JBL Sovereign I Speakers

Hello All,

I'm new to this forum but it seems like the first place to go to get information on my recent garage sale purchase. That purchase being four JBL Sovereign I speakers, two Phase Linear 700b power amps, pre amp, CD player, etc. They were originally owned by a doctor (obviously with a large living room) set up for quad.

I have refinished the cabinets, replaced the grill cloth, refoamed two of the active LE15A speakers and even my wife says they are the best pieces of furniture in the house. There's quite a ton of oak in those cabinets!

I have an EE friend who is helping me replace any capacitors in the amps which have dried up, plus upgrading the volume pots. My plan is to keep a pair and sell a pair along with the power amp.

My original thought was to go straight to ebay, that is until I found this site. Since there seems to be many out there interested in vintage gear, I figured it would be good to get some feedback on this equipment, what it might be worth, along with the best way to sell it.

Anyone have any ideas or comments? I live in the Atlanta area and would appreciate tapping into Y'all's vintage gear knowledge.

Thanks in advance,

Granger Beem

I think you've reminded us all we need to start educating our heirs.

It sounds like you are doing all the right things to properly restore them. When you play music through them does it occur to you to keep, at least a pair, and enjoy them?

This may have been a deluxe 70's quadraphonic setup.

It's a true treasure trove of classic hi fi, of the kind we all dream of on Saturday morning.

Photos are eagerly awaited.

David

The desireability and value of your systems for resale are largely contingent upon whether they are S7 or S8 systems, the primary difference being that the S8 and S8R (with supplemental 15" passive radiator) incorporated 077 "Bullet" tweeters (not definitive) and 2" model 375 compression midrange drivers in lieu of LE85 mid/highs.

The cabinets themselves are not highly prized in general, but, for the reason you suggest (the Wife Acceptance Factor,) there are occasional buyers who want them. Be aware that there are vintage audiophile websites where you might want to try listing them before using eBay. A major problem is shipping these; they must be crated and carted by truck (or air for international,) not an inexpensive proposition. Limiting the sale to "Local pickup only" narrows the potential buyer pool substantially.

Here are two recent threads here you may find of interest; perhaps you have reviewed them already:

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/s...ight=Sovereign

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/s...ight=Sovereign

Like others here, I would really like to see pictures of your restored systems!

Speakerdave & Zilch,

Thanks for the quick reply, I appreciate the information. I will take some pictures soon and post them. I’m still working on the refinishing of the last two speaker grills.

I know the shipping costs would be hefty so I’m hoping that living in a highly populated area will be beneficial in selling them. There are already some local music engineers interested in them as mains in their home studios.

You should have seen the look on my 13 year old son’s face when we fired them up. He handed me a Metallica CD (not my choice) and after 10 seconds said, “Dad, this is the best thing we’ve ever got in our whole lives.”

I’ll try to get pictures and check the mid and high component model numbers.

Thanks,

Granger

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Originally posted by gbeem
a Metallica CD (not my choice)

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shure it was! :)

so are your´e gonna keep a pair?

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so are your´e gonna keep a pair?

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Tell you what, after all the work I've put into stripping all of that greenish goo off of them, I just might keep all four! (But probably not) Pictures coming soon, I've been busy.

Right now the pair which are completely restored are residing in my newly finished basement. This weekend I want to move them into my small home theatre and take a good listen. I built the home theatre with the priority of making a good sounding room, not just putting in a lot of expensive gear.

A friend of mine spent almost 40k on his fancy looking home theatre and ultra expensive audio gear, only to discover it sounded awful. Sure, the Roman pillars looked great, the ceiling which is custom painted with fancy lights is relaxing to look at, but the room is a square box with nothing but hard surfaces!

Anyway, I did check the mid/high and it is the LE85 and H91. Found a schematic for the 700b power amps on the web, so I will soon replace some capacitors.

Thanks again all for the info and if you know of anyone interested in a pair, let me know.

Granger

Granger, You got a pm.

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Originally posted by gbeem
Anyway, I did check the mid/high and it is the LE85 and H91.

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They are S7, then. If they also have the supplemental 15" passive radiators, they are S7R. If they further have the 075 "Bullet" tweeters and dual crossover networks, that makes them more desireable three-way systems, but less so than if they had the 375's rather than the LE85's.

S7 systems typically bring $1000 to $1500 on eBay; S8's $2000 to $2500. Your mileage may vary depending upon market conditions....

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They are S7, then. If they also have the supplemental 15" passive radiators, they are S7R. If they further have the 077 "Bullet" tweeters and dual crossover networks, that makes them more desireable three-way systems, but less so than if they had the 375's rather than the LE85's.

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Hey Zilch, sorry if I appear to be nit picky here....and I may be somewhat of a JBL "newbie" too, but...don't you mean 075?
:duck: :duck: :flamed:

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Originally posted by Chas
Don't you mean 075?

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Of COURSE. With this nick, I err with impunity, tho.... LOL :p

[Me fix RIGHT now, quick!]