Scored L80t, a few questions

[riker1384]

I bought a pair of L80t at a reasonable price but not a steal. They're in decent physical shape, with one chipped corner and some minor discoloration on the tops. Don't have them set up yet, I need to make room first. I hope the bass from the tens is enough, but I used to have a pair of L166 and the bass from just one speaker was plenty in my room.

The mids and tweets are fine. The woofers have been refoamed. The guy who I bought them from said he bought them from a guy who had refoamed them, and that they guy built speakers and he looked like he knew what he was doing. I can see that the dustcaps were cut off for shimming. The new surrounds are attached to the front of the cones. Is that correct? And if not, will it cause any problems?

I'm going to watch ebay for L80t3 crossovers.

Wasn't there some specific oil or something that JBL recommends to use on the wood finish?

Also, once I got them home I noticed the serial numbers aren't consecutive. I don't have them in front of me, but I think they were off by a hundred or something like that. Does that mean the tweeters won't be matched as well as a consecutive pair?

[HCSGuy]

Watco oil seems to be what people have been using on your speakers. JBL did not package your speakers as pairs, and so did not do any matching of speakers, except that they met the engineering standard. The foam should be on the rear of the cone to match the original cosmetics, but if the cone is centered correctly, having them on the front won't affect performance, it just looks wrong and can't really be corrected without reconing. I can't tell you how much better they will sound with new crossovers as I only have L80t3's - I've heard the lower models in standard t configuration, so I'm sure it will be a significant upgrade in the mids/highs. My L80t3's have really boomy bass - too much above 60hz or so, not much below, so you'll have to play with them in your room to see if you can tame it; maybe try plugging the port?

Anyway, good luck and let us know how they sound!

[brutal]

Watco oil seems to be what people have been using on your speakers. JBL did not package your speakers as pairs, and so did not do any matching of speakers, except that they met the engineering standard. The foam should be on the rear of the cone to match the original cosmetics, but if the cone is centered correctly, having them on the front won't affect performance, it just looks wrong and can't really be corrected without reconing. I can't tell you how much better they will sound with new crossovers as I only have L80t3's - I've heard the lower models in standard t configuration, so I'm sure it will be a significant upgrade in the mids/highs. My L80t3's have really boomy bass - too much above 60hz or so, not much below, so you'll have to play with them in your room to see if you can tame it; maybe try plugging the port?

Anyway, good luck and let us know how they sound!

Can't say if it applies the the T3 variant, but the proven method to tighten the bass was to lengthen the port tube 2" and add some fill to the top of the cabinet. Details can probably be found through search.

[riker1384]

Can't say if it applies the the T3 variant, but the proven method to tighten the bass was to lengthen the port tube 2" and add some fill to the top of the cabinet. Details can probably be found through search.

Did anybody run the T/S calculations, or was this found by trial and error?

I've read that JBL woofers require a special, very soft surround, so I'm worried that these might not have the right type.

Thanks for the info.