JBL L88M (2000)
The JBL L88M is a compact 2-way bookshelf speaker introduced in 2000. It was a small reissue of the L88 "Nova" from 1969. The L88 sits in the family line leading to the JBL L100 and 4310 monitors, and the L88M was JBL's way of revisiting that heritage for a new generation.
The woofer is a 13.3 cm white paper cone with an accordion-pleated edge and an aluminum die-cast frame. The tweeter is a 1.9 cm dome with a lipless pure titanium diaphragm. The enclosure is bass reflex with a front port. JBL made the design symmetrical, so a left/right pair can be set up with tweeters out for a wide sound field or tweeters in for concentrated imaging. It is also anti-magnetic, which keeps it safe near television screens.
The L88M was sold in Japan, priced at ¥52,000 per pair. It could be wall or ceiling mounted using the separately sold MTC 520 mounting bracket (¥8,000 for two) or the MTC 601 ceiling adapter (¥3,600 for two).
A Japanese source reflecting on the design noted that the L88M's styling might read as merely "elaborate" today, but had it appeared around 1970 it would have been genuinely striking. That makes it a 2000s product wearing a 1960s/70s-inspired design.
Specifications as documented:
- Type: 2-way, 2-speaker, bass reflex, bookshelf
- Frequency response: 60 Hz – 40 kHz
- Output sound pressure level: 89 dB / 2.83V/m
- Impedance: 4 Ω
- Allowable input: 75W (RMS)
- Crossover frequency: 7 kHz
- Woofer: 13.3 cm cone (white paper cone, accordion edge, aluminum die-cast frame)
- Tweeter: 1.9 cm dome (pure titanium diaphragm)
- Dimensions: 181 W × 304 H × 182 D mm
- Weight: 3.8 kg
The record is thin in places. No production end date is confirmed, and the source material contradicts itself on whether the L88M launched in the 2000s or "over 25 years" after the original L88. No higher-authority source resolves it. One owner noted that a pair listed for auction showed visible scratches and dirt, which suggests these were used as everyday speakers rather than kept as collectibles.
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