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View Full Version : Hi New to the site but have to share the horror of what I have found for sale local!



Donny
06-03-2006, 09:57 AM
Hi all,I spend sometime at audio sites but do not consider myself an audiophile. I am always keeping an eye open for gear, I looked in some classifieds and found a pair of jbl speakers and asked what the model was. The responce olympus c50! Well I went and looked as quickly as I could! Now for the horror,the cabs had been painted with house paint,one of the drivers (I think the bass reflex)in both speakers had been replaced with mtx car speakers:( I did not listen to them or look them over any further I left with a bit less respect for man kind. I know these are legends of audio but can a set in this bad of shape even be saved? I would have no way to tell if any of the drivers are jbl unless I can pull them out of the cab,I doubt the owner would like that. There is some temptation to buy them anyway and take my chances the asking price in the add $220

saeman
06-03-2006, 10:29 AM
$220 Cash and Carry - How can you lose.

GordonW
06-03-2006, 10:37 AM
There's nothing there that can't be fixed.

If they have indeed replace the passive radiators with MTX car speakers, then it may be possible to just get another pair of PR15 passive radiators... or in worst case, MAKE an appropriate set. Just take any junk JBL 15" basket of the same type (find a shifted-magnet E130 or something... this isn't too hard, as I already have a slightly warped 2225 basket, for example... would be bad for a speaker, but just fine for a passive radiator as there's no voice coil alignment to worry about), and remove the magnet. A kit can be created... it'll have to be aftermarket parts (there is no PR15 kit from JBL), but it WILL work...

Regards,
Gordon.

Zilch
06-03-2006, 10:49 AM
It's a gamble.

Do it.

johnaec
06-03-2006, 10:50 AM
Paint remover does wonders!

John

opimax
06-03-2006, 03:22 PM
If you don't want them feel free to post their location :)

Mark

majick47
06-03-2006, 04:27 PM
My second pair of L200b speakers were painted black and now you would not know it unless I told you. With time/effort the black paint can be removed to expose the wood veneer. Check the board for instructions.

Audiobeer
06-04-2006, 12:23 AM
I would love a pair of those to turnaround. If your not up for it let me know. Pull the drivers and send me the cabinets! :applaud:

OLDGEN
06-04-2006, 01:49 AM
sould we see some good pctures about this "JBL" ?

Donny
06-04-2006, 05:57 AM
No pic's I don't bring a cam with me when I am looking at buying something.I should start! I may yet try to buy these but I have spent my disposable income on my other hobby (ATV's). btw what ill effects would running 2 woofers like they have done? I would think it would change the load on the amp and drive their weakling realistic receiver into clipping all the time. The passive has a sticky pleated surround correct? So that means 1 woofer is mtx the other??? with a white surround the jbl's had orange surrounds right?

CONVERGENCE
06-04-2006, 11:46 AM
Hello,

On EBAY C50 Olympus.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9733313676&category=50597&fkxs=1




.................................................. ......................

Donny
06-04-2006, 04:01 PM
Thanks for the pic. Now I am pretty sure it does have the correct woofer and that means I am a fool for not buying them!:banghead: I will try and scrap up an offer.

mech986
06-04-2006, 05:46 PM
Hi Donny,

Here's a pic from the auction I first posted on AK regarding the Olympus setup with the dual 15" drivers. The left unit is the active LE15 with the odd white/orange surround. The driver on the right is the PR15 passive radiator with the doped black accordian pleated surround. The speakers you looked at do not have the silver bullet tweeter pictured in the upper left corner.

As mentioned, Hurry!

Regards,

Bart

BluesForDan
06-05-2006, 07:35 AM
holy smokes, those aren't speakers, they're tables.

mech986
06-05-2006, 08:29 AM
Actually, they look bigger in pictures than the seem to be in reality. The top is 40 x 20 inches and 26.5 inches tall. The Sovereign is about 95% of the size. When I first saw them in person, they seemed much smaller than I thought, given the massive size picture wise and 2 fifteens staring down on you. They're actually pretty compact.

Then again, I'm used to looking at an L300 or 4333 so I don't think a 4430/35 would be too big either!

But yes, you probably could serve a nice buffet on top of these speakers (with a glass top though).

Regards,

Bart

Donny
06-13-2006, 09:01 AM
I bought them,heres a pick. As you can see They have the passive,horn and crossover.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/Evilone318/olympus2.jpg

Donny
06-13-2006, 09:02 AM
A pic without the cover.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/Evilone318/olympus1.jpg

Donny
06-13-2006, 09:04 AM
This other cover is in bad shape.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/Evilone318/olympus3.jpg

Donny
06-13-2006, 09:06 AM
I pulled the horn to get a pic. The horn is a LE85 and I have tested them and they work.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/Evilone318/olympushorn.jpg

Zilch
06-13-2006, 09:30 AM
That second grille can be repaired; I've had it done myself.

Find a local artisan woodcarver or furniture restorer to do it.

I then had them stripped and clear lacqured. They came out a gorgeous golden honey color contrasting with the oiled walnut:

mech986
07-17-2006, 06:16 PM
Hi Donny,

I had reviewed your ended auction for the cabinet so I'll link it here and point over to your new thread about the Olympus cabinets for sale and pickup.

Ended Auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110006505468&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:11

New Thread about the cabinets:

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=11482

I've taken the liberty of adding the pictures here and in the new thread.

Hope someone here gets them, I think they have tremendous potential.

Regards,

Bart

garyl
07-18-2006, 07:41 AM
Just found this thread and have to say this is exactly what I refer to as a "Labor of Love" project.
Those certainly do look like very nice speakers in Zilch's photos.
The project ones will be mind boggeling, expensive and labor intensive.

This is not a project worthy of undertaking if your goal is to flip them and make a few bucks. This type of project is purely one for a very handy guy or gal who wants to bring these back for their personal enjoyment and use.

I have done this many times, it is certainly doable and with time and effort they could be as good as new and singing pretty.
The down side is the many hours of very hard and tedious work, the Total cost to replace all the components including shipping and rebuilding and then match that to the actual dollar ammount they might fetch if in pristine condition.

Many of us who take on such adventures are fully aware that our time is worth less then nothing. I have no idea what it might cost in todays market to replace all the original drivers piece by piece but quite often it ends up being more expensive then just buying a functioning and decent set to begin with.

It is often quite disappointing when you find out you spent half a year and thousands of dollars to restore something that has a real value of say, $1500

Get them, enjoy the project, take your time and then forget the cost and enjoy the music. As a "For profit" investment, I would not touch them with my money!

As a complete after thought, I would get a great deal more satisfaction out of bitch slapping the shit out of the idiot who did that!

Gary

hjames
07-18-2006, 08:12 AM
Just found this thread and have to say this is exactly what I refer to as a "Labor of Love" project.
Those certainly do look like very nice speakers in Zilch's photos.
The project ones will be mind boggeling, expensive and labor intensive.

This is not a project worthy of undertaking if your goal is to flip them and make a few bucks. This type of project is purely one for a very handy guy or gal who wants to bring these back for their personal enjoyment and use.

I have done this many times, it is certainly doable and with time and effort they could be as good as new and singing pretty.
The down side is the many hours of very hard and tedious work, the Total cost to replace all the components including shipping and rebuilding and then match that to the actual dollar ammount they might fetch if in pristine condition.

Many of us who take on such adventures are fully aware that our time is worth less then nothing. I have no idea what it might cost in todays market to replace all the original drivers piece by piece but quite often it ends up being more expensive then just buying a functioning and decent set to begin with.

It is often quite disappointing when you find out you spent half a year and thousands of dollars to restore something that has a real value of say, $1500

Get them, enjoy the project, take your time and then forget the cost and enjoy the music. As a "For profit" investment, I would not touch them with my money!

As a complete after thought, I would get a great deal more satisfaction out of bitch slapping the shit out of the idiot who did that!

Gary
Yes, if they were somewhat closer to the DC area I'd snatch them up in a heartbeat - once cleaned/restored those would be real nice looking cabinets ... but Texas and beyond is a bit far ... sigh ...

mech986
08-27-2006, 04:39 PM
Just a very delayed positive feedback for Donny. I acquired the LE85/H91's from this pair of Olympus cabinets and they were packed well and shipped well. Although I'm not sure if Donny will be posting back soon he deserves the positive from a satisfied customer.

Thanks Donny and hope you find more JBL's to play with.

Regards,

Bart