JBL L250 Upgrade to 250Ti

[BlackScholes]

I have a pair of L250s I recently purchased, just got them refoamed and re-assembled, they are entirely original, but I'm interested in upgrading them. They sound great as-is, but one of the mid range LE5-11s has a hole in the cone and although I can repair it, I was thinking of upgrading them to 104Hs and then also upgrading the tweeters to 044ti's. I know there is also a crossover difference and I am wondering how much of a difference there is between the L250 and 250Ti crossover and what would I have to do to make the upgrade sound right with the new drivers? How would they sound if I just swapped out the drivers and did no crossover change? I'd like to swap out the LE5-11s at very least , what would be a good replacement that wouldn't screw up the speakers if I am unable to upgrade them to 250ti's? I'd like to keep this as economical as possible.

They are excellent as-is, but this is probably going to be the only pair I come across at the price I got them for, so I'd like to make the most of them.

Thanks in advance!

 

[larsne]

You might want to ask the same question here: http://www.audioheritage.org/html/forums/forums.htm or do a search.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?16501-L250-vs.-250Ti-Crossovers

 

[juniorJBL]

I would do some more reading as there is not a way to have an L250 sound right with a 104h and the original XO.
The 104h is by far a better driver as well as the 044ti.
Read this thread if you want the best XO.
http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulle...uilding-biased-250Ti-networks&highlight=250ti

These are wonderful XO's and many from LHF have commented on the upgrades as well.

I prefer the L250 cab as it does not have the 6 black rubber gromets for the grill pegs and I think it looks cleaner. It is a classy speaker with years of enjoyment to be had!!

 

[jblnut]

Been there...all the info is on the audioheritage site. Here's what you can do:

1) Le5-11->104H/h2/h3 swap - I did this as my "first step" it's worth doing and the existing xover in the L250 will accomodate it fairly well. You may decide to stop here once you hear the difference.

2) 044->044Ti swap - this one needs the xover changed. I was never able to get the speaker to sound "right" with the Ti driver in there and the L250 network.

Back in the day, JBL sold an upgrde kit to do exactly what you want to do and it incuded both the 044ti, 104h and the upgraded 250Ti network. If you really want to end up with 250Ti's, you need the crossover network to get it to sound right. They are beyond rare though and the expert who was custom making them for folks on the Lansing site is no longer making them (very labor intensive). If you ask around and are persistent, you may find someone new to pick up the torch and build you a pair. The plans are out there and all you need is time, parts and some solder .

Best of luck - PM me if I can answer any specific questions!

jblnut

 

[grey]

Looked into this about a year ago. The CC network components added up to ~$530 sourced primarily from Solen. It should be much less if you don't want to build the charge coupled version. I can send you the parts list if you would like.

I never found the exact DCR of the inductors. The answer I got was "try to stay under .6 ohms".

I do agree that the 104h with the existing L250 networks is worth a listen.