JBL Century 100 (1970s)

The JBL Century 100 is a 3-way, 3-driver speaker system from the 1970s, built for studio monitoring and high-fidelity home listening. JBL's own advertising was candid about where it came from. The company took its professional studio monitor and dressed it up for the living room, calling it "not even an original. It's a copy." By 1973, JBL was claiming it was the most successful loudspeaker the company had ever made, at a list price of $273 (High Fidelity, June 1973, p.31). High Fidelity (March 1974, p.51) noted it again, where JBL repeated the claim.

The driver complement is a 12-inch woofer (model 127H), a 5-inch midrange (110H), and a 1-inch dome tweeter (066), with crossover points at 1.5kHz and 7kHz. The cabinet is vented (bass-reflex). Rated frequency response is 40Hz–20kHz (±3dB), sensitivity 90dB (1W/1m), impedance 8 ohms, and power handling 75W continuous / 150W peak.

Documentation on the Century 100 is thinner than its sales would suggest. No original dimensions, weight, or current market pricing have surfaced in the record. What survives is the basic spec sheet and a memorable advertising campaign.

3-way, 3-driver vented (bass-reflex) design
12" woofer (127H), 5" midrange (110H), 1" dome tweeter (066)
Frequency response: 40Hz–20kHz (±3dB)
Sensitivity: 90dB (1W/1m); Impedance: 8 ohms
Power handling: 75W continuous, 150W peak
Crossover: 1.5kHz, 7kHz