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JBL L100t-Tuneup

I

InstantParty

New Member
Hi, I'm new to the forum. I have a pair of L100t that I bought new 24 years ago. I will be replacing the foam surrounds since they are falling apart.

What else should I do? I hear people talking about replacing capacitors. What does this do for the speakers? Can an amateur do this?

Thanks!
 
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InstantParty said:
Hi, I'm new to the forum. I have a pair of L100t that I bought new 24 years ago. I will be replacing the foam surrounds since they are falling apart.

What else should I do? I hear people talking about replacing capacitors. What does this do for the speakers? Can an amateur do this?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Sure you can. And while you're in there you can mod your X-overs to t3 spec's. Capacitors drift out of spec with age. Recapping your crossover network is supposed to bring your speakers back to sounding the way they did when they were new. Do some thread searching. If you can't get the info here try the Lansing Heritage forum.

Welcome to AK.
 
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Great speakers for sure. I guess I'm lucky to have a pair of L100T's AND a pair of L100S's (the military version of the L100t3). Since my L100S's already have the T3 crossovers, I most likely won't do the T3 crossovers in them unless I can come across a pair of them cheap. I like having both iterations of the speakers for comparing the sound differences. Honestly, in listening to both pairs switching them from A to B on my Soundcraftsmen A5002 amp, both speakers do things well and my buddy (and myself to an extent) almost prefer the L100T.

I still need to recap both networks but that will most likely come "after" I get a job again....hopefully soon. :D
 
avguytx said:
Honestly, in listening to both pairs switching them from A to B on my Soundcraftsmen A5002 amp, both speakers do things well and my buddy (and myself to an extent) almost prefer the L100T.
Click to expand...

Not surprising since the T's had better cabinets than the S (or even T3s). T3 crossover "upgrade" may be more beneficial in the L80T where the woofer isn't as overpowering. I know my L80T/3 (upgraded) is much easier to listen to than my "original" L80T pair.

If you can't find used crossovers, a member on LH has done the mods to T crossovers for several member.

Here are the schematics to compare:
http://www.jbl.com/resources/Brands/jbl/Products/ProductRelatedDocuments/en-US/technicalsheet/L100t%20ts.pdf
http://www.jbl.com/resources/Brands/jbl/Products/ProductRelatedDocuments/en-US/technicalsheet/L100t3%20ts.pdf
 
I have inquired about these speakers before and also on the Lansing site but never got any response for some reason.
It seems to me some there aren't so friendly with newbys. I am the same screenname there.

I don't have a L100t3 xover but wanted to just recap my original L100T xover and I plan on doing it soon.

I think it sounds good to me as is but surely can only sound better with newer/better caps without the added expense of finding or converting to T3 specs.

I am glad to hear that you (avguytx) like your L100T over the L100T3'S.
 
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InstantParty said:
Hi, I'm new to the forum. I have a pair of L100t that I bought new 24 years ago. I will be replacing the foam surrounds since they are falling apart.

What else should I do? I hear people talking about replacing capacitors. What does this do for the speakers? Can an amateur do this?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Def go for the T3 upgrades - I've had 2 pairs of L100Ts and once upgraded,
they sound less shrill and better focused. Still have that great bass tho!
Guy on the Lansing site did both of my pairs - highly recommended!
 
hjames said:
Def go for the T3 upgrades - I've had 2 pairs of L100Ts and once upgraded,
they sound less shrill and better focused. Still have that great bass tho!
Guy on the Lansing site did both of my pairs - highly recommended!
Click to expand...

If you don't mind me asking what did it cost?

Has anyone here ever replaced the caps in the original L100T xovers?
 
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It's not really that hard to do the T3 modification yourself if you're already comfortable with replacing caps, coils and resistors. It's just a matter of getting the right values in the right spots. I have PDF files for both versions of the L100T's and have attached them here if you need them.


Edit: Oops....BMWCCA already attached those files! I thought they were links to the modifications on the other website! :D
 

Attachments

avguytx said:
It's not really that hard to do the T3 modification yourself if you're already comfortable with replacing caps, coils and resistors. It's just a matter of getting the right values in the right spots. I have PDF files for both versions of the L100T's and have attached them here if you need them.


Edit: Oops....BMWCCA already attached those files! I thought they were links to the modifications on the other website! :D
Click to expand...

I think that I am just gonna replace the original caps in my L100T xovers it can only sound better not that they sound bad now to my old ears.

I already had those schematics I downloaded a while back.
I can replace caps/resistors but making new xovers from scratch may be more of a challenge.
 
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A few things....

I have L100t's and swapped in the t3 crossovers (picked them up on auction site for around a bill BUT I had to wait several months before a set ever came up). I had decided to just rebuild my t crossovers but the t3 units came available just before I ordered the caps.

Now, arent' the inductors for the t3 crossovers different as well? I can say that in addition to the reduction in top end shrillness and improvement to the nasally midrange the bottom end tightened up and became even more robust. I did one speaker at a time and after I did the first one I hooked both speakers up, set the pre to mono, panned from L to R and compared the two. No doubt, the t3 xovers were clearly an improvement.

But the one thing that most improved the performance of the JBL's was room treatments. That made a bigger difference than the t3 xover upgrade, more power, cables....everything. To my ears it put the speakers in a whole new class. I liked them a lot before treatments....LOVED them after.
 
tomlinmgt said:
A few things....

I have L100t's and swapped in the t3 crossovers (picked them up on auction site for around a bill BUT I had to wait several months before a set ever came up). I had decided to just rebuild my t crossovers but the t3 units came available just before I ordered the caps.

Now, arent' the inductors for the t3 crossovers different as well? I can say that in addition to the reduction in top end shrillness and improvement to the nasally midrange the bottom end tightened up and became even more robust. I did one speaker at a time and after I did the first one I hooked both speakers up, set the pre to mono, panned from L to R and compared the two. No doubt, the t3 xovers were clearly an improvement.

But the one thing that most improved the performance of the JBL's was room treatments. That made a bigger difference than the t3 xover upgrade, more power, cables....everything. To my ears it put the speakers in a whole new class. I liked them a lot before treatments....LOVED them after.
Click to expand...

It is my understanding that the inductors are in fact different and I have been watching ebay for some t3's but I seriously have my doubts it seems everyone wants them.

Like I said before, to me the L100t's sound ok stock and better caps may be all I need YMMV.
 
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