l100 century rebuild

[reconditioned]

Hi all - new user here,

Please bear with me as this is all new to me but I have been a JBL fan since the womb as that is where I was first introduced and boy did it rock my amniotic world!

I am currently rebuilding a set of old l100 century's that were pillaged and plundered as per the norm. However the mid range LE - 5's remain.

First question. These particular mid ranges are not polished on the front. They are dull black! In all my poking around I have not seen unpolished LE-5's anywhere! Can somebody clue me in?

That said, I have dug up some LE 5's that are in good shape and polished and am wondering if I should replace the dull finished ones just for aesthetics!

Next question, in doing the rebuild should I get the after market crossover kit offered or stick with the original?

Final question, I have located some 123a-1 drivers but one of them has a tear. Are these repairable without impacting performance? Can one repair them while keeping the aesthetics in tact?

Finally, I intend to use the speakers as mains for a home system with 7.1 can someone suggest complimentary speakers for surrounds. I have a nuance center which is reasonable and am running all sorts of different rears but have not landed on something I am completely happy with!

Thanks in advance for your time and consideration!

[boputnam]

You might try and post some pictures of the "LE - 5" - help us see which model it is, as there are a few...

What is the "after market crossover kit"...?

wrt the 123A, they are no longer available from JBL. Your recommended option is to get that reconed (http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/Transducers%20Parts%20List/Transducer%20Parts%20List.pdf) as a 2122H. You cannot purchase the kit yourself, but could find an authorized repair center (http://www.jblproservice.com/service/index.html) in your vicinity. Or, pm "edgewound" here and see if he can accomodate. And, once you get the recone done you will need to determine if you run the 2122H as-is, or invert (cross) the connection wires. It depends upon which L100 you have.

That then, will also impact your choice of "complimentary" surround speakers - just make sure the woofs are moving in the same direction on (+)...

[reconditioned]

is the full model description it also says linear efficiency. It has 8ohms impedance and the serial number is 137334. I have taken some pics and will upload them when the wife comes home.

I have looked at this for an "aftermarket crossover kit"
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/JBL_L100.htm

wrt the driver. I have a set in mind but they have a minor rip in the cone to replace the crap someone stuck in my JBL 100 century. I was just curious about the repair. I will see if I can find the local authorized repair centre.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Fred Sanford]

The L110 model used a black-framed LE5-10...don't know if that helps any. There's a matrix chart that shows which models are interchangable...gimme a minute.

je

Here it is, lots of info here (I'm guessing yours were simply painted black):

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=5706&highlight=le5+matrix

[reconditioned]

I cannot help but wonder if someone just bolted the L110 cone and bracket to the L 5-2 magnet. Even the cone does not look right and it does not look like an after market paint job.

l am going to look for a pic of that mid and see it the cone matches mine.

Thanks I appreciate your time.

[boputnam]

LE5-2 is the full model description...OK, that's good - "good" in that it is original. :p

But, the other problem is, knowing which L100 you have. You see, JBL changed the woofers during the lineage and also the network and also the tweet.

So, once you get your 2122H's installed, you will need to determine which way to connect the woofer (yes, it might need to be inverted).

Back to the crossover - unless you know it's bad, or you simply want to replace it, I'd leave her be. Your choice...

[reconditioned]

I am struggling to nail down an appropriate set of woofers.

Ebay has been my final resort!

One sale has come up that sells on 123a-1 and another 123a-3.

It is probably not recommended to mix and match right?

Or should I just by these whole speakers that seem to pop up consistently from the 43XX line?

Any advice on how I might get my hands on a pair that are at least decent!

Thanks again you guys!

[reconditioned]

Here is the midrange and crossover

Any ideas?

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_r10jBbg7rK0/SdHFklAgaRI/AAAAAAAAABY/0BbxwYLXQzU/09Mar29JBL_04.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_r10jBbg7rK0/SdHFkQbagCI/AAAAAAAAABQ/6UYMKAUt8AI/09Mar30JBL_6.JPG



http://lh6.ggpht.com/_r10jBbg7rK0/SdHFj3lRheI/AAAAAAAAABI/65Ja_p03paI/09Mar30JBL_4.JPG

[boputnam]

One sale has come up that sells on 123a-1 and another 123a-3.

It is probably not recommended to mix and match right?No, not good to mix those two.

This is all about to get a little blurry, but the 123A-1 is a positive woofer (cone out on (+) ), unsusal for vintage JBL, but the 123A-3 is JBL's normal convention, negative. Don't want to mix these...

[reconditioned]

I suspected something as technical would be involved.

I won't bid those ones then.

There is a pair currently up for auction for 325.00 bucks. They say its a big deal cuz the JBL seal is intact. Is this a big deal?

My pics came down (guess they are too big or something) but what of this crossover? Any comments?

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_r10jBbg7rK0/SdHFklAgaRI/AAAAAAAAABY/0BbxwYLXQzU/s128/09Mar29JBL_04.JPG

It is obviously the modification the guy made when he removed the tweeter and replaced it with the taiwanese job.

This is why I am thinking about going back to the original or simply ordering the replacement offered over the net I earlier posted.

Does anyone have any comment about the crossover kit?
Found here: http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/JBL_L100.htm

Thanks again you guys I appreciate it!

[Zilch]

123A-1 recone kit, C8R2212, is available, but $272 MSRP

New 2213Hs are available for $371 MSRP

That crossover kit is way overpriced, in my view.

I'll say it again: there have been a half-dozen L100 "upgrade" proposals posted in this forum, all of them well-conceived, EXCEPT for trying to make them into something they're not. Leave them be and enjoy them for what they are, which is fake, but fun.

If you want accurate, buy some 4412s; they cost less.... :blink:

[reconditioned]

I hear ya loud and clear.

I guess I will have to settle on what I am able to dig up.

The crossover pic I sent is of a crossover that is NOT the original. I am going to replace the tweeter (the original was removed and replaced with this crossover) which means I must consider changing the crossover as I am sure it was changed to accommodate the modification therefor removing the modification and its components ( the woofer and tweeter) and replacing them with originals would require the appropriate crossover be installed hence my consideration of the kit that offers a so called "LI00 upgrade."

I have come across an original l100 crossover that ran LE-25 tweeters so I am going to try that with my existing LE 5-2 mids, unless the wisdom here suggests otherwise. (because I have found some LE -25s in decent shape)

I have been enjoying these speakers for what they are (and they are actually quite good) but I thought it would be a fun project to try and restore these century's to their original caliber of performance by replacing the non stock tweeters and woofers with ones from other JBL century's.

Thanks again.

[qquickk]

the problem with re-coning any of the classic stuff is they just don't make paper like that any more. i know a fellow in so. cal. who has been professionally repairing speakers, among other pursuits, for 30 years. has an amazing collection of stuff too. well anyway, he is starting a company with some high rollers to produce paper, the real classic stuff. anybody interested? should i try to get a hold of him again?