L-65 Speaker

[tesla]

I have now had several days to listen to my new (for me) Jubals, (version "A") and this is my impressions (compared to my KLH 2AX).

Brighter, almost to the point of glare. Punchier, less "polite".Midrange boosted also.

Jury is out on bass response, they don't have the 122A drivers installed.

I would guess the JBL made these to be marketed for the Rock & Roll crowd, and didn't make them for the jazz or classical market. What are your opinions?

I also seem to notice (at least on ebay) that the 077 drivers used in these speakers are very popular, and I'm not sure why, Any ideas?

I would like to make these speakers more accurate within their limits, is this a reasonable idea?
Regards,

Gene

[MJC]

JBLs have always been known as being dynamic speakers. In the sixties it was called the 'west coast sound', where as speaker companies from the east coast made speakers that had a more linear output.
Yes the L65, L55(which I have), L100 were made for rocknroll. I don't think there is any way to make them more accurate(and still have L65s).
The first really linear speaker JBL made was the L212s, and also the first consumer speaker to have a subwoofer. They made their appearance in '77.

[tesla]

I said KLH, I meant AR :)

Anyhow, I think you put it very nicely. Now, did JBL make a speaker with some combination of the drivers used in the Jubal that was NOT designed for Rock?

[johnaec]

Originally posted by tesla
Brighter, almost to the point of glare. Punchier, less "polite".Midrange boosted also.

Jury is out on bass response, they don't have the 122A drivers installed.

I would guess the JBL made these to be marketed for the Rock & Roll crowd, and didn't make them for the jazz or classical market. What are your opinions?I really think you need to get the original LF back into the L65A speakers before making any kind of judgment. The fact that the highs and mids stand out so much to you tells me the LF you have isn't matched.

I've got 2 pairs of these and wouldn't really characterize them as "rock". That said, I fine tune them with 1/3rd octave EQ, so hopefully any "character" is optimized out. But even without EQ I don't think I'd characterize these as "rock", though if any speaker could I would probably agree the L100 could probably be characterized as such...

John

[Robh3606]

Hello Telsa

Have you tried adjusting the levels at all. I had one as a center channel for a while and if you adjust the levels you can get a decent balance with them. Try bring the 077 almost all the way down and then bring it back up a little at a time. Another issue is without the 122A's in there you won't be able to really evaluate how they are balanced. They should be easy to find on E-Bay.

Rob :)

[tesla]

Thanks evryone for the reply's. Yes, I am reserving judgement until I get the original (or a good equivent) LF driver. I have been checking ebay since I purchased them, but it seems there isn't anything right now.

[MJC]

I should have added in my first reply that to completely evaluate a speaker, all the original drivers need to be installed.
I haven't listened to L65s for years, but I liked the bass and overall sound that they produced. I ended up buying the L55s due to the fact that the L55s were quite a bit less in price.
But I know first hand how speakers sound when some of the drivers are missing.
While I was expanding my L212 system from 2 channels to 5, which took most of two years to get all the 112A mid-bass drivers, the ones that were w/o the 112A sounded anemic at best. But once I had all the drivers in place the system 'came together'.

[johnaec]

There are a couple 126A on eBay right now that need refoaming. The 126A was used in the original L65 Jubal while the 122A came in the A and B versions. He has 2 auctions going for these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5707267287&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

They'd undoubtedly be better than what you have right now, once they've been refoamed. And the price is right, so far...

John

[tesla]

Thanks, Johneac, but I think I will wait for a pair of 122A's, knowing that they are the correct speaker. :)

[Regis]

"... to listen to my new (for me) Jubals, (version "A")". Having owned a pair of these, I'd be hesitant to call an L-65A a "Jubal", because the nameplate itself, never said Jubal, but L-65. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only way to tell the A from the B was the serial number ending. I believe The L65A woofer had a heavier magnet than the Jubal. I'm not sure about the B, but all three crossovers were different, most notably the components for the differing woofers. Sir Giskard would be able to clear this up, I'm sure.

[Robh3606]

Jubal Woofers

L 65 126A, L 65A 122A, L 65B 129H

Rob:)

[johnaec]

Originally posted by Robh3606
Jubal Woofers

L 65 126A, L 65A 122A, L 65B 129H

Rob:) Thanks for clearing that up, Rob!

John

[Robh3606]

Your welcome:D

Rob:)

[johnaec]

Here's a pair of 122A:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=64612&item=5709201882&rd=1

I notice they have a larger dome than factory - 'don't know if this makes a difference... But at $100 BIN, they're worth a shot...

John

[boputnam]

Originally posted by tesla
I also seem to notice (at least on ebay) that the 077 drivers used in these speakers are very popular, and I'm not sure why, Any ideas? Hey, Gene...

Well, we seemed to have overlooked this portion of your post. If you did really notice this ;) , you might search the Forum for "077" or "2405" - the former being the consumer version of the latter, no real technical differences between.

Simply put - the 2405 is the best UHF. Silky smooth, and nice and flat response.

See: 2405H on JBL Pro site (http://www.jblpro.com/pages/pub/components/2405.pdf)

[johnaec]

Just out of curiosity I wanted to see how the 122A, 126A, and 129H matched up concerning T/S specs and discovered that this doc only lists the 122A:

http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/Thiele%20Small%20Parameters/Theile%20Parameters.pdf

'Anyone know what the specs of the 126A and 129H might be?

John

[4313B]

Originally posted by boputnam
Simply put - the 2405 is the best UHF. Silky smooth, and nice and flat response.Actually the old ring radiators are still around for one reason, nothing can touch them in shear SPL.

The $630 045Be would easily be considered the current best UHF offering from JBL.

[speakerdave]

Originally posted by Giskard

The $630 045Be would easily be considered the current best UHF offering from JBL.

Does this mean it is being made available in this country?

David

[4313B]

Call OCS and see if they will order you a pair. If they can then yes, if they can't then no.

[boputnam]

:screwy:

Hey - maybe some of our foreign brethern can help-out? Maybe they can order and ship to you (us...)? HP, Guido, others...?

Or, is this only available across the "tranquil" water...?

[4313B]

Look what they want for them here...

http://www.harman-japan.co.jp/products/jbl_cons/ut045be.htm

Goofy eh?

[boputnam]

:banghead:

[johnaec]

Originally posted by Giskard
Look what they want for them here...

http://www.harman-japan.co.jp/products/jbl_cons/ut045be.htm

Goofy eh? $4600/pair - correct? :biting: But it looks like that includes the crossover...

John

[Maron Horonzakz]

What ever the traffic will bare.

[4313B]

From my perspective it's pretty easy to see why so many of the components are unavailable here.

[Robh3606]

I will suffer with 2405/077's or 046ti / 050ti's. That priceing is just plain nuts.

Rob:confused:

[speakerdave]

$630?

Hmmm. I don't think it's that bad. What are the prices of other SOA tweeters?

The Be diaphragm is a big part of that cost. The material requires special handling.

David

[4313B]

No it's not that bad at all but one can't be selling a pair for $1260 in the USA and triple that everywhere else, so why bother selling it in the USA at all. Home has always been kind of proud of certain drivers though. For instance, the 066 and 044 were quite hard to get hold of when they were first introduced.

[speakerdave]

Originally posted by Giskard
Look what they want for them here...


Well, JBL will certainly never be accused of dumping tweeters in Japan!