Jbl lancer 55 tweeter

[GT777]

Hi All

I was hoping for some advice please.

I have acquired a pair of old and very tired L55.

The drivers are ok and being re-coned by a local professional.

The crossovers are also being updated by the same company.

I have dropped the cabinets of with a local furniture restorer as the work was more than I wanted to take on.

I will replace the foam and the glass to sit on top and also replace the rockwool wadding inside with memory foam.

So I have everything apart from a pair of tweeters.

I have found out that the originals were the LE20.

Some have written the LE25, LE25-2 or the LE26 would work and may be a bit smoother.

I also found out that JBL suggested a 035TIA for a drop in replacement for a LE20.

Further research showed that the 035TIA was no longer available but the 052TIA was a replacement for the 035TIA.

So now I find the 052TIA is also no longer available and it seems only aftermarket copies can be bought of a number of the above.

I am hoping to find a direct drop in that, hopefully, solves some of the limitations of the original LE20 and that offers a fatigue fee, quality sound.

I am less concerned with budget than finding what options are available right now as I hope to achieve a nice result and keep these L55 for a good while.

Can anyone please help and let me know the current wisdom?

Thanks in advance

[BMWCCA]

If you're trying to improve on the LE20-1, you can probably find 035ti from $100 or less each used. I recently purchased a pair of LE20-1 to replace damaged tweeters on early L100s and paid about $80 for the pair, used. There always seem to be plenty available at any given time.

I'd first try the system the way it was intended to see what you think. I will warn that the titanium replacements can be relentless in showing recording flaws and are often found to be irritating and fatiguing even when used in their original systems before crossover modifications.

I was recently given a pair of Alphas-1 by the original owner with all drivers intact, and the sound quality from the LE20-1 pulp tweeters is surprisingly decent. If you're attempting to make a silk-purse out of your L55, you might be starting with the wrong system. Enjoy it for what it is, or move on.
:dont-know:

[GT777]

If you're trying to improve on the LE20-1, you can probably find 035ti from $100 or less each used. I recently purchased a pair of LE20-1 to replace damaged tweeters on early L100s and paid about $80 for the pair, used. There always seem to be plenty available at any given time.

I'd first try the system the way it was intended to see what you think. I will warn that the titanium replacements can be relentless in showing recording flaws and are often found to be irritating and fatiguing even when used in their original systems before crossover modifications.

I was recently given a pair of Alphas-1 by the original owner with all drivers intact, and the sound quality from the LE20-1 pulp tweeters is surprisingly decent. If you're attempting to make a silk-purse out of your L55, you might be starting with the wrong system. Enjoy it for what it is, or move on.
:dont-know:


Thanks for the reply.

In truth I bought these as I am fond of vintage speakers and wanted to give some JBLs a try.

They came with dodgey generic tweeters that did not work and I have no LE20.

I will stay away from Titanium after your description as I prefer an easy listen over hyper detail.

I think perhaps the LE20 maybe a good choice if the speakers are not going to be any good and I can at least sell them as having original components.

[Tony Sullivan]

Thanks for the reply.

In truth I bought these as I am fond of vintage speakers and wanted to give some JBLs a try.

They came with dodgey generic tweeters that did not work and I have no LE20.

I will stay away from Titanium after your description as I prefer an easy listen over hyper detail.

I think perhaps the LE20 maybe a good choice if the speakers are not going to be any good and I can at least sell them as having original components.
That is a wonderful loud speaker don't let anyone tell you different
Well worth the effort
You can still find nice LE20s - LE25s or 26s will work nicely as well if push comes to shove

[Johnny_Law]

I really enjoyed my L55s with the original LE20 tweeters. They were quite good!