Just receive my JBL L100... with LE26 ?!

[fraula]

Hello everybody!

First, sorry for my bad English... I am a frenchy guy and have my first experience with JBL speakers! yes... they are the L100 model...
My first surprise was to see the LE26 tweeters on it... is that normal?? i thought that were the "LE20" on the L100 and the "LE25" on the L100A.
Mine are the L100A with ducted port and N100A crossover. Speakers are : 123A-1 / LE5-2/ LE26 (?)...
Do you think the LE 25 are better than the LE26 ??? should i change the LE26 for some LE25 ??
And what can you tell me about the 123A-1 woofer Compare to the 123A-3...

So... i must admit that i completly love this L100 !!! they are so punchy and dynamics! the one who doesn' t like upfront soundstaging must look elsewhere... but the sound is presented in a relatively coherent way... i said relatively because i know that the bass are a little bit seductive even for the medium... but it' s what i like!! when you hear an instrument playing, you have the feeling it is in front of you! it is almost real! with good recording of course... because bad recordings... are still bad recordings...
The sound is fullbody! i love that!! i have the feeling to miss nothing on my CD's (at last!)
Thank you JBL for delivering me this kind of sound!!... and not thank you for not doing it anymore..... with currents models....

Thank you all for your comments, and if someone know something about the LE25 vs LE26 and the 123A-1 vs 123A-3 i will apreciate it a lot!!

Have a good day!

Fred,

PS: On this Picture you can see that these tweeters were the LE25-2 before becoming LE26... anybody know why?!

[fraula]

another picture...

[fraula]

the crossover... can it be improved?...

[fraula]

and the last...

[Robh3606]

Those drivers are newer versions. If you look closely at you photo you can see the original LE5-2 designation on your magnet. There were a couple of versions of the Le-25 and the Le-26 was the last in the run. Sonically I don't believe there are any significant diferences and you have the last version of that paper dome tweeter so I wouldn't worry. As far as the crossover. You will change the character of the speaker. You could always experiment.

Rob:)

[honist_bob]

Hello Fraula,
I don't know too much about those drivers, but I would like to ask what kind of camera you used for those great macro shots! I've never seen such good close-up detail!!!

[boputnam]

Hey, fraula...

Your english is fine - not to worry.

You have a genuine pair of the L100 Century there. Good for you. There is FAR too much posted here (believe me !!) to point you anywhere - do a Search on a number of strings ("123A-1", "L100", etc.) and you'll have about a month of reading to do!!

But, most important - you need to use this as your avatar!!! :rotfl:

Welcome, friend!

[Mr. Widget]

Yeah, I had to share that photo with Mrs. Gadget. She loved it too!

Widget

[Rusnzha]

I recently tweaked a set of L100s. There is a definite difference between the 123a-1 and the 123a-2 woofer. The -1 kept me smiling for many years, but the -3 is definitely an upgrade in performance that doesn't corrupt the the basic character of the sound. If you can dig up a set of -3s, do it. I also have a set of LE-25-2 tweeters. They have a rubber surround that won't break down. They might be a hair stronger than the ones with the foam surrounds, but again, they don't mess with the sound. i put a couple of pounds of accoustistuff from parts express in the boxes and behind the mids. Still sounds like an L100, just better. If you want to go all the way, don't forget about those grilles. Look up sonofagun, he makes them better than the originals.

[fraula]

Great! thank you all!

Rusnzha, do you think that the 123A-1 have more bass (50/80Hz) and the the 123A-1 may have more lower bass (30/50)? that is just my feeling...
I really like this punchy sound in the 50/80hz! and i don' t want to miss it!...

Robh3606, that what i thought too... i think they must call it "LE26" just because the tweeter don' t have the usual orange ring and the foam...
About the foam, do you think i could put one?

Hey! it seem that everybody saw me in the ported tube! just to make it clear... i was not in the L100... but outside!... :)

honist_bob, i took the pictures with a "CANON A80" (4 M pixels) i love this camera better than "SONY and all the other brand... exept NIKON... but still prefer CANON because the picture look very natural like a real camera film... (no over definition to seduce the consumer... just clean and true!...)

Regards,


Fred,

[Rusnzha]

Wow, that's a good one. In my own situation, the -3 do seem to be stronger at the the low end. Above that seems about the same. This also has to do with how the speaker is positioned. Mine are in corners on spiked stands about 10 inches high and I covered the walls and furniture around them with 2 inch thick acoustic foam. I listen to thet on a 50 wpc Luxman receiver. Amps can make a big difference with JBL stuff. These precautions get rid of boominess and if I set my bass control just right, the whole 35 to 80 Hz comes through nice. This is just my setup and my ears so I hope some of the experts on this site respond to this one.

[fraula]

Thank you Rusnzha for your comment... so, for you the 123A-3 seem stronger in the lower end than the 123A-1!...
I saw on the spec of the L100A and L100A (late model)that the 123A-1 have .044" gap gauge and the 123A-3 have .048" gap gauge...
can anybody tell me what is "gap gauge" and where is that on the woofer??

Thanks,

Fred,

[Mr. Widget]

The gap is the width of the slot that the voice coil is in. If you can see it or measure it your woofer is toast.:)

Widget

[fraula]

Thank you Mr. Widget!...

[droh]

Fraula, could you post the seriel numbers for those L100s? The foilcals look like they are from a fairly eraly vintage but I was wondering if the LE26 was snuck in at the end of the model life, or maybe those have just been replaced?

[fraula]

Hello droh, here is the serial number of my L-100 :184077A and 195048A
I think they are the ealy model because they have the "123A-1" woofer...

Thank you for the help!

Fred,

[droh]

Well that pretty much shoots down my theory that maybe this pair was near the end of the L100 and LE25 reign. Those are pretty early seriel numbers and spaced pretty far apart. My guess is that someone replaced the tweeters on this pair and did it around the time the LE26 took over from the LE25. It's just so strange that the backs were stamped with the LE25 markings and then overstamped with the LE26.

[fraula]

Thank you droh, maybe the le-25 have been refoam with this black ring instead of the orange one and became some le-26?!

[droh]

I kind of doubt that. When a driver is reconed I don't think they would go to the trouble of putting a new stamping on the back. The black piece of plastic on the front of that driver went with the new LE26 and I think the cone itself is also a refinement from the LE25 series. But my guess is that the back part including the magnet are the same as the LE25. It just really seems like those tweeters started out as LE25s but then were switched over to be LE26s while in the manufacturing process, which again leads me to beleive they are complete replacements probabaly for LE25s that were blown.

Smarter folks than me would have to jump in to explain what the newer driver would mean to the sonic qualities of the L100. But my guess is that the difference would be minimal and probabaly for the better.

[paragon]

Congratulations to your nice looking 100 centurys !!
Your name now is Gadget !!!:D

Eckhard

[Mr. Widget]

Gadget! Has he been foolin' around with my wife?!


Widget