xpl90

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03-02-2009, 01:25 AM
c3474

xpl90

My first post!
I am fairly new to home audio (although I grew up with custom cabinets loaded with 075's, le85's and d130's powered by phase linear that were my fathers). To make a long story short I ended up trading my dad a pair of 123-a1 woofers for a pair of xpl90a's. He didn't know what they were. He bought them off of a neighbor boy (who won them in grand opening raffle) for $125. He didn't take care of them. They are scuffed with wall paint and have a small chip in the piano finish. The bottoms are scratched up from not having anything between the cabinet and a shelf. The good news is that the drivers are in perfect shape.

I have lots of questions! (I have already scoured the net)
Are there any other xpl90 users out there? What do you power them with? Are the factory stands any good? Where do you find them? What do you use for stands? I see that there are factory holes in the bottom of the cabinets... Spikes? Rubber feet? Is there any way to refinish these? Would it be worth it?

I am a 27 year old returning college student (after an injury that set me back to nearly nothing, luckily not in debt, though). So DIY advice is best as money can be an issue. I currently power them with an NAD pre 1000 and 2100 power amp. I fall in love again every time I get a chance to really sit down and listen, but wonder what they could sound like. I know there is a wealth of knowledge in these forums. Looking forward to responses!!
03-02-2009, 09:51 AM
Titanium Dome

The XPL90 is not that common, so you have a speaker a lot of JBL fans have never seen. It's the only member of the XPL Series without the 3" Ti midrange.

The 160s, 140s, and 90s do seem to benefit from being on stands. The official JBL stands are truly rare, and few people have been successful in finding them. If you're using the speakers as mains, the thing to remember is that you want the Ti tweeter at or near ear height when you are in your normal listening position. The original stands were not that high, but they were specially angled to point the tweeter at the ear height of an average person seated 6–8 feet away.
03-02-2009, 10:36 AM
BMWCCA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titanium Dome

The XPL90 is not that common, so you have a speaker a lot of JBL fans have never seen. It's the only member of the XPL Series without the 3" Ti midrange..

Looks like it wouldn't be much different than an L20t in the way it performs. Same woofer, both with Ti tweets. My (college) daughter just sits hers on the corners of a desk. It's a big desk so they're nearly five-feet apart. At least the L20t is well respected around here. I'm sure the XPL90 would be, too, if anyone had heard them. We run her L20ts with a Crown PS-200 and Soundcraftsmen PRO-PT-TWO. Both the xpl90 and the L20t are rated for a peak-power of 400 watts. My L20ts do fine with about 100.
03-03-2009, 10:02 AM
porschedpm

I use a pair of XPL-90s as rear surrounds in an otherwise stock Performance Series home theater system. I use a Bryston 9B-ST THX to power them (100w/ch). They work perfectly for the application I'm using them for since I needed something that was more compact than the PT-800s but would voice at least in the same ballpark as the PT-800s. I've not spent very much time listening to them by themselves but as I recall for a small speaker they're very good and rival the 18ti's. The XPL-90s seemed to have slightly better apparent bass than the 18ti's but still would benefit from a subwoofer. The holes on the bottom are for hard mounting the cabinets to the stands. The stands are nothing special, as far as their construction, and only raise the speaker about 18" to 24" (and angled to point them towards the listeners ear as TiDo mentions above). Not at home so I can't measure them right now.
03-07-2009, 09:54 PM
c3474

Thanks for the info! I see some stands and a bigger amp in my future!
04-15-2009, 07:06 PM
c3474

Quote:

Originally Posted by c3474

Thanks for the info! I see some stands and a bigger amp in my future!

*Update*
I bought a hafler 945 and a modified hafler 9810 (rated at 105 wrms x 2) to replace the NAD 1000 and 2100.
They sound much better! The soundstage really opened up and the low end is more accurate and tight sounding. It made a world of difference. These are awesome little bookshelfers!