JBL Dynamics Project - L200 box, 2216ND/Smith Horn/2405 Slots

[SaturationPt]

I can’t tell you what Heather thinks, but I LOVE the 2216ND-1s.

And to compare the Great Heil to the 2405/077 (I had both, same thing): I will say that the Heil has a more pleasant/open/airy sound to it that makes music sound sooo good, where the 2405/077 is more honest and clean. My comparison is the (late-late) ESS AMT Monitor vs the JBL L300A and JBL 4333 (all of which I have owned, at the same time).

Personally I tend to go back to pure/flat/honest/accurate over the more musical/pleasant/forgiving nature of dipole with reflected sound (Heil and many other designs) speaker systems, just the Engineer in me. Everyone has different feelings and taste in music / music systems so find what makes your toes tap and the ends of your mouth turn up.

 

[toddalin]

The Great Heil will not go quite as high as a 2405, but it's a whole lot smoother getting there and can easily/cheaply be modified for use as a proper tweeter rather than a mid/tweeter if that is the goal. Sometimes I wonder if increasing their gauss would let them sing even higher. It would be a simple matter to put a line a neodymium magnets of proper polarity on a ferrous bar which would "self-adhere" to either side of the Heil. Mine throw an unbelievable soundstage and image that I've never gotten from JBL 2402/2405s.

The 2405 is peaky, but if that's the range you are looking for, (i.e., some sizzle) they are fine. Bringing them in at a higher frequency makes it easy to integrate them as a simple "add-on".

 

[hjames]

Here's an update on my JBL 3 way "Dynamics Project." The drivers are fine, (new 2216ND woofers, new diaphragms in the mid drivers, and the slot tweeters play well)
but I had bought "Nelson Pass L300 equivalent" crossovers off ebay, and thought the overall result was on the harsh side. I had planned to look into it, maybe build a pair of the Giskard 3133 that I had built for a previous version of these 3 ways in L200 cabinets - but other things came up, including a green sports car we bought late summer.

But the Lansing Heritage community is an Amazing community! One of our northern members wrote me an email saying they had built a cabinet with 4 crossovers in them (2 Giskard ChargeCoupled 3133 crossovers, and 2 Nelson pass style crossovers), but they'd sold their 43xx systems, so the crossovers were just gathering dust. And if i paid shipping from Ontario - they were mine!
Woah!! What an amazing, generous and kind offer!! Woah!!



I did as requested, and today pulled an amazingly bomb-proof double boxed package off my front porch!
Inside, I found a very nicely made wooden box with 4 discrete xover circuits inside. Terminal strips for jumpers
to select which circuits I wish to use - and even has 9v battery holders for the Charge-Coupled Giskard circuits!



Gorgeous layout and superb build work revealed once I pulled the cover off! awesome!
There is a full set of prints included, detailing all the parts, circuits and design considerations.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

[hjames]

I seem to have caught some kind of flu bug. So I set up some long dual banana cables and tied the Giskard Charge Coupled 3133
(a refined JBL L300 style crossover) in place, and I've been listening to all kinds of audiophile stuff today.
The funky cables are just a temp way to connect the 6 drivers while I test the crossovers ...
Wow - they pass muster VERY fine!

 

[hjames]

Still enjoying these as the main speakers in our 2 channel system - tho I did add a Zilch plug to close one of the dual ports in each cabinet.
and yes, the room is too often over-cluttered, but a lot of things interest us and listening to music is a pastime,
but these days its not the only one ...



Summertime has us outdoors more, and since we bought TRouble our v8 Triumph TR8 from Taunton Ma last September,
we have been having spirited drives around the area - so less indoor listening time on the weekends.

 

[SaturationPt]

Well, and I speak from experience, ... with a British drop-hood (Lucas Electric) you have by now learned to be home before dark, and out of the rain, so you have plenty of listening opportunities.

 

[johnlcnm]

I seem to have caught some kind of flu bug. So I set up some long dual banana cables and tied the Giskard Charge Coupled 3133
(a refined JBL L300 style crossover) in place, and I've been listening to all kinds of audiophile stuff today.
The funky cables are just a temp way to connect the 6 drivers while I test the crossovers ...
Wow - they pass muster VERY fine!

View attachment 3350623View attachment 3350625
View attachment 3351118

Somebody put a lot of work into those! Very nice find. My main speakers are the 4333s moded with the Nelson Pass charge coupled crossovers and 2216nds. Recently purchased a used Pass Labs INT-25. It really interfaces well with those old JBLs. Still my faves. I have other systems that I listen to. Non of them have displaced the 4333s.

 

[hjames]

Been meaning to neaten up the crossover placement - sitting sideways on the floors rubs my aesthetics all wrong.
I'd considered cutting it into 2 halves and putting a half under each smith horn - but that's more of a project than I'm up for
without a serious wood shop - and the last thing I want to do is butcher this nice piece.
One alternate approach is to put it under one Smith Horn and make a spacer for the other speaker stack to keep the parts matched heightwise.
So yesterday I decided to try that restack idea -

But - what a whirlwind Tuesday became! I was rewiring my living room speakers when a neighbor walked up and offered a pair of lawn Seat tickets
for Alison Krauss and Union Station at Wolf Trap that night. I have some of their albums and heard the new one on Qobuz last month.
Major talent, very cool offer! Emma was playing pool (her Tuesday habit) and said she'd be unable to make it, so we checked with some friends -
but it was too short notice for them. By 4PM, Mike came by and mentioned the band had postponed the concert due to illness, so I gave him back his tickets.

But I did get my speakers rewired !!
There is still work to do - I need to make a spacer for the right speaker to match the 2ch crossover (black box) on the left speaker,
and get the mid & high drivers' heights right before I decide this arrangement works, but it does sound good.

 

[hjames]

Been very busy with car shows and fall foliage drives in the little green car,
as mentioned in other threads. But cold weather is coming,
the English Corvette will go into storage before it snows,
and I'll focus on fine tuning the speakers soon enough ...

 

[toddalin]

Been very busy with car shows and fall foliage drives in the little green car,
as mentioned in other threads. But cold weather is coming,
the English Corvette will go into storage before it snows,
and I'll focus on fine tuning the speakers soon enough ...

The '64 Corvette goes off to it's new owner tomorrow. Small world..., the guy who owns this place bought it.

https://www.avartistry.com/

 

[eiraved]

The '64 Corvette goes off to it's new owner tomorrow. Small world..., the guy who owns this place bought it.

https://www.avartistry.com/

Nice website, impressive!

 

[hjames]

With 5 sets of large scale speakers, our poor little home is way too crowded. That's 2 pairs of JBL L212 towers, the Von Schweikert VR-4s, and the JBL Dynamics Project detailed in this thread. Oh, and the JBL/UREI based 7 channel multimedia system downstairs in the TV room (its not going anywhere!).

 

[toddalin]

With 5 sets of large scale speakers, our poor little home is way too crowded. That's 2 pairs of JBL L212 towers, the Von Schweikert VR-4s, and the JBL Dynamics Project detailed in this thread. Oh, and the JBL/UREI based 7 channel multimedia system downstairs in the TV room (its not going anywhere!).

Kind of tight over here too.

I would actually let the Super Big Red/Marantz system go. It is rarely used and someone should get enjoyment out of it. Also a great investment.

 

[eiraved]

Nice! Are those speakers hooked up to different systems or a single system?

 

[bolero]

Carl Palmer



It'd be good to hear the rest of the song thru those too