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View Full Version : Harkness C40 Cabinets Have... what?



darthina
01-29-2009, 11:11 AM
I'm new to this forum.

My dad bought 2 Harkness C40 cabinets, in like 1958, with whatever the "regular" JBL driver & tweeter are inside. I can't open it because I'd break the glue seals and ruin it. It would NOT have been a kit: he's not "handy". They have a N1200 crossover in each (serial #8505 and #601170: he couldn't afford to buy both speakers at once).

My question is: what's in it? (Most likely.)
And what might they be worth: I'm going to sell them.

Darthina

louped garouv
01-29-2009, 11:19 AM
without opening them up, you could have anything in there...

please understand, just my .02

:)

maybe an 030 load?

darthina
01-29-2009, 11:26 AM
without opening them up, you could have anything in there...

please understand, just my .02

:)

It was suggested to me that they probably had d130 or 130a drivers and 175dlh tweeters. Are you saying that there was no "standard" JBL set put in to these? Everyone chose what parts they wanted?

(Which means I'll have to find whatever paperwork came with them? Which IS probably here..... somewhere....)

D

louped garouv
01-29-2009, 11:32 AM
if you have the paperwork, it would be a very good idea to locate it.
good for collectors who place a premium on knowing the "provinence" of their finds

yes, from what i understand, there was a "basic" component package that could have been purchased at the time,
but that does not mean that is what is in your cabinets...

(see my point)

darthina
01-29-2009, 02:06 PM
Sooo... what was the "basic component package"?
It probably IS what's in there.
(He remembers what they cost, not what's in there.)

D




if you have the paperwork, it would be a very good idea to locate it.
good for collectors who place a premium on knowing the "provinence" of their finds

yes, from what i understand, there was a "basic" component package that could have been purchased at the time,
but that does not mean that is what is in your cabinets...

(see my point)

hjames
01-29-2009, 02:27 PM
Sooo... what was the "basic component package"?
It probably IS what's in there.
(He remembers what they cost, not what's in there.)

D

Who knows??
They are pretty old speakers ...
But the receipt would help

SO would doing a search here, like I did ...
http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/jbl/catalogs/jbl-catl.htm

Not everything is here, JBL lost a lot during the Northridge earthquake a few years back,
and this NOT an official corporate site ...but I found a 1957 catalog -

http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/jbl/catalogs/1957/page5.jpg

Notice where it say they are designed
"... to realize the full capablities of JBL 12- and 15- inch speakers ..."

Again, that the ENCLOSURE design - it might have EITHER driver in there - who knows what is actually in HIS cabinet(s)

farleybob
01-29-2009, 02:49 PM
Heather is right. It could have anything, JBL or not. It was very much mix and match. A little research can do wonders. If you shine a strong flashlight through the grill cloth, you should be able to see enough to match the components up with what's in the catalog. Having said all that, if they have N1200s, they're most likely use the 001 components, which do include a D130A and 175. But without checking and doing a bit of reasearch you won't know for sure.

BMWCCA
01-29-2009, 03:48 PM
if they have N1200s, they're most likely use the 001 components, which do include a D130A and 175.The only JBL system using the N1200 at that time was the 001. JBL shows only three loads for the Harkness and the 001 was one of them. Most likely that's what you've got. I've seen a bunch of them and it's a great system. Shouldn't be a big deal to open the back, it should just require removal of a bunch of screws and no glue. At least the ones I've been into. If your Dad bought two systems in 1958 he was one forward-thinking dude, since that's about when the very first (and very few) stereophonic LPs were introduced. My Dad only bought one 030. :(

Harkness
01-30-2009, 02:16 AM
I bought a matched pair of Harkness speakers from a local hall, and they had 150-4c and 375 drivers in them. Unlikely in your case because they would have the 500 cycle crossover, like mine, rather than the 1200 that yours have.

But yours could have 12 or 15's for the lows. shine a very bright flashlight through the speaker grill (you'll need to put it right up on the grillcloth) and see if you can illuminate the inside of the cabinet enough to tell.

BMWCCA
01-30-2009, 06:30 AM
But yours could have 12 or 15's for the lows. shine a very bright flashlight through the speaker grill (you'll need to put it right up on the grillcloth) and see if you can illuminate the inside of the cabinet enough to tell.Easy enough to check, but if the systems were bought from JBL with the 12" D123 they'd have the N2600 network and the 002 system, not the N1200 of the 001.

Harvey Gerst
01-30-2009, 06:33 AM
If it's an N1200 crossover, then the system is a 001 (130A, 175DLH, & N1200).

hjames
01-30-2009, 07:04 AM
If it's an N1200 crossover, then the system is a 001 (130A, 175DLH, & N1200).

As always, thanks for the information, Harvey!