Sloped front JBL?

[jbl-ahhh]

It is an L3. A bit of a hairy job getting it down off the high shelf with just me and a ladder.

The pics show the woofer's rubber surround has split right where it joins the cone, so the surround has to be replaced. It is glued to the underside of the cone, making removal more tedious, but a quick scraping test showed it will probably come off okay.

Does anyone know who might have replacement surrounds for L3's? Rick Cobb does not. If anyone has done these surrounds, are there any gotchyas?

[BMWCCA]

Bummer!

Orange County shows an edge kit but it looks to be foam, which is actually what the remnants of yours looks like on the back of the cone. Working on the back of the cone isn't that hard and is common on JBLs, though it's more accessible on larger speakers. I'm more interested in knowing where the surround gets glued to the frame; is there a bezel of some kind that is removable? I'm not willing to disassemble my L7s or L5s right now to find out.

OC shows the kit here at $30 a pair: http://www.speakerrepair.com/mm5/mer...Category_Code=
though it doesn't look particularly unique for the 708G-1. I'm sure Cobb could supply the same kit but he probably knows it's not the same as the rubber JBL used, if that is what it is. Plus OC's linked repair price list doesn't even show a 708G-1. They do show a repaired 708G-1 here but list it under close-out: http://speakercloseouts.com/repairpi...08g1-pics.html

You could take a chance on a pair of 708G-1s right now on Ebay for a BIN of $100. But add another $100 to that and you'd probably be able to find a pair of L5s if not L7s. It's a dilemma, for sure.

There is a pair of L3s on Craig's List in Augusta, Maine, that have gone nowhere at $225 and are now in a combined ad for a bunch of stuff listed as "want gone asap". Might not be that far from you, or a good reason to go to Maine?

The last single 708G-1 I saw on Epay only brought about $20. You could wait for another, but you might also want to check your friend's other L3 for any similar damage.

Good luck.

[rdgrimes]

If one has done this, you can bet money that the other is not far behind. Do them both. Shouldn't be hard to re-foam them at all.

[jbl-ahhh]

Yeah, I'm planning on doing the other L3 right after this one. One at a time so the studio still has music.

I re-edged my 4411's which are glued on the back of the cone. It went fine, but those 12-inchers have a lot more finger room on their backside than the 708G-1 does!

The 708G-1 surround has just a 1/8" outer lip which glues to the frame. And there's no gasket or anything on top of it, no bezel to remove. The inner lip attaching to the cone is 1/4", maybe 5/16." Since much of the glue is still intact, I'm trying heating the surround with a hair dryer to get it to come off the cone cleanly and safely.

I'm thinking that buying used would only postpone the inevitable unless the used woofers have been re-edged. Thanks for the link to OC. I'll check if they have a butyl version.

Any thoughts on if foam would be alright? These L3's are used in a dance studio and always will be, so maybe foam surrounds wouldn't be noticed sonically? Or am I just talking myself into something?

[rdgrimes]

The 8" drivers (117H) I have re-foamed were the easiest of all. Because of the fit of the surround they practically centered themselves. Much easier than the larger models IMHO. You'll be hard pressed to hear any difference between butyl and foam once they get broke in.

[BMWCCA]

You'll be hard pressed to hear any difference between butyl and foam once they get broke in.

And from looking at those photos of the remainder of the surround on the back of that 708G-1, I'm not sure that what we've assumed were butyl surrounds on the 708G are really that at all and not just normal poly-foam with a smoother finish. :dont-know

It does look like the surround on the smaller 704G-1 in the L7 is actually some composite with reinforcement built into the surround. The 708 looks more simple, for some reason.

[jbl-ahhh]

I agree, it is a wierd surround material. The front side sure looks and feels like butyl, but the backside looks and feels like foam (see pics). Given the short lifespan, I don't see how it could be butyl.

It probably doesn't matter since I think it will have to be foam surrounds by default because I'm striking out trying to find butyl. And Orange County Speaker said their foam surround isn't actually the right size for the 708G -- I would have to trim a bunch off from theirs. I sent an e-mail to the service folks at the JBL website and got a list of places to try next. Is this the fun part?

[JBLAddict]

And from looking at those photos of the remainder of the surround on the back of that 708G-1, I'm not sure that what we've assumed were butyl surrounds on the 708G are really that at all and not just normal poly-foam with a smoother finish. :dont-know

It does look like the surround on the smaller 704G-1 in the L7 is actually some composite with reinforcement built into the surround. The 708 looks more simple, for some reason.

Somewhere in the L-series thread, Chris Hagen (the designer of this series) cited the trade name of the polymer JBL developed specifically for the surrounds on this series. He cautioned against using replacements that didn't have the same characteristics.....of course this is from a purist's vantage point