L65 midrange substitute

[mrbluster]

I have a pair of L65A's I was planning to restore. I do not have the original LE5-5 mids. Would either Le5-2 or Le5-12 be good substitutes?

Thanks,
Mrbluster

[speakerdave]

I used LE5-2's in place of the LE5-5's in my L65A'a for awhile because I wanted to use them next to my TV. It didn't make much difference, but to my surprise, since I was expecting nicer sound from the Alnico LE5-2, I thought the LE5-5 sounded better. The difference probably was not caused by the magnet material, but rather the acoustic and electrical differences of the drivers and the matchup or mismatch with the crossover. Some of the LE5's have round-wire voice coils and some of them have ribbon wire. According to Giskard in another post somewhere the JBL engineers don't like to see the two used as interchangeable. You will find some threads dealing with this if you use the search function. The LE5's with odd suffixes are one kind of wire and the even sufixes are the other. Of the Alnico the LE5-2 is one and the 2105 the other. I don't remember which is which. One of the cone kits has been discontinued.

David

[speakerdave]

There's a chart on this thread that tells the story:
http://audioheritage.csdco.com/vbull...&highlight=le5
The 2105 the LE5H, and the ones with odd suffixes are ribbon and that is the cone kit that has been discontinued. The LE5-2 and the even suffixes have the round copper voice coil, and are (or were then) still serviceable.

David

[mrbluster]

Thanks Dave,
I am trying to decide If I should really move forward on this project, or spend my time on something else. I have never had the opportunity to listen to L65's. I have owned L100's and currently have a very nice pair of L166's.

Mrbluster

[speakerdave]

This seller has a pair of exact replacements.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...750047670&rd=1

I would think it well worth popping in a pair of midranges to find out if you like them--as long as the other components are in good shape.

David