Old JBL find!!!

[10 Watt Street]

One of the Stephens Co-Spiral full-range drivers that Steve Schell mentions above is listed on ebay at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...750566057&rd=1

[JBLROCKS]

Thanks for the info Steve!!!

[Steve Schell]

That Stephens Co-spiral in the auction is an early one. The magnet structure was Stephens' old field coil type that had been modified with an alnico slug center pole for permanent magnet duty. The label indicates the old Los Angeles address, so it predates Stephens' move to Culver City in 1947.

I'd be tempted to pick it up at the Buy It Now price, but I just bought a later 15" Co-spiral in an attractive reflex cabinet in a thrift store for $10.; it is cranking out the tunes in my shop right now.

[JBLROCKS]

Here are a few pictures of the D130's...EXCELLENT CONDITION!!

[LE15-Thumper]

Nice drivers ! Maybe you can sell one of 'em and get a decent camera

[John]

I was thinking the same thing!!! Try to get that focus sharper please,your making me think my eyes are going on me??? Then again maybe they are

[JBLROCKS]

Yes I know....I need a new camera this one is an old pice of .

Sorry about the bad pictures

Does this page re-seze them or something? They look good on computer then I put them up here and they go all blurry
Anyone else had this problem?

[JBLROCKS]

I have come up with a plan for all this cool old stuff....See thread marked "My Plan".

[gemgenerator]

I've always been fascinated by the Altec Lansing 603 / 603B Diacone speakers. An article by John Hilliard explaining the Diacone (high frequency diaphragm combined with low frequency cone) was published in Audio Engineering magazine in 1947.

There were a number of "full range" speakers introduced in the mid to late 1940s which used aluminum center domes to extend high frequency response, and I sense the hand of Jim Lansing in all of them. First came the 603 in late 1945, with its multicellular horn mounted over the dome to spread the highs out a bit. The ever vigilant copycat Bob Stephens introduced his aluminum dome designs with the "Co-spiral" diffusor shortly after. Then Altec introduced the inexpensive 400 8" and 600 12" full ranges. Jim Lansing left Altec and began his new company about then and produced the D-101 15" general purpose speaker, and the slim profile D-130 15", D-131 12" and D-208 8" models shortly after.

Hal Cox owns a small, rusty old 1930s field coil radio speaker that very unusually has an aluminum center dome. It was given to him by longtime JBL president William Thomas, along with several other items that reportedly had belonged to Jim Lansing and had been left in his work area in the Fletcher Drive factory. It was thought by Thomas that perhaps this speaker had been Lansing's inspiration for the aluminum dome designs.

The 603 was built using the same cone and phenolic spider as the 515 woofer and 604 Duplex, which of course means that countless 603s have been gutted over the years to repair more valuable drivers with original parts. This is a shame, as the 603 is a nice speaker. It was just the ticket for many people in the postwar era to achieve nice sound in a simple system. Altec sold several thousand of them.

I own 603 serial #15, which is still on its original baffle board complete with Jim Lansing's initials in pencil. 603 serial #1 sold on ebay a couple of years ago, and I still regret not bidding on it. The 603B was introduced in 1947; I don't know what differences there are. They were built until the early 1950s, when the aluminum dome Altecs were replaced by Alex Badmaieff's new Biflex driver designs.

Steve, contact me if you're interested in my 15" 603B Mint Duplex!
Call Me (864) 561-4072 Thanks, JIM SUMMER