I bought my first pair of JBL's in 1976, the L26's. They were 10" 2-way's with orange grill cloth. I loved those speakers, they were a huge improvement over my hand-me-down Knight 12" 3-way's. I sold the L26's along with my Dynaco SCA_80 and Thorens Turntable just before joining the Navy. My next pair of JBL's were the L88's which I still have. Again, a world of difference between these and the thrift store Utah 12" 3-ways (same drivers as the previously mentioned Knights) that I had been using while in college.

In the late 90's, I came across a pair of JBL Signature C38 cabinets. The original JBL drivers had been replaced with a pair of 12" Stephens TruSonic Full Range Drivers, no tweeters or crossovers. After doing a little research on the internet and some time searching ebay, I found a pair of D123's which are the recommended drivers for these cabinets. After installing the drivers and powering up my Dynaco Stereo 70, PAS-3 and Thorens TD160 w/ Shure V15 cartridge and spinning some vintage Blue Note vinyl, I was thoroughly disappointed. The sound as I remember was flat, lacking bass and treble. After some searching on ebay, I found the JBL recommended tweeters and crossovers, the LE20's and LX2's. There was a slight improvement in the upper mid range but still not nearly as musical as my L88's.

I've searched the forums in this website as well as the library but haven't found any information regarding DYI tweaking of these speakers. Does anyone have any suggestions for improving these high quality but somewhat dated sounding speakers? Can the cabinets be modified to improve the sound? Should I sell the drivers and install new ones in the cabinets?

The one thing that attracted me to JBL, aside from their reputation of quality, was the aesthetic quality of the enclosures. The C38 cabinets are true mid-century beauties and look great in my living room but I would like to use them for more than just side tables.