L200 Project.....any ideas?

Hi All,

I recently picked up a decent pair of L200 cabinets which I had been searching for. They still have the crossovers which I believe to be the"A" versions. I have done some reading here about what other have done and have some ideas about direction. Here is what I have in my posession as options to load into the cabs:

LE15A'a, 16ohm
2226J's, 16ohm
LE85's, 16ohmAttachment 56106
LX5's

To my ears I like the LE15A and LE85 combo which is what is in my Metregon but haven't seen anyone else venture into that direction. I am not oppossed to building crossovers and don't want to go the route of adding slot tweeters, I might consider the 075's only because I have them. I'm not in need of thunderous bass, but don't want them to shy away from volume if I feel the need to worsen the already ringing in my ears.

Any thoughts???
Thanks

I did something similar - I had a pair of LE15A's and LE85/HL91's that were my father's and I was sworn not to get rid of. I had the woofers re-coned, then put them in storage for a few years. When I got the L200 enclosures and put them together, I discovered that the speakers had been reconed with 8ohm kits, so my crossover point had moved. I wasn't impressed with the sound, so I active biamped them with a rane crossover I had laying around, and was pretty happy with the results - definitely better than they had ever sounded, though thin on the bottom end compared to modern speakers, which I think you'd find would be "Cured" with the 2226J's. I thought about new diaphragms for the LE85's but they were really expensive and I thought the potential for improvement small, as the originals were always lightly used. Frankly, though, while fun to play with, I have much newer, better toys to play with, so they have been left sitting around unused, and my father doesn't want them since I got him a pair of 250TiLE's a decade ago. Good luck with your project, try it with the 2226's, though you may need to dial the horn down more than your LX5 will let you:)

I think your impressions are the direction I would be headed. LE-15A and LE-85. Try to find a pair of N7000/N8000 crossovers for the bullet tweeters. Lee in Montreal makes the L-shaped aluminum brackets to mount 075/2402 to and then set on top of the cab without drilling or modifying the original L-200 cabs. I believe the N7000/8000 crossover can fit in place of the input terminals or also on top of the cab. You may want to upgrade the LE-15As in the future to either 136As or 2235Hs. Both will be an improvement. This is very worthwhile and the cabs you have look like they are in very nice condition. Way better than mine when I found em in a barn!

I've sold off most of the other JBL speakers I had - but the modified L200s I have are my keepers ...
I started off with the LE15 LE85 original combo - enjoyed it for a while - but felt it rolled off a bit low ...
based on info I read on this site, I built a pair of 4333 style crossovers and put a 2405 slot tweeter
in the middle of the baffleboard. That really helped a lot - seemed to be a modern speaker at that point.
Later I swapped a 2235 in for the LE15s, and more recently swapped the LE85 for a smith horn and driver that rests on top.

And they are real efficient - In Feb I got a 40w/ch Jolida tube amp and while it won't go stupid-loud,
its plenty room filling and sounds very enjoyable.

I can share more info if you haven't found my older posts ...

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Originally Posted by roads31

Hi All,

I recently picked up a decent pair of L200 cabinets which I had been searching for. They still have the crossovers which I believe to be the"A" versions. I have done some reading here about what other have done and have some ideas about direction. Here is what I have in my posession as options to load into the cabs:

LE15A'a, 16ohm
2226J's, 16ohm
LE85's, 16ohmAttachment 56106
LX5's

To my ears I like the LE15A and LE85 combo which is what is in my Metregon but haven't seen anyone else venture into that direction. I am not oppossed to building crossovers and don't want to go the route of adding slot tweeters, I might consider the 075's only because I have them. I'm not in need of thunderous bass, but don't want them to shy away from volume if I feel the need to worsen the already ringing in my ears.

Any thoughts???
Thanks

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Everyone for the insights and info. I think I'll try the easiest route for now which is the 2226J, LE85, LX16 to see where I am then pop in the LX5's. I'll need to wait a bit for the LE15's, they need to be re-foamed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by roads31

Everyone for the insights and info. I think I'll try the easiest route for now which is the 2226J, LE85, LX16 to see where I am then pop in the LX5's. I'll need to wait a bit for the LE15's, they need to be re-foamed.

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My first JBLs were a pair of S-7s. LE15A, LX5, LE85... it never worked for me. Tri-amping and adding slots made me the happiest. I wouldn't recommend that approach today... I think I'd go along the lines of Ms. James.

BTW: If you decide to rid yourself of those cabinets, let me know... I've always had a soft spot for that design.


Widget

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr. Widget

My first JBLs were a pair of S-7s. LE15A, LX5, LE85... it never worked for me. Tri-amping and adding slots made me the happiest. I wouldn't recommend that approach today... I think I'd go along the lines of Ms. James. BTW: If you decide to rid yourself of those cabinets, let me know... I've always had a soft spot for that design. Widget

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If you are curious about the evolution of my system over 5+ years, , the main part of my L200 thread is here -
http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...from-Aberdeen)


http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...1&d=1172966253

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...6&d=1287760104

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...4&d=1287760086

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...0&d=1331434257

Thanks Widget and Ms. James
I did get a chance to hear the LX5, LE85 and 2226J combo last week, was somewhat surprised. I was driving it with a Crown DC300A (plenty of headroom) with a Conrad Johnson tube pre-amp. I think I will eventually go the route of adding the 075 with re-worked crossover and changing the woofer. But for now I'll enjoy having them the way they are. Widget, I agree with your love of the design which is why I'll probably not part with them but if I do, they'll be offered here.
Thanks all

Greetings everyone,

I received my foam grills from http://foamspeakergrilles.com/ which judging from what I received, I highly recommend. I really wanted the factory look and other options didn't appeal to me.
I installed the 2226J woofers with the LE85's and a pair of LX5 crossovers and as with my Metregon being driven by a Crown DC300 and Conrad Johnson PV2 combo. For my ears I couldn't ask for much more, can't find much lacking or too much being delivered. Could still be the honeymoon phase, I'll know in a few weeks.

Attachment 56683Attachment 56684Attachment 56685

I also LOVE the L200 cabinets, they are amazingly good looking!

Since I've had some problems with the crossovers to my 077 I decided to disconnect it and only use the 2410 and 2331, a setup similar to the L200 in other words.

I must say, in some aspects I like the sound more without the 077. It sounds more alive and unpolished in a way. Old 70-80:s rock albums sound incredibly cool :)

I once had a pair of 4331's, kind of "an L200 done right". And you're right, they did sound pretty damn cool. They'd never fly in today's world where human hearing has evolved past ~ 20 kHz. :D

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Originally Posted by 4313B

They'd never fly in today's world where human hearing has evolved past ~ 20 kHz. :D

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Indeed :D