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The icing on the JBL L300 cake!

Crestwood23

Crestwood23

He said touch it in the back
Subscriber
I didn't think it was possible, but thanks to AKer Smoking Joe my L300's just got a lot sexier! Joe was kind enough to take on this project, he hand crafted some super sweet black walnut horn lenses with a tung oil finish. They compliment the walnut cabinets perfectly and really are the cherry on top of these iconic legends. Joe did a great job on these lenses, I wish I had wood working skills like this! Thanks to Smoking Joe and Hjames for all their help with this project. Can't help but show them off... :thmbsp:

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Looks great!

My 4345s came to me with a pair of wood lenses from Japan, the first I'd seen at the time. My kids' beloved pets keep me from enjoying them without the grilles on most of the time but I did take this shot a few Christmases ago:



After five years with them I find the weight puts some strain on the velcro adhesive attachment and I've had to staple the velcro on the baffle at the ends of the strips to keep the lens from falling into the woofer! :yikes:
 
Very very nice!
Please, tell us more about the system - and your listening room!

And Phil - Nice as they are, you need some up to date pictures --
Christmas is long gone(!) and that Christmas is even further gone! :D
 
hjames said:
And Phil - Nice as they are, you need some up to date pictures --
Christmas is long gone(!) and that Christmas is even further gone! :D
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Heather,

My room seldom changes, except that at the current time it's full of extra furniture since my Mom passed. But I have much better use of my digital memory cards than to take photos of my speakers! Unlike you, my main speaker system hasn't changed in the last five years! :D

Now the spare room with the other dozen-or-so JBLs and the dozen-or-so Crown and Soundcraftsmen amps might be more interesting to post but the room is too crowded to get a photo! :yes:

(Anyone else having a difficult time reading or replying to threads with the server's flaky behavior?)
 
Thanks guys/gals!

Heather - right now my only listening room option is in my small basement (10x20). Wall to wall carpet over a concrete floor with no windows. Room treatments are the next project for me, although it sounds pretty good as is. The L300s are definitely too big for the space, but my plan is to move them to the main living space after our addition is complete (next year or so).

I have the Nelson Pass mod crossovers with Mundorf Silver/oil caps installed. I am passively biamping them with a big Crown on the woofers and a sweet little 1959 Fisher el84 (12wpc) on the mids and tweets. Both go through my Juicy Music tube pre. Mostly Mullard and RCA black plates throughout the chain - their more mellow tone is nice fit with the crystal clear top end of the L300s.
:music:
 
Those lenses were not easy to make, but a fun project.
Total time was more then twelve hours, but I got to use the table saw, scroll saw, router and sander and make jigs for routing and gluing.
I am glad they turned out well, and that you are happy with them.
I have my proto-type pair to put finishing touches on and may add them
to a JBL 116a/ribbon tweeter build I finished a while ago.
They are maple so the color should blend well(I used 1/8" plywood).
Joe
 
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Crestwood23 said:
Thanks guys/gals!

Heather - right now my only listening room option is in my small basement (10x20). Wall to wall carpet over a concrete floor with no windows. Room treatments are the next project for me, although it sounds pretty good as is. The L300s are definitely too big for the space, but my plan is to move them to the main living space after our addition is complete (next year or so).

I have the Nelson Pass mod crossovers with Mundorf Silver/oil caps installed. I am passively biamping them with a big Crown on the woofers and a sweet little 1959 Fisher el84 (12wpc) on the mids and tweets. Both go through my Juicy Music tube pre. Mostly Mullard and RCA black plates throughout the chain - their more mellow tone is nice fit with the crystal clear top end of the L300s.
:music:
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I've often wondered how wood would work in place of plastic or metal. I would think it would give a "warmer" sound since wood is not as "reflective" as the harder materials.

Sure is a nice touch.
 
Smoking Joe said:
Those lenses were not easy to make, but a fun project.
Total time was more then twelve hours, but I got to use the table saw, scroll saw, router and sander and make jigs for routing and gluing.
I am glad they turned out well, and that you are happy with them.
I have my proto-type pair to put finishing touches on and may add them
to a JBL 116a/ribbon tweeter build I finished a while ago.
They are maple so the color should blend well(I used 1/8" plywood).
Joe
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Sweet :thmbsp:

Got any photos of the back or other details on how they go together? I doubt I'll ever need to build a pair but I am curious.
 
Very very nice. Are your jigs set up so you could make more if there was some demand?

If there was interest, yes I could make more. After making two pair it should not take long, but beware, I do know how much time and effort it will take this time!
It took approximately 2.5 weeks from receiving wood to shipping out, that was after about 4 weeks of trial and error.
Joe
 
I have the 4425, and never heard your JBL live, but on Youtube, they sound like an exciting transparent metallic sounding speakers - am I right, or how do they sound to you? Why are they hailed as the classic to get?
 
HTWillie said:
What purpose does the lens serve?
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This is the only explanation of the Koustic lens that I've seen:

A labyrinth of concave plates is put in front of the horn. Sound from the centre of the horn passes through unhindered. Sound to the sides of centre in the horn, pass through the lens labyrinth, increasing the distance traveled and delayed in time. The sound waves are bent forming a wide horizontal dispersion. The lens improves horizontal dispersion as the frequency increases.
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Very nice work- they look beautiful, makes you wonder why JBL did not offer this as an extra $$$ item!
If you have your old lens and want to experiment with an idea, put a thin strip of 1/8 square foam insulation across the edge of each lens slat....you might well be surprised at the result! It is somewhat time consuming, but the results make well impress you!
DC
 
Crestwood23 said:
I didn't think it was possible, but thanks to AKer Smoking Joe my L300's just got a lot sexier! Joe was kind enough to take on this project, he hand crafted some super sweet black walnut horn lenses with a tung oil finish. They compliment the walnut cabinets perfectly and really are the cherry on top of these iconic legends. Joe did a great job on these lenses, I wish I had wood working skills like this! Thanks to Smoking Joe and Hjames for all their help with this project. Can't help but show them off... :thmbsp:

14185153896_afa005966e_b.jpg

14208155684_6713013c49_b.jpg

14021627688_e57f04918f_b.jpg

14021626488_d6b50e7f11_b.jpg

14208289725_ced52670bb_b.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow, those look beautiful.
With that Mac 2105 I'm guessing they sound incredible.
Nice system.
 
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