question about le 85 driver and horn

[vmax700]

I recently purchased a pair of vintage JBL's the previous owner stated equipment original to cabinet although many years earlier the le 85 drivers were sent in for new diaphragms. The horns were blue as well as the 15 inch woofer, should the le 85 drivers have been blue as well , or could they have originally been black. The mismatch in color between driver and horn makes me wonder if is was stock. If there are any authorities on this I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks

[ratitifb]

[Mr. Widget]

The mismatch in color between driver and horn makes me wonder if is was stock.

JBL did paint their LE15As, 2307s, LX5s, LE85s and possibly other components blue for a short period around 1962. It is not at all uncommon to have such a mismatch... a store may have sold their blue LE85s to one customer and when they restocked, JBL may have shipped black drivers.

An all blue set is nice, but certainly doesn't affect performance and only in cases where you have very close serial numbers and mint drivers would it even affect the collector value.


Widget

[vmax700]

Thanks for your information.