Help with JBL L5 Please!

[oldsoundz]

Hi Folks,

I recently acquired a pair of L5 and was excited as I could be after reading a ton of positive reviews.

24 hours after sealing the deal I now have the speakers and see that the (708g-1?) are in need of
repair.

Both have bad rubber surrounds and sadly one driver appears to be not working.

From what can find, it appears there is no recone kit for this speaker.?????....

Suggestions as to what I should do? I was really looking forward to hearing these

I know ebay is an option but I don't really want to get speakers that will go in a month
to a year.

[quad250]

I have a pair of 708G's that are in need of a new owner. Shipping costs from europe might scare us though ($50 for a pair)....

[oldsoundz]

I have a pair of 708G's that are in need of a new owner. Shipping costs from europe might scare us though ($50 for a pair)....

Are they 708G-1? I am not aware if they did multiple versions of this driver.

What did they come out of? I may still be interested given your generous offer!

[quad250]

The driver has a label on it with 708G.
Other numbers on the label: sn 005235 and 93R-HSA.

The other driver has the same label, except for sn 005187.

They were removed from a pair of L80 MkII's. I didn't want to spend the time on restoring the cabinets. I do feel some guilt though... they sounded very, very good.

BTW the $50 was shipping only (I hate to bring this to your attention), but I'm prepared to sweeten the deal by not asking top$ for the drivers.

If you're still interested, please PM . I'll send some photo's on request.

[oldsoundz]

PM sent


Does anyone know off hand if the 708g would be a good replacement for the 708g-1 ?

[JBLAddict]

PM sent


Does anyone know off hand if the 708g would be a good replacement for the 708g-1 ?

the 708G from the euro L80 model is listed as 210mm and 4.1 ohm

The 708G-1 of the L5 is 200mm, and operates 3.8-4.6

They "look the same" but hard to say if the mounting holes and external dimensions are a match to even get it in the cabinet, given the slightly different cone diameter.

honestly, these drivers pop up on ebay frequently enough that if it was me, I'd make sure to get the correct driver so there's no doubt about size, performance, tuning, etc.

[oldsoundz]

the 708G from the euro L80 model is listed as 210mm and 4.1 ohm

The 708G-1 of the L5 is 200mm, and operates 3.8-4.6

They "look the same" but hard to say if the mounting holes and external dimensions are a match to even get it in the cabinet, given the slightly different cone diameter.

honestly, these drivers pop up on ebay frequently enough that if it was me, I'd make sure to get the correct driver so there's no doubt about size, performance, tuning, etc.

Thanks for the input. The more I ponder this the more I agree with you.

No sense in getting a potentially wrong driver when the correct ones are available.

Bums me out that they don't make a re-cone kit for these.

[JBLAddict]

only caveat is that the L Series stuff seems to come and go in waves, for a period of time seemed like someone was parting out a set every week. I checked current and completed listings and nothing shows, my email alert history nothing.

so I can't tell you how long you'll need to wait to have an auction to even bid on....

[oldsoundz]

Think I'll try wait it out.

In the meantime I have borrowed an 035tia from an L5 and put it in my L100t3.

They sound excellent and will help to pacify me until the woofers I need come along

[BMWCCA]

Having personally purchased two pair of L7s and one L5 pair for $200/each as well as turning down several pairs of L5s because I thought anything over $150 was too damn much, I'd suggest just buying the cheapest pair of whichever comes along first and use the 708G-1s to bring back your L5s and stick the 035tis in your L100s.

[oldsoundz]

Having personally purchased two pair of L7s and one L5 pair for $200/each as well as turning down several pairs of L5s because I thought anything over $150 was too damn much, I'd suggest just buying the cheapest pair of whichever comes along first and use the 708G-1s to bring back your L5s and stick the 035tis in your L100s.

Great thinking. I have put a watch on L5 and L7 on ebay. Will watch to see what happens.

Not sure why but I rarely see the L series gear in my neck o the woods. Older JBL gear
is much more common.

[jmitchnh]

Hi Folks,

I recently acquired a pair of L5 and was excited as I could be after reading a ton of positive reviews.

24 hours after sealing the deal I now have the speakers and see that the (708g-1?) are in need of
repair.

Both have bad rubber surrounds and sadly one driver appears to be not working.

From what can find, it appears there is no recone kit for this speaker.?????....

Suggestions as to what I should do? I was really looking forward to hearing these

I know ebay is an option but I don't really want to get speakers that will go in a month
to a year.

I'm in the same boat as you. However, I did find that The Speaker Exchange now has a re-cone kit for the 708G-1 woofers. I'll be sending mine out soon. I'll let you know how they come out.

[berf]

L3, L5, and L7 all use the 708G-1. The 708G and 708G-2 are not direct or acceptable substitutes. More than a couple owners have had the surround separation issue. This appears to be both bad design (very little surround surface behind the cone) and bad adhesive. Somewhere in the forum search results there may be a user that was able to repair theirs but I can't recall any. The surround is some polymer similar to the 115H-1's that doesn't rot. Someone would have to run the numbers on a good unit, a repaired one, and something that had been boogered up with an aftermarket surround kit to see what may have changed.
The days of cheap L series pairs are gone and I can see a future with a lot of unhappy new owners of unreparable speakers bought from both unsuspecting and irresponsible sellers. I have no interest in L3's and L5's for this reason. You'll have to consider them to be time bombs. L7's have the lowest frequencies passed off to the woof so we have to hope and pray they're less susceptible to this problem. I bought my L7's only after close inspection. I see them as a future ex-wife that will break my heart someday.