JBL XPL - Can't get them out of my mind...

[Coolness]

All,

After finding a pair of nice 4311's and L96's. Doing some light rehab, I am hooked. Great sounding speakers, especially for the type of music I like. For some reason I read an article on the JBL XPL series and have been curious ever since. I recently lost out on a pair of 200a's on thebay, but have a line on a pair of 160's.

I have read many postings on these, but I am a bit worried about the failure issues reported on the Ti mid speaker. Is this pervasive or just a small issue. Also, how do these really stack up to my existing collection? I have seen some comparisons, but they seem split.

Specific to the 200a vs 160 is there a clear winner? Will the smaller woofer on the 160 necessitate a sub?

Any opinions are welcome, either fuel my fire, or douse it!

Thanks

[speakerdave]

You already have a couple of solid three-ways. On the other hand, the 160 would be a further exploration of the JBL three-way and a serious upgrade in the treble. They likely would not end your search for the 200, though; might intensify it, in fact. When you find them your 160 mids and tweets would be spares. That is, if your situation can tolerate such a burgeoning collection.

[jblnut]

I owned some 140's for a year or so before I found my 250Ti's. To this day (10 years later) there are still things I miss about them. For one, they image spectacularly well due to the cabinet construction (especially if you have them up on the stands). I haven't heard every JBL, but these have to be among the very best imagers in the line. Second, that 093Ti mid does some really special things on certain material. I really liked it for jazz as the trumpets and saxes just jump out at you in a way they don't on the 250. Finally, they look very nice and have a high WAF factor if that's important.

In the bass department, I was amazed at the low notes that the 140 could hit. But, it could not play them loud as there are limits to a single 8" driver. You might get a little more out of a 160 but in the end, you'll probably want a sub.

Someday I'd like to hear a 200 and if I had found a pair of those before the 250's, I might have stopped right there.

Best of luck in your XPL quest. They are a rare and truly unique page in the JBL history book. Some might call them the last attempt by JBL to put out a "hi-fi shop" speaker for the US market before it all went to big-box store hell....

jblnut

[Don C]

The bigger XPLs are going to be able to fill a bigger room, or have more impact in a regular sized room compared to L96. I've owned both. I loved my L96s, but the XPL200 are bigger, clearer and better. I haven't heard the smaller XPLs. With the standard XPL200 crossover in place the midranges and highs are somewhat emphasized, so you might not notice the bass power you are getting. I didn't like them when turned up very loud that way. Bi-amping and rebalancing the relative driver levels a bit to taste revealed their true power.

[Coolness]

Thanks all this is exactly the kind of feedback I am looking for. I have have a rare day off so am doing some serious listening to my speakers at volume. It's tough for me to find the right balance between the 4311 and the L96. One has much better bass while the other much better mid treble (no kidding, right). I am looking for that perfect balance and hoping the XPL would be it since I can't rationalize the size or $$ of some of my other target JBL'S (L200/L300/L250ti/etc).

Keep it coming and thanks again.

[jblnut]

I will toss out the idea of either 120TI or 240Ti as you would get exactly what you are after - same bass with better high end. Much easier to find than XPL too...


jblnut

[BMWCCA]

Don't overlook the L7 which has a lot of the appeal of the XPLs but with greater availability at an unusually low price for the performance. From what I"ve seen you can buy three L7s for what the XPL200s go for these days.
:dont-know:

[HCSGuy]

Last time we did a side by side comparison, it was my XPL160's next to my dad's 250TiBq's. The XPL's did have better detail in the mids. However, the 160's bass was so poor we couldn't get over it and stopped listening. The 250ti's go lower and with better definition, while the XPL160's had a bump in the mid bass but no real bottom end, and definition described as sounding like an oar hitting the side of a rubber raft. Since then, I have picked up XPL200's and a DX1, though I haven't A/B'd them against anything, and they're probably going to go when I get done building my Timber arrays or DD55000 copies. They are far better than 160's, though, and would be keepers if I didn't have a few better speakers laying around. The Cascade would have been really special:)

[Coolness]

I appreciate the great feedback as alwayd. Good alternatives being suggested.

Thanks!

[antoninus9]

I used to have three pairs of speakers (JBL 250ti, B&W Matrix 801 III, and XPL-200A) that I dragged in and out of my system, but I kept going back to the XPL-200's. As I got older and tired of dragging large heavy speakers back and forth I settled on the XPL-200's, and parted with the others. Having had the XPL's since the early 90's, I'm very familiar with them (I also have a pair of XPL-90's).

In single amplifier configurations the 250ti and B&W Matrix 801 are better than the XPL-200, but bi-amping with a DX-1 crossover pushes the XPL-200 to the front of the pack. It makes a big difference in imaging and detail.

The factory stands for the XPL-200's are, in my setup, too short. I have them with their stands atop 5.5" of concrete patio stones. The tweeter is about the same height as the 250ti's.

As far as faulty titanium midranges are concerned, I've never had a failure, and continue to use the originals that came in the cabinets.

I also saw mention of the 120ti. It's a wonderful speaker too when placed atop a 20" stand and backed by a decent sub.

I hope this helps with your decision.

[Coolness]

I used to have three pairs of speakers (JBL 250ti, B&W Matrix 801 III, and XPL-200A) that I dragged in and out of my system, but I kept going back to the XPL-200's. As I got older and tired of dragging large heavy speakers back and forth I settled on the XPL-200's, and parted with the others. Having had the XPL's since the early 90's, I'm very familiar with them (I also have a pair of XPL-90's).

In single amplifier configurations the 250ti and B&W Matrix 801 are better than the XPL-200, but bi-amping with a DX-1 crossover pushes the XPL-200 to the front of the pack. It makes a big difference in imaging and detail.

The factory stands for the XPL-200's are, in my setup, too short. I have them with their stands atop 5.5" of concrete patio stones. The tweeter is about the same height as the 250ti's.

As far as faulty titanium midranges are concerned, I've never had a failure, and continue to use the originals that came in the cabinets.

I also saw mention of the 120ti. It's a wonderful speaker too when placed atop a 20" stand and backed by a decent sub.

I hope this helps with your decision.

Thanks Antoninus, this does help. One of my biggest worries are of the few I have read online about the mid failures. Hearing your experience helps a ton. BTW, I am a noob to bi amping. What amps did you drive into your XPL-200's? Were they equal wattage to the low and hi, or did you drive different power to each?:crying:

[antoninus9]

Thanks Antoninus, this does help. One of my biggest worries are of the few I have read online about the mid failures. Hearing your experience helps a ton. BTW, I am a noob to bi amping. What amps did you drive into your XPL-200's? Were they equal wattage to the low and hi, or did you drive different power to each?:crying:

I use two Bryston 4B-ST amplifiers, but the brand and model are not important. The same results can be achieved with many different amplifiers. Look for solid state amplifiers with 200+ WPC, high current, a dampening factor of 500+. I'm sure you can find plenty from Harman Kardon, Adcom, Parasound, and others. I would avoid MOSFET designs for use with the XPL-200.

Please see JBL's document on power requirements: http://www.jblpro.com/ProductAttachments/spkpwfaq.pdf. This may explain why I have never had any problems with the midranges, or other drivers.

It's my understanding that the DX-1 and its cards are no longer available. DTS bought out all the remaining stock. You may be able to use other crossovers. Perhaps other forums members know of a replacement.

As someone new to this I would advise you to be cautious. Speakers react differently depending on room and placement. Just because the XPL-200's worked well in my environment does not translate into them being the perfect speaker. Given a different room with different placement another speaker system could have worked better. Also, when someone says their speaker of choice is XYZ, remember that is a reflection of their subjective opinion which is probably driven, in large part, by their musical tastes.

Other things to consider is the components in their system. For instance, I use dual subs to reinforce the lowest frequencies. This has a rather dramatic impact on the sound.

If you've never heard a pair of XPL-200's, the first step is to listen to them, and compare them to others.

[gferrell]

[QUOTE=antoninus9;373419]I use two Bryston 4B-ST amplifiers, but the brand and model are not important. The same results can be achieved with many different amplifiers. Look for solid state amplifiers with 200+ WPC, high current, a dampening factor of 500+. I'm sure you can find plenty from Harman Kardon, Adcom, Parasound, and others. I would avoid MOSFET designs for use with the XPL-200.

Not sure why you would avoid a MOSFET amp for the XPL-200. Some MOSFETS sound superb.

[SEAWOLF97]

I also saw mention of the 120ti. It's a wonderful speaker too when placed atop a 20" stand and backed by a decent sub.

It's also my favorite of 3 way, 12 inch bookshelves and are a huge bargain since
they are usually way under priced.

[Coolness]

Okay thanks to all the input on this thread. I have sourced a nice pair of XPL 160s. Should be in hand within the next week. Will report my impressions once I setup.

Thanks all!

[Coolness]

All,

Thanks for the help so far...now the fun begins! I have purchased an "ok" pair of JBL XPL 160s, worked with a great guy in California to get them to me in the desert. Now the fun. These came with a known broken grill (now 2 due to shipping, but fixable). The owner said one of the woofers had been refoamed, good. Upon opening the packages the other woofer didn't make the trip, and it needs to be refoamed. You see my pictures below after I have removed the bad foam and started cleaning out the gunk (I was careful to remove the surrounds for reuse). A few questions. How the heck do you remove these woofers?? I have spend a while looking and have found no info.:confused: I think I can do this job w/out removal, but would like to remove the speakers anyway to work on the cabinets.

Well...it's a start!

65055
65056
65057
65058
65059

[Coolness]

More pictures of the fun...

6506065061650626506365064

[Coolness]

Okay, it was hair dryer to the rescue and the speakers are all now free to begin re foam and cabinet work!:dj-party:

[speakerdave]

. . . A few questions. How the heck do you remove these woofers?? . . . .

It's like Nero Wolf says to Archie Godwin--intelligence guided by experience. Drivers sometimes get stuck to their mounting surfaces over time. You'll have to pry on them and/or rap on them a little, and everything you try will be a little bit dangerous to the woofer or the baffle finish. Just be careful.

What have you tried?

[Coolness]

What have you tried?[/QUOTE]

Dave,

Turns out the hair dryer worked. Just needed some patients and was able to work it out. Now I am waiting for my re-foam kit and I will be listening in no time.

Thanks...Todd

[SEAWOLF97]

What have you tried?

Turns out the hair dryer worked. Just needed some patients and was able to work it out. Now I am waiting for my re-foam kit and I will be listening in no time.

Thanks...Todd

although 1 looks OKAY , I'd do them both.

[Coolness]

Agreed and that is what I did. Replaced both and have just finished setup tonight. Amazing. I don't get the review and comments on lack of bass. I find these to have great low end. What a fantastic sound. The XPLS have exceeded my expectations, what a great speaker. Couldn't be happier.

Thanks all!

[SEAWOLF97]

Agreed and that is what I did. Replaced both and have just finished setup tonight. Amazing. I don't get the review and comments on lack of bass. I find these to have great low end. What a fantastic sound. The XPLS have exceeded my expectations, what a great speaker. Couldn't be happier.

Thanks all!

perceived bass is not solely from the woofer. Even the small 4301b & L16/19 put out a pretty good thump.
placement, room acoustics play a large part of that equation too.

Sounds like you've found a good solution.(no pun intended) ..congrats.

My 250Ti's with their 14's can put out tremendous bass, but ..believe it or not ...do benefit from a sub.