JBL L26

[kingjames]

I got a chance to pick up a set of L26's for $40.00. Parts worth anything? I haven't looked at them yet but will go and see them Thursday.Guy said they were in his garage for the last 10 years. I figured they are going to need refoaming at least.What you guys think.

[SEAWOLF97]

I like my L26's better than my L36's.

[jim campbell]

i remember them well,my first jb's.new in about 76 with an hk 560,in line tracking hk tt,hk casette deck all for about a grand.

[Nightbrace]

I like my L26's better than my L36's.

WOW!, Really? Are they similiar to the L19/4301B? What do you like about them MORE than the L36's?

[Nightbrace]

I got a chance to pick up a set of L26's for $40.00. Parts worth anything? I haven't looked at them yet but will go and see them Thursday.Guy said they were in his garage for the last 10 years. I figured they are going to need refoaming at least.What you guys think.

Go get 'em. I'll take them off your hands if you don't want them. If anything to verify Seawolf's claim..

[clmrt]

I agree with Seawolf. I had 26's and then got 36's, and sold the 36's off even though it cost a mint to refurb them. (I found empty and trashed 36 cabs in a garbage pile - bought the complete driver set and grilles piece by piece)

The midrange driver fouls up an otherwise just-fine-thank-you two way speaker.

And yes, I know you can dial the pots back to suit, but it didn't matter. The 26 imaged better as well.

[SEAWOLF97]

The midrange driver fouls up an otherwise just-fine-thank-you two way speaker.
And yes, I know you can dial the pots back to suit, but it didn't matter. The 26 imaged better as well.

cudn't have said it better. :applaud:

[kingjames]

I was searching for replacement parts for these just in case and came across these woofers on ebay.Not to start a fire storm here but this model woofer looks "rinky dink to say the least". What makes these speakers sound so good then?

The last woofer that had that look was in my L56 and I must say is the only jbl from those days that I did not like the sound.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-JBL-125A-10-DECADE-L26-L36-L50-WOOFERS-VNC_W0QQitemZ180084891472QQihZ008QQcategoryZ50597Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[SEAWOLF97]

Not to start a fire storm here but this model woofer looks "rinky dink to say the least".

wire em up. lay speakers on their backs , firing straight up. play at low volume. you will get at least a sampling of their sound , with no extra $ invested, and shud not hurt woofers.

[clmrt]

I was searching for replacement parts for these just in case and came across these woofers on ebay.Not to start a fire storm here but this model woofer looks "rinky dink to say the least". What makes these speakers sound so good then?

The last woofer that had that look was in my L56 and I must say is the only jbl from those days that I did not like the sound.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-JBL-125A-10-DECADE-L26-L36-L50-WOOFERS-VNC_W0QQitemZ180084891472QQihZ008QQcategoryZ50597Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


I know what you mean. But they work.

I'll never say these are stellar, but they do work well, though.

[Zilch]

Decade series woofers were an "economical" approach near the end of alnico production.

They depart from traditional JBLs in other significant ways, as well, as may be seen in their T/S parameters.

They have excellent extended bass response, and I have been working with them in closed-box alignments.

These are not high-power drivers, but the sound is quite good.... :thmbsup:

[kingjames]

I forgot, everything doesn't have to be full blast. I just love that JBL punch. With that in mind I will take your word for it Zilch.I will check these out on Thursday. Thanks!

[Zilch]

Well, I wouldn't call them particularly "punchy," but you listen and decide for yourself, KJ.

Looks like there's other forum members who'll be interested if you don't like them.... :thmbsup:

[Nightbrace]

Get 'em kj, maybe one day I can bring my L36's up for a A/B comparison :).

[Nightbrace]

Well, I wouldn't call them particularly "punchy," but you listen and decide for yourself, KJ.

Looks like there's other forum members who'll be interested if you don't like them.... :thmbsup:

:D, if the bass is anything like my L36's, they dig pretty deep for such small speakers and are very realistic sounding, just the lack of upper bass is a bit of a concern, but with a little EQ I'm sure they would work pretty well.

[mike]

I remember years ago when I had a set I thought they were quite enjoyable; one of those simple designs that worked well.They were definitely better balanced than the L36 and probably better than the L100 in a lot of ways. They seemed to mate well with tube amps.

Mike

[kingjames]

I just spoke with the guy and his plans changed. I won't get these until Tuesday. He said they are mine not to worry. So I will pick up Tuesday and post a few pictures.

[kc8tpr]

I like my l26's. They are not that special sounding. but they DO make some awesome dorm room speakers. ALmost every set ive ever seen need refoamed. when i got mine they were trashed. I refoamed them and they sounded good as new.

steve

[kingjames]

are there still foam kits for these by JBL? I rather not use after market kits. Maybe I should attempt to refoam these as I have never refoamed a speaker before and would like to learn.

[Zilch]

They're all aftermarket. JBL doesn't sell surrounds, only complete recone kits....

[kingjames]

that is so un-cool!

[Studiomaster]

I remember the 26s very well. They were a nice speaker, and I agree with those who like them a little better than the L36.

Me, I waited too long and by the time I got around to buying JBL with my salesperson's discount, the 26s had been replaced by the L40. Which I still have! One refoaming over all those years and they sound great. :D

[SEAWOLF97]

I'm finding that I enjoy the sound of 2 ways (and even my 1 way) more than the 3's anymore.

[kingjames]

Not to hijack my own thread but how do you think these compare with my L19's?. The L19's I have are an awesome sounding speaker for a two-way.

The low end really surprised me for such a small speaker.

I haven't used the L19's for a while (don't really know why) but when I did I played mostly classical music with them and I must say I was quite impressed.

[Nightbrace]

They should be very similiar I owned 4301B's briefly (which were very similiar to the L19's), but I'd imagine the bass on the L26's to be a bit better. Again, if for any reason you are not satisfied with them, I'll come and get them :).

[mike]

Based on memory I bet the L19's are a little more refined. I seem to recall the L26's being noticeably more efficient. They even seemed more efficient than the L100's .

Mike

[kingjames]

No go on the L26's. I went to go look at them and the tweeters were missing,the voice coil's on both speakers were stuck.the cabinets had leprosy, and someone stuck a screw driver through one of the crossovers. Other than that they were ok. I wanted to slap the guy!:biting:

[Wardsweb]

Man someone really trashed those. To bad because when redone they are really nice. I refurb'd a pair and sold them. I missed them so much, I bought another pair and brought them back to stellar performers. You can see the rebuild here: JBL L26 Decade (http://www.wardsweb.org/audio/JBL_L26.html)

[Glassman]

I recently bought a set of L40's off the local craigslist with original boxes, Styrofoam and paperwork. The surrounds were shot so I got together with friend of mine and refoamed them. At the same time I refoamed the woofers from another friend's L19's and yesterday we had an all to brief listening session. I have a set of L26 as well but we ran out of time to compare those so perhaps next weekend. The L19 seemed to be a little punchier compared to the L40 but we both agreed they both sounded good.

I had a question for Studiomaster about the grills on his L40's. Did yours have or do they still have foam toward the top on the inside of the grill around the tweeter? I am sure it is to dampen the sound a little but the foam is falling apart and I am tempted to remove it altogether. If it was original I will try to find a replacement pieces but if it was added I will remove it for good. Thanks.

Jay

[coherent_guy]

No one can call you anything but an optimist KJ, after that statement! They sound pretty trashed to me. A screwdriver through the X-over?!?! Sure, trying to make an adjustment and that happens, just your luck.

I'll be a grinch and say that I never liked the sound of L26's or L36's. Of course, I never heard them on anything but some crappy, cheap receivers of the day, and no not all the electronics produced in the 70's are worthy of vintage status (if any. . . hey, I said I was a grinch).

For those used to 250Ti's, models with 2405's, or most L-series dome tweeters, I think the L26 and L36 will disappoint. At the time, I was fortunate enough to be listening to L65's on good amps, so those speakers were not in the same league. Perhaps I need to give them a chance and re-listen, and I am realising I heard mainly L36's. And yes, relative to JBL they were under-built, a budget model, but built far better than most of their competition.

I'd say the guy deserved more than a slap!! See what I mean Seawolf, this is the kind of stuff we find around Chicago!! :banghead:

[rutabaga]

I recently bought a set of L40's off the local craigslist with original boxes, Styrofoam and paperwork. The surrounds were shot so I got together with friend of mine and refoamed them. At the same time I refoamed the woofers from another friend's L19's and yesterday we had an all to brief listening session. I have a set of L26 as well but we ran out of time to compare those so perhaps next weekend. The L19 seemed to be a little punchier compared to the L40 but we both agreed they both sounded good.

I had a question for Studiomaster about the grills on his L40's. Did yours have or do they still have foam toward the top on the inside of the grill around the tweeter? I am sure it is to dampen the sound a little but the foam is falling apart and I am tempted to remove it altogether. If it was original I will try to find a replacement pieces but if it was added I will remove it for good. Thanks.

Jay

This foam on the inside grill is original ... I just bought new old stock L40 orange grills in Belgium... in boxes... and found this foam on it... but it was falling in dust... so must remove it all...pitty... I understand now the reason of the glue inside my old grills... Sure there is a reason for it....radiations, I think...:blink:

those L40 sound good... punchy... but the L19 have more details...

I agree with the opinions about the L26... they are really better than the L36... Just finished to restore a L36 pair and I was wondering if there was
a damage to the crossovers....changing drivers...but no way... sure, the mids LE5-6 sounds pretty good... but they are too invasives...and... me too : I prefer the 2 ways...

L26... it's quite a love story... my first JBL pair too.... I was sixsteen...
and still having this pair...

Doing DJ for friends with it...so many times...as monitor, I used it with
the 4311 of a friend ... fairy sisters...how is it possible to have that punch with a simple 10" driver... it's the magic of JBL...

I don't love so much the L16... good, shure... but no punch...but they are perfect in my older son room

L19 are so beter...sweeter...I agree...

but the L26 stay my favourites... with the twin-sisters L25...
and thank you mister Lansing for those affordable little queens :bouncy:

[Glassman]

rutabaga,

I have now had a week to listen to the L26 compared to the L40. My wife who typically says she cannot tell the difference preferred the L40. I removed the disintegrating foam from the insides of the grills and have not sought to replace it. The L26 sound good but brighter, even with the tone control set to flat. Both are great sets of speakers and I hope to refinish the L26 cabinets one day soon.

Current setup:
Marantz 1120
Toshiba 3960 DVD/CD player
JBL L26 and JBL L40

Jay

[upstate_records]

Hello everyone! This is my first post!

I just picked up a pair of L40's at yard sale last week. This model was the sucessor to the L26 correct? They need a re-foam and I am about to order a kit for them.

When I was in the service I had a pair of L26's. They were the best sounding set of speakers on the base. Items from the US were very rare at the time due to the sanctions imposed on us.

I am very excited to compare these L40's with the speakers I remember from my home. That was a really long time ago. I wonder if my hearing has held up? :)

[LEEBLACKM3]

Reading the 'scoop' on the Decade series gave me some chuckles. I bought my L36's brand new while I was in college in the mid-seventies. The pair came with a JBL "test it out" LP that provided an awesome demonstration of the speakers capabilities...but I already knew that from having listened to every speaker available in the market of that time. I considered the L100's, but the 36's were tighter, in my opinion, and being a starving student the money mattered too. It took weeks on GI Bill money to save the money for my purchase, but it was well worth it.

In a life filled with the pursuit of good sound I have rarely found the equal of the Decade 36's. Say what you will about the lower L series numbers, they simply don't measure up. It takes woofer size to push air, tight speakers to keep it clean and a great adjustable crossover to make it sing. If your 26's or 19's or whatever sound better, have the 36's checked out professionally. It took electronic equipment to find the small glitch in the quality of sound I experienced while the speakers were barely still in warranty. The techs couldn't hear it...but I could. Technology proved me right.

I am currently ordering the third woofer rebuild on mine. The Dahlquist DQ10's that I have for backup are good too, but not as good as the 36's. In fact, the only speakers I have ever considered in their place was a pair of Gales in the late seventies. Wonder where THAT brand went? I suspect Bose bought them out to stifle REAL full-range accuracy. LOL

All teasing aside, it takes clean power to hear the results. The L36's were powered by Pioneer's top-of-the-line receiver when I bought them. 100 of the cleanest RMS watts per channel you could ever hope for. Now it's a Denon with 140 watts X five channels...but the THD is not as clean. Another factor is DVD, MP3 versus LP. The sound may be 'cleaner' on todays discs, but the highs, lows and nuances are missing. There really IS a difference to the human ear, provided your hearing is still intact.

It's a shame Harman/Kardon has taken JBL 'to the masses'. Gone are the 10 lb. car speakers with their massive frameworks and 'living room sound'. Today's speakers are ok, but not the same animal at all.. I bought a pair of tower JBL's and had to relegate them to the back of a surround sound system. It's just not the same sound anymore. The sound-jocks used to call it "sizzle thump", but over 90% of the mixing rooms used JBL monitors to mix the music. I wonder what they use now.

[SEAWOLF97]

In a life filled with the pursuit of good sound I have rarely found the equal of the Decade 36's. Say what you will about the lower L series numbers, they simply don't measure up. It takes woofer size to push air, tight speakers to keep it clean and a great adjustable crossover to make it sing. If your 26's or 19's or whatever sound better, have the 36's checked out professionally. . :barf:

L26 & L36 use the same 125A woofer

"Say what you will about the lower L series numbers, they simply don't measure up" :rotfl:

[hjames]

:barf:

L26 & L36 use the same 125A woofer

"Say what you will about the lower L series numbers, they simply don't measure up" :rotfl:

hey they were very nice in their day ...
just the think for starvin' college students

I kept my L36s until earlier this year -

it just didn't make sense once we got the 4-way monsters ... (yeah, I know some folks think you can't call them "monsters" unless you have 18s, or at least a pair of 15s per box .. but these make us happy)

[clmrt]

Some day I'd like to try the L26 with an 035 or a ribbon.

[soundboy]

In a life filled with the pursuit of good sound I have rarely found the equal of the Decade 36's. Say what you will about the lower L series numbers, they simply don't measure up. It takes woofer size to push air, tight speakers to keep it clean and a great adjustable crossover to make it sing. If your 26's or 19's or whatever sound better, have the 36's checked out professionally. The universal opinion around here, I think, is that the L19/4301 was/is the sleeper in the crowd. I agree...my 4301B's are great for a second system. Every setup I ever heard using L19/4301's sounded great.
The L36's I re capped for a friend weren't in the same league in imaging, smoothness of response, bass tightness, tonality, etc etc., compared to them. Frankly, the 36's were a disappointment...boomy, ill defined bass, and screaming upper mids....even with "clean power".
If you have rarely found anything that equal's the L36's, you haven't really listened /looked very hard, IMHO.
Hmmn, let's see....anything from the Early 80's L series, mid 80's L series, anything from the ti series, anything from the 4400 monitor series....and the L50, for starters...:blah::blah::blah:

[Woofer]

Better late than never....
Came across this thread, and so I thought, I'd throw in my 2 bob's worth.
I've just put together a 'baby' JBL system (as opposed to my 'Gigantor' system), which consists basically of a 4301BE (with the internal amp bypassed), with an L40 as a 'sub'.
I had the two spare pairs of speakers and didn't really know what to do with them apart from just using them as God intended, so to be different I added a DBX Boom Box (sub-harmonic synthesiser from the 70's, which also doubles as a X-over with a 250Hz x-over point), then hooking up the two pair of speakers to a pair of (much raved about) T-amps, and the result, still amazes me to this moment!
The sound stage and definition and volume is definitely something to experience for something so cheap in total cost to set up. It's got to the point where I almost never turn Gigantor (actively x-ed tri-amped four way with passively x-ed 077's on the top, Phase Linear/JBL system with the works) on anymore. I can, but I just don't need to.
So the point is, if you can find some 4301/L19's or L40's or L26's, go for 'em. You won't regret it. :bouncy:

[hjames]

Those bookshelf L-series speakers were very nice in their day ... I kept my L36s until earlier this year

Nowadays our small system is the upgraded L-200s (w/3133 xovers, 2235s, and 2405 slots) with a CD player and a late-70s Yamaha CR-2040 receiver.
Very nice pleasant system - quite musical!

[SEAWOLF97]

I now have a second pair of L26's , tho it is the "A" version. with the changed HF (LE25-4 as compared to LE 25-2) I do hear a slight difference. The A version seems a little brighter , having to dial back the "presence" setting.

I would have taken these is a nanosec over the Pioneer 3 way 12 inchers that I ran for too many years.

For those who dont think the "rinky dink" 125a can slam out bass...give them a try...(OBTW - just sold my L36's and do not miss them at all)

my new "small sys" is a NAD receiver running Yamaha NS-690ii's....really quite enjoyable when I'm in the mood for less refinement (ie:LOUD)