When I had the L300's, or to be more precise, the studio variant 4333A's, I used nothing less than 200 W/ch. Even this was not enough when it came to demanding recordings. Recommandations is as much power possible, but listen and be careful or you might blow something.
Never tried bi-amping the 4333, but I know it is a large improvement in sound, as when I got my 4343B's I have tried both solutions, and the difference is huge. Today I use about 700-800 W/ch on these. No problem.
You can easily get the glass top that are missing from a local company that can cut them. As far as I can remember they had a little dark "smoke" color.
some minor problem for me:
today i tryed to take out both woofers to install new binding post.
one came OK.
on other half of the bolts were stacked.
so 2 are now in a bad shape and one ruined and stacked half way inside.
the woofer can be raised like 1cm from the speaker - shall i gently cut the bolt with a dremmel?
do you think new bolts are on sale?
well, it's done.
both woofers taken out.
binding post replaced (10$ ebay WBT knock offs - very nice).
internal wires soldered to the binding posts.
woofers' wires ends striped and covered with solder.
woofers back and nuts tightened well.
simple speaker wire ends that i had to use for old binding posts are gone - now my trusty WBT 0645 goes straight into new binding post.
well, it's definitely sounds better
....now try a BIG amp and see what they can really do....
Croc you can get reproduction 2308 lens from Kenrick sound for 130.00 US, look them up on the web. Can't say they sound better than the old ones.
my 2 cents, I have been rocking a set of 4333a's for 30 years and not yet found any speaker I like better most are just different. I will say you need more power to wake them up, even at low lestening levels a better amp makes a difference with JBL's. I've powered these old bruts with HK 19's,16's, Yamaha Pro, B&K, Crown, QSC, Crest, Kenwood and Marantz and the one thing I've noted is the bigger/better the amp the better the low level listening qualities are. Give em some time, you will fall in love with the L300's to.
well - some good news and some bad news.
new lenses came (from Kenrik) - great.
my impression that they affect both soundstange/sound dispertion and midrange "color"/tone.
i got a powerfull amp for a test.
what can be better than Krell?
it's an KAV-300-il integrated with a real 200W per ch and weights ~40 pounds
bass sounds much tighter and more stronger/powerfull with a less bassboom in a room - - i like it.
midrange is more dynamic - i like it too
of course it sounds "solid state" (not a compliment).
so i might try to run bass units from the SS amp and the rest from the tube.
but to get a really powerfull SS amp isn't a chep thing
i saw in local ads Dynaco S400 power - is uit recommended?
OK, so the SS Krell is good but expensive.
I investigated SS amps here and learned that THD of 1% or less cannot be heard by the human ear.
I bought a dirt cheap new 802D Crown XLS at 500WPS into 8 ohms at $400, disconnected the fans and it is a very solid performer with the JBL systems. I plan to buy a couple more soon.
The really effecient Altecs did not need more than 80 WPC but the JBLs really require big power since their sensativity ratings are usually around 95db.
i really love tube sound.
so SS amp for bass units sounds interesting to me......
i guess i need a power amp with "adjustable" input levels - some NADs and AMCs have it and probably a lot of PRO amps....
that Dynaco SS4 also has it i think....
Hey Croc,
Patience is the key. As the previous owner of your speakers, I can only recommend you to live with them and listen to them a little longer before making drastic moves like changing your tube amp to SS.
Take care and enjoy.
Guy
Hi
My Experience with many different Amps on the L300 was.They need big Amps to wake them up.For my taste the best Results I got with Mcintosh 7270 or my favorite Sansui BA 5000.Other Mcintosh must be also fine.I think you need at least 300 Watts per Channel.
Regards Peter
The new XLS Crown has 500 wpc and is only $400. It has adjustible inputs too. All you need to do is disconnect the fans for home use.
...a great chioce and a rock solid performer....
I never understood the tube craze ; I owned many tube ampos before SS became the standard sometimes in the late 1960s. ...gladly gave them up and never looked back.
Is it no problem to disconnect the Fan?Do you use this Amp in Fullrange or only for Bass?
I have heard about removing fans for home use. I would think this would work only for low level listening. If the amp is pushed, it will most likely go into thermal shutdown. I had a crest amp actually start melting the plastic fan cover! And that was because the fan wouldn't kick into high speed when pushed.
Even if you plan on light duty, I would think twice about this because you know how tempting it is to "crank it up"!
If you're willing to run it that way, it would appear you'd not be bypassing the amp's built-in thermal protection anymore than if the fan malfunctioned.
From the XLS Operation Manual on the Crownaudio site:
4.1.4 Thermal Protection
The Thermal Protection circuit will activate if the
internal heatsink temperature exceeds proper oper-
ating temperatures (194 °F, 90 °C). When the heat-
sink temperature has fallen to a safe level, this
protection circuit will automatically be reset. Princi-
ple causes of thermal protection are:
1) Inadequate ventilation of the equipment rack
2) Incorrect load impedance
3) Output cable short circuit
4) Blocked air vent
5) Heatsinks in need of cleaning
6) Cooling fan failure.
The cause of your amplifier’s thermal protection
state should be determined and corrected as soon
as possible. Without correction, the Thermal Pro-
tection circuit will typically reactivate.
4.1.4 Thermischer Schutz
Die thermische Schutzschaltung spricht an, wenn
die Temperatur der internen Kühlrippen die normale
Arbeitstemperatur (90 °C) überschreitet. Nachdem
die Kühlrippentemperatur auf ein sichere Höhe
gesunken ist, stellt sich die Schutzschaltung autom-
atisch zurück. Die hauptsächlichen Gründe für ein
Ansprechen sind:
1) unzureichende Belüftung des Racks
2) falsche Lastimpedanz
3) Kurzschluß der Ausgangskabel
4) blockierte Belüftungsöffnungen
5) verschmutzte Kühlrippen
6) Aussetzen der Ventilatoren
Die Ursachen des Ansprechens der Schutzschaltung
sollten schnellstmöglich festgestellt und behoben
werden, um ein fortgesetztes Ansprechen auszuschließen.
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