old JBL studio monitors


(old) JBL Studio monitors seem like an interesting deal on ebay (or here on agon).

But what makes a "studio monitor " a "studio monitor " ?

How well have 15 (20?) year old JBLs aged? I do know about failing foam woofer surrounds. I would imagine the caps in the crossovers are getting unhappy too, maybe.

Any thoughts?
lester_ears
It depends, the 150a's are good, I use to have a pair. The 212s had a very uneven frequency response.. Research the particular model that you are considering carefully. Stan
I have a pair of 4350 and believe me that is sound.DEEP BASE, natural impac sound, the presence is there.
I have JBL 4333AWX's (basically the studio version of an L300). With Quicksilver KT88 monoblocks I find them smooth and very relaxing.
I did the same as foxtrot. There was an article in speaker builder about two years ago regarding rebuilding L300's.
Studio Monitor was a promotional term used in the seventies
to suggest that the speakers making that claim were designed to be utilized as monitor speakers in the recording studio. If the engineers used these speakers to record the sound, surely you would be wise to use them for retrieval. I always thought it was a lot of crap but it certainly sold a lot of product.

JBL construction quality is unsurpassed but the sound is definitely a matter of taste.