Where do you live ? and so on..

[Niklas Nord]

My name is Niklas Nord, and i live in Stockholm, and that´s in Sweden.

Apartment with 28 m2 listeningroom

my neightbours has never told me to shut up :eek: do you belive that?

My closest neightbours son starts to play Pink Floyd 09 in the
moring , a real musicians house. the house must be wellbuilt
couse only from the stairs i can hear my neightbours, though
I think all my neightbours.. also across the street can hear ME
:D


I think neriks told me, that some of this neightbours down the street wondered what the heck he was doing. Then realise that neriks system is below ground :D :D 4 heart pumpin 2242 downstairs would rumble the ground like in an earthquake.


it will bite you :biting: (2242 biting you)

[Guido]

Hi Niklas!

Nice Idea! BTW please check your PM ;)

My forum name is my real name. I live in Würzburg which is a small city in northern bavaria and this is, as anyone should know, in Germany.
Ralf live near me (15km) and I can't tell who is more JBL-crazy :D

From time to time we meet and create new "projects". The status at the moment is that we have more "projects" than we can realize as we are both short in time.

BUT we'll let you know.....

The neighbors problem will be solved in summer 2005 as I bought a nice house on the countryside
:rockon1: :cheers: :dancin:

[Alex Lancaster]

"Neighbors problem"?, Since We all should know, You are In Germany, try the famed tranquilizer firm of Heckler & Koch.

[Guido]

:rotfl:

I think the H&K Solution is more the mexican way

[GordonW]

... Gordon Waters, and I live in Marietta GA, USA... about 20 minutes northwest of downtown Atlanta GA.

I got my first JBL speakers in 1986, when I found a derelict pair of Lancer 33s, minus drivers. Being a typical teenager, I proceeded to mount a set of Becker drivers (8" woofer and 1" dome tweeter) in them. Sounded pretty decent, for what it was.

However, a year later, I got a job (car stereo installer) at a hifi store in northeast Atlanta, that was a JBL home and professional dealer. It was there, that I heard my first REAL JBL speakers- the 120Ti, L80T and 250Ti. If I needed convincing, that was all it took.

Since then, I've worked at several other car audio dealers, and finally now, at a high-end home audio dealer which also does extensive turntable and speaker repairs/restoration projects. As such, I get to see LOTS of different speakers. I've found and restored a number of "standard consumer" JBL speakers, including a number of L100s, L88s, L77s and L26s, and found some truly remarkable ones, including a pair of C36 Viscounts with D130s and 077s and a pair of L80T's (which I had ALWAYS WANTED, since first hearing them in 1987).

Currently, I'm rebuiding a BUNCH of JBL drivers for a friend, and a few for myself... as in, 4- 2240Hs, 2- 2225Hs, a 123A, a 2235, 2- 2245s, and 3 D120s. Most of these were rescued from abusive environments (almost all of them had been jarred hard enough to shift the magnets, which I'm shimming/aligning and re-bonding together), and will soon singing happily in better surroundings.

Regards,
Gordon.

[Figge]

well im fredrik as some may have noticed...live about 1Hour east of stockholm depending on how fast the ole´volvo wants to go:)

have been intressted in audio since i cant remember! had difrent cheap compact stereos...up until early teens when i started hanging out in my dads stereo room, and ofcourse there were JBL:s. many diffrent over the years but my finest memory must be his 4315:s, and hearing roger waters masterpieces in there made me cut school from time to time, it was in there i "fell in love"...and my first "HiFi system" was an old 10W tandberg reciever i found in a dumpster, it totally killed my new and fancy comact panasonic with cd and remote!...i even blew the panasonic speakers with it! WOW! this was a good thing! couse i got to borrow a old pair of OHM from daddy! some strange fullrange driver ontop firing down into the box and a 10" pr! now i was rockin´ GNR,Metallica,Helloween & maiden had never sounded so great! (loud) :) this was 1990 i must have been 13 and there were no turning back now!

oh! and diy speakers was a big passion back then! if u have built some really bad speakers? i have built worst! damn these were the days! :)

[still4given]

Well my name is Terry and I live in Victorville CA, which is about 100 miles N/E of Los Angeles. I know, because I drive through LA each day on my way to Santa Monica where I work as a superintendent for a general contractor building offices for Universal Music Group.

My first experience with JBL's was back in the 60's when I was a struggling musician. Fender offered JBL's as an upgrade to the Jensens that were OEM. If you had those metalic domes staring out through your grill cloth you had "arrived".

I never could afford JBL stereo cabs. Shucks, as a musician I couldn't afford food. :D

I remember going to the recording studios and they would all have JBL's hanging on the wall in the control room. They loved to crank those thing up and watch the expression on folks faces. Especially mine. :eek:

Well I now have a friend who is an audio system installer and he has turned me on to some damaged or worn-out JBL's which I have enjoyed bringing back to life. I never reallized how many different cabs JBL made. I am really enjoying learning about these wonderful speakers.


Blessings, Terry

[mikebake]

Hi, my name is Mike and I'm an audioholic.
Home is west central Ohio, USA. Lima is the town. Pronounced Ly-mah.

Flat. Agricultural. Midwest.

I like JBL because their transducers have been super, and so many JBL designs utilized them so well, and because JBL has been a repository of good science and good art, and real audio design and knowledge, not the crap that parades for huge bucks under the high-end banner.
Did I mention I like their transducers?

[hector.murray]

My name is Hector Murray and I live in Norfolk, NY, ( pronounced NOR-FUK) a small town near the end of the snowflake..... I mean Canadian border.
I was first introduced to JBL and Altec Lansing speakers when I was 13, being mentored in electronics by a neighbor who was an audiophile. His system was custom designed, and I do not remember the specifics other than the fact that he described his system as half a paragon and had used an Altec Lansing tangerine for a supertweeter instead of a JBL unit.
He had to go away for 2 weeks once - and asked if I feed his cat. That was rough - on the cat! I had never heard music so clearly.
The McIntosh amp & tuner preamp didn't hurt either.
I'll stop here before I realy start rambling........

[lpd]

My names Peter Beka and I live in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada (1/2 hour east of Vancouver). I was first introduced to JBL's when a friend of mine pounded music through a pair of L-100's about 10 years ago. My personal evolution with JBL's is as follows: L-26's.....L-100's.....4333A's....L-250's....who knows whats next :)

Cheers!!

[Robh3606]

Hello my name is Robert Hamel I live in New York on Long Island about 25 miles east of NYC.

I started with JBL's back in 1974 with a pair of L-25 Primas. Got L88 Plus's on close out and then the M12 expander kits. Lived with L100's forever until about 3/4 years ago where the internet and Ebay opened Pandora's box with the JBL Tent sale, sharing with people and low cost vintage drivers. Ultimately finding this site, Thanks Don! Have been building and trying new things ever since. I have always liked JBL's and used to daydream about a pair of real monitors way back when. Could never afford them even used at the time. Thanks to the support of people on this site I finally have a pair.

Rob:)

[scott fitlin]

My name is Scott Fitlin and I live in Nassau Cty, Long Island! I was born in Brooklyn NY, and my family opened the Eldorado Auto Skooter in March, 1973! I was here, they had this big system with speakers I had never heard of, or seen before, Altec A7,s, with McIntosh preamp, and Mc amp, Dual turntable, and a JVC 8 track!

They opened it up on a Saturday, the first thing I ran to at the ripe old age of 11, was right behind the operating consoles, to the STEREO! I remember my dads voice, SCOTT, dont touch anything! Too late, I turned the volume knob up a bit, and wowee, War- Cisco Kid!

It was over for me, when the other kids were out playing ball, I was here with dad, always playing records!

As the buisiness grew, and I did too, so did the system, and in 1976, because of Saturday Night Fever, they got an even bigger system! This was my introduction to JBL!

By 1979, we got a pair of JBL L-300,s at our house, and it was good, but it was the big stuff in the buisiness I always wanted to play with!

I remember being 15yrs old, in High school, my freinds talking about buying a Radio Shack EQ, and how to set it, Im telling them, Nah, RS is junk, you need a 1/3 octave cut only, and you gotta pink noise the stereo with an RTA to EQ the right way. They just looked at me like I was a Martian!

:D

[Zilch]

New Brunswick, NJ, 1962 to 1965. Fraternity house. Every weekend, ALL weekend, indelibly imprinted by unknown JBL's:

"Ray Charles: ... The High PRIEST! .... Ray Charles HISSELF!"

["Baby, what I SAY, now...."]

PA in the huge gym was banks of EV Patricians. How I coveted them....

Came west for the "Summer of Love" and stayed.

I bet them JBL's are STILL rockin' back there on College Ave. :D

[mikebake]

Originally posted by Zilch
PA in the huge gym was banks of EV Patricians. How I coveted them....



Patricians! Those are so cool. I'd love to have a pair.
My story doesn't include owning any of the classic JBL's, so to clarify, I should point out that friends had 100's, and a good friend had L300's/Mac/LinnSondek, and a Paragon!! I grew up hearing that stuff. Also, believe it or not, the local pizza place had L300's mounted 13 feet up in the front of a big room, providing tunes during the 70's. Stanley Clarke, Bob James, James Gang, War, Floyd, etc.

[Don McRitchie]

I’ve been asked numerous times about my background, and how this site got started, but I have never gotten around to documenting it on this site. I suppose that now is as good a time as any and it seems relevant to this thread.

I am a 46 year old civil engineer (highway designer) living in Winnipeg, Canada. I was born and raised here, but spent most of the 80’s out in western Canada (Edmonton and Banff). My start as an audiophile began at the age of 16 in 1974. That year, a friend bought a JBL 030 kit system (D130, 075) and a Kenwood 40W integrated amplifier. I was stunned by this system. I had no idea such sonic realism could be had in one’s home. I was mainly listening to rock music at the time. I can still remember the bass impact of that system on such classic tracks as Supertramp Dreamer and Kraftwerk Autobahn. From that moment on, I dedicated myself to saving every penny to buy a JBL system of my own.

For the next year, I spent virtually every weekend haunting the JBL dealers in my home town and pestering them to play every system they stocked. I originally set my sights on the L100 Century, and as I saved more money, progressed upscale to the L65 Jubal, L200 Studio Master, and my dream speaker of the time, the L300 Summit. I spent literally hundreds of hours listening to these systems in the dealer’s showrooms – to the point that I was kicked out of one of them for spending so much time without buying.

In 1975, I had saved up enough to buy my first system. However, I did not have the money to buy the large JBL’s that I lusted after. That’s when I came across Altec Lansing. I had never heard of this brand before. The local dealer told me that they were the same as JBL since they were once the same company. However, their prices were half of the equivalent JBL’s. I ended up buying a pair of Altec Santiago’s, that were the equivalent of a JBL L200 Studio Master. I coupled these speakers with a Pioneer SX1010 receiver and Technics turntable.

My experience with the Altec Lansing Santiago’s would ultimately be a disappointment. They had a visceral dynamic impact that first drew me to them. However, living with them exposed a number of deficiencies. The 806 compression driver and 811 horn had very little response above 10khz. What was more difficult to live with was the ragged midrange caused by the ringing horn that could cause your ears to bleed at high volume.

I sold the speakers after only one year and decided to forsake all of the “west coast” speakers in favor of the then new high-end market. That’s when I bought the SAE electrostats. For the next seven years, I continually swapped components on a never ending quest for sonic nirvana until I arrived at my current system consisting of Dahlqist DQ10’s, Threshold 400A, Parasound pre-amp and Kyocera CD player. I stopped, in the early eighties, not because I achieved my goal, but rather because I realized the futility of my search. I was spending thousands of dollars chasing minute, and sometimes nonexistent, improvements.

Overall, I wasn’t entirely disappointed in the results. I ended up with a system that was accurate, detailed and provided very good imaging. However, I knew I was still missing something. That missing piece was the dynamics, and in particular, the bass impact that first drew me into this hobby. Even after embarking on the high-end route, I always hoped that the JBL’s and Altec’s that first inspired me would progress to the point that they would be as neutral and refined as the high-end speakers I owned, yet have the visceral dynamics I craved.

To this end, I continued to keep abreast of the products of JBL and Altec. I spent many hours listening to such systems as the Altec Model 19, JBL L212 and L150. After JBL abandoned horn speakers for the home, I began to seek out pro shops that carried the large studio monitors. All of these systems showed promise in various areas, but none seemed to embody all of the attributes I was looking for.

Then, in 1986 - a revelation. A JBL dealer in Edmonton, Canada, where I lived at the time, brought in a pair of JBL DD55000 Everests. That system was closer to my ideal in a loudspeaker than anything I had ever heard. It had excellent imaging, was uncolored and nuanced. Most importantly, it had the quickest, most dynamic bass (if not the deepest) that I had yet heard. Unfortunately, the price stopped me dead in my tracks. At $12,000US a pair, I could only lust after them.

After the mid 80’s, other priorities took over from audio – such as owning a home. I pretty much dropped out of even auditioning new audio equipment after that. However, around five years ago, I became nostalgic for the hobby that had consumed so much of my time and resources. It’s not that I wanted to start again with the endless upgrades. Instead my interest turned to the history of the hobby. I still had all of the audio catalogs and spec sheets I had collected from the 70’s and 80’s. I was now interested in finding out about the predecessors from the 50’s and 60’s. I began bidding on old JBL and Altec catalogs on Ebay. I got pretty good at sending in last second bids to beat out the competition.

One of the people that I beat out on an old Altec catalog was Steve Lewis of Maui. He contacted me by email and asked me if I would be interested in selling him a photocopy of that catalog. He introduced me to Steve Schell of Long Beach who was also bidding on old speaker catalogs. These two would become my partners in the Lansing Heritage website. We progressed from email to phone conversations and quickly came to the conclusion that it was foolish bidding against each other for these old documents. We came up with the idea of sharing everything we each owned and putting it up on a website. With such a site, we hoped that others would see the benefit in sharing and add to our collection.

Shortly afterwards, an event occurred that exploded our initial limited scope. I had met a JBL expert on a speaker email list named Garry Margolis. I had no information on his background other than the fact that he displayed greater knowledge on JBL products than anyone I had ever met. Once we had come up with the idea of our website, and before we had taken any action, I emailed him with a request for guidance on contactd and sources of information. That’s when I discovered that Garry was a former Vice President of JBL international. He passed on my request to the current JBL Professional Vice President of Marketing, Mark Gander. Mark immediately agreed to help and passed on my request to John Eargle, another former JBL executive that had written their corporate history in the early 1980s. Without any prior contact, John sent me a mail package that contained his original hand written notes from the numerous interviews he conducted in writing his history article. There were also numerous copies of historic documents and contact information for key players behind JBL’s past accomplishments.

That single act of sharing this invaluable information allowed our site to grow from a very basic collection of product literature to a comprehensive documentation of the Lansing legacy. We have now had the privilege of being in contact with over two dozen key people directly involved in the heritage of James B. Lansing. Contacts range from the very first employee of Jim Lansing in 1926 to the current executive management of both JBL and Altec Lansing Professional.

As those following this forum know, I have finally gotten back into the audio game in March of this year. That is when I picked up a pair of pristine, 1978 vintage Altec Lansing Model 19’s. It’s been a thrill rekindling the excitement of living a dynamic set of speakers after two decades of being away from the hobby. However, this is just an interim measure as Project May comes to fruition. Waiting for that, I have all of the reserve of a kid in a candy store.

[Niklas Nord]

Don
very interesting !

A great thread this one... :)

Are you disigning highways, I guess there is alot of planning
due to earthquakes that occour in the US from time to time..

[boputnam]

Originally posted by Niklas Nord
A great thread this one... :) I had thought this thread was a goofy idea, until I read Don's solilioquy and then I realized many may not have known all that. Don shared it with me over a lengthy call last year, and his enthusiasm is very contagious. :yes:

Me? Well, I heard my first L100's while stoned on my first treat to a waterbed. Of all that, I only kept the waterbed... :rotfl:

[scott fitlin]

Me? Well, I heard my first L100's while stoned on my first treat to a waterbed. Of all that, I only kept the waterbed...


L100's, waterbed, being stoned, what about the rest? Wasnt she any good? Enquiring minds wanna know!

:D

[Figge]

Originally posted by scott fitlin
Wasnt she any good?


he cant remember! he was listening to the damn L-100:s

[Don McRitchie]

Originally posted by Niklas Nord
Are you disigning highways, I guess there is alot of planning
due to earthquakes that occour in the US from time to time..

I'm thousands of miles away from earthquake country. The unique concerns up here regard the temperature extremes that our pavements have to endure - from 40C in the summer to -40C in the winter. I causes hell with maintenance.

[merlin]

Don, thanks for the insight.

I was best man at a friend's wedding in Milwaukee last year and was told they only have two seasons. Winter and Construction.

My real name is Michael, and I live just outside Windsor in England. Now in my 40's I have spent the last 25 years seeking that elusive music maker that keeps me happy.

Over here, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to loudspeakers, from the mighty designs of Tannoy, through the likes of Vitavox, Spendor, Kef and Proac, to the latest from B&W and Living Voice. My current speakers are Proac D100's whilst I build my own Project Maybe in my head! With JBL (First the L100, then the 4344, lately the 1500Al subs), I have found a product that puts a smile on my face everytime I turn on and tune in.

Hopefully other's in the UK will come to apreciate JBL's in a similar light.

Thank's from over here to all of you for providing a source of invaluable information out here in the modern day colonies.

[Niklas Nord]

Hello Michael,
your old unit is still alive and feeling great.

Your 1500AL subs realy look great !

[merlin]

Thanks Niklas,

The subs were conceived to work with the Tact orginally. They sound better than they look!

[Hofmannhp]

Hi folks,

my forum name is nearly my real name Hanspeter (HP) Hofmann and I live in Bad Homburg, near Frankfurt in Germany.
My audio "career" begun short after high school time with audio electronics for our parties. In this time the first power transistors came to the market.
Some years after this start my private electronic revolution began with the first cheap power transistors....the 2N3055, which allowed me to built power amps with 60 to 70 watts (please don't laugh). Some of them ended their life with a cloud of smoke..and a long silence.
During the same time, I remember it was in 1968, I started with building the first speaker cabs. Cheap speakers can't live very long and so I had to change some tweeters and woofers nearly every week.
In this time I walked through the hifi shops and saw the high class speakers, looking for the state of the art types....but...the budget. I realized the name of JBL in this time and found out, that the systems are a lot better than others, well understanding the construction differencies.
Later in the 70s I was happy to have a trip to LA to visit some german friends of my family, living there since 62. First trip was to Orange County Speakers where I lost my whole bucks for two 2441 and two 2205 (which I still own today). The virus had done his job very well.......
1980 DIY copies of the "new" 4333B with 2420 and 2405 and a DIY crossover (still workin fine today)
1984 two Altec Valencia cabinet without speakers for zero bucks, added the 2205, the 2441 with DIY welded horns and a DIY lens like the 2495. (also still working fine today).
1988 DIY of two 4530 with E-Voice EVM15B, active crossed
1990 again OCS , bought some 2308, 2235 and 2405.
2000 bought the 4435 as used speakers from a german music company in Munich.
2001 bought a disco system from a friend with one Klipschhorn and two Heresy
2004 after ebaying around in germany and europe, I had the parts together for my project shown in the forum threads from jan to march with 2240 (thanks again Bo for the terminals) 2441 (thanks again jtgyn) 2495, 2402 and 2202.
2005 we'll see

regards
HP

[boputnam]

My name is Scott Fitlin ... and my family opened the Eldorado Auto Skooter in March, 1973! And we've still never seen a picture... http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/frown.gif

OK, part of my story - I'll work it through the next few glasses of fine red wine... http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/blah.gif http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/blah.gif

Circa 1970: my dad sought a "stereo" - we were fully monoaural until then. After much searching, I influenced him away from alternatives, and to the Altec Boleros - a 10-inch two-way with a PR. He drove it with sizeable Sherwood receiver... A few months later, having saved every lawn-mowing dollar I had, and selling any spare bicycle in the garage, I managed a pair of Altec Capri's (infinte baffle), and the "seperates" of a Pioneer SX-8100 amp and TX-8100 tuner. IMO, my stereo rocked - my girl sure thought so! http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Circa 1972, arrived at Syracuse U, dorming it, and needing spare cash, I signed-up for sound support / audio tech and worked mostly at the ol' "Jabberwocky", a revered club in the ground floor of the then Kimmel Hall. Lots of cool acts, in some tough acoustics. PA was Altec A7's flown, and an Altec 8-channel console. No outboard FX or EQ. Subwoof knows this place http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/yes.gif , and he too ran sound there at about the same time, though we appear to have not overlapped. I worked many, many shows - Hell, I "grew-up" doing sound at Jab. Was on house sound, grunt/patch-guy, until one night Roger McGuinn (Byrds) showed for a two-night run, and for some reason they gave me FOH. Hell, I was only 18... Anyway, Roger was outstanding (Bryan Bowers opened), and after the show, McGuinn's road manager offered me anything - even virgin maidens to join their tour. Even McGuinn himself INSISTED I go with them and do sound for the entire tour. VERY flattering... I was crapping myself. Stoned and tired - I knew it had been a good show, and we could do it again - but I declined. NRPS was also on a very, very tight tour - which was phenomenal (only it was right after Dave Torbert had left the band, and Skip Batten [weenie] had joined...) anyway, I ditched McGuinn, followed NRPS and stayed at the Jab and did Aztec Camera, Taj Mahal, Mark-Almond, countless other acts I've long-ago forgotten (I became the Jab go-to FOH engineer for a spell...) but was clueless (still am) on the theory of it all. I was merely a shoulda-been music major with a great set of classically-trained ears and an innate ability to mix. I just don't have the same innate ability about the design engineering and theory. I crewed for Loggins and Messina, Hot Tuna, Bromberg, Guthrie, on-and-on... It has been my love-hobby since high school.

All-the-while, I was listening at home to a pair of home-made cabinets with 12-in Jensen coaxials, while the boys down the hall had Advents and a pair of visually stunning L100's. The L100's and I found waterbeds, together... http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/moon.gif I kept the waterbed... http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/rotfl.gif

Leaving Syracuse, I sold the Jensens, wedged the Capri's into L/R position behind the rear seat of the station wagon, fired-up the 25w amp, loaded in Grateful Dead tapes and headed west, New Mexico way. Besides driving up/down the Rockies thusly for years studying and working geology, I got involved with a band who still re-unions, coming onto our 30th in 2005. Not kidding... I repeatedly sold my stationwagon to the bank to fund cables, connectors, mics and stands, speakers and amps, and harps. I pretty much do the same for the band I'm with now in the Bay Area... http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/tongue.gif

I bought a pair of Altec Model Nines from Warehouse Sound, and then later stumbled into a great pair of used 4312's on a road trip through Boulder - turns out John Nebel knows the place.

The 4312's and the Model Nine's were with me for years (always seperate rooms - they never sounded as good together as apart - a polarity issue I never understood until arriving here... http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/banghead.gif ). I then refurbished the 4312's, bought two-pair of 4313B's from cabinet guy Audiobeer (corrected some ingenious network wiring he inherited...), completely refurbished a few pairs of L44's and a pair L77's (eBay'ed the lot), three-pair of 4301B's (still own two-pair), rebuilt the Capri's (LE8T's and LE20's; in holding pattern in the shop), have a pair of 4406s' flown in the master bedroom, and bought the most gorgeous pair of 4345's from Ken Patchkowsky that I have totally refurbished.

Now, I suffer with the self-induced purgatory of trying to do live sound support in settings seemingly perfectly designed to acoustically fail... http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/help.gif

[JBL Dog]

Who am I?

:hmm:

My name is Bob Constantin. I've lived in the St. Louis, MO, area all my life. I'm still trying to recover from the Cardinals getting swept by the Red Sox in the WS. But, hey, the Cardinals have been there seven times in my lifetime and won it three times. I can live with that! :D

I graduated from Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, MO, in 1982 with a BS degree in Speech Communications, though I never took a "speech" class. I thought about pursuing a career in broadcast until I found out the majority of on-air personalities live just above the poverty level. There are a few that make it and rake in the bucks, however. Besides, the college radio station General Manager told me, at 6'4" tall, I was "too tall for radio!"

I started dabbling in the Mobile DJ business part-time in 1979 when I was in college. I couldn't believe people actually got paid to spin records! I did a little club work here and there, etc. I was tagged with the DJ stage name "Boogie-Bob" back in the mid 80's (and, yes, it has stuck with me over the years!).

I got fed up with "Corporate America" in the late 80's and decided to take on the DJ biz full-time. I've used just about every issue of Pro Series JBL speaker produced from the early 80's to present. My favorites are all the "SR" series. "Cabaret" series sounded great, but they weighed entirely too much to lug around. Well, I still use a couple of the Cabaret 4602A's as stage monitors (E120, 2402H). The entertainmnet biz has blossomed into a twelve system operation. I employ eight part-time DJ/Karaoke entertainers (and a roadie) and we do about 1200 shows a year. The majority of that work involves Karaoke presentations at local pubs.

What else? I married my lovely wifey in 1993 and we have two kids (10 year-old daughter, six year-old son). She teaches the 5th grade. And, yes, I get treated like a fifth grader when I act like one! :banghead:

My hobbies include collecting JBL stuff. My current collection features two C45 Metregon's (one loaded with an S82 3-way system, the other loaded with a 2-way 201 system - 130A, 175/H5040 & N1200). Other goodies include a nice set of C38 Baron's (D131, 175DLH & N1200), Minigon, and a mirror-imaged set of Bel-Aires (insanely rare according to Oldmics). I also have a set of 4343's and 4430's. Oh yeah, Lancer 99's.

No longer in the JBL family are L65's, L220's, C56 Dorians, L100T's (the most underrated speaker JBL has ever produced, IMO) and L150's (my first set of JBL's). I would like to get a Paragon to complete the "gon" trifecta, but the wifey says I have to buy her a bigger house before that happens.

Other hobbies include wasting a lot of time playing Texas Hold-Em on the internet, Ebay-ing, golf and listening to music. My favorite artists' include Steely Dan, Ella Fitzgerald, Norah Jones, the "Rat Pack", Ray Charles, Beatles, Van Morrison, Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder. I can tolerate just about anything but the profanity-laced rap.

I've never been convicted of a felony and I haven't inhaled for the last 17 years. Sorry, I don't have a good waterbed or L100 story to share! :D

This message comes from JBL Dog :band:

[Maron Horonzakz]

Hi... My name is Maron Horonzak.....With out the Z.....I lived most of my life in St Louis. Worked in aerospace Mcdonnell Douglas (30 yrs) Retired NE Mo at Mark Twain Lake. Ive had more JBL speakers than you can shake a stick at .., Metragon ( in piano black) w S7... Built 2 Paragons ( walnut) Bought a third from a Salvation Army store. Bought a pair Of Klipschorns Threw out the guts and stuffed them with JBL speakers.... For 20yrs I was recording engineer For the St louis Philharmonic. Then we broadcast the tapes on KWMU fm radio and NPR. We used to have Playback partys after the performense The Philharmonic orchestra were two fisted drinkers & would stay till the wee hours of the night listening to the master tapes. When KWMU went to all talk & no music. The Play backs were curtailed... I still get requests from members for tape copy,s Retired conducters etc. Now up here at the lake things are a bit quieter.

[louped garouv]

Now living in Denver CO -- Grew up in New Orleans, LA....
working as an accountant until I make it rich (somehow) --

I have a pair of model 19s, first high end system to date (they at least come close to predating me -- I am 28); running with a home assembled 14 WPC Tube Amp Kit (Heathkit AA 151) cant wait until I can get a hi end amp to push the 19s, but i guess the neighbors appreciate the low wattage in the system now....

:D

[hosee]

I live in Layton Utah which is about 20 miles north of SLC. I was never a genuine audio expert but I had a friend who was and introduced me to real "Stereo" sound at his house with a pair of Voice of the Theater speakers. He later bought a couple of Sovereign S-8 speakers in dark oak cabinets and I really liked them. We went to a home and garden show and JBL was show casing some 4350s, which my friend bought a couple in gray cabinets and black grills. They sounded REAL good to me so I went and bought a couple too at $1500 for the pair. I got buyers remorse and sold them to my friend for the same amount so I had none and he had 4. I got a call from a salesman at Broadway music down town and he wanted me to see this set of speakers. I went down and the speakers were 4350s in a wood grained cabinet and blue grills. They were $2500 for the pair, which I bought and have kept through the years. I picked up a couple of L-300s when I was in Cheyenne Wy. while I lived in Wyo I bought a couple of new 4312 speakers because they reminded me of the L-100s which I never had owned. I later picked up a couple of Sovereign speakers in dark oak with the S-8 but sold them for $700. Later I picked up another pair in the light oak finish with the S-7 and added a 2405 to them (this is the kind of decision that I make when left on my own). I bought a couple of L-166s from Ebay and liked them so I bought a couple more later. My son uses them in his room. My friend helped me build some speaker cabinets for a center channel using a 2202, 2440 and 2405 using an active crossover. I built two of them and they work great. I still appreciate my friend and we still listen to music when we can. He helped me make good choices without the education of buying something not so good and all the detours that involves. I still own them all (except for the first set of sovereigns) and, sometimes, I think my wife has second thoughts.

PS My friend still has the 4350s and the sovereigns from all those years ago.

[Zilch]

Would everyone enable the location display on their posts, please? It helps us remember who is who by where you are.

Well, it helps ME, anyway. :p

We need a map here: "A thousand points of light..."

[Hofmannhp]

Would everyone enable the location display on their posts, please? It helps us remember who is who by where you are.

Well, it helps ME, anyway. :p

We need a map here: "A thousand points of light..."
Hi Zilch,

you met the point......thats what we need :thmbsup:
my map shows some worldwide contacts, but is'nt very complete

HP

[Hofmannhp]

And we've still never seen a picture... http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/frown.gif ....


Hi Bo,

look at this:
http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2668&highlight=Eldorado

HP

[boputnam]

Hey, HansPeter...

Yea, but Scottie PROMISED he give us the cook's tour, one day, but he's had trouble getting the digital camera going... :(

[louped garouv]

he doesn't want us to know he is actually the one making those E&S DJR Rotary Mixers and just pretends that it is some french lab making them -- doesn't want us to see all of the NOS Urei 1620s that he has laying around either....


:D

[JonathanKeehn]

Hello Friends:

First of all I would like to say how grateful I am for this forum! I have learned a great deal this last year by just reading these threads! I am a fifty-something commodity day trader who lives about 50 miles northwest of Chicago. I was an electronic engineer for a few years after College but went for the freedom and autonomy of being self-employed. I was a Chicago commodity broker for 12 years and now work out of my home. I was first introduced to hi fi when I was about 16. I built a Heath Kit preamp and amplifier, a Rek-O-Kut turntable kit and bought a 15" Altec coaxial Speaker. I think it was a 177 model with the sectorial horn. In 1968 I inherited some money from my Grandmother and did what 90% of guys that age do: I spent it. I bought a used 65 Shelby GT 350 Mustang and a JBL sound system which consisted of a pair of C60 Sovereign I S8R speaker systems with the built-in JBL Energizer and a JBL Graphic Controller Preamp. The Energizer had an equalizer PC card that flattened the S8R’s response characteristics. I also bought a Thorens TD 125 turntable with a Rabco horizontal tracking arm and a Stanton 681 cartridge. I was in audio heaven! My friends would come over and listen for hours and we would carry the 180 lb. speakers downstairs to the living room to get better bass than my 10x13 bedroom would permit. Despite the geometrically-progressing technology of today, there are few audio systems in today’s market that could surpass what JBL was doing in 1968! I am a member of The Chicago Audio Society and have heard many systems in the 100k to 200k price range that could not equal the power, visceral impact and clarity of my system back then, for a little over 3k!

JBL got the basic electro-mechanical design parameters right many decades ago and is just refining the designs, i.e. better crossover network components and designs, better magnet structures, power handling improvements, beryllium diaphragms, better horn flare shapes, etc. I am looking forward to building a pair of speakers next year. I will probably use the 2235, 2441 and 2405 drivers with a pair of wooden tractrix horns from Dr. Bruce Edgar, unless the K2 S9800 drivers would be available next year, but I doubt that would happen. I suspect JBL management ( read Harman) is more interested in gross sales volume of mass market home audio products rather than catering to a few hundred hard core types like those of us who read this forum. I wonder if JBL top management has the single-minded passion of an Enzo Ferrari or a Ferdinand Porsche to offer state-of-the-art individual drivers and up-to-date crossover networks to its hard core fans. Probably not. I did for a couple of decades after Mr. Lansing’s passing. After all, isn’t the United States the place that allowed JBL to reach such a position of dominance in the audio world in the first place? JBL should consider selling it’s latest series of components to the audio public because it’s the right thing to do, rather than making millions more dollars for them, which they probably wouldn’t do. I realize this is very hard to do when stores like Best Buy are your dealer network. I know from being a professional trader that "money always goes to the yield." I also realize that there is probably not much gross profit from selling top-end systems in today’s consumer climate; but at least make the latest components available for us die-hard JBL fans.

[doodlebug]

The real name is David and the moniker is the term of endearment bestowed by my mother upon my birth. I live in Santa Cruz, California but work in Silicon Valley/San Jose, CA in software marketing these days. I heard my first stereo system in 1963 when my father purchased one of those big Philco console systems. It actually had a 3-channel amp inside, as I learned later, with the 3rd channel to drive the only woofer in the cabinet - must have been one of the original subwoofers.

After getting hooked on electronics in junior high school, I didn't get another real exposure to higher quality audio until as a freshman in college, where lots of guys showed up with their systems. After discovering a talent for fixing broken electronics, I realized I could work on audio gear for *beer*. This is how my career in electronics really started. After dropping out of college for partying too much, I took a job at a local stereo shop fixing and installing stereo systems and commercial background music (anyone remember Muzak?) systems while playing in rock/funk bands. Then DISCO hit.....

I ended up installing many, many disco systems along with the lighting systems, too. In the early days, there were few DJs and most bar owners just assumed that the guy who installed it *must* know how to operate it, right? Installing what really were wide-band PA systems, I came to understand and appreciate all the research JBL provided to make sure an audio installer would use the appropriate drivers for the need. I can't tell you how many speakers I blew from trial and error without the documentation from JBL.

In the late 70s, I decided that I'd had enough of the audio biz and switched to those new-fangled things called micro-computers, seeing that those job appeared to pay better than being a local disco installer, part-time DJ and funky sax player. For the past 25 years, that has proven to be a good thing for me.

Into the 90s, after the kids finally grew up, I had enough $$ again to spend on fun things and the audio bug bit again about 10 years ago. Recently, I was given a set of Mac pre/power amps - tubes, of course - along with a set of JBL D130 woofers/175 horns. Then I stumbled over a yard sale with a set of 4425s, for which I had replace the surrounds. Latest gear for me has been a set of Quad ESL988s and a Harmon-Kardon Citation II power amp - lovely stuff. The 4425s I use in the garage for my sax practice, which I've also taken up again.

So, I surf out here to keep up with all the others who have found their way to the same sort of interests in their mid-life.

Nuff said for now.....

Cheers,

David

[Triumph Don]

Don Mahon from Cincinnati, Ohio. First pair of L 100's new in 1974, still got ' em. Small integrated Sony. Then L 200, big Pioneer integrated. Next Crown 150 amp and preamp. Then DC 300A. Next, L 300's. Sold it all [except the 100's, cheap turntable and CD] for race car parts. Then a house. Late 80's great deal on some Jubals [still got them,also] more Crown and Carver amps [they were cheap-found out why] listened to this stuff for 10 years. Then, well, eBay! Been through 6 McIntosh amps, have a coupla Crowns, settled on a Mc 37 preamp, bought some near mint 300's [recently sent to a new home in CA to a member!] now have 4343's tipped off to me on Marketplace! Just for fun bought some Radience [junk] series 3 ways. Replaced the air moving stuff with LE10's, LE5's and 25's. All mint. Lots of work on the cabs braceing, insulating, fabed ports, veneer looks better than new. Project with the [desearving] 16 year old. WAY to much money, but if you ever pass through Cin City you can compare them to my L 100's [I really like Guinness]. Next-Bi Amp the big guys. Have a Mc 2125 and a Crown PS-2 [now produces some nasty buzzes] and a JBL 5234 crossover bought from a member. If the xover works like the amp I bought form him, well, After all the scary stuff posted on the site about the Crown VFX-2 I had, its gone, looking at an Ashly1001 and another Mc [damping factors/speed be damned] for the lows. Results will be posted!

[porschedpm]

Ed Stimmel from Reno, NV but work in the SF Bay Area. My stereo/JBL hobby started around 1972-73 when I was 15 yrs old. My best friend, Steve and I used to hang out at a little stereo store in San Luis Obispo, CA called Stereo West. Stereo West changed it's name to Warehouse Sound and went on to develop a fairly big audio equipment mail order business. This was a time when Quadraphonic Sound was just coming on the scene, names like Dual, Marantz and Teac were still big kids on the block, and the L100 was THE speaker that young dorks like us could ever hope to aspire to. Sure we listened to some of the L200, L300, and the Studio Monitors but they were so far out of the budget they were never considered possibilities. When Steve and I were both 16, the Country Club restaurant/bar we were working at as dishwashers decided to add a night club. They installed a dancefloor, 4 huge Altec Speakers (I think 1219's), 4 Crown DC300A's, a small Tascam board, some Shure mics, and a 2ch Teac Reel to Reel and voila, instant night club. After they got it all installed, nobody new how to run the stuff except Steve and I, so at 16 years old we became the dishwashers and part time Sound Technicians on Thursday through Saturday nights. We did this all through high school and then some. After a year of screwing off in college I moved to Salt Lake City to work at a place called Custom Hi Fi which sold mid-fi stereo gear. That lasted about a year, after which I went back to college. I studied Accounting, got my CPA license, and concentrated on building a family and a career for the next 20 years. During these years, my hobby laid dormant, being replaced by a passion for Porsches. (After buying a used Porsche there wasn't much left over to buy any stereo gear). I eventually ended up in Reno, NV working for the North American distributor for Porsche, first in their Finance Dept. but later as a District Parts Manager (hence my user name PorscheDPM). Then in about 2001 some things happened which rekindled my interest in audio equipment. It was a combination of my income gradually rising over the years, my kids growing up and leaving the house, and my discovery of eBay and Audiogon. I first built up a pretty decent 7.1 home theater system (TAG/McLaren pre-pro, McIntosh 2 ch amp, Bryston 5ch amp, Sony DVD and Paradigm speakers). After about a year, I next built a smaller 6.1 HT system for the bedroom (Outlaw pre-pro, McIntosh 6ch amp, Sony DVD, and Paradigm speakers). These HT systems were great for movies, concert videos and audio listening. And while I thought the sound was very, very good, I felt the speakers left me just short of that "West Coast" sound I had grown up. Deep down I think I knew that the sound I was looking for was what the JBLs provided 30 years ago but I had to convince myself that a 30 year old speaker could sound as good or better than the modern speakers available today. So when I went to build a small high end 2 ch stereo system for my home office/apartment in Pleasanton, I took a leap of faith and purchased a pristine pair of L100's, coupled them to a small Cary tube integrated amp, and immediately fell in love with JBL's all over again. It was indeed the type of sound I was looking for (although L100's did give up some in detail and resolution) and I loved the look of the quadrile foam grilles. They were good but after a few months the upgrade bug hit so I found a nice pair of L65 Jubals to replace the L100's and the sound got a little better. (I sent the L100's to my friend Steve to rekindle the flame in him, too). Soon afterwards I discovered the Lansing Heritage Forum and became aware of what some of the best JBL had to offer. It didn't take too long for the L65's to be replaced by a pair of 120ti's which gave me everything I wanted: good tight bass, detail, resolution and crisp high end. And then after about six months the 120ti's were replaced with a pair of 240ti's. With the then retired L65's I built another small 2ch stereo system in my Reno home office, again using a small Cary tube integrated amp. Slowly but surely, my Reno home office has evolved into my best high end system. Beginning last July, the L65's were replaced by a pair of 4343's. Over time, all the drivers were upgraded to 4344 spec, the Cary integrated was replaced by a McIntosh preamp, a McIntosh amp, a Pass Labs amp, and an Ashly crossover to allow bi-amping. This system is about as close to perfect as I've ever achieved. If you'd have asked me when I was 20 something yrs old to design a truly high end system it would have been a system very similar to this although with older electronic gear. My latest project has been to take L100 cabinets and upgrade them by putting in L100T crossovers, 128H woofers, 104H-2 mids, and 035Ti tweeters. The sound is much better than the original L100's, and approaches that of the 120ti's. I kept one pair and gave another set away to a friend. Because the cabinets aren't cosmetically perfect they make great garage/workshop speakers. So now I have JBL's situated where I end up spending most of my waking hours: in my two offices and in my garage. I still use my home theater systems for occasional movies and concert videos but most the music I listen to is either through 4343's, 240ti's, or my updated L100's. Let me end this by saying how much I enjoy and appreciate this forum. This Forum has helped rekindle a passion that once was a big part of my life. And I've learned so much by being able to tap into the collective JBL brain trust. I'm proud to be part of this community that never seems to tire of sharing knowledge, ideas and advice; and seem to have fun doing it.


Ed Stimmel
Reno, NV

[mikebake]

Nice post, Ed. Thanks.

[Zilch]

Good job, Ed. I hope you'll be coming to the next Project May audition so we can meet you....

[porschedpm]

Thanks, guys. I'd like to go to the next Project May audition as I was disappointed when I couldn't make it to the first one.

Ed S.

[leif]

Hi,
My name is Leif, and I live in Sandefjord, south east in Norway.
I am 36 years, and have been interested in audio equipment since I was about 17-18 years. My first speakers was a pair L65 Jubal. I have not always had JBL, but also had some KEF 104.2, B&W 805, some small Pro ac, and some other stuff too.
I had a pair Ti240 but sold them when the foam started cracking. I have at the moment a pair small infinity floor standing speakers, that I use with my very much loved B460 sub. That one is a real piece of furniture that also make good sound.
I am dreaming about getting a pair of large JBL studiomonitors, like the 4430,4435, 4343 or similar.

[yggdrasil]

Hi my name is Johnny Haugen Sørgård. I live in Bodø, Norway. Which is just north of the polar circle. I am a software developer.

In 1967, just one year old I dismantled my fathers turntable a dark sunday morning, long before he awoke. A Thorens with 12" SME arm. A story which have been following me ever since.

I remember in 1970 my father built a rearloaded horn speaker with a Tannoy 15".

My first contact with JBL came in 1973 when my father acquired his first Paragon.

In 1985 I acquired my first complete stereo equipment. A Kenwood kac7000 preamp, Sansui b77 poweramp, Philips speakers, Kenwood cd-player, Kenwood turntable.

In 1987 I built my first loudspeakers. A rearloaded horn with a 12" driver(unknown). Designed to go into a small room with just a footprint of 34 x 44 cm, but 160cm high and a motorola piezo horn. In 1988 they were upgraded with a large midrange horn (lousy driver unknown). At that time I used an Accuphase electronic crossover. These speakers went through 7 versions during their lifetime.

In 1997 I bought the drivers in my avatar. By this time economy was better. The amps was changed to Doxa (norwegian), new cd-player Pioneer PD-s06.

This upgrade was fantastic.

Last summer I picked up some Altec drivers which have been turned into a small project. The bass-cabinets have been designed with a 3d-spiral horn. Will post a complete thread on this in a few weeks.

I must do a paragon project some time, don't know when, don't know how.

Long ago I gave up the local HiFi-asylum. They talk about large 6" woofers with NO dynamics at all.

[57BELAIRE]

Hello everyone....Whew! I can't believe I found this place.

As a pro musician for the past 40 yrs it all started with my first "real"
guitar amp...a '61 blond Fender Showman 12 (which I still have). It was
factory equipped with a D131...that aluminum centerdome had a mistique
that captivated me from the start and led to a lifelong love affair with
all things JBL.

The association with JBL in my professional career spilled over to my
personal preference for home listening and through the years has
amounted to a collection bordering on lunacy...from the Paragon
right on down to the Minuet, and everything in between.

I can't bear to part with these treasures, hence my house resembles...
well, you can imagine.

I'm a S.Florida native and look foreward to being a member of this eclectic group who share a passion for a marque that has established itself above all others in modern American history.

Russ Howard [email protected]