JBL L Series (1990s)

[opimax]

If it were me knowing what i know as i type this I would buy the 505 off the bay (so cheap)or here if someone has one and look for the 1/3 upgrade if desired.

Mark

[Titanium Dome]

Unfortunately, the same general appearance is the only similarity between the CL505 and the L Series.

The drivers are not the same. The HRD tweeter is a nice enough driver, but it is a little laminate dome, not a pure Ti like the 035TiA.

The 5" driver with its cellulose fiber laminate is very unlike the mineral filled polypropylene 4" or 6" (JBL describes them as 5" and 6.5" in some information) drivers in the L Series.

The CL505 crosses over to the HRD tweeter at 3kHz, while the L5 goes to the 035TiA at 4kHz. Not earth-shattering, but different.

Even something as fundamental as the baffle composition is significantly different.

I've heard the CL505 and it's a nice center, though not spectacular. It works visually with the L Series, and for a casual listener will sound okay, In fact, used with an L3 or L1, it's probably not much of an issue. With an L5 or L7, it's too feeble IMO and voiced incorrectly.

[davey28]

TD, you're right on! I emailed JBL in regards to the CL505 being matched with the L5's and here is there reply.


"David,
Good evening and thanks for this information. The JBL L5
speakers were manufactured from 1992-1996. While the CL505 was released
to be used as a center channel speaker, this was not designed
specifically for the L5 speakers. As for a current model that would
work well with the L5 speakers, I would recommend looking at, and
listening to, the JBL Studio LC1
(http://www.jbl.com/home/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=LC1&Language=

ENG&Country=US&Region=USA&cat=BFS&ser=SLS). This speaker will give you
a similar tweeter, and the specifications are fairly similar. You would
really have to listen to the speaker yourself, to get a good idea of
what it sounds like, but, this would fit your needs quite well.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Mark Tirotta"

[davey28]

If it were me knowing what i know as i type this I would buy the 505 off the bay (so cheap)or here if someone has one and look for the 1/3 upgrade if desired.

Mark

Mark,

John from the this forum is willing to sell me a 505. What exactly do you mean by a 1/3 upgrade?

Thanks,
Dave

[opimax]

Sorry ,

A single L1 or L3 from this series, better match sonically. They stand up rather then rest on the side the way the 505 does to match the curve of the grill...and don't forget that space issue



Mark

[Titanium Dome]

This pair of over-priced L7s (plus nonmatching center and surrounds) shows a typical and wrong placement of L7s, with the LE120H-1 woofers firing right into the equipment stack. With the towers too close to the wall and too close to each other, the reflections from the already disrupted LF waves must be awful and the bass port must be chuffing up a storm trying to vent itself out the back.

Oh, my ears! Oh my eyes!


http://cgi.ebay.com/JBL-Speakers_W0Q...QQcmdZViewItem

For future reference, I'll snag a photo.

[Titanium Dome]

While I'm at it, for $799 plus $200 shipping (that's a thousand bucks, folks), the stabilizing floor stands should be included, but it seems they're not.

[clmrt]

I don't use the floor squares on my L5's - they were never drilled out for installation so I figured I'll leave it be for at least a while.

I'm almost convinced I'd like to use Parts Express' little legs a'la L880.

Which seem to be gone from the PE site now...

[aht3]

Davey, in case you're interested, here is a great price on the LC1. Heck, at this price, I would get the LC2 if it would fit your setup of course.

Hope this helps

[clmrt]

The devil you say?

[Titanium Dome]

Harman Consumer Service offers a JBl replacement driver for 708G.

I'll inquire again. I wasn't interested at the time.... :dont-know

[Well, I WAS interested, for Minis, but they were somewhat over $100 apiece.... ]

Zilch

Did you ever retrieve this info?

HEY brother, are ya listenin'? Okay, here it is, then.


Looks like the 704G is available at $96 and a 708G replacement at $180, though not specifically identified as a 708G. The 706G is available at $108. There are no recone kits, and it appears these cannot be refoamed.

The 035TiA is not available but can be added to the wish list and when available will be $84.

Finally, the LE120H-1 is discontinued and not even able to be put on a wish list. However, it can be refoamed or reconed.

[Zilch]

HEY brother, are ya listenin'?

Yeah, $180 it was.

I didn't write down the number.

[One of them 9-digit ones I didn't recognize.... ]

[Titanium Dome]

I have not personally heard an L7 but it seems from my own experience that I can spot one inherent design issue that most likely contributes to the difficult placement issues I've read about.

The side firing woofer crosses over at 170Hz. From my experience, low frequencies over 100Hz become more and more directional. It seems fairly obvious that these side firing woofers are going to cause some strange imaging issues, depending on placement and room acoustics. I'd suggest that the 8" mid bass driver would probably be more than capable of delivering the goods on anything over 80Hz. If I had designed the L7, I would have treated the side firing woofer as a sub and crossed it over to the 8" at somewhere between 80-100Hz.

As far as crossover mods, I have to admit I am not technically inclined, but I wonder if a mod could me done to change the X-over point?

Any thoughts on above would be appreciated.

Moved from another thread started by Audiokarma - TD

[Titanium Dome]

If you want, it's possible to completely isolate the woofer from the rest of the system electronically. This is a truly active biamp capable system. This would require removal of the LF network to move a jumper cable.

The good news is that the LF network is attached to the back of the speaker connection cup on the rear of the speaker housing, so you don't have to pull the LE120H-1 out to access it.

[Titanium Dome]

Posts #61 through #65 in this thread show this very well.

Also, a thorough review of the L7 Supplement to the L Series Owner's Manual will provide some useful insight.