Just wondering. With the success Altec had with it's Duplex speaker line, and Tannoy with its Dual Concentric,and considering J.B.Lansing's background, why do you suppose JBL never considered developing a coaxial line of speakers? Or did they?
Joe
Just wondering. With the success Altec had with it's Duplex speaker line, and Tannoy with its Dual Concentric,and considering J.B.Lansing's background, why do you suppose JBL never considered developing a coaxial line of speakers? Or did they?
Joe
They did, but the ones meant for home hi fi were not directed at the top of the market. They also made and do make, I think, coaxials for distributed sound (ceiling speakers for PA and background music). Some experimenters have tried them for audio. I never heard any rave reviews. They lack bass, for one thing.
David
Thanks. I was thinking along the lines of 604's, 12" and 15" monitor golds and the like.
Veering out of the home and into the garage or driveway, JBL does make a lot of coaxials and even triaxials for automotive applications. The biggest are 6x9 inch triaxials.
As I'm sure we all know, they are purpose built for the limitations encountered in vehicle installations. They sound okay if you stick them in an enclosure of some kind and play them in your garage or basement, but none of them will sound as good in the home as something like the coaxial IS8C from the Performance Series.
I believe the IS8C with its 8" Ti laminate woofer is the largest JBL consumer coaxial made (as well as the SS8C from the Performance Series, the L228C from the Studio L Series, and the LS328C with an Al cone from the Studio L Series).
They can be pretty amazing.
Oh, yes, they put together a thing at the end of the UREI monitor lineage after JBL bought the company. RobH had some and he says it's an E145 with a 2425 mounted on the back. I'm curious about that one, myself; believe it could be seriously good with an aquaplased diaphragm, though you would want a subwoofer.
David
The problem with a 15" coaxial is that the horn can't be big enough to go down to the woofer before it reaches cone breakup. At least that's the situation with the 604. A twelve might do it. I haven't heard them myself, but I understand in the world of Tannoy the 10" is the one that really carries it off. Put them with a VLF driver and you'd really have something, I think.
Tannoy has the design edge for horn size, I think, using the cone to load the treble, but I always thought there would have to be some intermodulation distortion being generated by that arrangement. I listened to a Tannoy red (or silver or black--I'm just going by the date) 15" long ago. It was my introduction to palpable realism for voice in speakers, but the guy had only one and I didn't buy it. I had a Jensen G610 back in the day. It had serious midrange coloration. I listened to Altec 604's for years; don't know how, I can't bear to have them on now. I'm keeping them only to try crossover tweeks on them eventually.
David
I hear that. I had some 604's many moons ago. Can't help thinking though that in better enclosures they would have sounded better.Like Stonehenge III or Model 17,or something.
My brother has a pair of Tannoy Monitor Gold 15" in fairly large cabinets-Belvedere - and they sound pretty damn good if you've got the room for them. Need a big room.
It all depends, while I agree that its difficult for a larger cone to generate higher frequencies, a horn with a larger throat can handle some of the lower frequencies and make this transition easier... EV had a concept called extended response back in the 60's (not sure how this acutally worked), but their 15" 15 TRX's were superb, but these were triaxials. Which work well for the entire music spectrum and eliminate the need for bass support. I am sure anyone who has heard a pair of these will agree.
There are several other 12-15"ers that I'd recommend... if you care to PM me, I can tell you about them, since none of them are JBL/Altec related, so I'd rather not discuss them here..
There is a reason why most of the successful full range/coaxial drivers are 8", (Lowther, Stephen's Trusonic, Fostex etc.) but for those lacking bass its easy enough to re-inforce the lower frequencies with a subwoofer with a steep rolloff that blends well with the speakers you are using, Velodyne and HSU both come to mind..
As for what JBL made? Well they made an 8", 12" and a 14" coaxial/ I will be getting my hands on a pair of LE14C's in the next few days... I am not expecting something miraculous, as I know there will be a gap until the tweeter section kicks in, but I will enjoy playing with them nonetheless..
There is a current auction for a set of Stephen's Trusonic 15" 150CX coaxials on Ebay, these are SUPERB speakers in the right enclosure, wish I had the money.. maybe some of you here do, they are certainly worth taking a serious look at.. amoungst the best if not the best coaxial I have ever heard.
I have a pair of Tannoy 10 DMT series two studio monitors, they do sound very good. Nice image. lots of depth.
Mike Caldwell
Yeah, the earlier Altecs might be better; I've never had one. The cones are lighter.
Hmmm . . . JBL had some speakers they called extended Range--the D208, 131, 130 and 123. The EV TRX was a woofer, a whizzer cone and a small horn tweeter that I think was the equivalent of the T35. The only coaxial of their's I've heard was the 12TRXB, which was easy to leave behind. I have had some SP12's (non-B) with the integral paper surround that seem to carry well into the midrange. I was on the track of the fullrange grail at one time and still have some of the artifacts.
OK
I don't remember the 8". The 12" is like a 123A with an LE20 and the 14" also uses the LE20.
You won't be disappointed.
You heard these? I've been curious about their 15" 150FR woofers. I still have my 80FR's and some 5CX's and have been thinking about putting together an all Trusonic system for 50's 60's sound. Fortunately I've so far been able to put off doing anything that nutty.
David
When I was using 3 L55s for the front speakers the center L55 was really a LE14c. That coax made a very good center channel.
Why not just find a factory Stephen's Trusonic system? While they are not well known by most collectors like JBL and Altec are, I KNOW that there are a bunch of serious collectors out there who have a lot of Stephen's speakers. Me being one of them... they were right on par with the best of the best during this era....
The 8" JBL I was referring to was the LE8T I think? It may have been a full range driver not a coax.. but I think its worthy to mention... I remember reading about it here in the past..
Have never heard the 12" or 14" coaxials from JBL.. and I do not recall the model number of the 12", there is an article on this site showing all 3 of them, maybe someone can post it..
Yes I have, in a factory Stephen's Trusonic enclosure, they were spectacular... None of the wiped midrange issues that you'd expect.. Sold these many many years ago during a move and due to the wife not wanting me to take them with.
Were the 80FR's and 5CX's from the same system? If so, which one? You'll be pleasantly surprised by the performance of the 150FR woofers.
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