breaking a sweat. The L100s happily soaked up the wattage, rarely needing a subwoofer for stereo music thanks to that beefy 12-inch driver.

One interesting design quirk is the offset orientation of the midrange and tweeter relative to the woofer, the mid and tweeter are shifted slightly to one side. JBL likely did this for acoustic or diffraction-related reasons, but it does manifest in a sweet spot that’s offset from the exact midpoint between the two cabinets. Sitting perfectly equidistant between the physical cabinets might cause the center image to appear slightly off the actual center, especially for stereo music.

For most listeners, that offset is a minor nitpick. But if you’re obsessive about imaging or you do a lot of “perfect sweet spot” listening, you might find yourself adjusting your position a few inches to the right. In an era where asymmetrical speakers of this caliber often come in mirrored pairs, it’s worth noting that the L100 Classic MkII does not. Each unit is identical.

I spent countless hours streaming music via Qobuz, taking advantage of high-res files whenever possible (otherwise settling for CD quality). The sonic performance of these speakers had me enthralled.

I find it quite remarkable that a loudspeaker form factor roughly 50 years old with drivers that use common materials, nothing exotic, nonetheless can be coaxed into delivering state-of-the-art performance. But the bottom line is JBL speakers blew me away.

I'd argue the sound is so good, there is a cognitive dissonance when you're looking at them and listening, because you expect some sort of roughness around the edges, not the smooth refined sound that these speakers demonstrated on track after track.

Listening to the 4.1 Denon setup with phantom center, Audyssey-tuned. I streamed UHD video, spun 4K Blu-rays, played GTA & GT on my PS5. Result? Killer audio. I didn't miss a center speaker. At all. Dialogue was crisp, even at low volumes. Those L100s made the phantom center totally convincing. (Want a center anyway? Add a third L100 MkII right under the display. You could, but you won't need to.)

I put the L100 Classic MkIIs through a serious workout using both movies and music—from fresh blockbusters to classics and obscure gems. On the movie front, I watched The Wild Robot, Piece by Piece, Venom: The Last Dance, Deadpool & Wolverine, and Transformers One. In every case, the speakers portrayed dialogue and effects with stunning clarity. Explosions in Venom: The Last Dance, for instance, had just the right level of gut-punch impact without drowning out the midrange details. Meanwhile, dialogue in The Wild Robot stayed crisp even when ambient sounds filled the rest of the sonic space. It’s satisfying when a speaker can do cinematic adrenaline without sacrificing nuance.

On the music side, I cycled through everything from Binary by Sounds from the Ground to Hot Sauce Committee by the Beastie Boys, plus a bit of Orboretum The Orb Collection by The Orb. Also in the mix were It’s a Long Way Home by Griz, Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles, Culture of Fear by Thievery Corporation, and The Final Battle by Sly and Robbie vs. Roots Radics. These L100s can handle pretty much any sonic challenge. They delivered the deep, textured bass on my go-to electronic tracks while keeping the layered percussion of something like Magical Mystery Tour impressively distinct. And I was hooked on the way they presented the Beastie Boys’ raw energy—there’s a certain bite in their production that really jumps out on a high-quality system.

Naturally, I listen to much more than just these albums, but they stood out for showing off the L100’s ability to handle diverse musical styles without missing a beat. Vocals were spot-on—clear enough to let me sink into the lyrics of each track. And the imaging was so vivid that, if I closed my eyes, I could practically map out where each band member was standing.

As a bonus test with video games, I fired up Gran Turismo on a simulator rig, seated perfectly in the sweet spot. Let’s just say I truly appreciated how these speakers create a holographic soundstage. Even in the heat of a race, I could pinpoint the subtle engine revs or tire squeals from competing cars. Immersion is everything with a sim rig, and these JBLs put me right into the action—allowing me to hear exactly where the other vehicles were on the track.

I should note that I never felt the need or desire to adjust the trim knobs on the speakers. I'm fine with them being there, but I felt the speakers are "just right" when the knobs are set to their defaults.

Overall, the L100 Classic MkIIs don’t just slap a modern spin on a vintage look; they bring genuine high-fidelity chops to the table. Whether I’m blasting a Beastie Boys album or watching Transformers tear up the screen, they deliver an immersive, detailed, and downright fun listening experience. They vanish into the room, and I’m left with nothing but pure entertainment.

Conclusion
The JBL L100 Classic MkII manages to preserve everything fans love about the iconic L100 design—vintage looks, punchy low end, adjustable mid/high trims—while adding modern refinements like an improved driver array and a revised crossover network for bi-wiring or bi-amping. Paired with a Denon AVR-A1H, which offers more than enough muscle and features to exploit these speakers’ capabilities, the result is a system that feels simultaneously retro and cutting-edge.

Yes, the offset midrange and tweeter might cause slight sweet-spot finagling if you’re extremely particular. But beyond that singular quirk, I struggle to find anything to complain about. For stereo listening, these speakers deliver a truly transparent and dynamic performance that can dig deep in the bass and extend to 40 kHz (and below) with prodigious quantities of output. For home theater, they offer superb intelligibility and a shockingly convincing phantom center channel if you decide to skip a dedicated center speaker for multichannel applications. Their performance stands toe-to-toe with anything else in the price range.

If you’re itching for that classic vibe—complete with the iconic Quadrex foam grilles—but you also want up-to-date fidelity, the JBL L100 Classic MkII is an uncompromising solution. Whether powered by a stereo amp or a top-tier AVR like the Denon A1H, these speakers prove that a timeless design can still be a tour de force when cleverly re-engineered for today’s discerning listener.