L200's on CL, checking them out today

[oznob]

http://chico.craigslist.org/ele/5650711700.html

I'm checking out these L200's today. Second owner, retired to Chico from Novato via San Francisco. He said he hasn't played them in quite awhile but will be able to hook them up for a listen. I know to check the overall cabinet and corners for issues. Also check the risers for moisture damage. L-pads for scratchy sound and drop outs, lens damage, woofer damage. Cone rubs, uneven sound with the horns etc. What am I missing? He wants $1K to start which I think is an OK price provided everything is good? I would appreciate any opinions and advice, thanks.

[Joseph Smith Jr]

http://chico.craigslist.org/ele/5650711700.html

I'm checking out these L200's today. Second owner, retired to Chico from Novato via San Francisco. He said he hasn't played them in quite awhile but will be able to hook them up for a listen. I know to check the overall cabinet and corners for issues. Also check the risers for moisture damage. L-pads for scratchy sound and drop outs, lens damage, woofer damage. Cone rubs, uneven sound with the horns etc. What am I missing? He wants $1K to start which I think is an OK price provided everything is good? I would appreciate any opinions and advice, thanks.
From the looks of his garage, I don't think you'll have any problems with those speakers
None whatsoever
You also don't have to worry about L-pads because those don't have any, they're not "B"s

Joe

[oznob]

Thanks Joe, I figure if he was originally from San Francisco and retired from Novato to Chico, I'm confident he's not hurting. There is an adjustment pot or L-pad on the front baffle. I'm sure the foilcal is covering at least one of the screws.

[Joseph Smith Jr]

Thanks Joe, I figure if he was originally from San Francisco and retired from Novato to Chico, I'm confident he's not hurting. There is an adjustment pot or L-pad on the front baffle. I'm sure the foilcal is covering at least one of the screws.
It's a 3-way switch, not an L-pad
Only the "B" version had the POS L-pad
No foilcal screw problems with those either, the switch is secured with a nut and the network is in the back of the cabinet
You better grab those, your only mixed blessing is they are up in Chico
How far are you going to have to drive?
Joe

http://www.hifido.co.jp/photo/01/078/07869/c.jpg

http://www.hifido.co.jp/photo/01/078/07869/b.jpg

[oznob]

Thanks Joe, takes me about an hour. If all else fails, there is always lunch and perhaps an adult beverage at The Sierra Nevada Brewery and Tap Room Restaurant! :cheers:

[nedseg]

(Yes, first post, but have revelled in the expertise here for years and years and years...)

Those look pretty good, even with lenses upside down.

I have L200s that I got in the early 70s, and then were (JBL) dealer upgraded to add 077s after the L300s came out.

The asking price is just slightly less than what I paid for mine new:), and seems fairly resonable if in really good shape...but you'd have to invest a fair bit to get L300 like performance out of them.

The plain L200s - while far better than either the L100s or even the Jubals in my opinion - were just too 'screechy/squawky', even for my preferences.

(I also preferred their looks over the L300s, which I couldn't even think about affording at the time.)

After the shop 077 upgrade, we A/B'd them against new L300s in their listening room, and the general consensus amongst most other JBL customers at the time was that they had slightly less boomy bass, and seemed a tad more 'musical'...

The cloth woofers have held up amazingly well, and still work and sound fine (hard for me to believe).
(They have been babied all their life, too...no direct sunlight, more or less 'reasonable' listening levels, etc.)

I also recently got new foam grills - which have returned them to their orginal look, which is amazing.

However, I did recently snag a like-new 4645C sub (also in Chicago) which I'm driving with a Crown 1502 XLS.
My original thinking was to save wear and tear on the antique LE15Bs in the L200s, but I have been pleasantly suprised at how much depth and 'punch' it has added to well recorded music. (I listen mostly to acoustic jazz and folk.)
And for HT, with action movies it is almost scarey (check that...not almost).

If nothing else, adding the sub may postpone the ultimate hard decisions about woofer and crossover upgrades for them, which seem to get harder each year that goes by.
I consider myself very fortunate to have had these for so many years, and nearly problem free (UV dissolving foam grills...hope this third set holds up better!).
Elsewhere here, Heather has superbly documented her L200 upgrades, which I suspect are about as good as can be gotten from them.
Other, more knowlegable folks here will no doubt pitch in with more refined expert ideas and opinions, but I still consider my modified L200s to be the best musical investments I've ever made!
Have Fun, Good luck!
TJ

[oznob]

Well, I the proud owner of a very nice pair of L200's! I would go out on a limb and say they are box stock, save for the grills. However, the grills on them are JBL replacements. Hid did keep the screens which I have.

The seller, Eric, has to be one of the most "un-audio" guys I have dealt considering he had vintage JBL speakers. That's not a knock on him, it just wasn't into audio gear. He said he bought them from friend when he lived in San Francisco. His friend described him as an audio nut. He got into classical music and convinced himself the L200's were not appropriate for classical music and was going sell them. Eric, on a whim, said he would buy them and has had them ever since. That was sometime in 1978. I asked what his friend replaced them with but he couldn't remember.

Soon after that he moved north to Marin County, you know where the "hot-tubers" live. He said they stayed in the corners of the living room as lamp/end tables occasionally played off the B speaker out of whatever stereo and later home theater receiver that was in the loop. The latest was a Denon AVR-3803. He even used romex for speaker wire. He said he just realized the screen could be removed and now the frill fit better.

Looking them over, I don't think anything's been done to them. I did put the lens back in their proper position. They sound great with just a bit of scratchiness in the adjustment control. I plan to rotate the woofers and try to get some contact cleaner in the controls. Cosmetically, they are beautiful. One very, very faint glass ring and a small ding on a back corner. I am very happy to have them. Here are a couple of pictures, I will post more later.

I would appreciate feedback and suggestions from current or past L200 owners. Thankd

[hjames]

Kudos to you! They look VERY nice! My first pair were beater cabinets - once I got partway down the path
I hunted up a nicer pair of cabinets and moved everything over. I left a bunch of notes as I was building mine -
you are only limited by imagination and budget!
Enjoy and keep us informed!


Well, I the proud owner of a very nice pair of L200's! I would go out on a limb and say they are box stock, save for the grills.
However, the grills on them are JBL replacements. Hid did keep the screens which I have.

I would appreciate feedback and suggestions from current or past L200 owners. Thankd

[oznob]

Thank you for the information Heather, I appreciate it! I will do some more digging.

My first inclination is to leave them stock as they are in such great shape. I like the way they sound and they are very efficient to boot. Not ground shaking bass but very accurate. I am fresh out of tube amps. I'm sure my old Scott LK 72 would have sounded great with them. I am currently using Yamaha A-S1000 integrated amp which works well. I also have an older Denon DRA-1025R receiver that sounds good albeit a tad bright. They are going to be very fun to experiment with.

[Mr. Widget]

Well, I the proud owner of a very nice pair of L200's!Congratulations!!!

I still covet those speakers... one of my favorites. One of these days I'll have to get a pair and update them a bit. Of course I'll also need to find room for them.

Please keep us posted on any work you perform on them.


Widget

[oznob]

Congratulations!!!

I still covet those speakers... one of my favorites. One of these days I'll have to get a pair and update them a bit. Of course I'll also need to find room for them.

Please keep us posted on any work you perform on them.


Widget

Thank you Mr. Widget,

I will post my progress. I will probably yard out the woofers sometime today or tomorrow.

Looking at some of the changes that have been made to these speakers over the years, I'm wondering if it is getting more difficult to find them untouched? My experience with "upgrades" is you never, never get your money back out of them when it's time to sell. I think they sound great as is but I know improvements can be made. I have had times where I changed crossovers, drivers etc. and regretted it.

Anyone run a pair of these stock? I would be curious to know your impressions, thanks.

[oznob]

Here's a picture of the other foilcal. Later this week I will take some Howard's to them with 0000 steel wool, not that they need much help with the finish. That stuff works great to clean the grain and brighten them up.

[oznob]

I decided to pull the woofers out and ran into a couple of snags. First was one of the screws just spun and didn't come out. I figure the t-nut either didn't get installed or more likely is inside the cabinet. When I tried to loosen the woofer, I found it is veery much stuck. I used a rubber mallet to tap on the baffle but it didn't budge. Short of prying out the woofer risking damage to the baffle, I'm looking for other suggestions. That and having to deal with the screw almost makes me want to just leave it alone. That would be hard for me to do as I "need" to look inside and check things out. I didn't try the other woofer as yet. Think I will just sleep on it but would appreciate any input, thank you.

[4343]

Face down on carpet and raising a few inches and dropping it has worked for some. Or the putty knife slid under the edge of the basket. (Don't cut the O-Ring by going in too far.)

The tiny 10-32 tee-nuts JBL used love to spin loose. If all but one come out you may need to pull the woofer out to get it to hold long enough to get the screw out of it. Otherwise drill carefully through the head of the screw, not a fun job...

I've taken to screwing a small strip of wood with a hole in the center behind tee nuts on any cabinets I build. One pair even has an entire ring with the tee nuts sandwiched between the ring and the baffle. I did that when I thought the baffle was a bit thin after recessing the basket flush.

[oznob]

Thanks for the information Mike, that will be very helpful. My hesitation on dropping it is there is still a loose screw to deal with. I foresee it biding up and with the weight of that woofer.......

[Joseph Smith Jr]

Thanks for the information Mike, that will be very helpful. My hesitation on dropping it is there is still a loose screw to deal with. I foresee it biding up and with the weight of that woofer.......
Put the other 3 back in just far enough to stay put in the T-nuts if you want to go that route

Never been a fan or had to use the drop the cabinet approach, not good for the cabinets, not good for the drivers

A strong tapered pick with a 90 degree bend on the end is the most aggressive tool I have ever had to use on any JBL with a stuck woofer (inserted through the frame's screw hole, NOT between the frame and the baffle), that or wooden shims, small blocks of wood or dowels (which can be carefully used between the frame and the baffle) and a mallet or small hammer (to hit the wood blocks, NOT the drivers :))

I also save the dense plastic knock outs from the handles on gallon milk jugs too for these sorts of jobs, an ideal none destructive wedge material

Does take patience sometimes

Good luck

Joe

[oznob]

Thanks Joe, great suggestions, thanks! Probably will not get to mess with them until tomorrow.

Happy Independence Day to all, save for The Brits!:D

[RedCoat23]

Happy Independence Day to all, save for The Brits!:D

Who appear to have created their own new independence day on June 23rd. :blink:

[oznob]

All I can say is, "Keep Calm and Carry On!"