Brand

Vintage JBL speakers

James B. Lansing had co-founded Lansing Manufacturing and spent five years as Altec Lansing's vice president of engineering when he left in 1946 and started again on his own. His new company dated from October 1946, Altec objected to the name, and it became James B. Lansing Sound, Inc. Its first product was the D101 15-inch loudspeaker. Lansing died in September 1949 with the company deep in debt, and Bill Thomas kept it going. Sidney Harman bought JBL in 1969, and under Arnold Wolf, who had designed the 1967 logo, JBL turned its 4310 studio monitor into the L100 Century in 1970. It became JBL's most successful product yet, and the 4311, L36 Decade and L65 Jubal followed. The JBL speakers here are ported boxes with Alnico V magnets, and most have level controls for the midrange and treble, so check every driver and turn every knob before you pay.

5 models we cover.