New Blood...

[Fred Sanford]

Hi folks- I've been wandering around this forum for some info on a few pieces I've accumulated over the years, and figured I'd introduce myself. I've been in the AV business for 20+ years, commercial/residential/pro/you name it & I've taken a swing at it. I've also gotten the reputation of being the "Fred Sanford" of AV- I'll take anyone's junk, as long as it's free. This packrat mentality has helped me to accumulate quite a pile of JBL stuff- quick count would be 4333AWXs, L110s, 4408s, and a bunch of pro/PA stuff, too. Had plenty of Altec gear over the years, too, but none are here currently. Picked up a pair of nice condition L46s today, should be another pair coming next week as well. Might be a pair of busted 240Ti coming by the end of the Summer. Stories behind all of them, some day I'll bore you with them.
Some spare parts around, too, someday I'll inventory them as well & see if they can help somebody out.

Thanks,

je (real name's John...)

[Regis]

Welcome aboard John and I'd love to hear the stories behind any kind of good JBL scoop (especially the busted up Ti's, oh the horror) but you're rescuing them and that's great!

[JuniorJBL]

It is nice to see new members with the passion.
Shane

[Fred Sanford]

The 240Ti story isn't a horribly sad one, just some neglect. A customer of mine had them in a damp NYC basement crawl space for years wrapped in shrink wrap (and painted white at some point), finally set them up for him in a beach house basement & found one blown tweeter and I think I remember a crossover or level-control repair or something similar. Repaired all that, now the woofer surrounds have both given out, and his kids are kicking the grilles a bit...I get the feeling he might abandon them & go for smaller speakers up off the floor.

Any suggestions on sourcing the foam repair or re-cone kit for those 14" woofers?

Thanks,

je

[sonofagun]

It is nice to see new members with the passion.
Shane

You mean the disease?

[Regis]

Regarding the surrounds, Rick Cobb provides most of us with aftermarket speaker surrounds of good quality (I've ordered several kits from him). He's on Ebay and his Ebay name is LooneyTunes2001. There are others who make surrounds as well, but Rick has great quality products. Here is a typical Ebay link. Email him and tell him what you have and he'll work with you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...782366220&rd=1

There are quite a few threads here on speaker surround "how-to" as well, just use the search function in the Technical Help forum using 'surround' or 'surrounds'. Good luck in getting the 240Ti's to a safe place, JBL's need luv too!

[JuniorJBL]

You mean the disease?

Dont want to scare the creatures away right off the bat. Sensitive breed ya know

[Fred Sanford]

Oh, I don't scare so easily...besides, this is a mild one compared to my other obsessions. I just can't let any JBLs go out to the trash, or sit in a garage, or act as plant stands, or go unloved.

I fired up the L46s for the first time after my earlier posts, very nice. Real rough/quick check on 'em, an MP3 player into a power amp of unknown quality, but overall I was smiling. Hope I score the other pair at this apartment, should find out Tuesday or Thursday if they'll be coming home with me. Then I just have to find a use for them...

je

[Fred Sanford]

Success! The second set of L46s are in the car, I'll be testing them out shortly. I just love rich folk's trash.

je

[Fred Sanford]

Stopped by my Folk's place for the 4th, and checked the #s on the JBLs they've got there:

LX600
LX300
62T

...these are all speakers I've sourced for them in the past, anybody have info on the 62Ts? Were they pro nearfield monitors? I did find manuals for the LXs, this site rocks.

je

[Chas]

Hey Fred! Please bore us with all the gory details..

[Fred Sanford]

Gory details of how these toys managed to follow me home? Of the condition of them? How they sound?

All the gore?

Quick version of the 4333AWX's story- maybe 20 years ago Arista records founder Clive Davis wants an upgrade to his office playback system, calls in my boss who he knew through Barry Manilow. My boss pulls out the JBLs, a Sansui BA-5000 power amp, and some other gear. They sit around for a few years, until his daughter turns 10 or so, then they spend a few years blasting Depeche Mode and The Cure through them until she goes to college and can't fit them in her dorm. They sit in her Mom's garage for a few more years, until I rescue them. Sansui goes to my friend Scott:

www.sgcustomsound.com

...to power the Lunar Module Subwoofer in his showroom, JBLs come home with me. Cabinets are rough, one piece of trim on the front completely missing. Moisture damage evident on cabinets, level controls, crossover switch, everywhere. Deep scratches everywhere. Mids sound harsh at certain frequencies, but once they're lined up they're fine. Woofer surrounds were shot, Scott replaced them for me. Still need to clean/replace/bypass the x-over switch, and clean the level controls, but they sound sweet. They'll end up being the playback monitors in my studio's main room, not sure how much I'll bother with fe-finishing the cabs, depends on what I can barter with my woodworking friends. They've been playing occasionally with a Denon PMA920 integrated amp and a Velodyne sub, but will eventually most likely be biamped with two of my Yamaha P2100 power amps.

L110, L46, 4408 gory stories and maybe some pics some other day.

je

[Fred Sanford]

The four L46s I picked up recently had spent their last 20+ years inside little cubbies in the Dakota building in Manhattan. A client of mine had us upgrade his system, and I found these in high cabinets (maybe 12 feet off the floor) behind wood slat grilles. They had been powered by a Nakamichi receiver and switched through a selector box with loading resistors in series. ~18gauge lamp cord cable to each. Two are dusty, but in good shape (kitchen), two are covered in soot (dining room) because they were in openings used as air intakes. Surprisingly all woofer surrounds seem fine, they looked chalky so I was concerned at first. I'm impressed by the low end response from the 8" woofers, but haven't really given them a good overall test, just an MP3 player through a 12-zone AudioControl Architect amp I had kicking around. The grilles will get a gentle cleaning, the cabs will go off to a buddy that restores cabinetry, and we'll see where they end up when they arrive home. I may be looking for a good center channel match, if these come out nice they might be candidates to replace my Canton Karat 20s (bachelor black) as Living Room Surround speakers.

If anyone cares, the client's new speakers are Sonus Faber Concertos in LR/DR/Kitchen, Vienna Acoustics in Media Room (Schoenberg/Webern/Berg), Monitor Audio in MBR.

je

[Mr. Widget]

Canton Karat 20s (bachelor black)

I love that! I am keeping it, but I'll give you credit...

If anyone cares, the client's new speakers are Sonus Faber Concertos in LR/DR/Kitchen, Vienna Acoustics in Media Room (Schoenberg/Webern/Berg), Monitor Audio in MBR.

I'd go with that upgrade path... not to dump on your baby Lansings. You certainly got the better deal financially.


Widget

[Audiobeer]

Let me at the 240ti cabinets Fred. I love salavaging old boxes......just not in the St. louis humidity right now.