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Thread: My Hartsfield DIY Project

  1. #16
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  2. #17
    Senior Member martin2395's Avatar
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    Oh my god, they are stunning

  3. #18
    Senior Member Lee in Montreal's Avatar
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    Definitely impressive. I am pretty sure they even sound better than the orignal as you have much improved on the quality of woods and the structure. Great work.

  4. #19
    Member JBLP's Avatar
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    My compliments!!! What a nice craftsmanship and finishings.
    And I really like the workshop!
    They get a good home?

  5. #20
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    Yes these will get a good home!

    I am in the process of moving so they are stored until I have the setup ready for them.

    As others have mentioned, the quality of the build and the materials available today blows anything JBL could have built out of the water. Even many of the other reproductions are using poor quality materials which all effect the sound quality of a folded horn. I was actually considering reproductions from one of the available builders for a while, but after seeing build photos, I wanted to control the quality of materials. No cut down 2x4's in these!

    If you want historical value, buy the originals. If you want the best sound quality, get these!!

    If anyone one is seriously interested in purchasing a singe or pair of these cabinets, please send me a private message. We would love to build more for others but it only makes sense if we have a couple of orders. This was we can do more and parallel and reduce the costs for everyone. They would be available with any wood veneer and any finish or color.

  6. #21
    Senior Member Mostlydiy's Avatar
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    Wow, just lovely!

    /Mostly

  7. #22
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    Beautiful! /Mårten

  8. #23
    Senior Member audiomagnate's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mbeards View Post
    Yes these will get a good home!

    I am in the process of moving so they are stored until I have the setup ready for them.

    As others have mentioned, the quality of the build and the materials available today blows anything JBL could have built out of the water. Even many of the other reproductions are using poor quality materials which all effect the sound quality of a folded horn. I was actually considering reproductions from one of the available builders for a while, but after seeing build photos, I wanted to control the quality of materials. No cut down 2x4's in these!

    If you want historical value, buy the originals. If you want the best sound quality, get these!!

    If anyone one is seriously interested in purchasing a singe or pair of these cabinets, please send me a private message. We would love to build more for others but it only makes sense if we have a couple of orders. This was we can do more and parallel and reduce the costs for everyone. They would be available with any wood veneer and any finish or color.
    Since this has now morphed into a marketplace thread, I have to ask. How much? Same finish, materials etc.

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by audiomagnate View Post
    Since this has now morphed into a marketplace thread, I have to ask. How much? Same finish, materials etc.

    We were thinking along the lines of $12,000 Per pair for the unloaded cabinets. If we could get more going simultaneously, the price per pair would go down due to the increased efficiency of side by side building.

    I Just got these speakers into my new apartment in Dallas and am setting them up currently with new simple crossovers with the advice of John Wolf from Classic Audio Loudspeakers. I will have more to come once I get some real listening time on them with the much more correct E145 woofers and crossovers.

  10. #25
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    Stunning is NOT enough

    Quote Originally Posted by martin2395 View Post
    Oh my god, they are stunning

    I am amazed and envious, but WOW!

  11. #26
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    Wow!! Beautiful work and outstanding final product!!! Although these are currently out of my league, I don't find the price out of line for what's being delivered.

  12. #27
    Senior Member Val's Avatar
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    Thank you for taking the time to document this project!

  13. #28
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    Hi everyone,

    So I have been running this pair of 1959 spec JBL Hartsfields in Dallas for about two months now and I thought it was about time to write my opinion of these.

    It took some tweaking and driver swaps to get them to the point they are at now but the efforts certainly paid off. The current driver complement is E145 woofers, 2441 midrange compression drivers, and 075 tweeters. I ditched the original JBL crossovers by first attempting to make my own complex autotransformer attenuated 3-way network with a low pass for the woofer, band pass midrange, and high pass tweeter.

    With the advice from John Wolf from Classic Audio Loudspeakers (who has been selling some very nice Hartsfield reproductions for some time now), I moved to a much simpler crossover arrangement.

    The woofer is directly wired with no crossover. As advised by John, the E145 will naturally roll off due to the cutoff frequency created by the bass horn. There is no need to force attenuation electrically.

    The 2441 has a high pass filter with 12dB/octave slope crossed over at 500Hz. I used a capacitor in series with the driver so it runs flat out from 500Hz and up. A 16ohm L-pad takes care of the necessary attenuation.

    The 075 tweeter has a 12dB/octave crossover set at 9Khz with a cap in series with the driver and a second L-pad for attenuation.

    Moving away from complex JBL LX5 and N7000 networks was one of the best things going for these speakers. It opened up a new dimension. They have significantly more life and detail and feel more open and natural.

    I have been running the speakers in this configuration for a while and I have been extremely satisfied with them. One of my biggest worries with this project was that the low frequency response would be restricted. Many people on the web warn of the Hartsfield limited low-end reproduction. With a pair of speakers this large, adding a subwoofer would take up that much more space. However, I am happy to report that the low frequency response is plenty low enough. I have yet to find any song in my collection that I feel is lacking in bass. Plus, the detail in the bass is unbelievable, adding to the depth and lifelikeness. My ears tell me that these go down to around 35-40Hz, which is perfect for most naturally produced bass frequencies…. maybe not ideal for home theater enthusiasts, but perfect for music.

    I also love the midrange and high frequency detail these speakers achieve. Listening to some classic jazz records of Jimmy Smith, Stanley Turrentine, and Oscar Peterson, the solo instrument sits perfectly forward in the room with a staggeringly large sound stage.

    If I had to sum up the JBL Hartsfield in a few sentences it would be that they exhibit extreme detail and nuance across the entire audible spectrum while still maintaining great amounts of musicality and lifelikeness. At the same time, they feel effortless and fill the room at low volumes without any feeling of constraint or forcefulness. It is just simply music filling the room without any perception of the loudspeakers’ existence.

    Although I have had limited experience with electrostatic speakers, from my listening experiences they offer the same (if not more) detail than the Hartsfields but with a more sterile sound stage. To me I got the “wall of sound” impression from electrostatics, whereas the Hartsfields sound layered and full of life. Like I said, completely effortless.

    This is the first speaker I have ever heard that if I close my eyes the band sounds literally in my room. I thought I have experienced this before with other speakers, but the Hartsfields proved me wrong!

    Most recently, I had the pleasure of installing Truextent Beryllium diaphragms into the 2441s and the speakers made another leap forward in performance. An honest 100% improvement that was not subtle and easily obtainable by any listener.

    The midrange horn seems to extend significantly lower than before, mating better to the upper range of the horn loaded E145. The upper registers of an upright bass transition from the bass horn to the midrange horn significantly better, giving a better sense of coherence. The lighter diaphragm also made a noticeable improvement in the transient response heard in drums and hard bass attacks. The midrange horn now truly matches the quickness and attack of the E145 folded horn.

    The high frequency extension is also improved, giving greater detail to the click of a ride cymbal or the smash of a hard hit crash cymbal. Not only did the over presentation of sound due to frequency response improve but a significant jump in detail was also heard, putting these speakers miles ahead of electrostatics in my opinion.

    If anyone is considering these diaphragms I feel they are worth the investment. The improvement is not subtle!

    Anyway, I am extremely happy with these speakers and can’t think of a single system on the market I would rather have. Every time I use them I get as excited as the first day I first fired them up. The Hartsfields definitely needed some tweaking to achieve their full potential and in fact can be a bit crude sounding with the stock crossovers. …Especially as a two-way system. However, anyone who owns Hartsfields and are running them stock should consider these changes. There is a lot of potential here; it just needs to be unveiled.

    Happy listening Y'all,
    Matt

  14. #29
    Senior Member ivica's Avatar
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    Hartsfied born again and again

    Quote Originally Posted by mbeards View Post
    We were thinking along the lines of $12,000 Per pair for the unloaded cabinets. If we could get more going simultaneously, the price per pair would go down due to the increased efficiency of side by side building.

    I Just got these speakers into my new apartment in Dallas and am setting them up currently with new simple crossovers with the advice of John Wolf from Classic Audio Loudspeakers. I will have more to come once I get some real listening time on them with the much more correct E145 woofers and crossovers.
    hi mbeards,
    many thanks for the presentation of the fantastic project you have done.
    I whish you to enjoy much listening them.
    regards
    ivica

  15. #30
    Junior Member high sky's Avatar
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    Impressive

    I am so impressed with your project. I really love the design.

    Could you bring a picture of them in your listeningroom. They do need some space, dont they.

    Best Regards

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