JBL 150 and L112

[coolhandjjl]

Hi-

I picked up a nice pair of L100's last month, alnico with the orange ring tweeter. I never knew speakers could sound so good! I drive them with a Marantz 250m power amp. I did lots of research here, thanks to the all the forums members for the great posts!

I'm adding a second set of speakers for the back half of my photo studio. Right now, they are the speakers 'b' on the same amp, but will eventually have their own Marantz 510m power amp driving them.

I just got some nice L150's, recently re-foamed. I was a bit disappointed by the sound, not nearly as deep and punchy as my L100's. In fact, they sound a bit lifeless. Is placement really critical with these? The L150's stand on the floor, one is near a corner. I have my L100's hung up high near the exposed roof rafters along a straight wall, no corners nearby , and they sound fantastic.

I was considering switching to a pair of L112's instead, mounting those up high, hoping they are closer in sound to the L110's. I aso see the comparable studio monitor, the 4411, but those are only rated at 150watts, half that of the L112's.

Any suggestions and help would be most appreciated!

[jcrobso]

Hi-

I picked up a nice pair of L100's last month, alnico with the orange ring tweeter. I never knew speakers could sound so good! I drive them with a Marantz 250m power amp. I did lots of research here, thanks to the all the forums members for the great posts!

I'm adding a second set of speakers for the back half of my photo studio. Right now, they are the speakers 'b' on the same amp, but will eventually have their own Marantz 510m power amp driving them.

I just got some nice L150's, recently re-foamed. I was a bit disappointed by the sound, not nearly as deep and punchy as my L100's. In fact, they sound a bit lifeless. Is placement really critical with these? The L150's stand on the floor, one is near a corner. I have my L100's hung up high near the exposed roof rafters along a straight wall, no corners nearby , and they sound fantastic.

I was considering switching to a pair of L112's instead, mounting those up high, hoping they are closer in sound to the L110's. I also see the comparable studio monitor, the 4411, but those are only rated at 150watts, half that of the L112's.

Any suggestions and help would be most appreciated!

The L100 was consumer version of a studio monitor, and the 4411 follows that line, don't worry about the power handling.
The L112-L150 are home speakers and placement is some what critical, maybe some L150 owners will post some advice.

[rdgrimes]

I just got some nice L150's, recently re-foamed. I was a bit disappointed by the sound, not nearly as deep and punchy as my L100's. In fact, they sound a bit lifeless
I find that hard to accept, given properly functioning L150s. A lack of bass certainly isn't a complaint that is common. Open them up and confirm all connections, and also confirm proper function on the L-pads. A botched re-foam can certainly render the woofs "silent".

[coolhandjjl]

I just found out that the passive radiator has a series of cardboard disc's on the rear where the voice coil would be, to act as a damper. I removed them, allows more woofer travel, a bit more bass, but still shy compared to the L100's. I wonder if I am more of a 'tuned port' kind of guy rather than a 'passive radiator' guy? It's just that my L100's sound so stellar. The L150 mids and highs drivers are fine, both L-Pads work properly. Just has a very different attitude. Perhaps my L110's are simply perfectly placed, so anything pales by comparison?

[Akira]

I have my L100's hung up high near the exposed roof rafters along a straight wall, no corners nearby , and they sound fantastic.

There is a saying in pro audio: 1 in the air is worth 2 on the floor.
However, the L150's should sound better and certainly deeper than the 100's. Something is wrong, this is reported to be a great sounding speaker... I love L100's but, many people don't share my enthusiasm with them.

p.s. if your L100's sound fabulous where they are leave them. When hung near the ceiling always place the woofer to the surface and the horn/tweet down.

[DavidF]

Hi-

I picked up a nice pair of L100's last month, alnico with the orange ring tweeter. I never knew speakers could sound so good! I drive them with a Marantz 250m power amp. I did lots of research here, thanks to the all the forums members for the great posts!

I'm adding a second set of speakers for the back half of my photo studio. Right now, they are the speakers 'b' on the same amp, but will eventually have their own Marantz 510m power amp driving them.

I just got some nice L150's, recently re-foamed. I was a bit disappointed by the sound, not nearly as deep and punchy as my L100's. In fact, they sound a bit lifeless. Is placement really critical with these? The L150's stand on the floor, one is near a corner. I have my L100's hung up high near the exposed roof rafters along a straight wall, no corners nearby , and they sound fantastic.

I was considering switching to a pair of L112's instead, mounting those up high, hoping they are closer in sound to the L110's. I aso see the comparable studio monitor, the 4411, but those are only rated at 150watts, half that of the L112's.

Any suggestions and help would be most appreciated!

A refoam means that the woofers have been removed for servicing. May mean that the reinstall mixed the polarity on the signal feed wires. The green wire out of the crossover should be attached to the red terminal of each woofer.

[LuvOldJBL]

I had a pair of L150's recently restored at Orange County Speaker and have been running them for two weeks now. Let me validate what the experts on this site are saying in that something must be regrettably wrong with your pair. The L150's are far from being lifeless because they rock! A different JBL sound - yes. But, no lack of life, or ass kickin' rock 'n' roll if you want it. At moderate volume and being close to the speakers you'll hear each driver do its work, and when the bass kicks in - both the wooofer and passive radiator are doing their jobs. Stand clear, crank 'em - and you're in for a whole lotta life from those speakers when fixed. On other threads, I've read that L150's are not too finicky regarding placement, like power, and do better in a large room. The selling party warned me to be careful about the refoam job. So, I hope that does not turn out to be your problem, but if you have to refoam again - you should be happy. Here's hoping that your solution is simple. Please keep us posted.

[coolhandjjl]

.......The selling party warned me to be careful about the refoam job. So, I hope that does not turn out to be your problem, but if you have to refoam again - you should be happy. Here's hoping that your solution is simple. Please keep us posted.

Other than a binding voice coil, what issues could botch the re-foam job? They both appear to look decent and move freely.



A refoam means that the woofers have been removed for servicing. May mean that the reinstall mixed the polarity on the signal feed wires. The green wire out of the crossover should be attached to the red terminal of each woofer.

I'll open the up again and check that out. I'll put back in half the passive radiator dampers, fire them up and post back my results.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

[clmrt]

The "dampers" on the radiators are tuning weights. More weight lowers the fs. There should be a specific weight to tune them correctly (heavier = lower resonance).

Like David said, I would confirm that polarity is correct for the woofers in each cabinet, and then at the system level.

[BMWCCA]

Other than a binding voice coil, what issues could botch the re-foam job? They both appear to look decent and move freely.
It could be as simple as the surround material used. Since there is no such thing as "factory" surrounds, it's up to each workshop which rings they use and how their "durometer" varies from one generic foam type to another. I've used Rick Cobb's kits and have found them to work well and sound as original. Too stiff foam might be an issue but I'm far from an expert on such matters. I'm just enjoying the thread with a pair of L150As sitting in their original boxes awaiting time for re-surrounding. :)

[LeonV]

I had my pair of L112s reconed in Nov 2009. When I got them back the bass was weak, but the technician (Oldmics) told me that it takes about 100 hours of use for the foam surround to break-in.

He was right, after many hours of use they now sound great. Give them some time and see how they sound. :)