L166 Repair

[cip]

:) I had a pair of L166's fall into my lap this week along with a Nakamichi System One. The equipment was removed from our old CEO's office. No on else recognized the value so I jumped on it. I'm new to JBL. I coveted a pair of JBL's back in 1979 when I bought my Large Advents that I still have. The JBL's were beyond my college student means at the time. I was thrilled to get this pair. The cabinet and grill are immaculate. I have the 122A woofers out to re-foam. Everything else looks great except one of the 066 tweeters has a dented dome. Can this be repaired? Will it significantly effect the sound? Anything else that I should be checking?

[Regis]

Congrats on your new acquisition and I'm sorry about the domes (they really aren't repairable as they're made of very thin phenolic, aluminum or titanium material).

I'm not sure about the 066's, but I do now that it is 'hit and miss' with the older JBL parts. Some of them are still available today, some aren't. I had the 033's and I was forced to wait for a desirable pair from a reputable seller on Ebay. Maybe another member can chime in with availability (I'm at home and most of my linkee's aren't available).

Also check with a JBL service center. You can find a local one through JBL at this link; owners manuals are here too.

http://www.jbl.com/home/product_support/default.aspx?Language=ENG&Country=US&Region=USA

[johnaec]

I have the 122A woofers out to re-foam.Make sure whoever does the refoam puts the surrounds on the back side of the cone, not the front.

John

[cip]

Thanks, John. I noticed that issue on another thread. I plan to do it myself. I re-foamed my Advents a couple years ago. I am nervous about it. I have been reading that the dust cap should be cut out and shims used. I didn't do that for the Advents.


Paul

[Regis]

Regarding the refoam. Rick Cobb's kits come with a test CD that generates a continous low frequency tone. This is used to align the entire cone assembly to the frame while you glue the outside edge of the foam to the frame (the glue on the inner part of the foam ring to the cone should be dry before doing this).

Before the glue sets, you move the surround around on the frame, listening for voice coil rub. Rick has these instructions in detail and you should reference these, but this gives you an idea.

[cip]

Regis,


Thank you for the Rick Cobb tip. I found him on eBay. I'll also be on the lookout for a 066 tweeter... didn't see anything at the JBL site.

Paul

[Regis]

You're going to be looking on Ebay for something like this (doubt this will work, but you get the idea... Good luck in your search.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Three-JBL-044-tweeters-for-L112_W0QQitemZ5820090816QQcategoryZ61377QQssPageNa meZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Regis]

Hmmm, you might be in luck with the 044's. I did a search for 066 and one of our senior members, Guido was kind enough to post the info and it seems the 044 is a direct replacement for the 066. Carefully remove the 066 and compare it to the 044 and get the dimension, hole spacing, etc from the seller. For the price, you certainly can't go wrong, though you'll have three, you should replace both as a set.

Linkee

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=5207&highlight=066

[cip]

Regis,

Thanks for the lead on the 044's. I checked with the seller. He's confident that they will not work for me. He said that the diaphragms may be interchangable.

Paul

[Regis]

Hi Paul,
I'm not talking about replacing the diaphragms, I'm talking about replacing the entire tweeter assembly. The 044 was well regarded and was used in the L-112 and the L-150A. The appearance may not be the same, but give it some thought. Especially if it's a drop-in.

Regis

[cip]

Good things come to those who wait. I finally aquired an 066 tweeter on e-bay. It arrive today, and I had it installed in 15 minutes. I did the re-foam job on 122A's back in November. That took all of my eye-hand coordination, but it went smoothly. The only thing left is to condition the walnut. The cabinets are immaculate but have never been maintained. Any advice in that area?


Thank you for all the help...they sound great!


Paul

[edgewound]

Watco Danish oil. Follow the instructions on the can. They will look beautiful.

[boputnam]

I did the re-foam job on 122A's back in November. That took all of my eye-hand coordination, but it went smoothly. :rotfl: You under-rate yourself! Congrats on the successful DIY effort - the L166's will always mean more to you.

[JuniorJBL]

:useless:

Pics PLS!!