JBL L88 Plus (1972)
The JBL L88 Plus is a two-way bookshelf speaker introduced in 1972. It lives in the shadow of its more famous sibling, the L100 Century. The record on this one is thin. No period reviews, no frequency response measurements and no sensitivity figures have surfaced. What we do know comes from Japanese market data and from collectors who have handled the things.
The L88 Plus used a 30 cm cone woofer (the 123A) and a 3.6 cm cone tweeter (the LE25-1), with a two-way network crossing over at 2 kHz. Impedance was 8 ohms, and allowable input was rated at 35W continuous program. The enclosure was bass reflex. The front grille was a sculptured foam insert, available in three color variations, including the burnt orange Quadrex style that echoes the L100. The cabinet was reportedly identical to the L100's, which makes sense given the shared design language.
The interesting part is the M12 Expander Kit, sold separately at ¥31,800. The front baffle had a blind plate that could be removed to mount a 12.5 cm midrange driver and its network. That converted the two-way into a three-way system with crossover points at 1.5 kHz and 6 kHz. With the kit installed, allowable input rose to 50W. Collectors frequently note that an L88 Plus with the M12 kit is essentially an L100 Century. JBL offered it as a path for buyers who wanted to start smaller and grow.
Pricing in Japan moved around: ¥121,300 at launch in 1972, down to ¥114,000 around 1973, then up to ¥126,000 by 1974. One U.S. listing shows a regular price of $569. A pair with the M12 expander kits installed recently appeared on Craigslist at $2,200 firm. The handful of owner accounts describe the speakers as sounding great, and one YouTube video pairs the L88 Plus with an Onkyo Integra A-917 for jazz listening. The technical record - frequency response, sensitivity, anything measured - isn't documented in the sources we have.
Dimensions were 360 W x 600 H x 300 D mm, and each speaker weighed 20 kg. The grille inserts have become a minor collectible, with sellers offering reproduction Quadrex-style foam in various colors.
- Type: 2-way, 2-speaker, bass reflex, bookshelf
- Low band: 30 cm cone woofer (123A)
- High range: 3.6 cm cone tweeter (LE25-1)
- Crossover: 2 kHz (standard); 1.5 kHz / 6 kHz with M12 kit
- Impedance: 8 Ω
- Allowable input: 35W (standard); 50W with M12 kit
- Dimensions: 360 x 600 x 300 mm (W x H x D)
- Weight: 20 kg
- Released: 1972
- Original price (Japan): ¥121,300 (1972); ¥114,000 (1973); ¥126,000 (1974)
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