JBL D130-E 15" Field Coil Speaker

[meestro]

I've got a few questions regarding the 15" fieldcoil that JBL put out briefly in '52. Are there any numbers on how many were actually produced? Does anyone have records as to how much these things have gone for at recent auction?

I've read that the D in the 130s stood for the metal dustcap, but the photos I've seen of the D130E had a paper dustcap, but still a D before the 130...Is there any explanation for this?

Any more specs on this one of a kind creation would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Don C]

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=10825

[Steve Schell]

As was mentioned in the thread that Don C referenced, I think the "D" originally stood for "driver". This changed shortly after Jim Lansing's death, as the D-130A was renamed simply 130A.

The production numbers from the period are long lost, but considering the scarcity of the field coil JBLs these days it appears that very few of them were built, maybe only a couple hundred or so. I have seen a few D-130-E and 130A-E examples, but have only known of perhaps a dozen or so to exist in recent years. Each driver was supplied with a small gray box that contained a 250VDC solid state rectifier field supply that featured the "big L" Jim Lansing logo on the front.

John Edwards told us that designs had been drafted to convert the entire JBL driver line to field coils at the time. This was due to the onset of the Korean War, and the fear that Alnico V magnets might become unavailable. To his knowledge JBL produced only a few 15" drivers before the continued supply of alnico was assured and the field coil effort was discontinued.

When I visited Hal Cox a few years ago, he showed me a D-130-E pot and field coil that William Thomas had given to him. Here's a pic:

[meestro]

Any guesses on the value of one of these if it were to go on the market?

[Steve Schell]

Hard to say, it is an oddball yet very rare driver. Does it have its field supply? Is the cone in good shape and original?

A pair of D-130-Es sold on ebay a few years ago, to a friend of a forum member. I think they were reconed, as they have A dustcaps and one has a much later gasket. Below are the pictures from the auction. I seem to remember the pair fetching around $1200, though I could be all wet on this.