JBL OEM: Made by JBL for Others

[honist_bob]

"Yes they are OEM JBLs. In the early days (through the 60s actually), JBL made speakers under various OEM arrangements. They made them for Ampex, DuKane, Heath, and probably others. These drivers are identical to stock JBLs with different paint schemes and labels. "


--Zilche's recent post about the oddball Boliviar JBL imitations got me thinking about compiling a list of companys that JBL has made drivers for in the past.
Such a list might be useful for someone searching Ebay or other auction sites for drivers that are JBL in every aspect except paint and a foilcal.
Below is what I've picked up from this forum and Ebay recently:
Perhaps some of you senior, ex-JBL employees can add to the list:


DukDuKane (5A350 driver or JBL Pro 2410)

Heathkit (D123 woofer)

Lansing by Ampex
Jim Lansing by Ampex (Model 150-4 32 Ohm Woofers: RARE MINT PAIR: Consecutive Serial Numbers)


Wilson Audio, Provo Utah, JBL built 18" XS Woofers:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=47095&item=5724299040&rd=1
.

[Don C]

Add the LE-14A and the LE20-1 to the Heath list. Also, there was a recent auction where a woofer was listed as a Wilson made by JBL, and I think that there were Sumo woofers made by JBL also.

[GordonW]

Yep, some of the Sumo subwoofers in the early '80s used the 2245H bass driver. IIRC, this sub was the ONLY subwoofer system to ever make the "Stereophile Class A" list, until possibly VERY recently (as in within the last few years)...

Regards,
Gordon.

[Zilch]

It's gonna be a double list. Those with "branded" drivers, and those OEMs that incorporated JBL components.

Citation comes to mind....

[Robh3606]

A cut and paste from the JBL Pro List. Just use the recone kits as the driver part numbers.

TRANSDUCER PRICE REPAIR KIT
MODEL (LIST) KIT DOME GASKET A-T-R NOTES WEIGHT

23101 $164.00 C8RE130 21060 21058 1-O-6 Fender
023101-A $164.00 C8RE130 21060 21058 1-O-6 Fender
023101H $164.00 C8RE130 21060 21058 1-O-6 A6 Fender
023125A $150.00 C16RE120 21060 21031 1-O-6 A6 Fender
023125J $150.00 C16RE120 21060 21031 1-O-6 A6 Fender
43091 $154.00 C8RE140 21060 21058 1-O-6 Fender
043091-A $154.00 C8RE140 21060 21058 1-O-6 Fender
043091H $154.00 C8RE140 21060 21058 1-O-6 A6 Fender
43109 $144.00 C8RK110 48844 21813 M 1-O-6 Fender
043109-A $144.00 C8RK110 48844 21813 M 1-O-6 Fender
043109H $144.00 C8RK110 48844 21813 M 1-O-6 Fender
92577 $150.00 C8RE120 21060 21031 1-O-6 Fender
092577-A $150.00 C8RE120 21060 21031 1-O-6 Fender
092577H $150.00 C8RE120 21060 21031 1-O-6 A6 Fender
401-132 - No Longer Avail. - - 1-O No Longer Avail. Heath
401-133 $272.00 C8R2212 31385 32756 1-O-6 A4 Heath
401-134 - C8RLE14A 50201 21811 1-O-6 Available from Heath


JBL Consumer

MODEL (LIST) KIT DOME GASKET A-T-R NOTES WEIGHT

5A350 $234.00 D16R2410 - - 1-O-6 Dukane
5A355 $244.00 D16R2421 - - 1-O-6 Dukane
5A360 $204.00 D16R2440 - - 1-O-6 Dukane
5A395HF - No Longer Avail. - - 1-O No Longer Avail. Dukane
5A415HF - No Longer Avail. - - 1-O No Longer Avail. Dukane
5A415LF - No Longer Avail. - - 1-O-8 No Longer Avail. Dukane
5P350 $204.00 D16R2440 - - 1-O-4 Dukane
5P355 $242.00 D16R2470 - - 1-O-4 Dukane
5P360 $204.00 D16R2440 - - 1-O-4 Dukane
70777022 - No Longer Avail. 21060 21058 1-O No Longer Avail. Peavey
970302-A $164.00 C16RE130 21060 21058 1-O-6 Fender
970401 $154.00 C8RE140 21060 21058 1-O-6 Fender
970401-A - No Longer Avail. 21060 21058 1-O No Longer Avail. Fender
970402 $154.00 C16RE140 21060 21058 1-O-6 Fender
970402-A $154.00 C16RE140 21060 21058 1-O-6 Fender
Ampex 8 - No Longer Avail. - - 1-O No Longer Avail. Ampex
MI11419 $234.00 D16R2410 - - 1-O-4 RCA
MI11426 - No Longer Avail. - - 1-O No Longer Avail. RCA
MI11426A - No Longer Avail. - - 1-O No Longer Avail. RCA
MI11427 $204.00 D16R2440 - - 1-O-4 RCA

Rob:)

[4313B]

401-132 - No Longer Avail. - - 1-O No Longer Avail. Heath

would be the old LE20.

[4313B]

Originally posted by Don C
I think that there were Sumo woofers made by JBL also. Yep, Samson (2235H) and Delilah (xover)

[Zilch]

Fosgate and Revel subs....

[Don McRitchie]

Yep, some of the Sumo subwoofers in the early '80s used the 2245H bass driver.

I'm not aware of a 2245 based sub, but I did hear the 2235H Samson and Delilah X-over in the late 80's and thought it was the best sub I had heard to date - better than JBL's own B380. In the subwoofer market, you can also add Janis to the list. I believe the original SW-1 from the mid 70's used a JBL LE15A. A current manufacturer that uses JBL drivers is the Italian Zingali (http://www.zingali.it/) company.


If you add pro sound companies to the mix, the list is endless

[4313B]

"I heard it in the late 80's and thought it was the best sub I had heard to date"

Me too! I can't find my spec sheet though! :banghead: Could you please scan yours and post it? :)

[Don McRitchie]

Will do

[GordonW]

Originally posted by Don McRitchie
I'm not aware of a 2245 based sub, but I did hear the 2235H Samson and Delilah X-over in the late 80's and thought it was the best sub I had heard to date - better than JBL's own B380.



You guys may be remembering it better than me... it may be the 2235 I'm thinking about. But I specifically DO remember, the Sumo sub being on the Stereophile "Recommended Components" list for a number of years... and being the ONLY sub so rated.

Regards,
Gordon.

[Harvey Gerst]

We also made a large (3'w x 10"h x 30"d) horn for Langevin, the 260 8" speaker for Ampex (a 208 with a black anodized dome and two small felt circles), and the 12" speakers for Superscope (although those were branded as JBL's). I seem to recall we also still made a few special items for Western Electric at the time (60's).

[Bob in Denver]

a few years back I had a DuKane/JBL 175 pair

[linear]

A current manufacturer that uses JBL drivers is the Italian Zingali (http://www.zingali.it/) company.

Don,

Do you know which JBL drivers Zingali uses? I read that Giuseppe Zingali used JBL units a number of years ago when he was building professional studio monitors, but I had heard that he switched to Italian manufacturers (18 sound, B&C, Ciare??) for his current models.

I like Zingali's current flagship model style (#215) - sort of a M9500 with a round wood horn! It would be nice to think that there is a JBL component in that loudspeaker.

Best regards,

Doug

[Steve Schell]

JBL made both large and small format compression drivers for RCA in the late 1960s and 1970s. I think they were basically 175s and 375s, but had different back covers and were painted a dark "Midnight blue."

[Fred Sanford]

I'm not aware of a 2245 based sub, but I did hear the 2235H Samson and Delilah X-over in the late 80's and thought it was the best sub I had heard to date - better than JBL's own B380. In the subwoofer market, you can also add Janis to the list. I believe the original SW-1 from the mid 70's used a JBL LE15A. A current manufacturer that uses JBL drivers is the Italian Zingali (http://www.zingali.it/) company.


If you add pro sound companies to the mix, the list is endless

Wow, I had a Janis SW-1, thought it was terrible. I remember having to take the bottom off the cabinet to repair some flood damage, and the driver was some cheap-framed 15". Maybe someone was in there before I got it & swapped speakers.

The x-over/amp from that Janis combo (Interphase A?) is heading for e-bay any day now, if anyone's interested in it.

je

[4343]

JBL Consumer

MODEL (LIST) KIT DOME GASKET A-T-R NOTES WEIGHT

5A350 $234.00 D16R2410 - - 1-O-6 Dukane
5A355 $244.00 D16R2421 - - 1-O-6 Dukane
5A360 $204.00 D16R2440 - - 1-O-6 Dukane
5A395HF - No Longer Avail. - - 1-O No Longer Avail. Dukane
5A415HF - No Longer Avail. - - 1-O No Longer Avail. Dukane
5A415LF - No Longer Avail. - - 1-O-8 No Longer Avail. Dukane
5P350 $204.00 D16R2440 - - 1-O-4 Dukane
5P355 $242.00 D16R2470 - - 1-O-4 Dukane
5P360 $204.00 D16R2440 - - 1-O-4 Dukane

Rob:)

I don't see the 5A540 in there, I have a pair of working ones on 2345 horns. Came with cracked D16R2420 dias, figured a pair of aftermarket titaniums was called for...

[Mr. Widget]

Not to be nit picky here, but the drivers labeled like this were actually made by Ampex under license from JBL. They made several drivers and at least the large potato mashers for theater systems.


Widget

[franz]

Hi,

add the K 130 to the list which was made for Peavey guitar cabs. It might as well be a D 130. Im not sure about that.
I have one of these with a Peavy decal and believe this to be pretty rare.
Maybe I can post a pic if anyone is interested.
It seems JBL did OEM products for very reasonable prices at that time.

BTW I wanna thank Steve Shell for his profound and knowledgeable postings !! He´s a wealth of good information for all of us. Thanks ! :applaud:

greets

Franz

[glen]

Hi,

add the K 130 to the list which was made for Peavey guitar cabs.

greets

Franz

AND add the D140 for Peavey too.

[dat521gatherer]

the kustom sidewinder tuck and roll guitar amp uses a d130f.

[Tim Rinkerman]

The big,portable Leslie organ speaker,925, I believe, also used a branded 140 for the bottom and 2440 for the top...

[TimG]

Although Zingali speakers used JBL drivers in the past, and pictures of past products using JBL 2234/5H woofers can be found with a google image search, the current products use B&C drivers, 15TBX100, 12TBX100, and DE500 compression drivers. If I had to guess at the manufacturer of the drivers in the smaller models I would guess Ciare since they produce a lot of OEM drivers.

http://www.zingali.it/images/company/research-1-big.jpg

[glen]

Spotted in an ebay auction, a bubbleback 375 labeled as "James B Lansing Model HFH-2b Impedance 16 ohms Specially Designed for High-Fidelity House". The name plate is the same engraved black/white plastic laminate as used on the first 3000-4000 375s made. Included in the auction is an associated 075 with a the serial number 22880. The plastic nameplate and 075 serial number would seem to date this to sometime around the late 50's or very early 60's.
Does anyone know about High-Fidelity House?

[glen]

I seem to recall we also still made a few special items for Western Electric at the time (60's).
Maybe like this Westrex "T530-A made in USA for Westrex by James B. Lansing Sound Inc."

[Harvey Gerst]

Spotted in an ebay auction, a bubbleback 375 labeled as "James B Lansing Model HFH-2b Impedance 16 ohms Specially Designed for High-Fidelity House". The plastic nameplate and 075 serial number would seem to date this to sometime around the late 50's or very early 60's.
Does anyone know about High-Fidelity House?
If I recall correctly, High-Fidelity House was a fairly good dealer in Pasadena, on Colorado Blvd.

[Steve Schell]

Glen, I believe that High Fidelity House was a hi fi dealer in Pasadena, CA in the 1950s. I saw some of their literature on ebay just recently.

Those Westrex 375s may have been among the first built. As John Eargle has told us the story, Mr. John Frayne of Westrex Corporation visited JBL President William Thomas in the early 1950s. He was toting a Western Electric 594A field coil 4" diaphragm compression driver, built in the late 1930s. He asked Thomas if JBL could build a permanent magnet version of this driver for the Westrex sound systems built for export. Thomas leaned out his office door and said "Bart, could you come here a minute?" Bart Locanthi entered the office, was told of the request and said "Yes, I think so." Production of the 375 commenced soon after.

Ampex also used 375s in their theatre systems when they became available, and JBL began using them in the Hartsfield in 1954.

[glen]

Glen, I believe that High Fidelity House was a hi fi dealer in Pasadena, CA in the 1950s. I saw some of their literature on ebay just recently.

Thanks for the tip, search turned up another connection, in 1975 Harman-Kardon sued B&O AND High Fidelity House for patent infringement over linear tracking turntables, settled in 1976 when B&O bought the patents from H-K:
http://info.usitc.gov/ouii/public/337inv.nsf/56ff5fbca63b069e852565460078c0ae/091dfb4d0c10ac8a8525661300744b94?OpenDocument


Apparently in the mid to late 70's Harman Kardon was marketing linear-tracking turntables based on a Rabco (Jacob Rabinow) design.

Capsule history here:
http://museum.nist.gov/exhibits/rabinow/exhibits/sound.html

[spankey]

"Yes they are OEM JBLs. In the early days (through the 60s actually), JBL made speakers under various OEM arrangements. They made them for Ampex, DuKane, Heath, and probably others. These drivers are identical to stock JBLs with different paint schemes and labels. "


--Zilche's recent post about the oddball Boliviar JBL imitations got me thinking about compiling a list of companys that JBL has made drivers for in the past.
Such a list might be useful for someone searching Ebay or other auction sites for drivers that are JBL in every aspect except paint and a foilcal.
Below is what I've picked up from this forum and Ebay recently:
Perhaps some of you senior, ex-JBL employees can add to the list:

DukDuKane (5A350 driver or JBL Pro 2410)


.

I was just looking at a JBL 2410 and the back cover is beveled. I have 4 of the old Dukane 5A325 horns (Altec 1005B) and 4 of the Dukane 5A350 drivers and they look like a LE75 (no bevel)with JBL plastic screw covers, to me instead of the 2410.

[spankey]

I was looking at a JBL 2410's on ebay and have seen others and they have a beveled back on them, my Dukane 5A350 look exactly like the JBL LE75's and have the red plastic JBL screw covers , also my 5A325 horns look like an Altec 1005B (1003B with covers over the horn parts and black, single throat)

I have 4 each horns and 4 each drivers ( 2 pairs).
Does anyone know a good way to box or ship these? I want to list them on ebay. I have never used them , they have all the original diaphragms I got them about 15 years ago out of a community center in New Mexico where they were for 30+ years, all are about 14ohms except one that shows 12ohms from my recollection when I tested them 15 years ago. so I guess they are 16 ohm drivers. Any advice on how to ship these, build wooden frames then cardboard??? all in one crate or boxed separately? or anyone have better cross numbers?

[Audiobeer]

I believe they are JBLs. :)

[subwoof]

Do a search using the word dukane and the model number matching tables will be found. Those are LE175's with a different label and VERY few survive use / storage / etc without some damage.

List and ship the drivers and adapters separately from the throat / horns.

sub

[spankey]

Do a search using the word dukane and the model number matching tables will be found. Those are LE175's with a different label and VERY few survive use / storage / etc without some damage.

List and ship the drivers and adapters separately from the throat / horns.

sub

Thanks Subwoof.