240TI renovation

[derrhunt]

Hi

First post here but since I'm a proud 240TI owner since a couple of months this is the place to post, right:)
Had to buy them when an ad came up...
My prior JBL experience is a pair of L36 that I had a very happy relationship with in my younger years.

They sounded good and the bass driver had been refoamed.
Some dents and miscoloration. Also some smell from old stuffing and old furniture. One toggle switch for 0/-2dB wasn't working.
Original driver grille was missing and instead a new, attached with velcro directly on the veneer, came with them. Not the best solution.
So I decided early on to give them an overhaul.

During the procees I took some pictures.

First opening up and check inside. The crossover is nicely put on a board thats easily removed. The stuffing looks a bit old and will be replaced. I guess that the bass reflex pumps out fibers in my listening room with every note.

http://i.imgur.com/gheGFegh.jpg

Old stuffing out and new pieces cut to measure. Only difference from original stuffing is that I leave a cover over the crossover to avoid direct reflex in the box.
Probably not a big difference from original but it feels good to have it there.

http://i.imgur.com/qo4herwh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/G78rlRyh.jpg

Empty box. It has some strengthening wooden bars on the inside.

http://i.imgur.com/Ssmi3fFh.jpg

Very light cleaning with sponge and soft soap. Drying with clean towel.
Sanding is critical as they seem to have lasyr (teak) on them. I sanded very carefully!

http://i.imgur.com/uDpKWvNh.jpg

In the meantime I was also working on new front covers.
The velcro was removed and a new frame was built. I looked at old pictures and tried to come as close as I could on shape and rounding.
Corners are glued and wood tapp is used, so they should be fairly strong.

http://i.imgur.com/NsGKBkwh.jpg

I know the original covers are brown, but there will be no spouse north of the alps that will let brown fabric into the living room - right;)
So black it will be.

http://i.imgur.com/ZmagMVqh.jpg

New 6mm plastic plugs fits nicely in the original holes.

http://i.imgur.com/Zz2gosJh.jpg

More will follow soon...

[Titanium Dome]

Good luck!

[Odd]

Nice work.

[grumpy]

A nice system, worthy of a refurb/cleanup! :)

[Mr. Widget]

Very cool... always nice to see these vintage systems get the love they deserve.

Thanks for sharing.


Widget

[derrhunt]

After sanding I add Top-Oil (wax) using a clean rag.
It has a Acacia-tone that goes perfect together with the original lasyr.
I put on 3 layers with >8h drying between coatings.
It takes away some miscolorations and gives a water resistant, matted surface.

http://i.imgur.com/7thwPYfh.jpg

The black parts were re-painted. New felt-pieces underneath.
Perhaps some "high-end" speaker foots would be appropriate but I like the simplicity of felt.

http://i.imgur.com/b3sJF4Zh.jpg

I used a lacquer-roll for the backside.

http://i.imgur.com/ATbL45gh.jpg

Dried

http://i.imgur.com/Sw8b3Jnh.jpg

That LE14H bass i huge!
A BL of 22N/A. Weight for one driver is 11kg and voice coil has a diameter of 10cm. It has potential! I love it:)

http://i.imgur.com/NIJ9s6Th.jpg

New crossover coming up...

[Earl K]

Beautiful derrhunt!

http://i.imgur.com/7thwPYfh.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/Sw8b3Jnh.jpg

There are many LHF members here who love the le14 family of woofers ( myself included ).

http://i.imgur.com/NIJ9s6Th.jpg

Thanks for sharing your story & your pics!

:)

[badman]

Nice careful work there!

[toddalin]

Came out beautifully.

[derrhunt]

I also wanted to upgrade to new components in the crossover.
NOT give the speaker a new characteristic, but instead keep the JBL-sound.
So I used components within 5% of the original values.
No more switches to tune mid and tweeter level. I put resistor values between the switchvalues.

The resistors are mounted on double-sided tape so easily removed if necessary.

Had to manually wind some extra turns on the bass coil to get 3mH.

http://i.imgur.com/dmZ8TV2h.jpg

The new crossover is revealed by the WBT binding posts and absence of switches.

http://i.imgur.com/kXhJPW9h.jpg

I been playing with them for some days now and mid and mostly the highs benefit from new crossover components.
The TI-tweeter is more transparant and gives more "shimmer" than before.
No harshness at all - this is a very good tweeter!:)

[Mr. Widget]

In your crossover I see a bolt through one of the coils. It must be brass or another nonferrous metal or it will change the value of the coil.

Your work looks gorgeous, congratulations!


Widget

[derrhunt]

In your crossover I see a bolt through one of the coils. It must be brass or another nonferrous metal or it will change the value of the coil.

Your work looks gorgeous, congratulations!


Widget

Hi

You are right, it should be replaced. I'll see what I can use.
Not sure how much of a difference it makes? If I have the time I will make an before/after measurement.

Anyway, some last pictures of the system and the new grille:

http://i.imgur.com/c39HT1Vh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/34MEUYkh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/8BApDTQh.jpg

It's clear that a 30 year old speaker can bring a lot of joy and fun to the music.
And give a realistic, and in many ways, accurate reproduction.

I hope they will last for many years to come:)

[Titanium Dome]

They look fantastic! :)

[DavidF]

Nicely done. Thanks for taking the time to take some photos along the path.

[wsilva]

Ya baby!

The look gorgeous.

I really enjoyed my 240ti when I had them.

"use em like you stole them", they love to be cranked up.

[svollmer]

I used to have a pair and loved them. I had spikes on mine, but they were always on thick, padded carpet and wobbled because the are wide and not deep. But, I like your implementation of felt on the bottoms on your hardwood floor. I'd stick with that.

Enjoy!!!

[hjames]

They surely look nice! Enjoy!

[ddf1969]

Fantastic speaker from a great series, well done on the restoration.