Show your JBLs off
- Thread starter Pioneer727
- Start date
Well I have written about my L200's before so will skip to the most recent upgrade I have done with these. I added new woofers this summer, the same ones in the JBL 4367 and very close to the M2. Then I bought a Mini DSP 2x4 HD and a little Yamaha A-S 301 to drive the upper end while my 40 year old Kenwood 700M now drives the new (2216Nd1's) LF drivers.
The results have been nothing short of spectacular! Where the old original drivers weren't terrible, they did lack real deep bass and overemphasized that false bass region known as boom. The new 2216Nd1's are nothing at all like that!
I've been working with the DSP PEQ's and have the old L200's digging deep! Here is the frequency response at my listening chair. The lower end is what I have been concentrating on so the upper still needs work. I am now pretty flat down to 30 hz and a 3db dip at 25. Any notion that I needed subs have all but disappeared!
It isn't just that they dig so deep now, but the clarity of the bass, all the way up into the mid range, greatly improved imaging, and for some reason even the HF sounds remarkably better now than before!
These babies were not cheap, $1200 a pair, and I likely would never have done this if it wasn't for my friend and fellow L200 owner, @nedseg who did his homework on this, and bought one of the drivers just to try it. His reports were so good that I just dived into the deep end of the pool.. The sound I am reproducing now from these was well worth It!
The 2216Nd1:
My L200's as they are now, 44 years since I bought them new at 19 yo.. They have 077 tweeters, rebuilt LE85's and biamped.. They now seriously have the ability to kick ass if I say so myself!
The results have been nothing short of spectacular! Where the old original drivers weren't terrible, they did lack real deep bass and overemphasized that false bass region known as boom. The new 2216Nd1's are nothing at all like that!
I've been working with the DSP PEQ's and have the old L200's digging deep! Here is the frequency response at my listening chair. The lower end is what I have been concentrating on so the upper still needs work. I am now pretty flat down to 30 hz and a 3db dip at 25. Any notion that I needed subs have all but disappeared!
It isn't just that they dig so deep now, but the clarity of the bass, all the way up into the mid range, greatly improved imaging, and for some reason even the HF sounds remarkably better now than before!
These babies were not cheap, $1200 a pair, and I likely would never have done this if it wasn't for my friend and fellow L200 owner, @nedseg who did his homework on this, and bought one of the drivers just to try it. His reports were so good that I just dived into the deep end of the pool.. The sound I am reproducing now from these was well worth It!
The 2216Nd1:
My L200's as they are now, 44 years since I bought them new at 19 yo.. They have 077 tweeters, rebuilt LE85's and biamped.. They now seriously have the ability to kick ass if I say so myself!
I like the re-purposed table top / speaker base, have been wondering what to do with that old black marble coffee table top!
LHorn
Super Member
@SaturationPt ..good catch lol..yes it was fun cutting that in half. I have since moved the speakers forward off of them. This old 1960 house has the AC/heat vents right there so I had to block them up for the time being. A very hard room to position audio equipment up in.
I have a 4x4 beveled Italian black marble tabletop, was $$$$ when I bought it so I've kept the table forever, but that looks like an interesting way to re-purpose.
Did you cut it yourself? I don't think my little tile saw would have a chance, ...
Did you cut it yourself? I don't think my little tile saw would have a chance, ...
LHorn
Super Member
Yes I put a diamond blade on a cheap circular saw with a trickle of water flowing on it...but for something nice like you have I wouldn't recommend it. This was something someone rolled out to a dumpster and I grabbed it figuring no loss if it chips and shatters. Check into a stoneworks place to see if they would cut it for you if you want a nice cut.
Zonker92
All shiny and chrome
Might do that, thanks.
I have found that the 240Ti is a very good speaker, near a wall. However it was not designed to be near walls or corners (per original brochure) and I've found that moving them out into the room and setting up a triangle for the listener and speakers takes them to a whole different level of imaging and soundstage, Greg designed them as a pro-level speaker for the home and they very much reward proper placement. They don't deserve to be a very good speaker, out in the room they are an excellent speaker!
Unfortunately I don't use them that way, ... sitting in storage.
I have found that the 240Ti is a very good speaker, near a wall. However it was not designed to be near walls or corners (per original brochure) and I've found that moving them out into the room and setting up a triangle for the listener and speakers takes them to a whole different level of imaging and soundstage, Greg designed them as a pro-level speaker for the home and they very much reward proper placement. They don't deserve to be a very good speaker, out in the room they are an excellent speaker!
Unfortunately I don't use them that way, ... sitting in storage.
grey
Super Member
These keep getting pushed into a small bedroom to accommodate gatherings. Some of it just stays on slider pads now. The room does make a huge difference in the stereo image.
The subs were Harman direct "B stock" for less than the price of an LE14H-3. Can you find where they screwed up one of them?
The subs were Harman direct "B stock" for less than the price of an LE14H-3. Can you find where they screwed up one of them?
Umm, the tops face opposite directions (maybe someone was unclear about what "mirror imaged" means?).
LHorn
Super Member
@Zonker92 You dont know how much I have drooled over that pic! LOL I have had the 250's on my bucket list since I bought the 240's back in '89. I need to get both pair stripped down and refinished so they all match...I left Watco oil on the 240's too long and the 250's are very thirsty to begin with.
@SaturationPt Good luck. Yes the 240's did ok by the walls over the years but now that the kids are gone and I'm alone I can put them wherever. I have noticed that the 2 pairs definitely need space between the 250 & 240's. I had the close together at first and it didnt sound right...spread the 250's out and it really brought their soundstage to life. Did you ever try putting the 240's on the outside? These are no fun positioning often especially with a bad back.
@grey Very nice...I'm a slow typer so SaturationPt beat me to it.
@hugo454 Looking good...My friend got me hooked on JBL's back in the 70's with his L166 Horizons.
@SaturationPt Good luck. Yes the 240's did ok by the walls over the years but now that the kids are gone and I'm alone I can put them wherever. I have noticed that the 2 pairs definitely need space between the 250 & 240's. I had the close together at first and it didnt sound right...spread the 250's out and it really brought their soundstage to life. Did you ever try putting the 240's on the outside? These are no fun positioning often especially with a bad back.
@grey Very nice...I'm a slow typer so SaturationPt beat me to it.
@hugo454 Looking good...My friend got me hooked on JBL's back in the 70's with his L166 Horizons.
Agreed. I finally enlisted the help of a high-quality folding aluminum hand-truck, resides near the listening room along with a furniture pad for moving anything larger than a bookshelf speaker.
LHorn
Super Member
Good idea...I was thinking of making a platform for them with wheels on it and spikes...crank up the spikes and move the speaker..then run the spikes back down. Still an adventure. They probably have something like that already come to think about it.
Mrvintage
Active Member
I just purchased these to go into my 4638 rebuild. I was told that the 2446H compression driver that came with the 4638 theatre's tends to roll off the high frequencies pretty quick so I found a pair of these to add into the corners of the 4638 bins. I'm using an active crossover DBX 260 Drive Rack to manage the speakers and hope they will do the trick. I will be sending the 4638's to Stewart speaker systems near Barrie Ontario to be covered in either walnut ( JBL ) style or step it up a bit and use Jatobah veneer soon and will keep you posted as the system gets close to hookup time
