New JBL fan for life!!

[hapy._.face]

Hi all-



The L212's I picked up recently had the 112A drivers redone (thanks old mics!). I hooked them up last night and I cannot believe I ever entertained offers to sell.



Prior to these speakers, I (admittingly) was in the general opinion that JBL hadn't made a good speaker in many years; I knew there were good old ones- but even the good old JBLs couldn't compete with anything HIFI in today's market right? DEAD EFFING WRONG!!



These little 112 drivers kept kickin me in the ribs like a little donkey dancin to my Threshold amp- wtf was I thinkin!? Remember the cut off is around 70Hz cause I don’t have a sub (yet). I called my friend with a certain brand of electrostatic speakers over and told him to bring his JBL1500 and Bryston amp. We hooked it all up and there simply isn't a better system I've heard to date. He agreed. I'd be willing to say that if there IS a better system (for my personal tastes) - it's JBL based. I am now a huge fan of JBL speaks and I will never ever get rid of these babies!!



If there is anyone reading this post- anyone that hasn't bought a good pair of JBLs and you were wondering what all the hype on this site is about- let me tell you something: There's no hype here. In fact, JBL is terribly under rated these days. The sense of immediacy, imaging, detail, and ruler flat response coming from my new acquisitions was like updating my entire music collection. Seriously. I'm no rookie to HIFI either. I've spent a good deal of my life consuming Stereophile, TAS, and such mags. I've spent countless days' worth hanging out in boutique shops listening to all the latest gear. I've heard systems that are "valued" well over 6 digits- and I'm stunned by what I heard coming from my own system. If I wanted similar performance in this day- I would spend an easy $4K for something close. I can only imagine what the 250Ti must sound like- or even how the L212s sound after a few good tweaks. Can't wait! :bouncy:



The system I'm using for the L212's is:

Rega Planet CD player. Scout Vinyl.

Pimare Preamp

Two Threshold (Pass circuit) 50/50 amps bridged as 100 monoblocs.

Hand braided CAT5 speaker wires (homebrew)

Kimber PBJ connects.



My next plan of action is to build a suitable sub. I wanna go low, but I also want it subtle and flat. After much reading- I've decided to build a JBL sonotube sub. I want to do something different- I want to double tube and fill the in space with lead shot. Then enclose the whole monster in a large upright square cabinet (think JBL signature series). Anyone that has experience with this type of construction (sonotube) and how it applies to specific JBL woofers- please chime in!



Sorry all if I came off snobbish at first. I'm broken in now...



New JBL fan for life-

Mike.

[hapy._.face]

LMAO. Thanks, Giskard- I got your point.

[norealtalent]

Congratulations :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: "just a little push and you'll be flyin'"

[JBLROCKS]

What do you think of the hand braided Cat5 cables?

Just saw an article on that today and I am intrigued:D

[4313B]

LMAO. Thanks, Giskard- I got your point.I was trying to scan and post a picture but I was using an HP scanner, which, naturally, means it doesn't work since HP took a nose dive in quality computer hardware and software. Talk about a company I've done a 180 on.

[JuniorJBL]

What do you think of the hand braided Cat5 cables?

Just saw an article on that today and I am intrigued:D

I mixed solid silver and cat 6 and have great luck with it!:applaud:

[JuniorJBL]

Talk about a company I've done a 180 on.

:yes:

[hapy._.face]

What do you think of the hand braided Cat5 cables?

Just saw an article on that today and I am intrigued:D


I saw several articles, too; More on concept - few on actually doing it. Then I came accross Chris VenHaus' design a few months ago and I had to try it out. I would never be able to afford wires with this much transparency- they have absolutely No sonic signature. The only bitch of it is the finger numbing labor involved. It is tedious- to say the least. Despite that one drawback- I did a few more for other speakers in the home and I'm thrilled with the results. All have had a major impact on the overall quality of my systems. I started out with short runs for my desktop monitors (just to get the hang of it). Then I realized a few things that may be of help if you decide to do this yourself. First off- here is the link that got me started:


http://www.venhaus1.com/diycatfivecables.html
http://www.venhaus1.com/cfivecable.jpg

Tip #1: These suck if you have spring terminals. They chew up the little individual wires. You really need to terminate into spade lugs or somthing. It's worth changing the posts/jacks just for these wires, though.

Tip#2: You will need a tone generator to verify the +- when you begin to seperate on either end. I learned to seperate color from white (it's easier). It's irrelevent what the wires where designated to do as CAT5- so long as you make a distinct seperation in +- as it can get confusing when you are manging 40-70 wires!!

Tip#3: Use 3:1 shrink for the ends- not 2:1. The shape is irregular and this ratio tends to make a nicer seal. PE has plenty in stock.

Tip#4: Do not use PVC CAT5. It needs to be Teflon. I used an inferior PVC CAT5 the first time and there was a lot of RF interference. Belden and Carol make the best, IMO.

Tip#5: As with any speaker wire- keep the runs as short as possible. Bite off more than you can chew on this project- and you'll end up with a half done mess- I promise! :banghead: It's easy to give up part of the way through- but hang in there- you'll have speaker cables that far outperform most. Do it in shifts- a little each evening.

The technique has recently been put into mass production with braiding machines. I bet in less than a year- you'll see CAT5 based cables in fancy color coded braids popping up in Stereophile.

Good luck!

[4313B]

The technique has recently been put into mass production with braiding machines.Well that's good to hear.

[JuniorJBL]

You can add PTFE jacketed 20-22awg solid silver and somewhat extend the hf/uhf response of your wire. you need to twist 2 wires together (or more) then twist them in with your cat 5/6. This is also interesting to hear the differance that it makes as well;)

[4313B]

I'm not buying any of it until they come out with CAT-9.

[grumpy]

I'm not buying any of it until they come out with CAT-9.

Then market them as "tails" ? :duck:

-grumpy