LE 14C Surrounds

[banker80]

The LE 14C has a surround that is completely different than the LE 14A. On an ebay auction a seller said they were leather and needed to be oiled. Is that true or just salesmanship? Should I be concerned about the speaker if I just install them and listen? Thanks

[boputnam]

Originally posted by banker80
...an ebay auction a seller said they were leather :rotfl:...

:no:

Do Searchs for "Lansaloy", "brake fluid" :eek:, and "surrounds". There's plenty out here... ;)

[Mr. Widget]

If you aren't patient enough to sort through hours of threads, some of which are quite interesting, the short answer is that they are not leather. The surrounds are the same as other early LE14s and as Bo hinted at they are made of a type of foam the JBL called "Lans-a-loy". Unlike contemporary foams which tend to turn to dust after about 15 years, the old Lans-a-loy changed from a white color to a tan or sometimes brown color and becomes rock hard. If they are stiff, they will play but the compliance of the suspension has been changed increasing the free air resonance of the driver and thus diminishing bass response. If one tries to drive the woofers with much power with stiff surrounds they will crack and will require replacing. If you have woofers with stiff Lans-a-loy surrounds you may want to soften them up with brake fluid (do the search), or you can always have the surrounds replaced, or if you want you can try replacing them yourself (do the search).

And this was supposed to be the short answer...:D

Widget

[banker80]

Thanks for your help. Appreciate the info.