JBL 250Ti Jubilee

[Henri]

Ok!!! SWMBO has agreed on a possible purchase of a pair of 250Ti Jubilee.

Tomorrow I'm going for a listening session, there is a refoamed pair for sale in the Netherlands. Should I bring my own amp? Are they critical to amps? Mine gives 30 W/ch A class, 133 W/ch A/B...

Oh I'm so excited. Never ever thought these monsters would be in my future!!

[HCSGuy]

If the seller has a reasonable sounding room, and you are really familiar with your amp, bring it. I’m sure you’ve already read it, but here’s a link to another thread regarding swapping the 050ti tweeter:

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?23095-Replacing-050-tweeters-for-JBL-250-jubilee-options

It is safe to assume that the damping foam in the pair you are considering is no longer damping fully, though the foam may still be touching the tweeter. As you may have learned, these tweeters are almost impossible to remove without doing damage to the adhesive plate that covers the screws. Unfortunately, you have to assume that if the foam isn’t bad now, it will definitely be in the next decade, so during the time of your ownership you will need to address this. I have a pair of Century Gold with the same tweeter, and I have not been brave enough to try to remove the tweeter yet.

It can be very difficult to tell if the damping is bad without a good pair to compare them to, or a very good memory of their sound, neither of which you have. If the damping is bad, the speakers will sound brighter (more high frequency), but not as detailed, as the tweeter is ringing. If the seller’s room is very live (acoustically reflective), it will be impossible to hear HF detail.

So, if the seller’s room is reasonable, and you like the sound, buy them, knowing it will only get better someday when you re-foam the tweeters. However, if you are not happy with the HF detail, and you are not excited at the challenge of fixing the tweeters, pass on them and try to find a pair of Ti10k or Ti8k - the Audax tweeter in those models is amazing - I think the best HF detail of any JBL speaker I’ve heard (and is not foam-damped).

[Henri]

Thanks for your reply. I don’t know the shop I’m going to visit tomorrow, wether their room is sufficiently damped or not. I will definitely pay attention to the tweeter, but my hearing already stops at 12kHz... age and, well, turbulent musical past ...

I will bring my amps as I want to see how well they can control the speakers at my preferred listening volumes and yes I will bring my own vinyl!.

[jblnut]

I too had always read (and believed) that the old foam - once worn out - would result in less damping and therefore a brighter sound. This is not what I actually experienced. I sent my 044Ti's out to a well known and well respected speaker fixer (GordonW) and what I got back ended up being even brighter than what I had sent him.

The reason ?

The foam can also disintegrate then fall down into the edge of the diaphragm where - over time - it can congeal again into a mass-damping ball of "goo" for lack of a better description. This was reducing the output and clarity of the driver. Once cleaned up it returned to factory specs and the output was a good deal stronger without the mass of congealed foam.

jblnut

[HCSGuy]

I too had always read (and believed) that the old foam - once worn out - would result in less damping and therefore a brighter sound. This is not what I actually experienced. I sent my 044Ti's out to a well known and well respected speaker fixer (GordonW) and what I got back ended up being even brighter than what I had sent him.

The reason ?

The foam can also disintegrate then fall down into the edge of the diaphragm where - over time - it can congeal again into a mass-damping ball of "goo" for lack of a better description. This was reducing the output and clarity of the driver. Once cleaned up it returned to factory specs and the output was a good deal stronger without the mass of congealed foam.

jblnut

Good point - mine have never gotten that far. I'll take brighter, as long as it's damped and detailed:) Correction - I have some NHT's in the closet that have gone to that point, I'm just not in such a hurry to pull them apart.

[Henri]

So last night I went to this superb audio shop. Man, they have ALL the beauties we all dream of, but only one pair of JBL. The 250Ti Limited, for the matter...

I brought my own amps and after installation and half an hour warming time (yes, these amps really need that) the session went off.
One of the store emps, a young guy, assisted me the first 10 minutes and I let him choose a few of his favourites. He was really impressed by the performance of my almost 40 year old amps. And so was I. He left and I played a couple tracks I like and know particularly well (Yasmin Levy, Agnes Obel, Mighty Sam McCain and a Dutch singer, Frank Boeijen, of which a few incredible good recorded tracks are around. It was goosebumps with each new track. The occasional tear as well. These speakers moved my soul big time.

And then I continued with my beloved 'dance classics', including tracks like Donna Summer's I feel Love (my all time no. 1), several Patrick Cowley, Sylvester, Paul Parker, Divine, Lime, Kat Mandu, Shirley Lee Ralph, but by then I had switched to vinyl already. To my surprise the vinyl had just a tad more control in the low end, streamed Divine Native's Love did some nasty things in the sub low's (the only track I discovered this behaviour), but the vinyl version was flawless. We moved on with Gat Decors Passion, Master C&J's Face It and some more of that style (old school House from Detroit). Oh another favourite is E.G. Daily's Love in the shadows. It has LOWs I was not able to reproduce on all speakers I have owned till now.

I was back in the clubs like it was 1985. Man. What an output. What a CONTROL!!! What an 'air' and 'lightness' even with all these dance classics. The amp played all evening in class A and didn't sniff or snooze. Full control. Full of detail even at insane levels. I am so impressed by this combo...

I got tears in my eyes, goosebumps and wanted to dance.

Tomorrow they will arrive in my living room so I can test them in my own environment for a week. The physical dimensions of the auditing room are even a tad smaller than my living room.

87802

87803

87804

[JeffW]

That's great that you are getting such a thorough audition with your own gear.

[clwinbe]

So last night I went to this superb audio shop. Man, they have ALL the beauties we all dream of, but only one pair of JBL. The 250Ti Limited, for the matter...

I brought my own amps and after installation and half an hour warming time (yes, these amps really need that) the session went off.
One of the store emps, a young guy, assisted me the first 10 minutes and I let him choose a few of his favourites. He was really impressed by the performance of my almost 40 year old amps. And so was I. He left and I played a couple tracks I like and know particularly well (Yasmin Levy, Agnes Obel, Mighty Sam McCain and a Dutch singer, Frank Boeijen, of which a few incredible good recorded tracks are around. It was goosebumps with each new track. The occasional tear as well. These speakers moved my soul big time.

And then I continued with my beloved 'dance classics', including tracks like Donna Summer's I feel Love (my all time no. 1), several Patrick Cowley, Sylvester, Paul Parker, Divine, Lime, Kat Mandu, Shirley Lee Ralph, but by then I had switched to vinyl already. To my surprise the vinyl had just a tad more control in the low end, streamed Divine Native's Love did some nasty things in the sub low's (the only track I discovered this behaviour), but the vinyl version was flawless. We moved on with Gat Decors Passion, Master C&J's Face It and some more of that style (old school House from Detroit). Oh another favourite is E.G. Daily's Love in the shadows. It has LOWs I was not able to reproduce on all speakers I have owned till now.

I was back in the clubs like it was 1985. Man. What an output. What a CONTROL!!! What an 'air' and 'lightness' even with all these dance classics. The amp played all evening in class A and didn't sniff or snooze. Full control. Full of detail even at insane levels. I am so impressed by this combo...

I got tears in my eyes, goosebumps and wanted to dance.

Tomorrow they will arrive in my living room so I can test them in my own environment for a week. The physical dimensions of the auditing room are even a tad smaller than my living room.

87802

87803

87804

Oh to dream a dream...(lucky $&#&)

[DavidF]

"...
Tomorrow they will arrive in my living room so I can test them in my own environment for a week. The physical dimensions of the auditing room are even a tad smaller than my living room."



Very good idea to listen in your own room. The only disadvantage in the aural presentation I noted was some amount of stratification of sound top to bottom. In other words, the image may vary a bit vertically due to the spacing of drivers on the baffle. Close-in listening increases the sensation. No problem at about 3 meters, or further out, for me.

Enjoy....

[SEAWOLF97]

Oh to dream a dream...(lucky $&#&)

:)

[Henri]

Ok, now they’re mine. These are a welcome upgrade in my set. VERY pleased with them. One of the most fun (and maybe best...?) speakers I’ve ever heard.

Too bad my head is filled with ‘snot’ due to covid... Only slight issues fortunately.

[JeffW]

Congrats and now shake that bug - don't want you kicking the bucket now that you have the speakers!

[jblnut]

Now the journey begins :-)

jblnut

[Mr. Widget]

Ok, now they’re mine.Great! Enjoy!!


Too bad my head is filled with ‘snot’ due to covid... Only slight issues fortunately.Get well soon... having a congested head is a real downer for audio enjoyment, Covid-19 has been a real downer period!


Widget

[Henri]

Thanks guys. We’ll be back in shape within a few days I hope!