Need 044 Tweeter for L96

[Zekeman]

I just discovered that one of the tweeters in the L96's I bought last summer is bad...I think. It produces high frequencies but not the same range as the tweeter in the other speaker. The "good" one produces a rich range of high frequencies as soom as you start to move the volume pot (on the speaker) from absolute minimum forward. The "bad" one does not produce the same range and does not have the same volume once you turn the pot.

Can anyone confirn this diagnosis and advise me what my options are?

Can you buy 044's from JBL or elsewhere? Is there a suitable replacement?? ...or a replacement with a minimum of rework?

Any assisstance is appreciated.

Thanks much!

[SMKSoundPro]

Dear Sansui boy...

Check your L-pad. Buy a new 15 watt 8 ohm l-pad from Partsexpress.com and change them out.

A very common problem with all speakers of this vintage is that the L-pad that controls the midrange and tweeter gets corroded, or burns flat spots on the internal windings of the pad. You can try to spray some contact cleaner in the pad whilst turning the knob back and forth to scrub the insides. It will work and that may solve your problem.

Also, be careful about using an amplifier with too little power which can send square to the speakers at very high volumes. These very high volumes actually start to clip the tops off of the sine waves and turn into square waves and slam the tiny little tweeter voice coil in and out in a non-linear fashion. This phenomenon actually burns up more tweeters than you can shake a stick at.

The point is...the L-pads have absorbed energy for a long time and tend to burn a flat spot in the control. By cleaning and scrubbing the control back and forth, you may notice a great difference in how the speakers sound.

Good Luck.
Scott.

[Zekeman]

Thanks...I tried it already...DeOxit and ProGold...no change.

[Zekeman]

Also...I am using a 100 watt amp so I don't thinkthat's the problem.....by the way...what is an l-pad?

[Zekeman]

............Just looked it up....nevermind. Any advice on sourcing 044 tweets?

[johnaec]

Have you switched speakers, (put the good one where the "bad" one is)? That way you would positively be able to tell whether it's the speaker or something else that's bad.

John

[Zekeman]

Yup...did that.

[BMWCCA]

Having recently purchased two 044s on Ebay (I only needed one but for some reason two were cheaper) I can tell you they're all over the place price-wise and condition but they come up all the time. I bought a pair of L150As with one smashed 044 diaphragm (still sounded good) so that's what I was looking to replace. I'd be happy to sell you one of my two but they came to me somewhat cosmetically challenged (!) and I'm sure you can do better yourself. Many of them seem to be from your area, too. I've tracked them for as little as $26 for what seemed like usable single 044s to over $150 for a nice pair. I think I paid $76 for my pair and then got the seller to reimburse me half since he'd packed them in such a way that the screen got smashed (among other maladies). A NOS diaphragm alone for an 044 (NLA from JBL) recently went for about $50. With a little patience you'll find a good replacement 044 complete.

Heck, a whole pair of L150As recently sold in Chicago (local pickup only!) for just over a hundred bucks! You could have gotten what you wanted and sold the rest for a big profit! Check it out here.

-Phil

[Zekeman]

Yes I did that and it's the tweeter. The difference is amazing. The good tweeter sounds phenomenal...and the bad one like Sh_t.

Thanks.

[Zekeman]

So I decide to remove the diaphragm from the magnet to see what I can see.....and discovered that the voice coil plastic ring had separated from the bottom of the underside of the tweeter dome. I glued it back on and it seems to be OK!