Sony VPL-VW870ES
To the left of the tweeter and midrange you’ll find controls to adjust their output. We keep these on their default 0db settings for most of our test, though can see uses when the speakers are positioned less than optimally, or if you just want to pep up the sound a little.
The L100 Classics are pretty sensitive speakers, rated at 90db/w/m, but their nominal impedance is claimed to be 4 ohm, which suggests that it’s wise to use an amplifier with a bit of grunt if you want to get the best out of them (and who wouldn't?). We employ our reference 200W-perchannel Gamut D200i for most of the test, but also try Naim’s Uniti Star all-in-one system (rated at 70W per channel) with decent results.
The JBLS are clear enough to show the large gap in transparency between our reference Naim NDS/555PS music streamer and Gamut D3i/d200i amplifier combination and the Uniti, but are unfussy enough to sound enjoyable with both.
That’s really the key with the L100 Classics. They’re about having fun and delivering a huge slice of entertainment rather than outright analysis of the recording. That doesn’t mean they’re not detailed or insightful – as their rendition of Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring proves. With this piece, they deliver a hugely rousing performance, one that brims with savage dynamics and truly convincing authority.
As expected, the combination of large bass driver and generous cabinet delivers an impressively powerful bass performance, but instead of the unwieldy sledgehammer approach we were expecting, we get class-leading agility.
DISCRIMINATING BASS
The L100s render deep bass frequencies with the kind of ease and finesse that smaller, but more overtly high-tech rivals such as B&W’S 805 D3s or KEF’S equally capable Reference 1s, struggle to do. There’s lovely texture to lows and some impressive definition when it comes to
“With The Rite Of Spring, they deliver a hugely rousing performance that brims with savage dynamics and authority”
discriminating between different bass sounds. JBL engineers from the ’70s would be proud…
Move up the frequency range and you’ll find a crisp midrange and clear treble. At these higher frequencies, the L100s don’t sound quite as sophisticated, open or even as those more conventional alternatives. But they’re still insightful enough to reveal clearly production differences between Miles Davis’s Kind Of Blue and something more modern, such as the Broadchurch OST by Ólafur Arnalds.
Stereo imaging is also pretty good. The JBLS paint a decently expansive soundstage with precisely located sounds and instruments. There’s not quite the space around those sounds as we’d like, nor a great impression of outright depth, but it’s not a damaging shortfall.
WALL OF SOUND
We play Massive Attack’s Heligoland and the JBL’S sonic presentation works well. They are in their element, throwing out a wall of sound that impresses with its scale, drive and energy. They’re composed, even at high levels, and have a huge amount of headroom with dynamics.
Timing, that ability to deliver the interplay of instruments with confidence, is good enough for the L100s to convey the changing momentum of the music well. If you want punch and purpose, these speakers are definitely for you. Surprisingly, they remain engaging at lower volume levels where alternatives start to sound lifeless, so latenight listening sessions are firmly on the menu.
Of course, to get this kind of performance you need to take a bit of care with positioning. In our test room, we place the JBLS just over a metre from the rear walls and well clear of the side. We also angle them in slightly towards the listening position to solidify the stereo imaging.
The JBLS aren’t flawless – no piece of hi-fi is – but, in our opinion, none of their shortcomings come close to being deal-breakers. While the JBLS cede to rivals in some respects, their blend of engineering choices – big cabinet, three-way configuration with large paper-coned bass driver and high sensitivity – yields results that those same rivals can’t match.
If you judge hi-fi on the ability to entertain rather than the ability to analyse, these are one of the most appealing pairs of speakers at the price. And you’d have to be soulless not to be just a little pleased that products with this much charm and character still exist.