A little speaker project: KLH and JBL's

Tapehead47

Tapehead47

Addicted Member
I have a pair of KLH Model 15 speakers and a pair of JBL 2600's. The KLH's still work but don't kick very much with their 2 - 4" drivers. Please recommend a source to upgrade the drivers. I'd like to use them in my bedroom system.
One of the JBL's has a totally blown woofer. The other still works fine. (got them from by brother). I'm not sure if there's any other damage. If the woofer is blown, does that indicate any further damage? To the crossover maybe? If I recone (DIY first time) the JBL woofer, should I recone both woofers to keep them matched? Or does it make a difference....
Could I upgrade the 6" woofers?
I use a pair of Bose 201's in conjunction with my JBL 4311's. The JBL's are off the floor and the Bose hang near the ceiling for that 'wall of sound' image. The bose aren't outstanding, but they fill in really nicely. Question: If I rebuilt the 2600's would they be a better replacement for the Bose? I like to crank it up loud! Not always, but often.
Any advise on the KLH's and the JBL's is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Rick in Lutz
 
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Hey Rick,

Personally I wouldn't even bother with the KLHs. They are a dual full-range driver by default. If you really wanted them to sound even halfway decent, you would need to durn them into a two way system. As far as bass goes for those, i think one woofer simply wouldn't move enough air. You should find a small powered sub and make some tweeters to put on top of the KLHs to make a balanced system.

By "blown" do you mean the VC is open? is it shorted? is it frozen? or is the foam ring just gone? If it just needs a refoam that's cake. If it really is toast I think they're new enough that you could get a replacement from JBL. The 2600s are probably much better in the bottom end than the 201s are. Overalll the JBls are better built and have an actual crossover compared to the 201s which are fairly flimsy and drive the woofer directly and have one cap on the tweeter.

If it costs more than 50 bucks for a woofer, I'd just part them out. There's a pair right now on epay for a BIN of 50 plus shipping...they average from 10-50 a pair.
 
Thanks for the reply, Jordan
Good advice. I'll sell the KLH's, although I saw a pair on some audio website for $100! Maybe they have some collectors value, but I can't see how.
The JBL's woofer surround is completely torn 360 deg. I can pull the cone out. The end of the voice coil has a little damage; a couple of the wires are loose, but still intact. I could maybe re-varnish them. But the woofers look so flimsy I think I'd rather replace them. JBL prices are too high. Any suggestions?

Rick
 
ebay the drivers. Stuff for the 2600s pop up from time to time. One thing I did with an old pair of speakers I was restoring (KLH 32 with dead tweeters) was look at an auction for the same pair. i thought the price was high and knew they wouldn't sell. i sent the seller an e-mail through ebay explaining my situation. I asked if he would part out the drivers and send them to me for a fiar price if the speakers didn't sell. He agreed, and lucky for me I got what I needed.

Couldn't hurt.
 
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