My JBL speakers off to a new home

[bigyank]

Met my first colleague from this forum today, Duanage. He pried my speakers (L100t's) out of my living room.:(

Great guy and is definitely nice to meet a fellow audio-nut!:D

Now I have to wait for the replacements. I am getting a pair of SVA1800's! I hope my Adcom GFA-5800 will be enough to drive them!

Will be pairing them with the in-famous (some say POS) subwoofer JBL PSW-D112. I have had mine for over 5 years without any incident!

:rockon2: :rockon1:

Yank

[Titanium Dome]

Welcome to the SVA Club! This exclusive group is reserved for those aficianadoes who like their music with Full Frontal Fury Flying Fast Forcefully Fracturing Face and Femur. That's nine f'n Fs.

Don't get me too worked up or I'll start another thread. :bouncy:

Many are called, many are crushed, few survive. :montyp: Here, have some more of my SVAid:

[jblnut]

So this is the JBL for those Klipsch guys who want to ease into JBL ownership slowly ?


:D


jblnut

[bigyank]

First fly in the ointment. Seller tells me that one of the 4 grills is missing. I checked the Harman/JBL site and the grills are not even listed, period for that model but they are listed as available for the SVA2100. If they cannot get the grills I might back out of the sale, I am not sure. In the meantime, I sold all my speakers except these!

Bozak kit speakers from around 1965 (I think, I have to open them up to check the serial numbers). Someone mentioned to me in another forum that they are B302A Provincials (just in a kit). Actually got these for free:D I cannot pass up free. I have to be careful though, I will be driving 250 watts per channel at them.

Yank

[Titanium Dome]

I've seen the SVA1800 grilles on and off the parts and accessories list over the past couple of years. They may come back again, or maybe they're just all gone forever. The frame in one of mine is cracked in a couple of places, so I keep intending to replace it, but I never get around to it. I like to play them without the grilles anyway, so I'm not sure it's a big issue, except when the grandson somes around the grilles go on---QUICK!

If you're really backing away from the SVAs, PM me the info. I'd like to contact the seller.

[Titanium Dome]

So this is the JBL for those Klipsch guys who want to ease into JBL ownership slowly ?


:D


jblnut

Ha ha, there's no easy about it unless you consider being clawed in the nuts and bitten in the face by a stoned groupie (JBL) easier than being kneed in the groin and gouged in the face by a drunken bar fly (Klipsch). They'll both get your attention.

Actually, you may have a point. :yes:

[bigyank]

PM sent. I tell you what, the SVA2100's which I am sure kick it out are available except for the tweeters which are different then the 1800's. Might have to look into a project for next year:D . Someone on this site whom I will NOT name actually mentioned to me that if I ever wanted to build some speakers.......


http://www.jbl.com/home/product_support/jblparts.aspx?prodId=SVA2100

Yank

[bigyank]

So they were able to procure a new grill!:applaud: Can't wait to get 'em.

Yank

[Titanium Dome]

How things turn out. So all systems are "Go"?

[bigyank]

So the speakers arrived and they are whole! Pics to follow as soon as I get them setup. One issue though and that one pair of the gold plated bi-amp jumpers are missing. I know I can fabricate a pair, worst case (I have contacted the seller of this issue) but can these be ordered? I did not see them on a parts listing with JBL.

Yank

[bigyank]

The jumpers have been located and will be shipped out with the grill when that arrives! Guess I will create a pair for now.:banghead:

Yank

[bigyank]

So I hook the speakers up in a bi-amp'd configuration and I have no tweeters for either channel:banghead:

Now if I crank the volume to say 2 o-clock I hear a faint sound from both tweeters. Possibly something crossover related?

Anyway I called up the seller and expressed my dismay! Gave them:

http://www.jbl.com/home/product_support/jblparts.aspx?prodId=SVA1800

JBL's product page and said order 2 new ones, ship them to me and I will install them!:biting: :biting: :biting: Maybe 2 crossovers while we are at it!

First time buying from this company in NY and might be the last, we shall see!

Yank

[Titanium Dome]

The soft dome tweeter on one of my SVAs was knocked out during shipping and I had to replace it.

Here's the part that's going to suck if you don't do it right. There are more than just four allen screws holding that biradial horn in place. Some are covered up by the fake woodgrain inserts on either side. You can peel them off to expose the Allen heads, but in doing so, they'll be ruined and you will not be able to put them back on. I haven't found a source for the SVA1800 panels. I think the 2100 panels might still be in stock.

So, I'm going to recommend that you remove both 8" woofers and try to work around the back of the horn to replace the soft dome, unless you don't mind having some collateral damage to the looks of your SVAs.

I'll see if I can get a picture of what it looks like when you do it the wrong way when I get home.

:banghead:

[bigyank]

If that is the case, I might just give UPS a call and pack both up and send them back! Damn! Any gotacha's on taking the 8" drivers out? Also, how about veneer to cover the original plastic pieces? Black ash would make them disappear!

Yank

[Titanium Dome]

The woofers are simple. They come out just as you expect they should. They are heavy on the back end, so I'd recommend placing the SVAs flat on their backs for the removal; otherwise, they tend to kick out hard when the bottom is freed.

Once they're out, you can reach the back of the horn from above and below easily, though seeing is a bit difficult. You can always stick a small mirror in there. OR you can wait 'til I get home and I'll pull the horn from my "boner SVA" and show you exactly what it looks like on the back.

My mistake is your good forutne. :p

[bigyank]

You provide me an offer I cannot refuse! Will await the pics! TD you are the man!

Yank

[Titanium Dome]

pull the horn from my "boner SVA"

In retropsect, a poor analogy, but quite the turn of a phrase, eh?

[Zilch]

[Ti Dome's playin' his B380 too loud.... ;) ]

[Titanium Dome]

Okay, for nostalgia's sake, here's how my first SVA1800 arrived. So right off, you're in a better position than I was. This was right out of the box as it was delivered.

[Titanium Dome]

After arguing for a week, I decided I couldn't let them take it back and throw it away, so I negotiated a fair price :yes: and rebuilt the enclosure. The crossover survived all this fine.

However, one of the 8" woofers was not so lucky. It ended up with a split personality. The force of shipping impact broke the magent off the frame.

:biting:

[Titanium Dome]

I was able to get a replacment 8" off eBay, but no luck with the soft dome tweeter, so I broke down and bought one from JBL. That's when I discovered there are eight screws holding the Bi-Radial horn in place.

After removing four screws and thinking it'd come right out, I later determined it wasn't just a tight fit. It was stuck. Glued? Not likely. So, I rubbed my fingers over the fake wood metal inserts and felt four distinct dimples, two on each side. I imagined that a careful peel of the faux covering would allow me to replace them, but that fantasy soon vanished as the metal/plastic buckled, deformed, and distorted during the removal process.

What I was left with was this:

[Titanium Dome]

You can see the four hex head screws. You can also see that the "finish" applied to the horn is carried over, so at least there isn't shiny plastic or a remarkably dissimilar surface underneath the stick-on wood.

Though the horn looks plastic, it's more like a plasticized fiber. It's very inert, though I don't know if it's SonoGlass or something else.

Removing the two yellow wires attached to the tweeter allows complete removal of the assembly. It's very easy to put it back in, but you'll be forever looking at those four hex heads unless you can find a pleasing way to cover them.

One thing to check is the integrity of the connection of the wires on the tweeter's terminals. As hard as mine was knocked around, a couple of the wires had come loose. However, once I reconnected them, the tweeter still made no sound whatsoever. A quick bench check revealed it was dead.

[Titanium Dome]

Here's a shot showing the rear of the tweeter as it sits on the horn.
Four Phillips heads here, though they're very short and easy to get out. They're also easy to drop, another reason I'd have the SVAs on their backs during any attempt to remove the tweeter from the inside. It's a short reach to the back of the cabinet, but it's a long way to the bottom when they're standing up, and there's a lot of stuff down there, including batting, wires, the crossover, the connectors, and the port, all in the way if something falls.

Plus, if the speaker is on its back, it's simple to put a small mirror right under the tweeter.

[Titanium Dome]

Here's a closer look at what your fingers will be seeing/feeling.

[Titanium Dome]

As I stated in an earlier post, these remove pretty much the way you think they would: remove the four Allen screws, take the driver out of the cabinet, disconnect the wires, and you're done.

Almost.

There is a ring of sticky adhesive as pictured below, and it's in an awkward place, next to the internal ridge of the driver's frame. Not knowing this, I was exuberant at getting the bad driver out, and you can see the results of my impatience. :banghead: Some of the MDF came with it. The new driver covered it up okay, and you can't see it with the grille on anyway, but you should just be aware it's there.

[Titanium Dome]

After seeing/reading these posts, you might just decide to blow it off and send them back. I wouldn't blame you. There's a fair amount of risk. I had nothing to lose with my poor, broken 1800, and I kinda enjoyed saving it and bringing it back to life.

All in all I probably have $130 in it, most of that being the new tweeter.

However, if both woofers are good, they're fantastic 8 inchers and worth $175 each at new retail. You've got four of those. The crossovers are worth $130. You've got two of those. The horns are irreplaceable and the cabs are pretty substantial.

Before you count the tweeters out, make sure they're connected properly. Get rid of the gold straps and use speaker cable to join the HF and LF if you're single ampling. Of course, completely remove the straps or wires if you're going to use two amps, one for HF and one for LF. Double check that the tweeter's wires are securely attached. Make sure that there's no problem with the amp or its connections. (I've done worse, so I'm just mentioning things here. ;) )

Good luck, whatever you decide. I hope this helped a little.

[bigyank]

I called the seller (company in NY) last night and as I stated in previous threads they have been very communicative and the packaging was awesome. They located the grill and the correct shorting bars (I actually tried this bi-amped since my Adcom gfa-5800 is built to do so) and were all set to ship these to me as well.

They are supposed to let me know today where we go from here. Until that time I am not going to open them up. My wife just wants me to ship them back and personally I do not feel like wrapping them back up.

TD, thanks for the pics as this job looks like something I can tackle without too much of an issue. I am not going to rip the covers off the horm.

By the way the part number for the trim panel (2) is 331290-001. Not sure if you contacted JBL but I just did to see if there is any availability.

Yank

[bigyank]

JBL just replied TD and you can order them as follows:

The part is called: Trim Panel
The part # is: 331290-001
The price is $ 10.71, not including shipping and handling (For U.S. based customers only).
Please add tax if you live in New York State, California, Florida, North Carolina or Arizona.
1. By sending us a return email with the type of credit card (Visa, Mastercard or Amex) the credit card #, expiration date, your name as it appears on the card, billing address (as it appears on your statement), shipping address, and telephone #.

2. By faxing this email and your credit card information to Fax # 516-682-3561. Again we would need the type of credit card (Visa, Mastercard or Amex) the credit card #, expiration date, your name as it appears on the card, billing address (as it appears on your statement), shipping address, and telephone #.

3. Or by sending a certified check or money order (payable to Harman Consumer Group) to:

The Harman Consumer Group
250 Crossways Park Drive
Woodbury, New York, 11797
Please allow 7-10 business days for shipping
Thanks again for your e-mail, and please let us know if you have any other questions.

So this is the least of my problems it seems:applaud:

Yank

[Titanium Dome]

Thanks for the heads up.

[bigyank]

Okay just got a notification via email from the owner of the company I am dealing with and 2 hew tweeters are being ordered today. Guess I will undertake this challenge! Now that I know they are being ordered I have no problem opening one up.:D

Wish me luck!

Yank

[bigyank]

So the company swears that what they have ordered for me is replacement diaphrams not tweeters. Never tried to do this what fitfalls should I we aware of? TD, since you have seen these tweeters up close and personal:blink: , can the diaphrams even be serviced?

I did get the replacement grill today:D

Yank

[bigyank]

So I emailed JBL about the tweeters and trim panels and I have to admit it their support response is tremendous. I took those responses and forwarded to the company I bought them from and now new tweeters are on order (2) and they are going to let me know about the trim panels this week.

Once I get the tweeters and panels, I am going to open them up!

Yank

[Titanium Dome]

So the company swears that what they have ordered for me is replacement diaphrams not tweeters. Never tried to do this what fitfalls should I we aware of? TD, since you have seen these tweeters up close and personal:blink: , can the diaphrams even be serviced?

I did get the replacement grill today:D

Yank

Separating the diaprhagms from the magnets/mounting plate is quite easy. I'm assuming they're assuming it's a drop in replacement. Well, okay, but that doesn't address any problem that occurs before the diaprhagm comes into play.

In mine, my local shop couldn't fix it and recommended I buy a new one, even though they got no business from me as a result. Of course, mine had been dropped and broken so hard it might have f'd the magnet.

[bigyank]

I was assuming that these would be drop-in replacements as well. We shall see. The most amazing part of this is from the sales perspective, I cannot believe a company, in business as long won't name them yet has, didn't even check them before they went out the door. That way, if they were tested, when I called them up and told them "Hey <salesmen's name> there is no sound from the tweeters" they could have at least tried to blame the carrier, the in-famous UPS!

:(

I really want them to work! I have extremely cooperative and patient but I am ready to pack them up and take a drive to NY!

Yank

[duaneage]

IF you need any help with these give me a shout. Just make sure those Bozarks are locked up and cannot hurt me.

[bigyank]

Thanks! I will keep that in mind. Bozaks are going to be permanently retired very soon I can assure you:D


Yank

[lodoc]

Bozaks are going to be permanently retired very soon

Indeed I have a pair of monster bozaks (200-L's ???) as well. What should be their fate? Is there any market for them?

[bigyank]

Okay, I get home today from work and what is waiting for me but a new pair of tweeters and the trim panels! Guess I have some work to do, wish me luck!

Yank

[John K]

I just got some sva1500's on ebay,(postoffice tossed em good) and one tweeter is not working, I was able to take off side trim with no problem, exacto knife worked good, I took out screws and tweeter, wires are hooked up ok, just dont know what to use with volt meter, shows nothing on dc volts, soooo...how the hell you test if its the tweeter or the crossover network....?????I really dont want to take off the other speaker trim, and switch tweeters...wait, can I just hook up speaker wire directly to tweeter from amp line?

[Titanium Dome]

I just got some sva1500's on ebay,(postoffice tossed em good) and one tweeter is not working, I was able to take off side trim with no problem, exacto knife worked good, I took out screws and tweeter, wires are hooked up ok, just dont know what to use with volt meter, shows nothing on dc volts, soooo...how the hell you test if its the tweeter or the crossover network....?????I really dont want to take off the other speaker trim, and switch tweeters...wait, can I just hook up speaker wire directly to tweeter from amp line?


The tweeters is the SVA Series really don't like to be knocked around. This is probably toast, but be sure you've removed the driver from the crossover circuit before testing. Just place your multimeter leads directly on the speaker's connectors to take your measurement and check the Ohms on the low Ohms scale.

[John K]

The ohm setting on my mutimeter has only one, x1k...when I put put the leds on, it goes all the way over to zero...the crossover connects were disconnected...I got em for 150bucks total...so I guess I got to spend another 80 on a tweet...thanks for the help.

[Zilch]

Wait, can I just hook up speaker wire directly to tweeter from amp line?:scold: NO!

[John K]

Ok...Just two more questions...first one, did I test the tweeter right with the multimeter?...disconnected from crossover, the ohms goes all the way pegged below zero...second I see the 1500 and 1800 use the same tweeter, is it possible to cross reference a jbl tweeter that will fit, and work as good as the original soft dome that came with the speakers.???, I did get a reply from there parts dept for a replacement at 85 bucks for one...I did ask them for a price on just replaceing the diaphrams...I dunno, kind of new at this, but by looking at it, it doesnt seem hard to do, this particular horn was hit by something hard on the outside, cuz it has a small dent on the top of it.

[Don C]

Using a multimeter that does not have a low ohms setting, seeing a shorted indication is probably an indication of a good tweeter. I have seen this a few times using a $10. meter.

[John K]

Ok...I just got brave and got the trim off the other speaker with no problem, switched tweets and yeah, the one tweeter is bad, now I got that figured out, Im just going to order another new tweeter and call it good, thanks for your guys help and Ideas.