ka7niq
06-10-2007, 07:42 PM
My Grandpa owned Hartsfields, and gave me his old L 65 Jubal's.
So, I was in a "JBL Family" as a young man.
My Jubal's got ripped off years ago when my home was broken into, and I had no insurance, just renting back then.
I always had a special place in my heart for JBL.
I saw the L7 JBL's at my local Circuit City, and did some research on them.
I saved my money, but bought them mail order to get a deal.
My FIRST pair were absolutely dreadful, and I gave them a very bad review on Audio Web, maybe even on Audio Review too.
They were screechy, did not image, and just plain sucked.
Last week, I saw some local for sale.
At first, I just laughed, and ignored them.
But Duke Spinner on Klipsch forum has em, and likes em.
I came over here, and saw others like them too, so I thought WTF, and bought them.
The last pair I sold local to some kid.
I had em bi amped with Krells, played Metallica for him, and they were gone!
So, i paid for these, and the guy even delivered em for me in his pickup!
He liked em, but the old lady did not,,so she forced him to buy Bose.
Poor Guy, you could see it in his eyes he was having a hard time saying good bye to his old friends!
I will cut through the chase and say right now THIS pair sounds NOTHING like my last pair.
This IS very much an Audiophiles Speaker.
They image all over the place.
They are ANYTHING but bright, actually quite recessed in the midrange, and a LITTLE over damped.
We will get to THAT later.
When these first got here, they sounded a little strange.
They had sat in the living room of the previous owner, unhooked for over a year.
I played em low at first, gradually increasing level, and then they started sounding better.
After about an hour of play, I hit em with some demanding RAP Cd's of my kids.
Then, I did my little "trick" I do to all old speakers.
I intentionally and carefully heat up the drivers, then, I turn amp all the way down, and CAREFULLY push each cone driver all the way in to it stops.
I "massage" each driver like this a few times, slowly and carefully.
Bud Fried taught me this.
It seems Ferrofluid can SOMETIMES get stuck, or dirt/dust gets into the coil.
I heat em up, and do one speaker at a time.
When finished, the speakers from California finally came back to life!
Elton John's' Saturday Night's alright for fighting was the very best I have ever heard on any speaker, including my 801's.
Dexy's Midnight Runners song "Come on Eileen" was devoid of screech/
Stevie Nicks voice was free of peaks singing Rhiannon, as was Christine McVie's.
The L7's really show their stuff on complex, demanding material, easily separating and revealing, in a soft spoken way, what is on the recording.
I think they can be improved greatly by playing with the damping material in the speakers.
The sound is definitely over damped.
I think JBL was trying to get the LAST little bit of coloration out of them, and was a BIT enthusiastic in their amount of stuffing.
Guess what ?
It didn't work, compared to the B&W 801's they do have some coloration.
TOO much damping robs musical bloom, and my instincts tell me there are great improvements to be made by playing with damping material and amounts.
There IS a slight mid range recession compared to the 801's, and this give em a laid back character.
The L7 Tweeter is no match for the 801 tweeter, but nothing is.
No big deal.
The L7 gives a big, non fatiguing sound, and the louder you play em, the more they like it.
Right now, I am using a Luxman M 117 amp and a Parasound PreAmp.
My Moscode 600 is being modded, and will be back shortly.
In short, I am VERY impressed with these speakers.
They are not even bi wired at the moment.
If one reads my original review from long ago on these, you will see I WANTED to like these.
The first pair must have been defective, because these kick butt, in an audiophile way.
Bass is OK, but I have corner mounted 9.5 cu ft 15's with gobs of power on them.
As long as a speaker goes down to meet my subs, I am happy.
From 4 hours of listening, I must say L 7 is indeed an impressive speaker.
Not surprisingly, the speaker from California did the Beach Boys justice, and Red Hot Chili Peppers too!
These LOVE Rock.
Boston was great, so was REO.
Jewels voice and Piano was just right, in a laid back way.
On the Live Farm Aid CD, there is a Live Version of "Copperhead Road".
This was the best I have ever heard that song, it is a real bitch to get right.
James Ingrahams voice lacked a LITTLE body compared to the 801's, but I think some damping mods will fix that ?
On Village People's "Macho Man", the trumpets were a bit muted, and the midrange recessed compared to the 801's.
Not right, not wrong, just a different perspective then 801' that is all.
I gotta get back and listen some more, just wanted to share.
So, I was in a "JBL Family" as a young man.
My Jubal's got ripped off years ago when my home was broken into, and I had no insurance, just renting back then.
I always had a special place in my heart for JBL.
I saw the L7 JBL's at my local Circuit City, and did some research on them.
I saved my money, but bought them mail order to get a deal.
My FIRST pair were absolutely dreadful, and I gave them a very bad review on Audio Web, maybe even on Audio Review too.
They were screechy, did not image, and just plain sucked.
Last week, I saw some local for sale.
At first, I just laughed, and ignored them.
But Duke Spinner on Klipsch forum has em, and likes em.
I came over here, and saw others like them too, so I thought WTF, and bought them.
The last pair I sold local to some kid.
I had em bi amped with Krells, played Metallica for him, and they were gone!
So, i paid for these, and the guy even delivered em for me in his pickup!
He liked em, but the old lady did not,,so she forced him to buy Bose.
Poor Guy, you could see it in his eyes he was having a hard time saying good bye to his old friends!
I will cut through the chase and say right now THIS pair sounds NOTHING like my last pair.
This IS very much an Audiophiles Speaker.
They image all over the place.
They are ANYTHING but bright, actually quite recessed in the midrange, and a LITTLE over damped.
We will get to THAT later.
When these first got here, they sounded a little strange.
They had sat in the living room of the previous owner, unhooked for over a year.
I played em low at first, gradually increasing level, and then they started sounding better.
After about an hour of play, I hit em with some demanding RAP Cd's of my kids.
Then, I did my little "trick" I do to all old speakers.
I intentionally and carefully heat up the drivers, then, I turn amp all the way down, and CAREFULLY push each cone driver all the way in to it stops.
I "massage" each driver like this a few times, slowly and carefully.
Bud Fried taught me this.
It seems Ferrofluid can SOMETIMES get stuck, or dirt/dust gets into the coil.
I heat em up, and do one speaker at a time.
When finished, the speakers from California finally came back to life!
Elton John's' Saturday Night's alright for fighting was the very best I have ever heard on any speaker, including my 801's.
Dexy's Midnight Runners song "Come on Eileen" was devoid of screech/
Stevie Nicks voice was free of peaks singing Rhiannon, as was Christine McVie's.
The L7's really show their stuff on complex, demanding material, easily separating and revealing, in a soft spoken way, what is on the recording.
I think they can be improved greatly by playing with the damping material in the speakers.
The sound is definitely over damped.
I think JBL was trying to get the LAST little bit of coloration out of them, and was a BIT enthusiastic in their amount of stuffing.
Guess what ?
It didn't work, compared to the B&W 801's they do have some coloration.
TOO much damping robs musical bloom, and my instincts tell me there are great improvements to be made by playing with damping material and amounts.
There IS a slight mid range recession compared to the 801's, and this give em a laid back character.
The L7 Tweeter is no match for the 801 tweeter, but nothing is.
No big deal.
The L7 gives a big, non fatiguing sound, and the louder you play em, the more they like it.
Right now, I am using a Luxman M 117 amp and a Parasound PreAmp.
My Moscode 600 is being modded, and will be back shortly.
In short, I am VERY impressed with these speakers.
They are not even bi wired at the moment.
If one reads my original review from long ago on these, you will see I WANTED to like these.
The first pair must have been defective, because these kick butt, in an audiophile way.
Bass is OK, but I have corner mounted 9.5 cu ft 15's with gobs of power on them.
As long as a speaker goes down to meet my subs, I am happy.
From 4 hours of listening, I must say L 7 is indeed an impressive speaker.
Not surprisingly, the speaker from California did the Beach Boys justice, and Red Hot Chili Peppers too!
These LOVE Rock.
Boston was great, so was REO.
Jewels voice and Piano was just right, in a laid back way.
On the Live Farm Aid CD, there is a Live Version of "Copperhead Road".
This was the best I have ever heard that song, it is a real bitch to get right.
James Ingrahams voice lacked a LITTLE body compared to the 801's, but I think some damping mods will fix that ?
On Village People's "Macho Man", the trumpets were a bit muted, and the midrange recessed compared to the 801's.
Not right, not wrong, just a different perspective then 801' that is all.
I gotta get back and listen some more, just wanted to share.