Need your help & advice for using JBL 075's

[vman71]

Hi,

My first post here. I'm the proud new owner of a pair of JBL 075 (16 ohm)bullet tweeters. They're in mint condition and they just came back from an authorized JBL service center and had new diaphragms installed. So they are ready to go and I'm ready to use them in my first set of JBL speakers.

What do you guys recommend I look for to use these bullet tweeters? I have 3 different amps that I use for my 2 ch system (300B SET, Scott 222C, and a 60watt chip amp).

Thanks for all your help and advice,
Mike

[Mr. Widget]

Hi,

My first post here.Welcome aboard!

There has been so much written about them. I'd suggest you do some searches starting with the oldest posts. Also, if you don't already know it. The 2402 is another name for the same driver.


Widget

[vman71]

Welcome aboard!

There has been so much written about them. I'd suggest you do some searches starting with the oldest posts. Also, if you don't already know it. The 2402 is another name for the same driver.


Widget

Thanks, I'll do a search. I'm doing this (assembling a nice pair of JBL speakers) as a connection to my father who passed away last year. He was a JBL man all the way and never owned any other brand of speaker.

[vman71]

Okay, I've read through a lot of threads. I still don't know what JBL speakers I should be looking at getting to utilize my JBL 075 bullet tweeters.

Please, I need your help.

Thanks!

[BMWCCA]

I have the 030 in the C37 enclosures. Many here have said the smaller square boxes (Baron) will help the D130 woofer sound better. I don't know, I've had these for fifty-years. My dad bought the first one new and I inherited it when he went stereo about 1964. Probably the simplest and cheapest (and very typical of the era) system is the D130 with the 075 and the N2400 crossover. The D130s are often available quite cheaply since they're not well respected as true low-frequency drivers, but more of a limited full-range speaker. I figure if they were good enough for the Grateful Dead's Wall of Sound, who am I to argue! The 030 two-way is a pleasant system to listen to and it is superb in transmitting the nuance and subtlety of instrumental music in ways you just won't believe. Sure there are better vintage JBL systems, but if you're into subtle tones over booming bass, the 030 can be very pleasant. You can also look for the 130A woofer and the mid-range LE175DLH which would benefit from the addition of the 075 and made a bit more bottom end at the same time, Though you'd be needing four new cro$$over$ to make it work. The 130A/LE175DLH combo is called the 001. Check out the Library here:
http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/jbl/catalogs/1967-home/page10.jpg
http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/jbl/catalogs/1967-home/page11.jpg
http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/jbl/catalogs/1966/page03.jpg
http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/jbl/catalogs/1966/page02.jpg

http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/jbl/specs/home-comp/075.htm

It just might be that it's easier and cheaper to find a complete 030 system than it would be to start from scratch even though you already own the 075s. Here are some examples:

http://ebayitem.com/290223122822
http://ebayitem.com/130212150009

Good Luck.

[vman71]

Thanks BMWCCA for the very helpful post.

I will be on the lookout for a pair of C-series speakers and the Baron model. I'd like to stay with a smaller size speaker if possible (not 100lbs monsters but more in the range of 30-60lbs).

I may also try and build the cabinets and find the D130/D131 woofers and N2400 crossovers.

I hope I didn't make a mistake buy getting these 075 bullet tweeters. :banghead:

[BMWCCA]

We found in evaluating the various enclosures of the day at the local JBL dealer that the C35 enclosure - 6 cubic feet - was the "killer app" for the 030 system (C35 is the "highboy" version of the C37 mentioned by BMWCCA above - same internal volume). JBL installed the D130 in smaller enclosures but the bass performance was compromised.I can believe it. It's just that the opposite was posited here in a previous discussion which implied the D130 made more bass in a smaller enclosure. One of my first Ebay purchases was a pair of C35s, empty, for which I paid essentially shipping costs (too much in retrospect). They've been stored away ever since in a friend's basement for the time when I felt vertical made more sense than horizontal.

The 075 is a good piece to have that never seems to decline in value. The D130 can function as a stand-alone full-range speaker. You could look for or build cabinets, find some cheap D130s, and either build some crossovers or wait to find some N2400s. The N2400s are usually cheap since their only application is in the two-way. It's the crossovers used in the 3-way applications with the 075/077 that get pricey: N7000, N8000, N1200, etc.

Where's the original poster located?

[Mr. Widget]

The D130 can function as a stand-alone full-range speaker.Maybe in 1955, but not today... hell not in 1975 either. :D

The 030 would certainly be the simplest system for a pair of 075s.

I guess you need to decide what your intended application is. I mean a Victrola is cool but not something I'd want to listen to as my primary music system. The 075 is certainly not a Victrola, but it is pretty much an antique compared to what is currently available. They are still cool though, heck we have a member who likes them so much he machined a pair out of solid brass to make a custom pair.

If you did put together an 030 system, you would have a perfectly enjoyable vintage sounding system. They actually sound surprisingly good. They are not small. They do not have deep bass. They do not have ultra high frequencies, they do not have the purest most articulate mids... but they do have an effortless, dynamic quality that few contemporary speakers can match at anywhere near their price.


Widget

[vman71]

I can believe it. It's just that the opposite was posited here in a previous discussion which implied the D130 made more bass in a smaller enclosure. One of my first Ebay purchases was a pair of C35s, empty, for which I paid essentially shipping costs (too much in retrospect). They've been stored away ever since in a friend's basement for the time when I felt vertical made more sense than horizontal.

The 075 is a good piece to have that never seems to decline in value. The D130 can function as a stand-alone full-range speaker. You could look for or build cabinets, find some cheap D130s, and either build some crossovers or wait to find some N2400s. The N2400s are usually cheap since their only application is in the two-way. It's the crossovers used in the 3-way applications with the 075/077 that get pricey: N7000, N8000, N1200, etc.

Where's the original poster located?

Hi BMWCCA,

I'm in Northern Virginia (Fairfax). Where in VA are you located?

[BMWCCA]

I'm two-hours south. Heather is very close to you, too. Let us know what you want to do and maybe we can help you come up with what you need. Heather's always good for some abandoned speaker housing or two every year or so! ;)

[hjames]

Hi BMWCCA,

I'm in Northern Virginia (Fairfax). Where in VA are you located?

I'm in Fairfax City ....

[vman71]

Would a pair of N7000 crossovers go well with my 075 tweeters?

If so, would I next need to get a pair of D130/D131's and cabs/boxes to put them in? What would you all recommend?

Hi Heather, I'm fairly close, I'm in Fair Lakes over by the Fair Oaks Mall.

[BMWCCA]

Would a pair of N7000 crossovers go well with my 075 tweeters?

If so, would I next need to get a pair of D130/D131's and cabs/boxes to put them in? What would you all recommend?Only if you plan on going 3-way. the 7000 is used when the 075 is an ultra-high-frequency. For two-way, the N2400 is the choice which asks the 075 to dip down more but isn't requiring the D130 to fill in so much upper end. If you add a midrange horn like an LE175DLH, you're good to go with the N7000 but that application is really as an add-on UHF for a 2-way (or in the more expensive ssytems, 4-way) system. D130s are plentiful and often not too expensive. The 12" D131 shares everything with it except the larger basket, it's rarer even somewhat uncommon, and offers no advantage over the 15" except smaller cabinet space along with less low end. I'd go with the 15" in a smaller cab rather than the 12" in anything, but that's my opinion. The schematic for the old crossovers show a relatively simple circuitry that should be pretty easy to emulate without the JBL container or price. You might make that inquiry in the DIY forum.

[Mannermusic]

[quote=BMWCCA;207941]I can believe it. It's just that the opposite was posited here in a previous discussion which implied the D130 made more bass in a smaller enclosure. One of my first Ebay purchases was a pair of C35s, empty, for which I paid essentially shipping costs (too much in retrospect). They've been stored away ever since in a friend's basement for the time when I felt vertical made more sense than horizontal.

All those old enclosures were designed as Hemholtz resonators (double humpers!) - long before the era of sub woofers. I suspect that the comment, "you can get more bass in a smaller cube shaped enclosure" may be true . . . but how much and AT WHAT FREQUENCY? More is not necessarily better. The current bass box models do not guarantee how something will sound - nothing like sitting down with a signal generator and a bunch of tubes, etc. to optimize to the best sound. Nothing sounds worse than a system with a 60-100 Hz bass response bulge. Yuk. The nice thing about the D130 was that is had a fairly gradual roll-off in a 6 cubic foot enclosure - I'd set my Marantz 7C to about +3-4 clicks (boost curves were based on Fletcher-Munson physics) and it wasn't all bad.

[BMWCCA]

'd set my Marantz 7C to about +3-4 clicks (boost curves were based on Fletcher-Munson physics) and it wasn't all bad.My first pre-amp with the 030 was a McIntosh C20 with Fletcher-Munson-based Loudness as well as full phono-EQ settings for those old 78s. Sounded great. Still does, though the 030s are currently getting tickled by a Soundcraftsmen DX4200 and Crown DC300A-II. I always like the bass response of the D130 in the big box, especially when I used to run them outside on the back porch, aimed at the mountains. But then what did I know? I'd grown up with them.

Hey Vman, do you know what JBLs your dad had? It was easier for me since I own my Dad's JBL. And what's the significance of the V and the "71" while we're at it?

[vman71]

Hey Vman, do you know what JBLs your dad had? It was easier for me since I own my Dad's JBL. And what's the significance of the V and the "71" while we're at it?

Unfortunately I don't know which specific JBL models my dad had.

The "V" is just short for my last name, Van Sloten and "71" was they year I was born. When I was in the military, it was easier for them to call me "V" or "Vman" vs. "Van Sloten."

Well, I guess I'm going down the road of putting together a simple 030 system (075/N2400/D130 or D131). My main concern is having another big pair of speakers in the house, but alas, I think that I could slip them into the family room and replace they very old 70's Realistic 2-ways that are in there right now.

[BMWCCA]

'71 was the year I graduated from high-school! So if my Dad had the 030 he bought just after I was born, there's a good chance your dad was listening to L100s or something like that when you were a kid. Unless he was extremely well-off and managed to score some L65, L200, or L300s. Other than the "heritage" stuff during that time period, the 075 was sort of old news by then.

[vman71]

A slight change in plans for the use of my 075 bullet tweeters. I'd like to first try and use these as "super tweeters" with my current speakers and see how that sounds.

Over time and as money becomes available, I'd like to aquire the other pieces (pair of D130's, cabinets, and pair of midrange) and put together the full 3-way speaker pair for my son.

That's the plan right now...

[Mr. Widget]

A slight change in plans for the use of my 075 bullet tweeters. I'd like to first try and use these as "super tweeters" with my current speakers and see how that sounds.What are your current speakers?

If they are fairly decent they will likely have a more extended top end than the 075s can deliver. This is not to say you won't hear a brighter top end with them... at least on axis, as they are quite sensitive and will over power almost any system if they are not properly padded down, but unless your system has a fairly rolled off top end the 075 will be of little value in that application.


Widget

[vman71]

I have the following speakers:

Pair of Klipsch KLF-20 (3-way)
Pair of Klipsch Chorus II (30-way)
Pair of Buggtussel Circa (2-way monitor)
Pair of Vintage Realistic (2-way monitor)