Hey guys. I need your help on something. Can JBL 044's be rebuilt? If so, what do I need to do? I have a pair of L112's and the tweeters are bad. They are scratchy, poppy and fade in and out. If these cannot be repaired is there a good subsitution? Many thanks:thmbsp:
JBL 044's
- Thread starter ddragg1
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Diaphragm kits are NLA. Best bet is fleabay
Are you sure it's the 044's? Scratchy, poppy, and fading and I'd lay even money on the LPADS needing a DeoxIt. Have you done any kind of sweep test on them out of circuit? You have to pull the 128H to get them out from inside the cab...
Unless they've been abused by low power, high distortion amps, they're pretty bulletproof. I've had a set of L112's since 1983 and built another pair from parts 2 years ago, also have a couple 044 spares (no, not for sale) and they all just keep on keepin on.
Are you sure it's the 044's? Scratchy, poppy, and fading and I'd lay even money on the LPADS needing a DeoxIt. Have you done any kind of sweep test on them out of circuit? You have to pull the 128H to get them out from inside the cab...
Unless they've been abused by low power, high distortion amps, they're pretty bulletproof. I've had a set of L112's since 1983 and built another pair from parts 2 years ago, also have a couple 044 spares (no, not for sale) and they all just keep on keepin on.
Have to go inside.
You plugged the 044 into your L100T?
Yea, the Voice coil is probably a little burnt. Too much or too little power too long of either. ;-) Distortion (harmonics) will take out tweeters lickity split.
Dubious.
Check over on LHF.
I THINK somebody suggested 052ti.
There's also 053ti and 053tis.
I don't know, 'cause I've never seen any of these.
The best way to refurbish L-pads is to remove them, open them up, treat with DeOxit, and coat the elements with their other formula for that purpose.
By the time you get them out, you may as well install new ones, unless it's "Legacy" you're doing.... :yes:
BMWCCA
Addicted Member
You can take an 044 apart pretty simply. Pull the screen gasket and the mesh, undo the four screws, and separate the housing. Often the fine leads to the diaphragm are fried, some are fixable, and I've seen after-market replacements, or just find a new used 044. The diaphragm is aluminum-coated fabric, not metal. When treated properly they will last forever. I still have my original L112s but they've never been powered with anything less than an 80-watt Crown. Low power and distortion is the prime reason for blowing tweets.
I've had pretty good success getting de-ox inside the pots w/o removing from the cabinets. Keep in mind you don't rotate these things constantly like you would a volume or tone control. There are vents on the rear of the pots, if you use a small can with a long tube on it you can get up behind the pots and spritz them through the vents. Use a little spray at a time & keep rotating the pot, takes a while because there's more surface in there than a typical volume control pot.
This avoids the need to use a heat gun to remove the crossover foilcals to get to the level control mounting screws.
John
This avoids the need to use a heat gun to remove the crossover foilcals to get to the level control mounting screws.
John
Thanks for all the information guys. I broke down and bought a set of 044's off fleaBay. $129.00 for the set. Man! The seller really powered it up before he stuck it to me. I hope they are as nice as he says they are. I see that the porblem with the 044's is lack of power. The previous of these L112's had them hooked to a JVC 60 watt receiver, so I guess that was the problem. I'm pushing them with a Pioneer SX1080, so I hope not to encounter the same problem.
It seems like you could take the diaphrams out of a 035ti and install it into the casing of the 044. I bought a 035ti and will try this and let you know the results. What do you think?
It seems like you could take the diaphrams out of a 035ti and install it into the casing of the 044. I bought a 035ti and will try this and let you know the results. What do you think?
IIRC, the 035Ti magnet and diaphragm won't quite fit, due to different bolt centers (distance from the center to each screw)... but I've found a way to substitute a "generic" clone of the 035- magnet and dome- into the 044, as a pretty much identical fit (the screw holes line up). Sounds as good- maybe better- than the 035 or 044Ti.
Anyone who needs this done, PM me... it'd not expensive. Does take a little skill and mod work to get it in there... but once its done, you can't tell it's a mod... except it sounds better.
Regards,
Gordon.
Anyone who needs this done, PM me... it'd not expensive. Does take a little skill and mod work to get it in there... but once its done, you can't tell it's a mod... except it sounds better.
Regards,
Gordon.
Let's not get too carried away with the theory that lack of power kills tweeters (or any driver). Drivers fail when they are exposed to more wattage than rated for longer than their materials can sustain it, or because of material failures within the rated power range due to age or because the design is flawed. Although you can increase the total amount of wattage the tweeter is exposed to by clipping the signal, you can't increase it beyond the theoretical wattage produced by rail voltage of the amplifier driving it. However, if you are using an amp close to the speaker's rated power and you clip that, you will definitely exceed the wattage the speaker was designed to handle.
The systems that the 044 were used in are all in the 300 WRMS power handling range. This tweeter dissipates heat reasonably effectively and in my experience is pretty robust. If it has a weak point, it's the lead wires where they cross the gap between the frame and the voice coil. You can cook that if you work at it a little bit, but worrying about doing it with a 60 watt receiver is silly.
FWIW, I own & use regularly L96, L112, L150A systems. The 150A's are running off a pair of bridged Sony TA-N55ES amps at 300 watts per speaker. The other pairs are generally run from either a 75WPC Tandberg TR 2080, or the 85PWC from my Sansui AU-717. I've also used them on a single TA-N55ES which is about 110WPC in 8 ohm stereo.
In 5 years, I've only lost one 044 tweeter. I actually fixed it (it burned in the gap between the coil and the frame where I could solder a jumper) and continued to use it afterwards. This happened back when I first bought the L150A's and was running them in my big system, cranked up hard with the 300 watt Sony amps driving them. My guess is that tweeter was already partially damaged and I just finished it off. I haven't had a repeat of that, and I still drive them hard regularly. I did replace that tweeter later with an undamaged one though.
Just my $0.02...
John
The systems that the 044 were used in are all in the 300 WRMS power handling range. This tweeter dissipates heat reasonably effectively and in my experience is pretty robust. If it has a weak point, it's the lead wires where they cross the gap between the frame and the voice coil. You can cook that if you work at it a little bit, but worrying about doing it with a 60 watt receiver is silly.
FWIW, I own & use regularly L96, L112, L150A systems. The 150A's are running off a pair of bridged Sony TA-N55ES amps at 300 watts per speaker. The other pairs are generally run from either a 75WPC Tandberg TR 2080, or the 85PWC from my Sansui AU-717. I've also used them on a single TA-N55ES which is about 110WPC in 8 ohm stereo.
In 5 years, I've only lost one 044 tweeter. I actually fixed it (it burned in the gap between the coil and the frame where I could solder a jumper) and continued to use it afterwards. This happened back when I first bought the L150A's and was running them in my big system, cranked up hard with the 300 watt Sony amps driving them. My guess is that tweeter was already partially damaged and I just finished it off. I haven't had a repeat of that, and I still drive them hard regularly. I did replace that tweeter later with an undamaged one though.
Just my $0.02...
John