Approximately three years ago, I had the opportunity to review JBL’s reintroduction of its L100 speaker. That new L100 Classic featured the outward appearance of the original,
with its iconic Quadrex foam grill available in orange, bright blue or black. Upon removing the grille, the familiar white bass driver became the focus of attention, accompanied by front-mounted controls to adjust treble and midrange. The L100 Classic received a significant amount of attention due to its large, warm, and slightly loose sound, which was easy on the ear. While I appreciated the broad appeal of the speaker, I did not fully embrace it. However, I did appreciate the retro aesthetic of the L100 Classic, which evoked strong memories of the 1970s.
As a result of this experience, I was somewhat hesitant about the L52 Classic, which is priced at £999 / US$1,000 / €1,199 and features the same retro design and color options but on a smaller scale. I wondered if the smaller size would also result in a smaller sound, as the L52’s mid/bass driver is the same size as the L100 Classic’s midrange driver.
The lowdown
The JBL L52 Classic is a two-way loudspeaker featuring a 5.25-inch mid-bass driver made of pure-pulp cone, which crosses over at 2.8kHz to a 0.75-inch titanium dome tweeter with a waveguide. The speaker has a stated frequency response of 47Hz-24kHz (-6 dB), which indicates a relatively strong bass performance for a small speaker. However, its sensitivity is below average at 85dB and its nominal impedance is 4 ohms, which may make it somewhat difficult to drive. The L52 Classic is front-ported, allowing for flexible placement, and the tweeter is offset, so it can be positioned on the inside or outside of the speaker as desired. The treble level can also be adjusted using a rotary dial on the front of the speaker.
The L52 Classic’s grilles are attached via plastic lugs, which may not be the most user-friendly or durable design. The speaker’s overall build quality is satisfactory, but there are options at similar price points with superior construction. The L52 Classic is smaller than expected, measuring 7.7 inches in width, 13.0 inches in height, and 8.5 inches in depth, making it a good fit for bookshelves or wall mounting. As a fairly typical ported two-way standmount priced just under the £1,000 threshold, the L52 Classic faces strong competition in its market segment.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit