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JBL L200 Studio Masters-Pics

hjames said:
I built a basic wheeled plinth under each of mine to favour my poor aching back ...

On a slightly different direction - - When I was Re-working my heathkit AS101s (Altec valencias), my guru suggested using RTV adhesive
to glue a layer of porcelain tiles and Granite tiles to the bottom and back of each cabinet. The resulting cabinets got heavier,
but also have a lot harder punch than they did before. Later on I laid an 18 x 18 granite tile on top and got a bit more punch.
(that one is not glued down - just has a layer of Gorilla Glue Duct tape stuck to the bottom of the tile - really!)

I no longer have my L200s - but I've wondered if such a change would get more punch to the JBLs - Mine had 2234 woofers
(same as the 2235 woofers but without the mass-rings - so slightly less weight and a bit faster punch).

The smaller 12 x 12 granite tiles would fit just inside the existing plinth and not be visible on the bottom -
someone would need to measure the ID of the plinths to see how large you could go in that space.

View attachment 1318506
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Those look great!
If these were in the family room, I'd go this route for sure, but furniture dollies will be fine in the cave.
Interesting results with the added weight on top of the cabs.
Glenn
 
Think the folks I bought my brown foams from said to use Silicon Tub Caulk as a glue -
someone else had given me Velcro dots to stick to the window screens and hold the foam - but they never stuck to the screens very well.
There is a trick once you have the grooved foams attached to the screens -
you can use a metal paint can lid remover tool to slip in beside the foam
and grab the backside of the screen and pop it loose from the wood posts it sticks to.
(Think mine had velcro dots stapled to the wood posts and sticky side to the back of the window screen frames.)
 
hjames said:
Think the folks I bought my brown foams from said to use Silicon Tub Caulk as a glue -
someone else had given me Velcro dots to stick to the window screens and hold the foam - but they never stuck to the screens very well.
There is a trick once you have the grooved foams attached to the screens -
you can use a metal paint can lid remover tool to slip in beside the foam
and grab the backside of the screen and pop it loose from the wood posts it sticks to.
(Think mine had velcro dots stapled to the wood posts and sticky side to the back of the window screen frames.)
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Thanks for the tips! I have a paint can lid remover, and have used it for this exact purpose! I've never used it to open a paint can!
I was thinking I would use Aileen's Tacky glue for the foam grills. It's water soluble and can be removed from the screens if necessary.
Glenn
 
Got these on the furniture dollies and positioned them so I could have a nice listening session for a hour or so. Wife was out, so I did some crankin! Well, you know what they say about big is better? It is! These are really amazing. I'm mostly surprised because of their age and originality. I don't hear any shortcomings. They are very natural, you are sounding. Nothing seems exaggerated. The highs are airy and delicate, voices and mids place you right in the studio, the bass is great. Not boomy at all, but deep.
I made a few videos I'll post soon.
I also received the grills today, and they are like new! They are brown, which coincidently is the original grill foam color!
Pics to come.
 
Nice, huh? I just spent 3 hrs just enjoying listening to mine. Even the cats got into it tonite:)
They will definitely grow on you!
You sure have cleaned them up nicely - good for another 40 years!
Amazing what those old woofers can still do - both my original pairs still sound/work great (for what they are).
So glad you like them!
IMG_20181101_221639329.jpg IMG_20181101_220945443.jpg
(PS. Yes, my grills are on backwards to protect from cat scratchers.)
 
nedseg said:
Nice, huh? I just spent 3 hrs just enjoying listening to mine. Even the cats got into it tonite:)
They will definitely grow on you!
You sure have cleaned them up nicely - good for another 40 years!
Amazing what those old woofers can still do - both my original pairs still sound/work great (for what they are).
So glad you like them!
View attachment 1320694 View attachment 1320695
(PS. Yes, my grills are on backwards to protect from cat scratchers.)
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Good thinking regarding grill protection! I miss my cats, but the dog keeps us good company.
In the short time I've been listening to these, they sure are growing on me quite quickly! Loving them already!
So far, the only cleaning has been the front baffles, and a preliminary wipe down of the top lense vane. More to go, and need to refinish the tops.
 
I think it may be possible to mount foam grills on both sides of that screen for quick 'theme' changes - on my wish list to try out!
But for now the feral cat (the black/white one) still attacks them occasionally, so 'screen out' it is...otherwise the cabs are in near perfect condition.
Oh & BTW, tonite when I played a track that opened with a very realistic 'winter wind storm howling' , the ex-feral panicked and made a beeline to cover under a sofa! (Poor guy survived 2 or 3 years of below zero winters here as a kitten, so he's entitled.
So at least HE thought they sounded pretty dang real. (The other cats just looked at him as if to say 'WTF!!?").
Those cabs should clean up really nicely - and the woofs look pretty clean, too.
I just use the "JBL" linseed oil concoction on mine every 5 yrs or so, wet sanded in.
 
Spiceman50 said:
I'm afraid it might get to a point I wont be able to afford to follow you anymore:rflmao: (Humor)
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My thinking is that empty L200 cabinets (I suspect someone has a warehouse full of 'em somewhere....SLC maybe??):), with the new 2216ND woofs, plus your choice of horns and/or super tweets, plus an electronic crossover of your choice/budget may well be the cheapest & best way to get to L300 JBL quality, and pretty easily!
But then, I'm definitely prejudiced...
 
nedseg said:
My thinking is that empty L200 cabinets (I suspect someone has a warehouse full of 'em somewhere....SLC maybe??):), with the new 2216ND woofs, plus your choice of horns and/or super tweets, plus an electronic crossover of your choice/budget may well be the cheapest & best way to get to L300 JBL quality, and pretty easily!
But then, I'm definitely prejudiced...
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That may all happen some day, and maybe not. As they are now, I feel there's no need for changes, they just sound so good.
 
Absolutely - I meant that comment for those who are looking for ways to get into L200s a bit at a time, relatively cheaply.
Definitely enjoy them as they are! - it was 2-3 years I think before I did the first upgrade on mine! (40yrs ago).
 
nedseg said:
Absolutely - I meant that comment for those who are looking for ways to get into L200s a bit at a time, relatively cheaply.
Definitely enjoy them as they are! - it was 2-3 years I think before I did the first upgrade on mine! (40yrs ago).
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Certainly makes one think of the possibilities with these.
 
Glenn those are a real treasure and find...why do I have a feeling you’re going to break down and bring them to the next fest... I truly enjoyed listening to your systems..looking forward to checking out the video.. I just reorganized my kit and made a few changes which have been sonically rewarding...hope to get a few of our fest guys over soon. My next two adventures are to tweak out my already tweaked 2270 and get my studio up and running with the ASC tube traps and Westlake BBSM 10’s... that will be an interesting listen! Cheers to you my friend!
 
can someone explain to me why the lenses point down? Seems like up would make more sense when the speakers are on the ground. Down when speakers are hung from walls.
 
The sound travels horizontally through the lenses, so their up/down orientation doesn't seem to matter (except maybe a little offset as shown below).

See http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/jbl/reference/technical/lens.htm

page02.jpg
 
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Drugolf said:
Thanks Z. So they are used more for time alignment and maybe a little wider dispersion.
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Vice versa.

The intent is to increases dispersion, but it screws with the time alignment. The horn diaphragm already sits well behind the woofer dome so its sound arrives a bit later. The lens slows this down further increasing the time difference, just as extending the horn would do.

This shows the effects of the acoustic lens used on a JBL 075/2402 tweeter. Look how it redirects sound to the sides when the mic is moved off axis. Of course in this case it also does a wonderful job of flattening out the frequency band and removing that "IN YOUR FACE" peak. These are of my own design.

 
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