first post here - JBL noob : )

[markus_8119]

I've finally done it !

scored a sweet pair of JBL C38's for the amazing sum of $300 yesterday :blink:

I never thought I'd find a nice pair of Vintage JBL's for such short $$! I had spied them in the back room of a Antique / Junk shop locally, and had to jump through a few hoops to get to the actual owner of them -Apparently he had been using them with some Marantz tube gear. They'd been collecting dust for 15 years since he upgraded to some JBL studio monitors.

One of the regulars here Zilch clued me into these forums here - I'm usually over on AK. Been trying to do some research on my new babies and am quite impressed with the sound these kick out.

I've had them wired to one of my Magnavox PP EL84 console amps and I'm AMAZED at their sound. In the near future I'm thinking of recapping the factory crossover - I recapped a pair of my Large Advents and they sounded better, so I figure it couldn't hurt. Heading back to this guys place Monday to pick up the original feet :bouncy:

One thing I am wondering - any way to nail down a build date ? I know other US speaker manufacturers had the 6 or 7 digit build code to denote manufacturer & build year / month . . .

Future plans call for a DIY 1625 PP tube amp, although the little Magnavox amp does sound quite nice

I'm looking forward to getting tips from you guys down the line and sharing my experiences.

check out the pix :D

[Titanium Dome]

Congrats on your score.

Unfortunately, your pictures did not post, at least for me, so you might want to try again. Maybe Zilch will walk you through it if you get stuck. He's very helpful.

[spkrman57]

130's and 075's look minty good!

Ron

[Zilch]

Welcome, Markus!

The pics of your beautiful C38-030s are linked from AK, and unless one is signed in over there, I don't believe they can see the pics here.

You'll need to upload them to this site using the "Manage Attachments" section of Advanced Edit for everyone at LHF to enjoy.

Mahogany, mirror-imaged, mint, they're a wonderful score. That system defined high fidelity in the 50s and 60s, and with its ultra-high efficiency, will play at astounding SPLs on just a few watts.

Using your tube amps, you're experiencing the Lansing legacy in full glory, much as when it was originally introduced.


Delicious!! :thmbsup:

[markus_8119]

fixed the pix - thanks Zilch :D

looking forward to week of tube powered JBL
heaven since my wife's going on a business trip for a week on Monday. She likes my hobby, but not at 11:00 at night :D my daughter on the other hand sleeps through anything

I need to hunt around for the crossover spec's - I have a pair of 1958 Magnavox 150 'Bi-Amp' 6V6 amplifiers, which, if I can change the crossover point to match the N2400 frequency points & slope :hmm: it could make a cool amplifier setup with a SE 6V6 for the treble channel and PPP 6V6 for the woofer channel . . .

research time :hmm:

[Zilch]

http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/Network%20Schematics/N2400.pdf

http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/Network%20Schematics/Standard%20Test%20Fixture.pdf

[Krunchy]

Congratulations Markus, they are indeed beautiful, must sound equally nice. Great Find!

[markus_8119]

thanks guys :)

I tried them out last night with my little SE Magnavox EL84 amp (12ax7 driver) and they sounded REAL NICE - although I discovered the little magnavox has a low-level buzz which I could not detect prior to the JBL's being in the loop. That's OK - I was planning on recapping it anyway :D

hooked the PP EL84 amp back up and listened to the wee hours of the night -got to bed at 3:00 :blink:

these speakers are addictive . . . .

[markus_8119]

So, this Sunday I hit a estate sale that had 95% old electronics - filled the car with old Ampex stuff, including a MONSTER tube console (R2R, AM/FM, Garrard TT). The cabinet is beat, but everything's there - the coolest thing is the amplifiers; never seen anything like them before:

6973 PP / 6CA4 rect. / EF86 & 12AU7 / REAL beefy (Triad) iron for such little amps

still trying to dig up a schematic or more info,
but label on the back of the console says 10W per amp - going through them now to see what they'll need.

just wanted to share :)