JBL 100 Grill Material
- Thread starter Staun
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Yeah, it don't happen that way.
Its a thick foam that is cut into the block pattern by the vendors, then painted to the color you choose
(tho I bought a pair left in the original grey color, without the paint).
Its not a patterned form sold en mass. The cuts are labor-intensive, and its gonna cost couple hundred for a pair of sculptured grill foams.
Or, just make replacement grills with standard grill cloth - its more transparent to your sound than the foam is.
The custom-cut foams are still available from Sonofagun on ebay
Mine are from Sculptured Foam Innovations (on ebay), he is currently moving his shop though and might not have any listed. He has been making them for a long time and is IMO the preferred manufacturer.
As others have said, the foam is cut to pattern and size, not available in sheets. There was a similar block-pattern (much more simple blocks and don't quite have the right spacing to fit L100s, sometimes you see ill-fiting foam fronts on L100s and this is it) sold by Radio Shack in a roll back a decade or so ago, might be able to find that somewhere? Might not be degraded too bad if still in the box. I believe the RS stuff was brown (a little lighter than my L100s' Chocolate Brown).
As others have said, the foam is cut to pattern and size, not available in sheets. There was a similar block-pattern (much more simple blocks and don't quite have the right spacing to fit L100s, sometimes you see ill-fiting foam fronts on L100s and this is it) sold by Radio Shack in a roll back a decade or so ago, might be able to find that somewhere? Might not be degraded too bad if still in the box. I believe the RS stuff was brown (a little lighter than my L100s' Chocolate Brown).
It is an accoustic open-cell foam designed as a wind-filter for microphones originally. Not sure all of the particulars, JBL says that testing showed it to be more acoustically transparent than cloth grilles.
I'm not sure that the material used matters as much as pore size.
Determination is good, many of us would love to be able to buy dimensionally and acoustically correct grilles for less than the current going rate. So far it hasn't happened. JBL does offer new grilles for the new L100 Classics, wrong size though!
I'm not sure that the material used matters as much as pore size.
Determination is good, many of us would love to be able to buy dimensionally and acoustically correct grilles for less than the current going rate. So far it hasn't happened. JBL does offer new grilles for the new L100 Classics, wrong size though!
swechsler
Frog Whisperer
Anyone know the required depth? I found this stuff, available up to 2" thick
WaynerN
Addicted Member
I've tried cutting expanded, open cell foam with a real sharp Xacto knife. Its not a pleasant experience. I don't know for sure, but I'm betting the JBL grills were molded, not fabricated by cutting..........but who knows, maybe someone made some nifty machine, maybe uses heat or heated elements to cut thru the matereial. Of course it would have to be a CNC machine for accuracy. What ever the original foam was, it certainly was not ozone resistant, just like many speaker surrounds that turn into dust. Hopefully they use something more modern like EPDM.
Ozone and / or UV.
I was led to believe it was cut with a hot-wire method, I'm not sure when and from whom I heard this. It is likely the method I'd use.
Upholstery foam I cut with a standard electric carving knife, works great.
I was led to believe it was cut with a hot-wire method, I'm not sure when and from whom I heard this. It is likely the method I'd use.
Upholstery foam I cut with a standard electric carving knife, works great.
SonofADude won't tell you, he's sworn to secrecy, but others I've talk to implied the foam is cut to create that sculpted look.
Molded would give blobby edges along the mold and you would not have that open foam look.
Here are the sculpted but unpainted grey pair I got elsewhere.
The second image is the same Grey sculpted L100s on top of a pair of Brown sculpted L200 foams from SonOfAGun.
Molded would give blobby edges along the mold and you would not have that open foam look.
Here are the sculpted but unpainted grey pair I got elsewhere.
The second image is the same Grey sculpted L100s on top of a pair of Brown sculpted L200 foams from SonOfAGun.
swechsler
Frog Whisperer
Hot wire or water jets (which weren't available when the original L100 was made) could cut the edges, but I don't think you could do the crosshatching with anything but a rotating blade.
