JBL L82 Classic Bookshelf Loudspeaker Brings Retro Back In Smaller Form

Last year at CES Las Vegas we were intrigued by JBL’s retro L100 Classic, a 3-Way design bookshelf speaker built around an impressive 12” woofer. The L100 Classic also featured a 5” midrange driver and an exceptional 1-inch titanium dome tweeter with acoustic lens waveguide and front-panel HF Level attenuator. 

Any audiophile (myself included) that grew up in the era where large speakers didn't cause a war between the spouses, holds a special place in their heart for classic JBL designs like these.

- Gene DellaSala

Now, both sides could have their cake and eat it too. A year after releasing the L100 Classic, JBL Introduced their L82 Classic Bookshelf Loudspeakers at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

JBL, which is part of Harman International is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. We’ve seen great things from JBL recently and the L100 we listened to last year at CES was no exception.  The new JBL L82 Classic is a modern bookshelf version of the all-time best-selling JBL L100 loudspeaker. As with the legendary L100 3-way bookshelf loudspeaker released in 1970, itself a consumer version of the popular JBL 4310 Pro Studio Monitor, the new L82 Classic looks to follow on the heels of a long line of industry-leading successes.

The new L82 Classic's 8-inch, 2-way system design is more compact than the L100’s 12-inch 3-way design, but still looks to deliver a premium hi-fi sound experience with an attractive retro aesthetic.

The L100 Classic has been a tremendous success for us delivering on the promise of JBL sound and the romance of the vintage aesthetic.  With the L82 Classic, we have a product that evokes the same instantly recognizable design and revered sound quality, and yet it does so with a considerably smaller physical footprint. We expect these to be a hit with music lovers who desire the attributes of the L100 Classic in a more compact size.

- Jim Garrett, Senior Director, Product Strategy and Planning, Luxury Audio

Packaged and sold as mirror-image pairs, the L82 Classic loudspeakers feature a 1-inch titanium dome tweeter with acoustic lens waveguide and front-panel HF Level attenuator. The tweeter is the same as used in the larger L100 Classic. The system's 8-inch cast frame white poly cone woofer should deliver a full, natural sound with bass-reflex tuning via a front-firing Slipstream port. 

The L82 Classic loudspeakers feature an attractive, retro design with vintage JBL styling including an iconic Quadrex foam grille in a choice of three colors — black, orange, or blue -- all with a black and bronze JBL logo. The enclosures are finished in a genuine, satin walnut wood veneer and can be positioned vertically or horizontally. Although Audioholics will want to listen with the grilles off of course ;)

Accessories for the JBL L82 Classic loudspeakers include the JS-80 floor stands ($250/pair)  which elevate and angle the enclosures to a correct tweeter height and to direct high frequencies to ear level. Additional retro Quadrex foam grille packs (black, orange, or blue) are also available to easily fit the speakers into any decor. The L82 Classic has a US retail price of $2,500/pair and additional grille colors are $199.00 per pair. Availability begins in April 2020.

What We Think…

The $2,500/pair bookshelf speaker market is a bit of a niche group that usually garners brand loyalty, but JBL is doing a great job at catching the attention of discriminating shoppers with their retro designs and availability of color choices.

JBL enthusiasts will surely like the size and look of the L82 Classic, but will it be enough to take the attention away from similar speakers like the Polk Legend L200, Dynaudio Special 40, and the Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitor.

Last year’s debut of the JBL L100 turned heads with its 3-way design and 12” woofer which helped justify its $4k/pair price tag.  Will the removal of a midrange driver keep the full sound we loved out of the L100? Let us know what you think in the forum thread below.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.