Lancer 44's - LE-8T/PR8

[muilperen]

I recently picked up a pair of Lancer 44's for cheap so I couldn't let them pass by. All drivers except one (i think) still had the original surrounds which off course became (which enabled me to cut the asking price in half). I realise these lancers are not up to modern standards but we'll see how I like them. First I wan't to get these boys in a shape that will do them honour. And then off course blast some tunes. I really like old jazz, swing, music from the fifties and sixties. I think they can do the music from that era right. We'll see how it goes.



I already had done some research before the buy and found out that the surrounds are from a material called lansaloy. Since one surround was already gone, the breakfluid path was not an option and I decided to refoam all drivers. I know the LE8T is not regarded as an easy driver to refoam. Since I have never done a refoam before, and my father still has some proIII's lying around which need refoaming, I'm gonna give these a try first.

I have a few questions for the conaisseurs:

• To get the lansaloy off, I should soften it with acetone (very carefully), right?
• There are two sellers on eBay which sell the surrounds for both the ProIII as the LE8T/PR8: springfieldspeaker and looneytune2001. Does anyone has good experiences with one of them?

• I also was wondering why one driver has it's wires to the cone covered in black and the other one in white (pictures below). Does this mean it is probable it was repaired in the past?
• Any tips on reworking the veneer are welcome as I am a bit afraid to sand thru it.

[Mr. Widget]

Those are quite nice. I can't help with refoam advice but I will say those are among the cleanest looking LE8t and PR8s I have seen. Take care not to screw them up!

You are lucky that those older JBLs have much thicker veneers than newer models, with extreme care you can use a power finishing sander on them if need be. From the pictures they look to be in pretty nice condition.

Regarding their audio performance, I think you will need to add a tweeter to them. I would avoid the JBL tweeters altogether and look at one of the many fine Danish offerings or Audax if your budget is tight. The LE8 woofers have a fairly low sensitivity so almost any quality silk dome tweeter should be able to mate with them reasonably successfully.

Good luck, have fun and keep us posted!


Widget

[muilperen]

Those are quite nice. I can't help with refoam advice but I will say those are among the cleanest looking LE8t and PR8s I have seen. Take care not to screw them up!

You are lucky that those older JBLs have much thicker veneers than newer models, with extreme care you can use a power finishing sander on them if need be. From the pictures they look to be in pretty nice condition.

I'm glad to hear that, I will definately take my time to do it the right way. One of the cabinets is fine but the other one is in less optical condition. The seller said the lower half was next to a closeth and the upper half got exposure to sunlight, so the color isn't uniform anymore. Also something got spilled on the top, but it doesn't look too bad. I hope some minimal sanding will be enough.

Regarding their audio performance, I think you will need to add a tweeter to them. I would avoid the JBL tweeters altogether and look at one of the many fine Danish offerings or Audax if your budget is tight. The LE8 woofers have a fairly low sensitivity so almost any quality silk dome tweeter should be able to mate with them reasonably successfully.

That is some good advice. I was already thinking I probably should add a tweeter. Would you advise me to put a tweeter inside the cabinet or keep it original and put the tweeter on top in a seperate enclosure? Maybe I should start with option 2, make a low butget enclosure to begin with for the tweeter and afterwards I can still incorporate it. Any examples of tweeters used by others in conjunction with the LE-8T/PR8 are very welcome.

Good luck, have fun and keep us posted!
Widget

I definately will! I will try to post a little report with pictures after every step of the process. But I will take it slow, I like to think things over first.
Many thanks for your helpfull and kind advice.