The last pair of speakers I'm gonna buy (really!)...
After tossing and turning all night Saturday, I got up and made the three hour trip to San Diego from Palmdale to pick up the L-300's I was purchasing. I pulled up at a triplex near the beach in San Diego, not sure if this was the place or not, but it was. The young man who's a musician, opened the ancient garage and there they were, side by side, the big beasts silently waited in their dusty tomb. The cabs are perfect and even the original dark brown grills were in great shape, though pretty dusty and dirty. Even the backsides were free of scratches, though the bases were starting to go (but this is typical of L-300's from what I understand).
Loaded them and drove the three hours home, wondering how they'd sound. Would I be disappointed? Would the memory of listening to them back in 1978 be just an enhanced nostalgia? I wouldn't know until I hooked them up. My neighbor helped me unload these guys and then it was me and the L-300's. Hooked speaker wire from the 160 wpc Sansui G-9000 reciever, flicked it on, put the DAC on the right channel and put in a recently mastered smooth jazz CD, I wanted to hear something with serious dynamic range and see just how these sound.
The experience was OMG, unbelievable. The 15" ferrite 136H's cleanly pumped out a couch thumping bass. The LE85 midrange horns sounded incredibly full and rich. And the 077's were sweet. I could here wooden drumsticks clearly tapping on the metal drum rims, the cymbals crashed and faded away and I just had the biggest grin on my face. Threw CD after CD on and I was nearly stunned at times. Even techno music from 2005 sounded unbelievable on these 25 year old speakers. I understood immediately why people pay $2,000+ for these and I got them for considerably less than that. I can't figure out who'd want to sell a pair of these as I'd never get rid of them. The surrounds on the woofers are starting to crack, so it's gonna be time to talk to Rick and order a kit. I'm happy and now I know why a lot of the members here have 'super-sized' their JBL choice.
I agree about replacing foam with pleated cloth.....
I would not do that to a vintage orignal worth a darn.
But when i look for new drivers to use in a system, I stay away from drivers with foam surround.
Example: Many used 2245's for LF response while I waited and lusted after 2242's for mostly that reason and I prefer a lighter cone with stiffer surrounds.
I look at not needing maintenence on the 2242's for decades to come barring unforeseen circumstances.
Also with stiffer suspensions there is less of the dreaded "cone sag" in the larger drivers!
Ron
Is there a website where I can find JBL products?
What are the different ways to shop for modern current (raw) JBL drivers? I see references to "consumer" and "pro" divisions of JBL. Do they have websites where I can scan the products and see prices in case I get some extra cash and want to shop a little???
Ron
