Jbl junkie

My name is Joe and l worked for JBL for 25 years mainly outfitting recording studios. Any questions about Jbl and Altec monitors let me know. Always glad to talk Lansing

Welcome and great to meet you Joe.

I only own one pair of JBL, a pair of 4365.

If I were ever to attempt to upgrade from these, do speakers like the M2 offer a significant upgrade in sound quality? Or what speaker is the next meaningful step in the JBL line.

Just out of curiosity, I had considered buying a pair of ARRAY 1400 when buying these, what are your experience or observations with that speaker?

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Hi Joe, I have been an Altec fan since the late 70's. I use 4-19's in my 2 channel set-up (two front, two in the back), and I have a pair of 890C Bolero's. I receintly restored a pair of Model 15's ( which are gone now). I have enjoyed these thru the years, and hope to have many more great years in this hobby.
 
There's always Altec's....can l hear from some Altec guys!!!
Had mostly big JBLs in the past, (4341s, and a pair of customized L200s). I've still got some L212s, some L20Ts and a few others, but I'm mostly an Altec Gal at the moment.
I'm currently updating a pair of Model 15 cabinets I hacked in some JBL 2214 woofers
and a Fostex Mid/HiF stack ... I'm building the crossovers this week!
Oh, and I have a pair of Heath AS101s (Valencias) I got over Christmas, waiting in the wings to be updated.
 
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Hi Joe, I have been an Altec fan since the late 70's. I use 4-19's in my 2 channel set-up (two front, two in the back), and I have a pair of 890C Bolero's. I receintly restored a pair of Model 15's ( which are gone now). I have enjoyed these thru the years, and hope to have many more great years in this hobby.
The 19 is my all time favorite Altec. I can't you have room for 4! Check out the 14 if you have the chance.
 
Welcome and great to meet you Joe.

I only own one pair of JBL, a pair of 4365.

If I were ever to attempt to upgrade from these, do speakers like the M2 offer a significant upgrade in sound quality? Or what speaker is the next meaningful step in the JBL line.

Just out of curiosity, I had considered buying a pair of ARRAY 1400 when buying these, what are your experience or observations with that speaker?

Regards
Mister Pig
 
The 4365 is pretty stout. I am not a big fan of the Array series. If you have the room go with 4435's. You won't be disappointed.
 
Welcome aboard Joe. I bought 4 JBL L26s from the PX on my way back from VN. In my main system now I run my round wood midrange horns with JBL 2441 CDs .
 
Altec... I have 19s. Completely stock, woofers reconed by Orange County Speaker Repair a number of years ago. Any suggestions....?
19's are amplifier sensitive I have that era specific amps work best. Altec voiced the larger monitors like the 14,15,18,19 using solid state Macs, Soundcraftesman, SAE and Sansui Au series integrated amps. Try a Sansui AU 717 or Mac Ma 6200 with the 19.
 
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My name is Joe and l worked for JBL for 25 years mainly outfitting recording studios. Any questions about Jbl and Altec monitors let me know. Always glad to talk Lansing

Hello Joe,
Welcome and thank you for offering to share your knowledge. I am working on a rebuild project of 4 X JBL 200T3, which are the consumer line JBL 4425. I know you don't do consumer line, just thought that the 200T3 are so very rare, you might have a tidbit of insider information on them. Basically I am doing a 360 rebuild so any tech data would be great. It seems like the 200T3 was a product made of a bunch of spare parts collecting dust in the warehouse, ran them out, and discontinued immediately after. The spiders are of unknown origin, the cones do not share part #'s with any other JBL. I heard the horn is the same as the 4425, but I do not have verification. Do you have any info on the exact cabinet products used in the T3 line with that engineered wood cheap veneer. I need to repair a portion of the veneer and need a match.

Are you also of the mind set that at 25 years all JBL crossovers should be refurbished? I was talking to a local tech about rebuilding a crossover network out of a pair of 240TI I recently acquired, however cost is exceptionally high on this upgrade.
 

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Welcome to AK Joe.
Hey, with all the studios you outfitted, what speakers did you most often install?
 
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Hello Joe,
Welcome and thank you for offering to share your knowledge. I am working on a rebuild project of 4 X JBL 200T3, which are the consumer line JBL 4425. I know you don't do consumer line, just thought that the 200T3 are so very rare, you might have a tidbit of insider information on them. Basically I am doing a 360 rebuild so any tech data would be great. It seems like the 200T3 was a product made of a bunch of spare parts collecting dust in the warehouse, ran them out, and discontinued immediately after. The spiders are of unknown origin, the cones do not share part #'s with any other JBL. I heard the horn is the same as the 4425, but I do not have verification. Do you have any info on the exact cabinet products used in the T3 line with that engineered wood cheap veneer. I need to repair a portion of the veneer and need a match.

Are you also of the mind set that at 25 years all JBL crossovers should be refurbished? I was talking to a local tech about rebuilding a crossover network out of a pair of 240TI I recently acquired, however cost is exceptionally high on this upgrade.
Yes you are correct the horns are iinterchangeable. Unless you notuce sound degradation l would sugest just visually inspecting the crossover. JBL 4th orders can last for decades. And yes some will take advantage with rebuild cost. Call Acoustics Sounds in Salinas Kansas. I don't recall the fellows name but if you ask for the guy that rebuilds jbl he can help you out.
 
19's are amplifier sensitive I have that era specific amps work best. Altec voiced the larger monitors like the 14,15,18,19 using solid state Macs, Soundcraftesman, SAE and Sansui Au series integrated amps. Try a Sansui AU 717 or Mac Ma 6200 with the 19.
Amplifier sensitive... I can believe that. I recently moved and had a Yamaha black faced nineties receiver.... medium sized, fifty watts... hooked up to them as a stop gap and the combination sounded terrible... I mean terrible, thinking placement, something... wouldn't listen to it. I had a Sony STR 7045 lying around so out of boredom I wired it to the Altecs..... and my goodness, what a difference. I also have a Marantz 2235 which I then also tried... and what do you know, it sounded even better, marginally better but better... rich and full. Not stopping there, I subbed an Amp 200 I had acquired for the power amp, using the Marantz pre out... it sounded like the Yamaha.. I even drove it with the headphone jack thinking maybe impedance loading, something like that... exactly the same as with the pre out. I then subbed a QSC GX3, of which I have two... long story... first with the pre outs, then with the headphone jack driving it... and while it was much better... much better... it still wasn't warm... like with the Marantz alone. I spend a few years doing bench work at a high end repair shop and have many pieces for comparison after repair or service, and some units do sound quite a bit better than others... at least on my bench speakers which were good twelve inch three way Infinities... and among those that had a characteristic sweet, warm sound were, generally, Sansui amps and receivers from the 2000... 5000 series through the eighties G series, of course their AU amps, earlier Fisher Transistor, TX series, and of course their tube receivers, thinking the 500 C, and the Marantz stuff. A few others too but those always stuck out. It is interesting to know that Altec voiced their speakers using the manufacturers amps you mentioned. Altec used to be in Anaheim California not that far from Soundcraftesman. As I'm sure you know, the 19s don't need much power in a living room to sound big but if you feed them big they will continue to use it.
 
Amplifier sensitive... I can believe that. I recently moved and had a Yamaha black faced nineties receiver.... medium sized, fifty watts... hooked up to them as a stop gap and the combination sounded terrible... I mean terrible, thinking placement, something... wouldn't listen to it. I had a Sony STR 7045 lying around so out of boredom I wired it to the Altecs..... and my goodness, what a difference. I also have a Marantz 2235 which I then also tried... and what do you know, it sounded even better, marginally better but better... rich and full. Not stopping there, I subbed an Amp 200 I had acquired for the power amp, using the Marantz pre out... it sounded like the Yamaha.. I even drove it with the headphone jack thinking maybe impedance loading, something like that... exactly the same as with the pre out. I then subbed a QSC GX3, of which I have two... long story... first with the pre outs, then with the headphone jack driving it... and while it was much better... much better... it still wasn't warm... like with the Marantz alone. I spend a few years doing bench work at a high end repair shop and have many pieces for comparison after repair or service, and some units do sound quite a bit better than others... at least on my bench speakers which were good twelve inch three way Infinities... and among those that had a characteristic sweet, warm sound were, generally, Sansui amps and receivers from the 2000... 5000 series through the eighties G series, of course their AU amps, earlier Fisher Transistor, TX series, and of course their tube receivers, thinking the 500 C, and the Marantz stuff. A few others too but those always stuck out. It is interesting to know that Altec voiced their speakers using the manufacturers amps you mentioned. Altec used to be in Anaheim California not that far from Soundcraftesman. As I'm sure you know, the 19s don't need much power in a living room to sound big but if you feed them big they will continue to use it.
The Altec and JBL monitirs don't like pro style amps like QSC, Crown etc. The amps l mentioned which were using during voicing were representatives of what recording studios sounded like.
 
I went all around the vintage speaker world and ended up liking JBL the best. Close second was ADS, but the JBLS sound a little better for my main source which would be home theater.

I currently run L100Ts and am 100% happy with them. Its nice to finally feel settled!
 
The Altec and JBL monitirs don't like pro style amps like QSC, Crown etc. The amps l mentioned which were using during voicing were representatives of what recording studios sounded like.
Guess what... I'm going to get the Sansui you mentioned first time one shows up anywhere I can consider local... a days drive in any direction... an excuse for a fun road trip. As an aside, I have a pair of JBL L220 speakers, aware of differing opinions of them, woofers reconed by Orange County Speaker Repair, new midrange through them, tweeters original and intact. I use them for the rear of a 4.1 system, the 19s on the front. Sometimes I like the L220s as a stereo system, sometimes not... that tweeter has a reputation of it's own, sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. They seem to be amplifier sensitive too but not as much as the Altec... the difference between the Yamaha, and the Sony or the Marantz on the Altecs was dramatic... I gave the Yamaha to a friend and it is fine in their system.
 
Guess what... I'm going to get the Sansui you mentioned first time one shows up anywhere I can consider local... a days drive in any direction... an excuse for a fun road trip. As an aside, I have a pair of JBL L220 speakers, aware of differing opinions of them, woofers reconed by Orange County Speaker Repair, new midrange through them, tweeters original and intact. I use them for the rear of a 4.1 system, the 19s on the front. Sometimes I like the L220s as a stereo system, sometimes not... that tweeter has a reputation of it's own, sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. They seem to be amplifier sensitive too but not as much as the Altec... the difference between the Yamaha, and the Sony or the Marantz on the Altecs was dramatic... I gave the Yamaha to a friend and it is fine in their system.
The Sansui Au 717 or Au 919 work best. They can be had recapped for around $400. Surprising considering the 717 cost $550 in 1977. A friend of mine who works for Krell said that a 717 would cost over 5k today to build a tank like that
 
Hey Joe!
Nice to meet ya and great to have a new member that was in the factory trenches! Looking forward to reading some of your stories.
My only JBL's are my little 4301bs. I got these from a CL listing from a voice over studio in Manhattan. Until I bought them, they had never had music played through them from new. They had a very easy life. They are virtually mint, were never on the floor according to the original owner. They had fresh surrounds installed just prior to my purchase several years ago.
I love these little speakers. Sound amazing and put out way more sound than you would expect from speakers this size.
Except for the surround replacement, they are completely original. I only wiped them with an application of Danish oil to bring back the glow to the walnut veneer.
I'm currently running them with a JVC P-L10 preamp and JVC M-7050 power amp that puts out 210wpc.
What's your experience and opinion of these little gems?
Cheers, Glenn
 
The Sansui Au 717 or Au 919 work best. They can be had recapped for around $400. Surprising considering the 717 cost $550 in 1977. A friend of mine who works for Krell said that a 717 would cost over 5k today to build a tank like that
One of those is exactly what I'll get. I love to rebuild this stuff for myself and still have the equipment and experience so I'd like to find one that has never been hacked and in good cosmetic condition. Thank you for sharing the fruit of your experience with these speakers. Take care.
 
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