Vintage 2-ways

[midlife]

Are the vintage 2 ways (L99s and such) still sought after? I seem to find more 3 ways and more talk of 3 ways than the older two speaker boxes. How do they sound?

[mike]

They are sought after a little and do sound good. I've always liked finding stuff like the late 60's and early 70's 10, 12 and 14inch two ways as they are usually not that expensive but fun to play with. The L26, L88, Lancer 77,55 and 99 come to mind.

Mike

[shaansloan]

Are the vintage 2 ways (L99s and such) still sought after? I seem to find more 3 ways and more talk of 3 ways than the older two speaker boxes. How do they sound?

Hey Midlife,

I have a set of L101's (175 horns and LE-14A LF driver) and I think they are just fabulous....I use them in the rear of my main system which is fired by a Yamaha RX-V870 as a preamp and a Carver M1.5 as my amp. My front speakers are L300 Summits. Now you would think that these L300's would just blow these two way L101's out of the water but this is not the case....these L101's really bring a brilliant and warm fountain of sound into the rear of my room.... not only this but when you wanna rock the house the L101 will run with the L300 until the lights my Carver ( a whopping 600 watts RMS per channel) are hittin the top and the neighbors in the next neighborhood over are wondering if the Air Force is coming....

And yet the best performance is when I play music that is higlighted in the mid range such as James Taylor or Jim Croce or Handel's Water Music.....just marvelous! They really do have a lovely full bodied sound and very efficient producing plenty of sound with little power...

Now to boot these L101's are the prettiest JBL's in my collection with their walnut cabinets and Adriatic marble tops and handmade wood grills...the are just fine looking furniture and accent my room nicely.....have a looksy!

I think every JBL owner ought to have a set of two way JBL's....these are from 1965 and they are muy primo! :) Shaan

[shaansloan]

Now to boot these L101's are the prettiest JBL's in my collection with their walnut cabinets and Adriatic marble tops and handmade wood grills...the are just fine looking furniture and accent my room nicely.....have a looksy!


They still have the original Lans-a-loy surrounds....I treat them every year with a very gentle portion of DOT 3 brake fluid with a Qtip... I am amazed at the bass the dudes still produce...

[mike]

That's a really nice pair of L101's; very sought after and collectable.

Mike

[Mr. Widget]

That's a really nice pair of L101's...:yes:

Hey Shaan, are those Lans-a-loy surrounds DOT-3 treated? If not you are missing the last octave plus of what they have to offer and more importantly when cranking them, you run a serious risk of cracking the surrounds.


Widget

[Earl K]

Having an (a.d.d.) day are we Mr. Widget ?


.....I treat them every year with a very gentle portion of DOT 3 brake fluid with a Qtip... I am amazed at the bass the dudes still produce...

:p

[Mr. Widget]

A.D.D.? probably not... I think it is more likely a case of lazy reading. :o:

Glad to hear it though... I have gone the DOT-3 route with old LE15As... it can be a real PITA, but there is something rewarding to leaving these old drivers stock.


Widget

[shaansloan]

A.D.D.? probably not... I think it is more likely a case of lazy reading. :o:

Glad to hear it though... I have gone the DOT-3 route with old LE15As... it can be a real PITA, but there is something rewarding to leaving these old drivers stock.


Widget

Well Mr Widget, I was very grateful when I first got these L101's that you yelled at me and said...."do not play these loudly!"....Then you instructed me on how to do the DOT3 treatment.....I very carefully did the whole operation and I would agree the LF's improved immensely....so I did it again after about 6 months and I noticed yet another improvement.....it is important to do this on an annual basis, especially if you EVER play them with lots of power....I try not to play them loudly very often....

Also, my Lans-a-loy surrounds have not experienced the fissures that are spoken of either....they really look like new and the brake fluid really keeps them pliable. Also, if you are careful with the DOT3, you can also keep from getting it on the aquaplas.....so far I havent had any bleed over onto the aquaplas.....

They have been well worth the effort I have put into them.....I dont regret it at all....it is actually very rewarding to keep these old dudes tuned up and sounding great....

Thanks for the help you ALL have given me with all my speakers....I am grateful for your help! ;) Shaan

[JBLRaiser]

Are the vintage 2 ways (L99s and such) still sought after? I seem to find more 3 ways and more talk of 3 ways than the older two speaker boxes. How do they sound?

good.;)

[Mr. Widget]

Well Mr Widget, I was very grateful when I first got these L101's that you yelled at me and said...."do not play these loudly!"....Then you instructed me on how to do the DOT3 treatment.....I very carefully did the whole operation and I would agree the LF's improved immensely....so I did it again after about 6 months and I noticed yet another improvement.....it is important to do this on an annual basis, especially if you EVER play them with lots of power....I try not to play them loudly very often....Sorry that I didn't remember our conversation... over the years they start to blur, especially since so many are so similar.

I'm glad it has worked out for you. I too found that if you keep your surrounds supple they will play quite well seemingly indefinitely without ever cracking. I did discover that too much of a good thing will lower the FS below original spec. With time it will return to normal as it gradually stiffens. Then there is the issue of the spider getting old... not much you can do about that. :(


Widget

[Wagner]

L55s well thought of (beyond the nice woofer)?

I plan on doing a number on cleaning up the pair I just acquired.

Haven't run them yet; need surrounds.

Soon.
Thomas

[Doc Mark]

Greetings, Friends,

Many years ago, I bought a single cabinet, from the San Diego Epilepsy Society Thrift Store, for $30. When I saw it, I realized that it had a JBL 15" speaker inside, and some "other" horn and crossover. I asked them to hold it for me, and quickly hauled home for my old HP tone generator. Back in the store, I soon found that both the JBL and the horn, which turned out to be from University, I believe, worked very well. After paying my $30 and getting this old cabinet back home, I hooked it up. The JBL Signature D130 sounded wonderful, and the horn was "OK", too! The cabinet is a slot-backed corner design, with a nice slab of marble on top of it. The marble has a crack in it, but seems strong, nevertheless. I later found that the D130's aluminum dust cap has a "dent" in it, but that can be fixed. I may recone it, one of these days, but for now, it resides down in the Hobbit Hole, waiting for me to come and play with it!! That's my large JBL two-way, and whomever made it, did a fine job, indeed! I'll try to post some photos, one of these days. Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

[brutal]

L55s well thought of (beyond the nice woofer)?

I plan on doing a number on cleaning up the pair I just acquired.

Haven't run them yet; need surrounds.

Soon.
Thomas

Here's a couple good threads on the LE14A surround work. The narrow roll surrounds from Rick Cobb are nearly perfect for these.

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=19773

My showoff threadjack of my LE14 surround job here in this thread. http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=197788&postcount=39