L65s on stands

[infinityQ2]

Would like to get my L65s closer to ear level. I know these are a coffee table design, should I expect to loose anything if I were to put them on a pair of 2' high stands???

[MikeBrewster77]

No personal experience with these, but from what I've read and heard, many do place the L65's on stands to optimize the sound. That being said, I'm not sure what ramifications it might have, since they were (as you pointed out) originally designed as floor standers. You might lose a little bit of bass, as typically happens anytime you take a speaker off the floor' sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes not.

My recommendation would be to see if you have something suitable around the house that is sturdy enough to handle their weight and approximates the height you anticipate gaining with stands, and experiment before you buy anything. 1' might be enough to get what you want, or 2' might be what you need based on your preferences. So, if you have the means to try out a few different scenarios first, that might be a good idea.

Best,
- Mike


Would like to get my L65s closer to ear level. I know these are a coffee table design, should I expect to loose anything if I were to put them on a pair of 2' high stands???

[Paul D]

I prefer to have my L65's at ear level. There is a loss in bass but the overall sound is more accurate to me. At first, my reaction was to put them back on the ground because of the loss in bass. Upon closer listening, the imaging improved and they seemed to be more balanced.

The best thing to do is try it!

[timc]

I put my L65 on some small bedside tables. For me it was a huge improvement in midrange and treble. The bass also is less boomy.

Recommended! :)


-Tim

[Mannermusic]

I prefer to have my L65's at ear level. There is a loss in bass but the overall sound is more accurate to me. At first, my reaction was to put them back on the ground because of the loss in bass. Upon closer listening, the imaging improved and they seemed to be more balanced.

The best thing to do is try it!

Exactly - And, the other old trick, you can leave 'em on the floor and tip them back about 5 degrees (a 3/4" spacer under the front edge). I prefer this with my 4312s because they get kinda edgy/thin sounding up at ear level. The tipping reduces the boomy bass a bit and opens up the mid without the increased harshness. Perhaps a better compromise (?). MM

PS: How 'bout some feet? http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20049538

[bob wood]

I have a pair of Jubals and placed them on foot-high stools to get the tweeter and mid-range speaker more at ear level when I'm seated. Since listening is a really, really subjective experience, I can only say that I have enjoyed the difference very much. Raising them seems to place me more in the soundstage and has helped significantly with imaging. My recommendation: try it.

[JANDG]

Yep, I use stands also on L65A's. To me cleans everything up abit.
Joe

[thymanst]

I just got some L110's and had them on stands and they were good but the bass was so-so - I put them on the ground tilted back and now they sound fantastic - the area in front of them is heavily carpeted which keeps the bass from getting boomy and bouncey

[markd51]

Over the years, I have thought of similar for the L-65's I have. I had thought of two possible versions of stands, not very tall, maybe 12"-16: in height, the first type, since I once had access to arc welding equipment, was to make some snazzy frame stands from square tube steel, something on the order I once saw, that I think Soundesign made for the B+W 801 Series III Speaker. Even thought of lead shot filling them, and also providing provision of Spikes.

Another, more simpler type, would've been a framework of some solid type of wood, perhaps Oak, and again, add Spikes.

Since the L-65 has a "skirt" on its bottom, I had thought of making the stands in some ingenious way, that the Stands would either fit within the inside of the Skirt, or just on the outside, thus giving good coupling, but not in any way modding the speakers, or harming them.

As for slight loss of bass response on stands, wouldn't experimentation of placement closer to a rear wall help in some way gaining back a bit what might be lost? Just a thought? Mark

[3dbdown]

I've had my L65's since buying them new in 1975, while working at JBL. I can tell you from first hand 35 year experience that they will ALWAYS sound better when de-coupled from the floor. The bottom end muddiness/boominess goes away, the mid and upper bass tightens up dramatically, and there's nothing quite like an 077/2405 at ear level.

For the record, I placed mine on top of standard cinder blocks, spray painted black for cosmetics....I've tried other placement options through the years, but always return to that setup....But, that's just what works for me

Rick (JBL #12)

[misterharrison]

Resurrecting this old thread as I'm looking at making some stands for my L65As.
Google brought up this thread (http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=4297) with some great pictures of some stand options.
I particularly like the low tilted ones with the JBL branding.
Nice.