I was scoping out some JBL L100's and then I saw they only handle 50 Watts?????? SCREW THAT.
From my L100 owners manual it says the recommended amplifier is 150wpc continuous. JBL was very conservative back in the day. The 50W was likely a reference to a 50W RMS continuous test tone at 1KHz (hard on the midrange which kicks in at 500Hz). With the excellent JBL crossovers, I doubt you can damage a L100 with anything less than 250W peak musical power, and by then your ears would be bleeding. This is assuming a quality amp like a Phase Linear, if the amp is clipping, the speakers should be de-rated to a power level below the clipping threshold.
Having said that, the L100 is a high-quality listening room speaker, not a PA speaker. The L100 is a sensitive speaker at 90db/W/m and excels at sophisticated, critical-listening sound levels. However, from a recent test:
"Timing, that ability to deliver the interplay of instruments with confidence, is good enough for the L100s to convey the changing momentum of the music well. If you want punch and purpose these speakers are definitely for you. Surprisingly, they remain engaging at lower volume levels where alternatives start to sound lifeless, so late night listening remains firmly on the menu. Then we play Massive Attack’s
Heligoland and the JBL’s sonic presentation works well. They are in their element, throwing out a wall of sound that impresses with its scale, drive and energy. They’re composed, even at high levels, and have a huge amount of headroom with dynamics."
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https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/jbl-l100-classic