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View Full Version : L100 grills - reproduction!!??



Rusnzha
09-04-2003, 01:50 PM
The L100 grilles were the coolest ever even if they disintigrated. Anyone out there know where they can be fabricated?

boputnam
09-04-2003, 04:03 PM
OK, in all (quasi...) seriousness, my grab is those original waffle-foam grill covers were made on a router. The material was just stiuff enough to have enabled that.

The ONLY guy I know who could recreate that is The Widget, with his handy-dandy computerized router.

If you can source that rigid open foam, pm Widget and see if he'd make a stab at this. Could be a nice waffle-and-butter (sorry... ;) ) business, for him.

No, back to sourcing that dang JBL blue...

Don McRitchie
09-04-2003, 04:44 PM
Last October, a member of our old forum posted that he was taking advance orders for exact replacements of L100 grills and replacements for all other JBL/Altec speakers that used foam grills. Never heard from him after that. If you want to try and get a hold of him, his email address was:

[email protected]

Mr. Widget
09-04-2003, 05:05 PM
I am not sure if it is the same fellow that posted a similar line on eBay several times. The fellow on eBay had not actually made the waffle pattern yet, but sounded confident that he could.

I am not sure if it really can be done without special tooling.

Here are a pair of Blue Grills. They come with extra speakers.:D

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3044704587&category=3276

Rusnzha
09-04-2003, 05:47 PM
Thanks -- will give it a try

Russ

RickL166
09-05-2003, 02:08 AM
Hey Bo,

Byte Me!! :biting: :)

L100s are OK!! In Fact, they're cool!!! :cool:

Tom Loizeaux
09-05-2003, 06:22 AM
I don't think I'd put slabs of foam over my drivers...especially the high frequency units.
I think JBL did this out of convience and as a marketing gimick, not out of a solid engineering concept.
Some people suggest that even semi-transparant mesh degrades the performance!

Tom

Mr. Widget
09-05-2003, 09:17 AM
Hey Tom,

You are right. One of the speaker reviewers that I read from time to time likes to include a measurement comparing the performance of the speaker with and without grills. The grills of the systems that he has compared have ranged from very sheer fabric to foam. In every one of the tests that I have read the speaker's performance is compromised with the grill in place.

As far as the L-100 grill, it works for me. I especially like it in that screaming orange color. My favorite is the L-88 Plus which is a flat slab of foam with a dished out disc hinting at the woofer's location. It is a very clean pure modernist design statement.

Rusnzha
09-05-2003, 08:08 PM
I'm sure that you are right about this, but there is no problem with the L100s that can't be fixed with a tweak on the bass or treble controls.

boputnam
09-05-2003, 11:32 PM
Originally posted by Rusnzha
...there is no problem with the L100s that can't be fixed with a tweak on the bass or treble controls. :die:

(don't fret L100 fans, I'll delete this post too. I just can't WAIT for you to discover, say, the 4313B...)

scott fitlin
09-06-2003, 12:10 AM
Originally posted by Rusnzha
I'm sure that you are right about this, but there is no problem with the L100s that can't be fixed with a tweak on the bass or treble controls. Quite wrong indeed!

Rusnzha
09-06-2003, 09:03 AM
Talk to me

Mr. Widget
09-06-2003, 11:13 AM
It's a personal preference thing. If you like the sound of L-100s, and many people do, enjoy them!

The main criticism of L-100s is that they have a pronounced midrange peak to emulate the sound of the Altec 604 and they don't have an extended or detailed top end.

If you are seeking an extremely neutral playback system try some Meyer Sound HD-1s.

http://www.meyersound.com/products/studioseries/hd-1/index.htm

boputnam
09-06-2003, 11:53 AM
Originally posted by Rusnzha
Talk to me I hereby admit to, during the mid 1970's, having had a brief affair with the L100's. It might have been the orange waffles, it more likely was there was finally something very acoustically superior to the (crummy, IMHO :eek: ) overly popular Advents of the day, which were a drag to look at (with their shoddy baffle fronts) and even worse to listen to.

Then I found a pair of recycled 4312's L/R at a used audio shop in Boulder. I summoned all the $20's I had, and never looked back. Even then, I moved beyond these to the 4313B's - a very superior quality three-way. That LE10H 10-in simply smokes the 123A and 2213H 12'ers, respectively. But, in the meanwhile, I also, on the advice of Giskard, swapped 128H's into the 4312's, and found THAT a remarkable improvement.

Then, came the 4345's and I grew up. Now it's just good clean fun to bash the long-lived popularity of the L100's, when they really are one of JBL's lowest-ranking products...

Ian Mackenzie
09-06-2003, 01:30 PM
Bo,

True Even on paper the 4313 is smoother by design, and that must translate into the listening experience

But at the time the concept of the L100/4310/4311 was on reading on fulfilled.

Subtle tailoring of the attenuators while playing later day State of Art Class A amplification makes you appreciate the intention of this vintage system.

I recall saying my God, these capture eveything after I pulling my E bay L100's specials out of the tea chests and wiring them up the the Aleph 2.

Ian



:)

boputnam
09-06-2003, 02:19 PM
Originally posted by Ian Mackenzie
True Even on paper the 4313 is smoother by design, and that must translate into the listening experience... I recall saying my God, these capture eveything after I pulling my E bay L100's specials out of the tea chests and wiring them up the the Aleph 2. Yea, I take your point.

It's just that, guys like that dang Giskard keep challenging me (read: us) here to re-test our long-held passionately defended opinions with real critical listening. And dang it ! (oh, already said that... ;) ) he's oh-so-often right!! :thmbsup:

Me, like Widget here, are likewise just trying to softly encourage some of that same, critical listening, while we have a Forum to dicuss the "whys" and "howcomes".

The saying "ignorance is bliss" never saved me so much money before all THIS!! But, then again, I haven't had this much fun just listening to music since I got me my own first Altecs in 1974.

But thinking again, maybe L100 bashing has run its course. I should encourage the seeking of the Orange Waffle Holy Grail 'cause it keeps them off the real quest - Studio Monitors! :D

4313B
09-06-2003, 04:41 PM
Here is the schematic of the original C533 that JBL designed for Bob Fine. This is the loudspeaker that started it all.

4313B
09-06-2003, 04:46 PM
Attached is a zip file with the rest of the schematics. One should note that the original L100 has 2nd-order filters instead of the 1st-order filters found in the other systems.

The 4311 is "next generation" and isn't included.

*****

Also note - this LX30 as posted above is not to be confused with the LX30 as offered in the Loudspeaker Component Series. That LX30 was a "refined" version of the N65 network and it was to be used with the 124A/124H, LE5-2/LE5H, and 077.

Ian Mackenzie
09-06-2003, 05:02 PM
Wow, they are way too cool schematics Giskard.

Hey Bo,

I love critical listening too, that why I own JBL's and don't get much done at home if I turn'm on.

And they (my L100's) are about to go into primary service while I file a new baffle to my wife (4345) and it will be an interesting transition.

Here are my babies, the last owner made nice blue cloth covers just like the JBL ones but I do prefer them off for more open sound. I have however replaced the foam around the tweeter and mount them in spiked stands.

Hmm, anyone gotta Citation 16/19 they wonna trade?

AAA Excellent (for rear surround)

Ian

boputnam
09-06-2003, 05:32 PM
Originally posted by Giskard
Here is the schematic of the original C533 that JBL designed for Bob Fine. This is the loudspeaker that started it all. Very interesting how they allowed the LF to just roll-off naturally, without incorporating any low-pass filter. This carried over into the earliest 43xx series, too. :hmm:

4313B
09-06-2003, 05:38 PM
As well as quite a few other designs.
The Lancer 77 comes to mind.

You will see that the C533 became the 4310 in the schematics.

Ian Mackenzie
09-06-2003, 05:41 PM
Yeah,

Well if the driver can behave itself and rolloff with controlled break up at say 6bd per octave who needs a crossover?

I figure all the white bird dun in the woofer helps with that

1 st order crossovers have superior transient performance and no crossover is even better!

Ian

Rusnzha
09-06-2003, 09:58 PM
When I hit powerball, I will seek out a set of 4345s. I would have to mortgage my house to swing it now and I already did that. In the meantime I'll get by just fine with my L100s. I got them on spiked stands and hooked up to a Luxman R114 and it still sounds better than 90% of the stuff out there. Thanks for the info, it gives me something to think about.

Russ

speakerdave
09-06-2003, 11:29 PM
You go, Russ! It's important to remember that none of this stuff is perfect. If your hi fi delivers the music and doesn't annoy you in the process, that's enough.

I'll never forget the time in the seventies I went to hear some Magnepans and a Spectro-acoustics amp. It was the hot stuff. It sounded pretty good, and I was quite impressed--until the guy at the drum kit started hitting the high hat, and it was on the CEILING! I just started laughing, and I always remember this when I start thinking of some little imperfection in whatever system I'm listening to, and then I turn back to the music. I'm not saying there isn't good and great. I'm just saying no one needs to be pathological and broke about this hobby.

I just gave my son a pair of 4311s and a Crown 150A that he can listen to in his college digs and also to fill out a little DJ kit he can tuck into a hatchback. He couldn't be happier. (The speakers may sound good to him because he listened to his Dad's 604 8Gs for many years.) Are these speakers perfect? No . . . and neither is anything you could buy to replace them, but, like you say, they're better than a lot of stuff out there.

Enjoy the music.

David

Rusnzha
09-07-2003, 10:55 AM
Right on, Dave. That setup you gave your son is one of the best things that can be given without breaking the bank. I'm sure it will give him years of pleasure.

Thanks,

Russ

sonofagun
09-08-2003, 09:58 AM
Originally posted by Don McRitchie
Last October, a member of our old forum posted that he was taking advance orders for exact replacements of L100 grills and replacements for all other JBL/Altec speakers that used foam grills. Never heard from him after that. If you want to try and get a hold of him, his email address was:

[email protected]

Hi all: Yes I posted that I might be offering replacement foam grilles again. Used to make and sell them years ago (approx 1975-85). Unfortunately am not offering them right now for a couple reasons: The special foam is not easy to obtain unless you buy it in quantities more than my VERY meager budget can afford (takes $500 or more). Also making the grilles is rather tedious and exacting (especially the L100s) and requires some special tooling (no, you CANNOT make them with a router). Ideally a computer driven cutting setup would make things easier, but again I don't have the capital or know-how to do this (although I do have an engineering background). I used to make L100s (and others) pretty much manually. Offering them again would force me to make a considerable commitment of time and energy both of which seem to be in shorter supply not being as young as I used to be!

Anyone interested in partnering to make these? Maybe someone near me or with some expertise in computer/machine design and some capital or time to invest. Production/order quantities on the order of 30 and up pairs per month (not just L100s) would be necessary to justify costs involved in setting up. The grilles I made were superior to the originals made from a non-deteriorating foam. And I worked out the best way to paint them for colors (including burnt orange!).
Later dudes.

boputnam
09-08-2003, 10:04 AM
Originally posted by sonofagun
no, you CANNOT make them with a router Doh! :duck:

Hey, Widget! Sounds like you gotta a little pm'ing to do... ;)

Mr. Widget
09-08-2003, 10:08 AM
I am afraid I've already got a few too many waffles on my plate.:D

I am way behind delivering 4343 name plates among other things.

sonofagun
09-08-2003, 11:13 AM
Yes, I advertised them on eBay, but making them fell through

BUT HEY -

All of you that would like new grilles. email me so I get a feel for how much interest there is.

I also made foam replacements for other makes and models including the L200s and Altecs 7, 9, 15, and Valencia models in addition to custom orders.

Rusnzha
09-13-2003, 09:20 PM
It's a bummer. I was hoping there would be some action on this. Since it seems to be going nowhere, I guess I'll get out the old waffle grill and make them out of batter.

sonofagun
09-14-2003, 07:43 AM
Tell ya what I'll do:

If someone wants to put up about $500 (in the form of a secured loan to me - contact me for details), I'll make them 8 to 10 pairs of L100 foam grilles except they will be a PLAIN FRONT with a bevel cut on all edges in color choices of black, brown, blue, or orange. You can use them yourself or sell them for a nice profit (SRP = $100/pair). This can at least get the ball rolling on making grilles available again. I've just got to have some kind of volume turnover to justify doing all the setup and supply work involved again. I've enjoyed supplying grilles in the past, but have to make some kind of a living at it.

Additionally (and interestingly), it WOULD be possible to recut these grilles at a later date with the original L100 "Quadrex" pattern which I have design data on. This COULD happen if I can get a steady volume of grilles marketed to where I can justify the time and setup to cut the pattern. I got fairly good response on eBay and delivered a few pairs, so know that they can be sold at least through that outlet. Much of my problem in the past seems to be that I'm a great designer/product developer/producer, but weak on the sales and marketing end!

Obviously grilles could also be produced for other models (I've mentioned previously here), but again, there must be a steady volume demand to justify and maintain the production supply and equpment.

So, there you have it - as they say, the ball is now in your court. You want these grilles - it's up to you. Let me know.

p.s. I can send sample pieces of the foam material in the colors to any SERIOUS inquirers. Also, I should have archived the names of potential customers from eBay who placed tentative orders with me. Oh and I fully intend to set aside a percentage contribution to support this fabulous forum!!! (as anyone who profits off it should do).

sonofagun
09-14-2003, 07:53 AM
Originally posted by boputnam
Doh! :duck:

Hey, Widget! Sounds like you gotta a little pm'ing to do... ;)

I'm curious as to what you mean by this? Are you saying that "Mr. Widget" CAN make them with a router? If so, I am VERY interested in finding out more. Please email me or post response. Thank you. I think I'd enjoy talking with some of you by phone as well.

Rusnzha
09-14-2003, 07:24 PM
Due to my meager pay as a special ed teacher in a local high school, I can't produce $500 that easily. If you had a few people willing to pay you up front and accept whatever conditions you need to get going, (time, expense, etc.) this would get you the up front cash you need to get moving on this. If this works for you, count me in. I suffer a similar disability regarding sales and marketing. That is the beauty of Ebay and other internet resources. I found a bunch of newsgroups under the keyword "audio". I beleive it would be acceptable to market the grilles on some of these groups. I plan on contacting the moderators to be sure that this is OK. It should help move them and I am willing to pursue this. I will have more to say on this in a few days.

narnia
09-15-2003, 06:27 PM
I just found this forum and it's awesome to see there are people who still appreciate the L100's.

A short history - bought a pair of L100's back in the 70s ($249 for the pair, can you believe it!). Cats and time weren't kind to the foam grilles, and I was able to purchase brown fabric replacements directly from JBL years ago. Do they still sell those?

About 10 years ago I was divorced and my ex got the speakers. I replaced them with 4312C's, which I love. Sadly my ex passed away, and I now have an opportunity to reclaim the L100's.

Since I haven't heard them in years, how would you say they compare to the 4312C's? I doubt I have room for both pair of speakers. Which do you think are the best to go with? I really like the wooden cabinet of the 100's and they seem to be in excellent condition except for some slight "pulls" in the fabric grilles.

Rex Mills
09-15-2003, 07:33 PM
"Since I haven't heard them in years, how would you say they compare to the 4312C's? "

The L 100 and 4312C's bear a certain family resemblance but the 4312C owing to a better crossover and better midrange driver and tweeter sound more "accurate" to me.
The 2nd order crossover allows less overlap between the drivers and a flatter response, particularly in the midrange frequencies, and the 035TIA tweeter beats the LE 25 tweeter hands down IMHO.
Why not just retrieve the L 100's and do an A/B with the 4312c'S and see which loudspeakers YOU like. You may decide to keep them both.

Rusnzha
09-15-2003, 08:32 PM
Does the L112 correspond to the 4312?

If it does, I just sold a pair of L112 and went back to the L100.
I found the L112 to be somewhat boomy in the bass. It is said that the 123A- woofers don't have the tightest bass in the world either, but compared to my old L112s, they sound tight! This is just one guy's opinion, but I hold on to it stubbornly. I missed the L100s more and more as time passed and I'm glad I got them back for this and other reasons. They probably have all or most of the shortcomings attributed to them, but theywork!

boputnam
09-15-2003, 08:37 PM
Hey, narnia....

Welcome! :wave: I too love those CSLewis books, if that's the moniker source... :coolness:


Originally posted by narnia
I just found this forum and it's awesome to see there are people who still appreciate the L100's. Uh, oh...

But hold on:


About 10 years ago I was divorced and my ex got the speakers.

Lucky her ;) . I'm mighty sad to hear of your subsequent loss, confusing how the story might be :hmm:, but would suggest you only re-quire the L100's if you can facilitate moving them to eBay where The Appreciative reside. They are many.

With the 4312's, I'd consider swapping the LF (2213H...?) for the 128H. This I did on advice of Giskard, and the improvement was remarkable.

If you ready to move up in the monitor world :yes::yes:, you might consider something "higher-up" in the 43xx series. JBL worked very hard improving upon where the 4312 left off, and moved into compression drivers for the MF, and remarkable ring-radiators for the UHF. You won't believe what you've been missing...

We're here to help with the encouraging of you to move out of the nest... :thmbsup:

4313B
09-15-2003, 09:15 PM
"I found the L112 to be somewhat boomy in the bass."

The L112 hates boundary reinforcement.
Perhaps not a desired characteristic of a "bookshelf" loudspeaker.
Mounted away from boundaries they tend to do better.

Rusnzha
09-16-2003, 03:27 PM
I can see where the 4345 blows away the hartsfield and the paragon. Just out of curiosity, are these still made. What do (did) they go for. What is the easiest way to get something in this class of studio monitors.

boputnam
09-16-2003, 03:33 PM
Originally posted by Rusnzha
I can see where the 4345 blows away the hartsfield and the paragon. Just out of curiosity, are these still made. What do (did) they go for. What is the easiest way to get something in this class of studio monitors. Which, the 4345? Matters not - none of what you ask about is still "made".

The 4345's last went for something near $2,300ea. back in '83, tells Sr. Giskard.

Watch eBay, AudioGon, or better yet, pm Mr. Widget! :yes:

dllyons
08-13-2005, 03:54 PM
I was very fortunate about 7 or 8 years ago I found a guy advertising in Stereo Review magazine (I believe) that made foam replacement grills for many brands (his advertisement showed a pair of Altec Model 9's). I remember that he lived in a northern suburb of Detroit. He had never tried making an L-100 grill but said he'd try and charged us $90 per pair.. Well, I had 3 friends that wanted them too, and we sent them up to him and damned !! He made them and he nailed them perfectly!!! Two of us got the orange grills and two got the browns. Since then, I obtained another set of L-100's that have the new factory replacement grilles on them, and I'd love to change them to the original brown foams. Anyway, as I got off point ... wonder if he makes these grills anymore ? I'm going to have to start researching this more .. I see there's more discussions about them ... just thought I'd throw this little story in.

I'm going to have to update my personal data and include pix of the two pairs of L-100's, my awesome pair of L-300's (I'm the original owner), and my J-50's and L-40's, and my newest entry some S36aWII

Rusnzha
08-13-2005, 04:26 PM
Do a search on sonofagun. He made these for me in my avator. I can't figure out how to attach a better picture, but they are nice!

dllyons
08-14-2005, 02:16 PM
Hey man, thanks for putting me on to sonofagun ... I believe this is the guy that did my first pair of L-100 grills maybe about 10 years ago or so- I can't remember exactly when he did them. I've been looking for him ever since, to do my 2nd pair ! I sent him a note to see if he is, and if so, this guy is good ! Me and my 3 friends that had him make our grills are delighted. They may have been the first L-100 grills that he tried making, as we had to send him a sample.

BassHog
08-14-2005, 04:56 PM
I'm going to have to update my personal data and include pix of the two pairs of L-100's, my awesome pair of L-300's (I'm the original owner), and my J-50's and L-40's, and my newest entry some S36aWII

dllyons,

That is a nice JBL collection you have there. I have a couple pair of L112's and I was thinking of getting a pair of S36AWII's to use as surrounds. Is that how you are using your's? How do you like them. TIA

dllyons
08-14-2005, 06:36 PM
dllyons,

That is a nice JBL collection you have there. I have a couple pair of L112's and I was thinking of getting a pair of S36AWII's to use as surrounds. Is that how you are using your's? How do you like them. TIA

well, I've got to confess .. the S36AwII's are still in shipment to me(I just ordered them 3 days ago), so telling you how I like them will have to wait a few days. I don't buy speakers without auditioning them .... except these, but you know they're JBL's and they'll probably surpass my expectations :barf:I'm going to be using them as outdoor speakers on my deck, since I spend a lot of time out there in the summer- listening to some Aerosmith, etc. while cruising the internet for classic stereo systems.
Interesting- when I purchased my L-300's, I was also considering the 212's ...

BassHog
08-15-2005, 05:02 AM
Thanks for the reply Dave. I'd be interested in your opinion of them once you get them.

57BELAIRE
08-15-2005, 05:20 AM
:D

sonofagun
08-17-2005, 04:54 PM
Hey man, thanks for putting me on to sonofagun ... I believe this is the guy that did my first pair of L-100 grills maybe about 10 years ago or so- I can't remember exactly when he did them. I've been looking for him ever since, to do my 2nd pair ! I sent him a note to see if he is, and if so, this guy is good ! Me and my 3 friends that had him make our grills are delighted. They may have been the first L-100 grills that he tried making, as we had to send him a sample.

Yes, it's me! :D

dllyons
08-17-2005, 05:30 PM
Man it's great finally tracking you down after all these years. I had sent snail mail and made phone calls to you and I ran in to a brick wall. I figured you moved or dropped off the face of the earth. :blink: And now I run in to you again on this website. How many years has it been since you made those grills for us ? I'm guessing maybe more than 10 after thinking about it ... I can dig the receipt out somewhere I know I've got some records.
All that time I was looking for you, the thing I wanted to at least find out about was how you made them. What materials and what paint to use, because if you weren't going to make them anymore, I was thinking seriously of trying.
I bought my second pair of L-100's and they had the JBL replacement grills on them, and I just wasn't satisfied with them. They're nice, but I want the real deal, and as far as I knew, you were the one man in the whole country that could make L-100 grills and make them right. As a sidenote- did I crap when I saw those L-100's that were raffled off on this website ? They had those original looking blue foam grills, and I was wondering who in the heck did those ?!?!?!?! Ends up it was YOU ! :applaud:

Let me tell anybody reading this note- if you've got L-100's and you'd like to have that original look of the foam grills for them back again, sonofagun is your man to make them ! this guy is good !
I remember when we sent you those 4 sets of grill frames, of being scared to death that you might not be the stickler for detail that we were hoping for. Others made similar grills but not the "real deal". What was we going to get in return, we wondered ? You removed all doubts when we got them back- you nailed them and there wasn't 4 happier guys on the planet that day.

I want another pair :bouncy:

dllyons
08-17-2005, 05:34 PM
By the way sonofagun, did ya notice the L-100 grill in the lower right corner of my avatar ? Yeah, that's right, it should look familiar because it's the set you made for me, and I just took that photo on 08/14 ... :bouncy:

sonofagun
08-18-2005, 05:39 AM
Thanks Dave. Be careful now, people here will think you're on my payroll or somethin'!

;)

boputnam
08-18-2005, 08:50 AM
Hey, Dave Lyons...

I was distracted by your avatar, and wonder whether you've sorted all your intercabinet phasing? :blink: Don't know for sure which L100's you've got, but one model is phased opposite the L300 (at least in the LF).

If you've got any of the L110A (but the version prior to the "Late Model"), your 123A-1 LF is phased opposite the 136A/H in the L300 (former goes out on (+) signal; latter goes in on (+) signal). There may be similar issues with the other elements, but I won't dig deeper if you've already gone through this jungle...

Of course, all this ONLY matters if you ever run more than one pair of cabinets together at any one time.

Mr. Widget
08-18-2005, 10:20 AM
Hey "Tin Ear".... I shall hence forth refer to you as "Phase Man".... think of it as some sort of super hero.:applaud:

Anyway, Phase Man, I think that photo was for display purposes and not for listening... much like Tom Loizeaux's Avatar.;)


Widget

boputnam
08-18-2005, 10:58 AM
It cannot be helped.

Anytime I see L100's paired with anything - and even anything paired with anything - I have serious doubts on how much (little...) is known about the interferences/boosts that are occurring. :biting: How many crossover points and intermingled slopes can one pair of ears handle? Dunno...

boputnam
08-18-2005, 05:58 PM
Of course, all this ONLY matters if you ever run more than one pair of cabinets together at any one time. Dammit, Widget!! :bash: I knew I had that issue covered! :rotfl:

Ian Mackenzie
08-19-2005, 05:29 AM
Dammit, Widget!! :bash: I knew I had that issue covered! :rotfl:

Well know it all, you might try and unravell Jean in the 4343 crossover modifications thread...all those who have gone before have failed.

Perhaps a you and he have convergent thinking.....oval ports in round holes.......how to make it fit!

Where there's a will there's a way.:hmm:

Macka

Ps rate this post as 9/10 pain in the arse value...:rotfl:

kworrilow
08-20-2005, 07:01 PM
I've been selling flat, 3/4" foam grilles on Ebay for a while, in orange, blue, and brown. Several months ago, I began experimenting with ways to reproduce the sculpted quadrex pattern and have gotten to the point where I can turn them out in about 3 hours per pair. I will just say that there's a lot of hand cutting involved...I tried to get my foam supplier to come up with a way to machine them, but it required very expensive custom tooling. These are virtually identical to the originals except the foam is a little more porous; 1/2" border, 10 vertical and 17 horizontal rows of squares. Because of the manual work involved and the flex of the foam, these are not absolutely perfect...but they're darn good, and I'm a perfectionist. Anyone interested can contact me at [email protected]; I can reply with a picture or two. I'd rather sell these individually to folks on this board before I try them on Ebay.... I have about 5 pair available but can only make about one pair per evening, so I can't really mass market these things.

57BELAIRE
08-22-2005, 10:31 AM
I can see where the 4345 blows away the hartsfield and the paragon. Just out of curiosity, are these still made. What do (did) they go for. What is the easiest way to get something in this class of studio monitors.

This is an interesting supposition and I wonder if any member has done such a comparison.

I have a/b'ed a Paragon and an L300 to pro musicians and the overall consensus was in favor of the horn-loaded Paragon. The 300's top end was a little crisper...but ever so slightly.

I'm sure there's a thread comparing horn-loaded vs. bass-reflex designs and it would be intersting to see some members weigh in on this.