rebuilding l300's

[travis5049]

After years of abusing these speakers and not even listening to them for the past 4 years I finally came up with the funds to rebuild these awsome speakers. At the time they're being used as speaker stands for a set of 4312A's.
I picked these up some years ago when I was just a kid and was DJ'ing down on the Gulf coast of TX. I really didn't know what I had and drug these from wedding receptions to NASA landing party's using just a JVC 100 watt amp to drive them. Anyway I'll try and take as many pics as possible during the process. The internals, (control board and Woofer, also the pads) are heading to Austin Speaker Works in the morning for a recone and board upgrade. The Cabinets are going to a neighbors garage and we're going to put these back to as close to a new look as possible. The first thought about the cabinets is to use Walnut cabinet wood instead of veneer. Im ordering the new foils tonight with my serial numbers put on. Also we're only going to tackle one cab. at a time.Wish me luck and let me know if you have any advice...........no I'm not Bi-amping these.

[travis5049]

Here's some others...........off to find new foils. Oh yea this was my New Years resolution, I thought it was a good one.

[BMWCCA]

Don't remember ever seeing an L300 with aluminum dust domes on the woofer. :hmm:

[57BELAIRE]

Don't remember ever seeing an L300 with aluminum dust domes on the woofer. :hmm:

looks more like a D140 than a 136A.....take good care of those crossovers...hard to come by in any condition.

[hjames]

Don't remember ever seeing an L300 with aluminum dust domes on the woofer. :hmm:


Same ones - from 2009 ...

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?26819-Another-L300-Theater&p=268779&viewfull=1#post268779

Hopefully they can be brought back to their original glory.
Nice project to restore!

[travis5049]

Same speakers, just now getting around to this project, Austin Speaker Works quoted me about 250.00 per speaker, ballpark........Life kept getting in the way of this getting done, bought a new house, 2 new cars since then, yada,yada,yada.
Im dropping the woofers off at lunch time today with the x-over's. Really excited about finally getting this done.If these speaker could talk,man, there would be some stories.

[travis5049]

Man you guys should have seen the look on Ron's face, (the head tech), when I brought those 136a's in for reconing at Austin speaker works and he saw that paper w/aluminum dust cap. Then I showed him the pics I have on my phone of the cabs, I wasn't sure if he was going to cry or slap me. I told him someone should have kicked my butt when I was in my 20's for tearing these things up. We talked a bit and he's going to replace the caps that he can get to easily but the large ones in the bottom are covered in resin an it would probably be about 700.00 bench cost to dig them out and replace them. I have a buddy that repairs Peavey amps and if I have to I may dig these out myself and get him to help me upgrade them if they absolutely need it. Ron's going to call me in a few days and let me know for sure about the x-over work and the cost . He's going to order that 2235 recone kit so here we go. I still have to pull the tweeters and horns and start stripping the cabs tomorrow.

Anyone know where I should order the Veneer from?

[travis5049]

Oh yea I'll have some more pics tomorrow or Sunday.

[WDJ]

i've used both www.constantines.com (http://www.constantines.com/) and www.woodcraft.com (http://www.woodcraft.com)

Woodcraft has several stores in Texas.

Good luck!

[travis5049]

That's awsome thanks............man I've got lots of reading to do on trying to get this MDF back in shape to the point that I can re-veneer it. a buddy of mine has some solid Walnut that he wants me to consider. Man looking at the Kendrick sound videos on you tube is screwing me up, If i can get these within 70 percent of there l300's I'll cry. And post the video.........lol. L8tr

[subwoof]

Just attaching solid walnut on top of old particle board is not going to fly...humidity and expansion will crack them in no time..:(

Just go with walnut veneer and make sure the substrate is clean and smooth.

For networks, it might be a lot easier and cheaper to just build another pair and put the originals aside for whenever you part with them... The pro model 4333 is the same and it's network schematic and build notes can be found on this site. I might even have a pair of nice home made ones from a swap deal in the shop...?

sub

[travis5049]

no he was talking about actual replacing the MDF with solid walnut, but damn, thats rebuilding the whole cab.Im looking at veneers now but they all seem darker than whats on the speakers.

[richluvsound]

In my experience solid is not an option unless you use a laminated walnut - too much movement and with this movement comes a change in the tuning of the cabinet .
If you can remove the old veneer with an hot iron and a scraper, then thats the best way to do it ? It you have the skills I would build new cabs from scratch.

Depends whether you want the speaker or the provenance ?

As sub woof pointed out .... spend the money on a modern network and store the originals !

Rich

[travis5049]

Yea of course you guys are right and I think it really wont be that terribly hard, just don't gouge the MDF underneath. You wont believe though, I sent Kenrick sounds an email asking about the wooden lenses, cause I didn't know where they got them and I was pretty sure I couldn't afford them anyway but what the hell, it doesn't hurt to ask. To my amazement they replied, anyway he said it was their own design and they're no longer available..........whooooo, I don't have to take out a second mortgage on the house!

Aren't those cool? Damn! If I ever win the lottery I'm flying out to see their show room. Then I'm going to get a Geisha massage...lol

Ordered the foils today but didn't get to work on the cabs. Watched veneer videos all day Sat. and ordered a veneer sampler for 45.00 and it looks like i may need at least a roller and just a few other things. I'm going to buy the Kenrick plastic lenses.
I'm going to try and make a small place in the garage to work on these but its supposed to freeze again so the plants will have to go back in there next to the car.
Hopefully have some more pics by Wed.
Thanks to everyone that's replied, and thank goodness for Google.

[BMWCCA]

I sent Kenrick sounds an email asking about the wooden lenses, cause I didn't know where they got them and I was pretty sure I couldn't afford them anyway but what the hell, it doesn't hurt to ask. To my amazement they replied, anyway he said it was their own design and they're no longer available..........whooooo, I don't have to take out a second mortgage on the house!

I thought Heather sourced some relatively inexpensive ones from one of the foam grille guys. Don't remember which one or if they're still available. Ahh, here it is: http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?25864-Looky-what-I-just-got-Walnut-lenses-for-my-horns

SAEMAN said mine came from Japan but I didn't think they were Kenji's design. :dont-know:

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c378/BMWCCA1/4345-14-2s.jpg

[hjames]

POC for mine was Indycraft - they were from FoamTrends,
but sadly, they folded up shop a while back and are no longer available.

I think no matter who makes them, they are very labor intensive and probably not cost effective,
but gosh, everybody sure likes the look of them!

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=41047&stc=1&d=1249070930




I thought Heather sourced some relatively inexpensive ones from one of the foam grille guys. Don't remember which one or if they're still available. Ahh, here it is: http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?25864-Looky-what-I-just-got-Walnut-lenses-for-my-horns

SAEMAN said mine came from Japan but I didn't think they were Kenji's design. :dont-know:

[travis5049]

May have to replace that section in the back if I can't putty and or fill it. Picked up a 50 pcs veneer sampler to see if they had anything in there that would match. but the Walnut sample looks too dark. Im going to get my cabinet guy by here and see what he says about the fix and the stain/veneer. Also going to have to google how to fill MDF......Its not as bad actually as I thought. When we get it figured out I'm going to use the samples to test on some MDF before I veneer the speakers.




5825158252582535825458255

[macaroonie]

Hi , FYI those cabs are made from particle board , chipboard by ny other name, Your best course of action without resorting to major surgery is to flood the broken areas with CA glue. This will soak right on in and harden up thereby giving somewhat better structural strength to the material. Sand off any excess that is on the veneer surfaces and then you can fill the corners with epoxy filler ( Bondo etc ) Then sand this flush as required till you have nice clean corners.
Anywhere there are splits if you can get some CA in there it will help too.
Where the veneer is lifting cut it back till it is solid and fill where it used to be.
Once you have that all tidy you will have a surface that the new veneer will sit on properly.


M

[richluvsound]

There may be a few ideas here ......... http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?24773-Summit-Project/page6&highlight=summit+project

and here http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?33213-Latest-project-!&highlight=latest+project



Rich

[Mr. Widget]

Hi , FYI those cabs are made from particle board , chipboard by ny other name, Your best course of action without resorting to major surgery is to flood the broken areas with CA glue. This will soak right on in and harden up thereby giving somewhat better structural strength to the material. Sand off any excess that is on the veneer surfaces and then you can fill the corners with epoxy filler ( Bondo etc ) Then sand this flush as required till you have nice clean corners.
Anywhere there are splits if you can get some CA in there it will help too.
Where the veneer is lifting cut it back till it is solid and fill where it used to be.
Once you have that all tidy you will have a surface that the new veneer will sit on properly.


MAgree 100%...

If you haven't veneered before, you will be surprised at how little your new veneer will hide imperfections... meaning careful prep is crucial. The slightest surface imperfection will telegraph through the veneer and be visible on the new surface, so take the time to meticulously fill and sand.


Widget

[travis5049]

Yea its starting to look like what needs to be done when I prep one of my cars for paint. Im not a painter but I learned when I was in my 20's.Only paint my cars! I really didn't realize that you could sand MDF like that, but several people have sent me some really useful links. Which veneer do I want to use? Surely not the paper backed stuff, or am I wrong?

[richluvsound]

Yes , the paper-backed stuff , with tite-bond 2 adhesive - I use it , Kenrick use it .... Oakwood veneers on you side of the pond .

You will have to rap the radius corners with veneer or make new ones .

Matching the older colour of the veneer is very hard . The veneer one those has had 35 years of sunlight .

Rich

[macaroonie]

+1 ^^^^^^ and look how nice that came out.

58258

[macaroonie]

Yea its starting to look like what needs to be done when I prep one of my cars for paint. Im not a painter but I learned when I was in my 20's.Only paint my cars! I really didn't realize that you could sand MDF like that, but several people have sent me some really useful links. Which veneer do I want to use? Surely not the paper backed stuff, or am I wrong?

You want to give the whole surface of the old veneer a good thorough de grease with naptha / cellulose thinners or something similar to get rid of old oils , polishes , beer , finger food etc. Then give it all a good scratch with 80 grit paper and then you are good to go.

Do a practice or two on some scrap first till you get a feel for the material you are using. Trimming is the hardest part.

[travis5049]

This is going to be a group build for sure,Rich those pics on the cabs with the primer on them were great now i can see how you get the painted fronts and backs so smooth. And was that Macaroonie with the Acorn wood?, man thats HOT! You guys ever check out the prices on that burl veneer...........749.00 for a 4'x8' sheet! Ahhhhh.......... no sir. Going to start sanding on these this weekend. Is there anything that I should use to clean the tweeter and horn? Or some maintenance on the while there out? They were working fine, they're just dirty.

[travis5049]

Found some money pulling theses apart and a piece of MDF that broke loose from one of the backs on the driver mounting screw area. Pulled the velcro strip off and found some copper staples that were holding on to these with plenty of glue. Copper staples? Really? Never seen such a thing.........it was cool though.

[travis5049]

Years ago the MDF pedestal bottoms had rotted and me and my Grandfather had glue on new ones made of actual wood. Back years ago I wasn't really concerned with the pedestals being the right size or if they were in the exact spot in bottom placement. In the course of pulling this one off it took a good size piece of MDF with it. After accessing the damage we decide to try and fill it with the pieces that separated from it, ( minor surgery), then cover everything in glue and wood filler. The other option was to replace the bottom, but there's 2 dovetails and you can really go from bad to worse with this MDF. Still have plenty of sanding to do and Im paying really close attention to the edges. Im just not real sure how well this wood filler is going to hold up, but it sands really well. Removed the veneer up to the round over which appears to be solid wood

[macaroonie]

Remember to use CA glue to tighten up any crumbly or broken particle board. It soaks right in and hardens the fibres , then you have a good base for your 2 part filler . Looks like you are making good progress.

The roundovers are indeed solid but that is not a worry as you will veneer over the top of them., just make sure there is not a lip of any kind that might show through the veneer.

[NickH]

I know it sounds strange but bondo wotks better here then wood filler. Its hard but has a slight amount of give so it wont break off. Plus it chemically bonds to the wood. And its a heck of a lot cheaper then wood filler if you need a lot. And it sands so easy. But thats only if your painting over it or veneer. I learned this when I refurbed a pair of altec 829 cabinets. Also you can use certian types of spackling on wood. Work pretty well too. But for filling cavities only. I wouldnt spread it thin over a surface. Same goes for water putty.


And this one wiil sound really crazy but loctite pl premium construction adhesive makes a good filler. Takes 24 hours to cure but when it does the wood breaks before the bond and its hard as hell. Works well for putting together cabinets too.


There are plenty of options out there that are very easy to work with. I just cant stand wood filler. To me its just a pain to work with. It cant be applied very smooth and its very brittle and has a somewhat weak bond strength. But thats just my 2 cents. Take it or leave it.

Nick

[travis5049]

Thanks Nick I used the bondo on the bottom, then wood filler over that, it appears to be holding alright. Someone had mentioned using bondo on another post so I tried it. The edges are giving me Hell, the wood filler is holding up in some spots but not others so I may change back to the bondo for that also. I picked up the veneer today along with a roller for application. Sanded everything today with 80 grit and knocked off quite a bit of wood, I filled the pits in the sides with wood filler and I'll go back with 120 grit and sand it off leaving the pits filled and smooth. If the edges dont come together I'll use the bondo tommorow. Also I super glued (CA) all flaking edges that I haven't already hit with wood filler. The top was a mess and I had to knock down some big areas that were higher than the rest because of moisture. Also picked up one of the drivers today from the speaker shop.5836258363583645836558366

[travis5049]

5836758368

[travis5049]

The painted front and back section..............make it smooth , then spray primer and flat black? Spray paint? Or is it semi-gloss spray paint?
Also plan on just tung oiling the veneer. I was told that would work but I needed to wipe it off after application. Thats also the same way that I apply stain wipe on then wipe off, then do it again if its not dark enough.


Hope everyone had a good Monday......l8tr
Oh yea picked up a pioneer sx 5580 from ebay that should make the l300's sound great!
It doesn't sound bad on these 4312's.....I'll do a recap on it later.

[NickH]

Hey Travis,

Tung oil creates an awesome finish. But your surface has to be spotless. Put it takes a long time to do a good tung oil finish. Weeks if I remember right. Ive read up on it. Theres a lot of things you need to know about it before you try it. Its not just putting the oil on and there you have it. But as usual, your patiaence will be rewarded. I love that glossy glass like finsh over wood. Nothing better. I know you can thin it down with something and it make it dry faster but produces a less glossy finish. I think it was acetone or some other solvent that evaps quickly. Just remember a tung oil finish never drys completely. So if you put something on it that will wick the oil, it will.

I think the bondo really shines on the corners. I found it very easy to work. But just remember to work with it in small batches otherwise you will be wasting some. It starts to set quick. And once it starts you have to stop working it otherwise the stuff you did will be trash. It get all clumpy and has big voids in it. But just take your time and have fun with it. Read up on the tung oil before you buy some. Just to make sure your up for that. Unless of course you already know this. In that case nevermind.





The painted front and back section..............make it smooth , then spray primer and flat black? Spray paint? Or is it semi-gloss spray paint?
Also plan on just tung oiling the veneer. I was told that would work but I needed to wipe it off after application. Thats also the same way that I apply stain wipe on then wipe off, then do it again if its not dark enough.


Hope everyone had a good Monday......l8tr
Oh yea picked up a pioneer sx 5580 from ebay that should make the l300's sound great!
It doesn't sound bad on these 4312's.....I'll do a recap on it later.

[travis5049]

I did a dresser in tung oil some years ago, the thing was painted the most horrible pink. I was at a garage sale and the owner wasn't really paying attention so I scraped off a bit of paint on the cabinet and it was the same wood as the inside of the drawers so I knew it would be a good candidate for staining. We stripped it and stained it. Every few years or so I clean it thoroughly and tung oil it again. It was solid ash wood. Every xmas when my daughter visits she tries to talk me into giving to her. I had a glass top cut for it and put on really cool pull knobs.I think I'll have one of these cabs done this weekend if I'm lucky but I'm still not sure of the paint.

[NickH]

I did a dresser in tung oil some years ago, the thing was painted the most horrible pink. I was at a garage sale and the owner wasn't really paying attention so I scraped off a bit of paint on the cabinet and it was the same wood as the inside of the drawers so I knew it would be a good candidate for staining. We stripped it and stained it. Every few years or so I clean it thoroughly and tung oil it again. It was solid ash wood. Every xmas when my daughter visits she tries to talk me into giving to her. I had a glass top cut for it and put on really cool pull knobs.I think I'll have one of these cabs done this weekend if I'm lucky but I'm still not sure of the paint.


Well your ahead of me. I've only read into it. I was thinking about doing that on my altec 828 cabinets after I verneered them. But I ended up painting them and not using veneer.

[travis5049]

Those 828's are some monsters. My neighbor came by cause I told him that I probably was going to sell my 120ti's if I refinished my l300's and he's seen me out in the garage working on the l300 cabinets. He acted like he just wanted to catch up on old news and then he said right before he left that he'd give me 300.00 for my 120ti's...............I told him goodwill was across town.lol
I paid about 365 for these cause the guy needed the money real bad, but the things area almost perfect and you can't find these just everyday. But honestly my 4312's sound better. I may have Austin Speaker Works look at these 120's after I get done with this project just to see if the x'overs are right.......Hell I may keep them and put them in the bedroom. What part of Houston are you in? I DJ'ed up and down NASA RD1 in the 80's and 90's. Worked at several clubs out that way, graduated in TC. That's how I ended up with these l300's.

Have a good night

[NickH]

Those 828's are some monsters. My neighbor came by cause I told him that I probably was going to sell my 120ti's if I refinished my l300's and he's seen me out in the garage working on the l300 cabinets. He acted like he just wanted to catch up on old news and then he said right before he left that he'd give me 300.00 for my 120ti's...............I told him goodwill was across town.lol
I paid about 365 for these cause the guy needed the money real bad, but the things area almost perfect and you can't find these just everyday. But honestly my 4312's sound better. I may have Austin Speaker Works look at these 120's after I get done with this project just to see if the x'overs are right.......Hell I may keep them and put them in the bedroom. What part of Houston are you in? I DJ'ed up and down NASA RD1 in the 80's and 90's. Worked at several clubs out that way, graduated in TC. That's how I ended up with these l300's.

Have a good night


Lol, 828's big. You should see there replacements. I'm building jbl 4520 copies. Not exact though as mine are a little thinner and a tad taller. I tested them out this weekend with my 2445/ 2380 horns one top crossed crossed at 800 Hz. All I can say is I'm in love. I wasn't topped out and was hitting over 120 db. It was crystal clear. I was pushing sine waves to the bass horns and was making this fly in my garage. It was great fun. Can't wait to build the second one. I'm actually in Cypress and not in Houston. Just put Houston because its know. I went to school in cyfair. I imagine I'm one of the young ones on this site being in my early mid thirties.

Only time I was in clear lake was when I worked at jsc for a while working on computers.

Does Austin speaker work re magnetize alnico drivers? Been trying to find a close place that does that.

Nick

[travis5049]

I asked him to check mine and he said he would, he is an authorized JBL service center so he should have the capability. He still has my x-overs and one of my drivers so when I see him next I'll ask him. They have South by Southwest going on in Austin right now or Hell it may be over by now, in any case they were pretty busy last time I was in there to pick up the driver that he had finished. He's partially recapping my X-over's, those large lower caps are covered in resin so he said the bench time that he would have to charge to replace the lower caps would be crazy.Heres his email address if you want to pick his brain.. [email protected] Have a good one.
Oh yea I should have my test veneer project done this weekend and if it looks good then this one cabinet will be done by Tuesday........cross your fingers.

[drumiv]

I might be a little late with this, but there is a product by Minwax called "wood hardener"; it's used to repair rotted wood.The wood wisks it up, and then hardens. It's cheaper than the CA, which I'm a big fan of. And Bondo is all you should be useing on those edges. The wood filler is really only for filling nail holes, and light scratches. Good luck with your project

[Mr. Widget]

I might be a little late with this, but there is a product by Minwax called "wood hardener"; it's used to repair rotted wood.The wood wisks it up, and then hardens. It's cheaper than the CA, which I'm a big fan of. And Bondo is all you should be useing on those edges. The wood filler is really only for filling nail holes, and light scratches. Good luck with your projectI agree completely, unfortunately it's a little late now that he's used the wood filler. I've never used wood hardener... I'll check it out.


Widget

[4343]

The painted front and back section..............make it smooth , then spray primer and flat black? Spray paint? Or is it semi-gloss spray paint?...

Smooth, check.
Primer, it helps if there is any bare wood. If the original paint surface is intact after sanding, you can get away without it but probably shouldn't. In any case a black primer makes the most sense.

Trim Black from an Auto Paint shop. I use SEM 39143 from the local NAPA store that specializes in paint.

Just make sure to let it dry a long time. (Auto body shops have their own slow-time, a week means a month...) I went by the L150a's in my storage space for about 3 weeks before I couldn't smell the fresh paint, so plan on a month before bringing them indoors. Your nose may vary of course, me, I still have not put the driver's in those boxes, and it's been 6 weeks already. When I do put driver's on fresh paint I try to always put some sort of lube on the sealing surface so that it will not stick tight. A thin coat of Vaseline on the gasket and the back of the woofer sealing surface now can save you hours of grief later. I use foam tape if it's a new box, but for the vintage o-ring seals a little lube is always a good idea, just be careful not to get it on the visible paint.

[NickH]

Chalk board paint works really well too. Nice and really durable. Ive used it on some of my cabinets. Its kind of odd as it looks like a blue-ish gray when wet. Turns black as it dries. Im using it in the horn mouth of my diy 4520's. It makes it look like a flat baffle instead of the mouth. Good camoflage.

And as I said, made for kids so its tough.

Nick



Smooth, check.
Primer, it helps if there is any bare wood. If the original paint surface is intact after sanding, you can get away without it but probably shouldn't. In any case a black primer makes the most sense.

Trim Black from an Auto Paint shop. I use SEM 39143 from the local NAPA store that specializes in paint.

Just make sure to let it dry a long time. (Auto body shops have their own slow-time, a week means a month...) I went by the L150a's in my storage space for about 3 weeks before I couldn't smell the fresh paint, so plan on a month before bringing them indoors. Your nose may vary of course, me, I still have not put the driver's in those boxes, and it's been 6 weeks already. When I do put driver's on fresh paint I try to always put some sort of lube on the sealing surface so that it will not stick tight. A thin coat of Vaseline on the gasket and the back of the woofer sealing surface now can save you hours of grief later. I use foam tape if it's a new box, but for the vintage o-ring seals a little lube is always a good idea, just be careful not to get it on the visible paint.

[travis5049]

Damn , really didn't think of that, have a section of fence painted in chalk board paint so when the grand kids come over they can draw outside on the fence. Also we paint designs on it when we have a football or holiday party. One of the kids up the block is an art major and for 50.00 he'll draw up some amazing art scenes for one of our pool parties. It usually stays up for a week or longer cause it never hardly rains anymore in central texas. Ive got my 99 firebird in the garage so the l300's got pushed back till WED.

Hope everyone's doing well.

[NickH]

I'm right there with ya. I usually only do this stuff on the weekends. But I was chomping at the bit to get this cabinet painted. Put the first coat of hammer tone on it. I have to admit I don't like rolling it on. Its goes on thick but doesn't cover well. The darn roller I was using was leaving little bits of fabric on the surface. But now that its down I guess I'm stuck. I'm hoping I only need 2 coats. The mdf is soaking it up like crazy though.

I should have just painted the whole thing with the chalk board paint instead of getting fancy. Serves me right, lol. I sent an email to that guy at Austin speaker works today. Haven't gotten a reply yet. Maybe I'll give them a call.




Damn , really didn't think of that, have a section of fence painted in chalk board paint so when the grand kids come over they can draw outside on the fence. Also we paint designs on it when we have a football or holiday party. One of the kids up the block is an art major and for 50.00 he'll draw up some amazing art scenes for one of our pool parties. It usually stays up for a week or longer cause it never hardly rains anymore in central texas. Ive got my 99 firebird in the garage so the l300's got pushed back till WED.

Hope everyone's doing well.

[NickH]

Austin Speaker Work can not recharge alnico magnets.

[mech986]

Great Plains Audio (which is probably closer) or Orange County Speaker Repair can do the Alnico recharging if needed.

Was wondering why it looks like there is a cork gasket on the 136A, that's not the original appearance. Open cell Neoprene I think is the OEM material, JBL Pro may have some new stock, or there are a few vendors on Ebay that can supply it.

If you need new screws for the woofers or mid horns, check with Edgewound at Upland Loudspeaker, he might have them NOS.

A very interesting project. I have a pair of cabinets with smaller but similar splitting only on the bottom panel.

[travis5049]

Yea I'll have to ask him about the cork cover I didn't remember that originally and didn't look online at Kennrick or anyone else to compare. I worked on an old Firebird of mine for about 5 days and then got sick so Ive been just out of the speaker project for about a week. The paper was a kit number that someone had posted on here, I think it comes outta Mexico.
Since he can't recharge the magnets that's probably the reason he told me that they more than likely didn't need it. I'll have to look into it further, the website says," as the local JBL™ service center". He supposed to be the man when it comes to older JBl's, but its all talk unless you can back it up. The Firebirds running so that's done and so i can get back to my baby's.

[NickH]

Hey Travis,

your in the same boat I am. I'm going to send mine to great plains audio in Oklahoma city. He work on some jbl drivers. I'm pretty sure Bill would juice a couple for me. Or I'll convert them to field coil drivers. There compression drivers so heavy but no fragile cone.

What year is the thunder chicken? I've alway been partial to the first and second gen t birds. But I gave up my car hobby to be more involved in audio. Both to expensive, lol.

post a pic of it.

Nick



Yea I'll have to ask him about the cork cover I didn't remember that originally and didn't look online at Kennrick or anyone else to compare. I worked on an old Firebird of mine for about 5 days and then got sick so Ive been just out of the speaker project for about a week. The paper was a kit number that someone had posted on here, I think it comes outta Mexico.
Since he can't recharge the magnets that's probably the reason he told me that they more than likely didn't need it. I'll have to look into it further, the website says," as the local JBL™ service center". He supposed to be the man when it comes to older JBl's, but its all talk unless you can back it up. The Firebirds running so that's done and so i can get back to my baby's.

[travis5049]

Man after already having them re-coned I'm afraid to ship these anywhere...........175.00 each. I mean in the whole scheme of things if the speakers are worth 4,000.00 dollars or so after making them look new again,(no I'm never selling them), then its a cheap investment.
I think there was something maybe here on this sight that told you how to test the magnetism on your Alnicos, which I'll do first if they just don't sound quite right.
On another note I'll never understand people who would sell L300's or any really good speaker that makes you just stop and pay attention to every detail of every instrument being played in whatever it is you like to listen to. A few of my neighbors can't believe I'm not going to sell them after they're done. A few of them have been coming by to see what I'm sanding on. When I get really old and all I have left to enjoy are memories and maybe a ride from my granddaughter in my Shelby and great sounding music, which brings back even more good memories. I'll consider myself a rich man.
More pics to come.

[NickH]

Man after already having them re-coned I'm afraid to ship these anywhere...........175.00 each. I mean in the whole scheme of things if the speakers are worth 4,000.00 dollars or so after making them look new again,(no I'm never selling them), then its a cheap investment.
I think there was something maybe here on this sight that told you how to test the magnetism on your Alnicos, which I'll do first if they just don't sound quite right.
On another note I'll never understand people who would sell L300's or any really good speaker that makes you just stop and pay attention to every detail of every instrument being played in whatever it is you like to listen to. A few of my neighbors can't believe I'm not going to sell them after they're done. A few of them have been coming by to see what I'm sanding on. When I get really old and all I have left to enjoy are memories and maybe a ride from my granddaughter in my Shelby and great sounding music, which brings back even more good memories. I'll consider myself a rich man.
More pics to come.

Here's what you can try. You need a true rms voltmeter though. You also need a sound pressure level meter too. You also need some type of audio signal generator. Hook the woofer to a little amp to hook to the woofer to. Feed it a sine wave of a frequency you SPL meter hears. Put your meter to the woofer terminals and set the volume for a watt. Then have your SPL meter a meter away. Compare your reading to the sensitivity.

This is not an exact way but it should tell you if there real weak. But it depends on the reactance of the woofer. The impedance of the woofer at a given frequency will dictate what the voltage for 1 watt. But you can get an idea of the condition of the magnet.


I want to to say 1 watt into 8 ohms is something like 2.8 volts if my memory is a working. 16 ohm is double the voltage.

I'm sure one of the really swift guys will correct me on any mistakes I've made. But the method will work.

I'm right there with you on that. If I had a pair of l300's I wouldn't let them go. I wish I could be a jbl collector but I don't have that kind of money.

Nick