I have a gourgeous pair of Pioneer HPM100 speakers. These are probably one of the best preserved pair that will ever be found. They sound amazing although the bass is indeed sloppy to my ears. I heard from 1 person that they are inspired by JBL L100 speakers. I was wondering if someone could tell me whether the JBL L100 sound better than the HPM100, and if it is than do they sound a LOT better or just a bit better? I have an itch to sell my HPM100 to buy the L100, but I don't want to make a huge mistake.
J. Vigne I forgot to thank you for helping me understand the HPM100 are not that rare. But are you sure they are circa 1975-6? I think they are made in only 1977 from what I've researched.
J. Vigne
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You may be right about the time period. I sold the HPM100's when I worked for Pacific Stereo and I thought I had moved on by '77, but there's too much to remember other than those items.
The HPM100 was "inspired" by the L100 (Century) in that they were both a 3 way speaker with a white woofer cone. The similarity pretty much ended there. The HPM100 had the polymer tweeter that mimiced an electrostatic design without being one. And it did, to a lot of people, sound rather bad. Very hard highs and a sloppy bottom. The JBL was a studio monitor of the day. It was a classic rock and roll speaker that typified "West Coast Sound". It was very efficient and had a punchy sound that sold well. Lots of people saved up to buy a pair of JBL L100's. But the better speaker in the line was the L166 (Jubelle). It was the next step up in the line and a much more sophisticated sound without getting away from the traditional JBL sound. It also had a smoked glass top that gave it a very classy look and came in handy as the night wore on for use as a cutting board. I would never promote that type of behaviour though, but we are talking the '70s here.
A very common and obvious comparison of the time was a pair of L100's against a pair of Double Advents. The Advents cost less and were (as a traditional "East Coast Sound) more impressive in their bass capablities but didn't play as loud.
Anonymous
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J. Vigne I was not able to find any JBL L166 or Double Advent for sale even on Ebay. I suspect they will be hard if not impossible to find especially the Advents. Can you please clarify for me since you may have listened to both already: is it wise for me to sell the hpm100 and replace them with JBL L100's? or is the sound quality difference small?
J. Vigne
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The sound quality is vastly different between these two speakers. You won't find Double advents on sale per se since that was merely two pairs of Large Advents placed together to form what was known as a Double Advent system. If you are interested in this combination look for two pairs of Large (Original) Advent Loudspeakers. Do not buy the New Advent Loudspeaker as this was a different design that did not double as well.
As for the L166 there are other places to find used audio other than Ebay.
I do not understand why you would be buying a speaker you haven't even heard?
Anonymous
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Wow I did not know is was called the Large and not Double. I did know that they were stacked, but that name slipped me. Thanks for clearing that up. Well I bought the HPM100 only because someone sold it for $35 locally and I noticed it was worth a lot more than that. I was intending to resell them for $250-300, but I ended up liking them a lot and kept them. As with most used,vintage, and even most new audio epuipment it is almost impossible to audition them because of non-availability so the buyer has to go completely on reviews or word of mouth. since I assume you have sold both the hpm100 and the L100 I was hoping to get your opinion on whether replacing them is a smart choice.
the only things I understand about the L100 is that the upper midrange is empathized and it has a "west cosat" sound. I have no idea what any of that even means. please advise me if the L100 is superior to the hpm100 and whether it would be a good idea to replace the hpm100. or is it possible to just replace the 12" woofer on my HPM100 with an aftermarket one and would any 12" woofer fit the cabinet? The only thing I am missing from the HPM100 is tight, precise bass.
J. Vigne
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Yes, the L100 is the far better speaker. If it were me I would want to have the JBL and not the Pioneer.
Unless you understand what makes the HPM100 have the sloppy bass it has then I wouldn't think you would want to try to remedy the situation by swapping woofers. Once again it is your money to spend but I would just buy the JBL if you want a good speaker that plays rock music very well and very loudly.
Anonymous
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Thank you J. Vigne for your advice. It confirms what I've been reading in reviews for the most part. My tastes are mostly rock so that sounds perfect for me. I read from one guy that sold his HPM100 to replace with L100's so he must have a good reason too.
.....So does anybody want a pair of Pioneer HPM100's in excellent if not perfect condition? ;)