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JBL L7 vs L150

I’m set up to audition the L7‘s Tuesday night. The owner tells me his father is the original owner having bought these at circuit city in the mid 90s. As far as he knows, none of the drivers have been refurbished. If that is correct, I’m thinking the surrounds either need to be replaced or very soon will need to replaced.

I’ve spent half of today reading the various postings on the inter-web, and have noted that if any drivers need the surrounds replaced, it will be the side mounted woofers.

I have noted a lot of pictures of the main grills removed, but don’t think I’ve seen anything that would allow close inspection of the woofers. Do these grills simply pull off? Are they harder to remove? I want to make sure I get a good inspection of the condition of those drivers.

Anything else I should be on the lookout for?

Thank you!!
 
The front drivers have butyl rubber surrounds. I have seen some (mostly L3 for some reason) where the surrounds have shriveled up or detached. I have seven-pairs of these L-series speakers and none have had any surround issues. The side-firing 12-inch has conventional foam surround and can or will deteriorate. I haven't had it happen yet and these are already well-past the normal 20-year timeframe for normal surround crumbling.

But they are easy to check. Straighten a paper-clip and then bend it to form a ring for your finger to pull. Then bend a bit less than 1/4-inch of the end into a 90º angle. Slip it in the slot between the cabinet and the woofer grille and rotate it 90º to hook the grille, then gently pull the cover off. The pins are built into the cover. There are four of them. I believe they are at around 10, 2, 4, and 8-o'clock position but I don't remember exactly. Could be 12, 3, 6, and 9. Either way, they should only take a gentle pull working your way around to remove the grill without damaging the woofer surround. Don't be surprised if it looks intact, and you probably don't want to poke at it to see if it will crumble unless the owner want to stick his finger in it!

Good luck. Prepare to not be overwhelmed if their owner has a low-power amp driving them. The can take as much power as you can give them and will only sound better they more they get.
 
Aircraftman said:
I’m set up to audition the L7‘s Tuesday night. The owner tells me his father is the original owner having bought these at circuit city in the mid 90s. As far as he knows, none of the drivers have been refurbished. If that is correct, I’m thinking the surrounds either need to be replaced or very soon will need to replaced.

I’ve spent half of today reading the various postings on the inter-web, and have noted that if any drivers need the surrounds replaced, it will be the side mounted woofers.

I have noted a lot of pictures of the main grills removed, but don’t think I’ve seen anything that would allow close inspection of the woofers. Do these grills simply pull off? Are they harder to remove? I want to make sure I get a good inspection of the condition of those drivers.

Anything else I should be on the lookout for?

Thank you!!
Click to expand...
I have owned a pair of L5s that I picked up around 2010, give or take. They have been well used every day I have had them since they reside in the family room in a 5.1 system. All the drivers look as good as new and haven't given me a bit of trouble in the past 14-15 years I have owned them. I am sure that none of the drivers have ever been replace in the 30+ years they have existed.
 
IMG_3968.jpeg

I got the L7!!!!!

I am so excited. I never even looked at the L150s primarily because these just blew me away (and the L150 seller said the surrounds are probably close to needing replacing, which means they absolutely need replacing)

They are an absolutely phenomenal condition with just a couple of small marks on the cabinets that will either clean up or go away with a furniture pen. Cabinets are rated a 9/10.

Grill cloth not so good with a couple of tears and a hole or two. Nothing too bad but far from perfect. Grills are rated 7/10.

He demoed them for me in a rather small room with about 100 W per channel of Japanese power, and they still sounded fantastic. Super tight base and smooth vocals sold me. Can’t wait to hear them in my large room with 200 W per channel from the McIntosh.

Quick question they came with a flimsy plastic base that the seller said he never used. His intentions were to spike the speakers, but never got around to it. He had them flat on his hardwood floor. That’s the way I’m gonna try them this weekend, but was just curious about feedback on the plastic bases. Does anybody use those?

Also, anybody have a source for new grill cloth. I’m not a sewer and looks like the way the covers are configured it’s not going to be easy to replace the cloth.

He was asking $1000. But when he said I’ll drop it to $900 if you take them now, the deal was done!! Not sure if I overpaid, but I am super happy at this point with my new JBL‘s in fantastic condition.

Probably take me a day or two to get them hooked up and a little listening time in front of them, but will report back soon.

Thank you everyone for the good advice that led me to this point!!
 
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Aircraftman said:
View attachment 3253020

I got the L7!!!!!

I am so excited. I never even looked at the L150s primarily because these just blew me away (and the L150 seller said the surrounds are probably close to needing replacing, which means they absolutely need replacing)

They are an absolutely phenomenal condition with just a couple of small marks on the cabinets that will either clean up or go away with a furniture pen. Cabinets are rated a 9/10.

Grill cloth not so good with a couple of tears and a hole or two. Nothing too bad but far from perfect. Grills are rated 7/10.

He demoed them for me in a rather small room with about 100 W per channel of Japanese power, and they still sounded fantastic. Super tight base and smooth vocals sold me. Can’t wait to hear them in my large room with 200 W per channel from the McIntosh.

Quick question they came with a flimsy plastic base that the seller said he never used. His intentions were to spike the speakers, but never got around to it. He had them flat on his hardwood floor. That’s the way I’m gonna try them this weekend, but was just curious about feedback on the plastic bases. Does anybody use those?

Also, anybody have a source for new grill cloth. I’m not a sewer and looks like the way the covers are configured it’s not going to be easy to replace the cloth.

He was asking $1000. But when he said I’ll drop it to $900 if you take them now, the deal was done!! Not sure if I overpaid, but I am super happy at this point with my new JBL‘s in fantastic condition.

Probably take me a day or two to get them hooked up and a little listening time in front of them, but will report back soon.

Thank you everyone for the good advice that led me to this point!!
Click to expand...
Congratulations! I spent some quality time with mine tonight while I had the house ro myself, and they still impress the hell out of me. I have the plastic bases on mine and they work fine, but I have the parts express spike kits to put on them when I have the chance mainly because I'm not crazy about the way the plastic base looks.

Let us know what you think after you get them hooked up to some big, high quality power. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Enjoy!:beerchug:
BTW you didn't overpay. Depending on what the used market is like in your area it's probably a pretty fair price. I got mine for less than that because the St.Louis area is a tough market, but at the end of the day if you're happy with your deal and the speakers that's all that matters.
 
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Aircraftman said:
Mids and soundstage winner - L7!
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Glad you found what appealed to you! You members here have forgot more than I ever know. Curious with one question, what was the seller asking for the L150's? I purchased mine new in January 1980 (serviceman special overseas). A daily listener to this day.
UfgTWaJh.jpg
 
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bwagss said:
Glad you found what appealed to you! You members here have forgot more than I ever know. Curious with one question, what was the seller asking for the L150's? I purchased mine new in January 1980 (serviceman special overseas). A daily listener to this day.
UfgTWaJh.jpg
Click to expand...
He was asking $1K, but both the woofer and the passive needed reforming. Cozy little set up you have there!!
 
bwagss said:
Glad you found what appealed to you! You members here have forgot more than I ever know. Curious with one question, what was the seller asking for the L150's? I purchased mine new in January 1980 (serviceman special overseas). A daily listener to this day.
UfgTWaJh.jpg
Click to expand...
No affiliation. Just a "ballpark."
losangeles.craigslist.org

JBL L150A - electronics - by owner - sale - craigslist

Type: 3-way, 4 speaker bass reflex floorstanding speaker Chassis: Bass Speaker: Diameter: 300 mm Voice Coil: 76 mm copper magnet weight: 4,7 kg Flux Density: 1.05 Tesla (10,500 Gauss) Sensitivity:...
losangeles.craigslist.org losangeles.craigslist.org
 
Thanks Aircraftman. At times I've thought on purchasing another set of L-150 for the sunroom on other side of house. Dreaming I guess....

Thanks toddalin. Always good to know they are available even if the L-150A. Not bragging since it was 44 years ago, but I paid $756 (tax free) for my L-150 pair and JBL also drop shipped them from factory to my parents home in Ohio for free. It was a special JBL was running at time while in Okinawa for the new L-150. They only offered a brochure at time which I still have. I'm like a pack rat.
 
Aircraftman said:
Mids and soundstage winner - L7!
Click to expand...
I've often described the L7 as having a soundstage you could walk around in. Something to do with the perfect placement of the tweeter and a simple geometric time-alignment. My newly re-purposed L150As are in the unenviable position of sitting right next to a pair of 250ti, which I have discovered is truly an unfair comparison. To be fair, and using cost as a metric, my 250ti pair cost more than what I paid for L7, L5, L96, L150A, and 240ti—combined!
:yikes:
Love them all!
 
Aircraftman said:
He was asking $1K, but both the woofer and the passive needed reforming. Cozy little set up you have there!!
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ah. past few years standard ready-to-go price is $1500. you can pay $1200. a grand + refoam aint bad.

conrgats, my man! i wish you many hours, days years and more of excellent sound.
 
ceylon said:
L150 recommended 300WPC. not sure about the L7.
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JBL's maximum amplifier power for the L150 is listed as 300-wpc. That's also what they recommend after saying 10-wpc is enough for "comfortable listening levels". Strange.

For the L7 that same range is 35-450-wpc. Though the L7 I believe is rated at 6-ohm versus the L150A at 8-ohm. Rough guess tells me the same 300-watt amp on the L150A might put out 350 or better on the L7. :dunno:

I'm currently running both with a Crown Studio Reference-II rated at 355-wpc into 8-ohm load. As expected, they both sound great though, to be honest, they both sound great on my 50-year-old Crown D150, or my Crown Power Line Three, too.

Enjoy your music!
 
BMWCCA said:
JBL's maximum amplifier power for the L150 is listed as 300-wpc. That's also what they recommend after saying 10-wpc is enough for "comfortable listening levels". Strange.
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yea, its strange. funny, too. the L150 manual states, "for reproduction of the full dynamic range of contemporary recordings at high volume, an amplifier delivering up to 300 watts continuous sine wave per channel will provide optimal performance."

thats a way of saying, these speakers will make sound if you plug them into any amp, but they need 300WPC to perform as intended. they want to sell speakers so they hide it, sort of, behind that wishy washy stuff.
 
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ceylon said:
yea, its strange. funny, too. the L150 manual states, "for reproduction of the full dynamic range of contemporary recordings at high volume, an amplifier delivering up to 300 watts continuous sine wave per channel will provide optimal performance."

thats a way of saying, these speakers will make sound if you plug them into any amp, but they need 300WPC to perform as intended. they want to sell speakers so they hide it, sort of, behind that wishy washy stuff.
Click to expand...

It's important to keep in mind that the 128H uses a voice coil that is rated for 100W of power handling.
The entire speaker will obviously use more, and peaks will need to be taken into account. I think that they absolutely benefit from a good amp but I don't think that they necessarily "need" 300w.

I had my L150s powered by a pair of bridged Yamaha P2200/P2201 amps which are good for ~700w into 8 ohms, but I switched to just powering them with my Yamaha M-2 (240wpc) because they really didn't seem to benefit from more. The M-2 still provides them with plenty of headroom. I still have my JBL L100T speakers on the bridged P2200/P2201 amps though. They are output monsters and the 200w voice coil in the 2214H woofer can handle even more power than an LE14H (150w).
 
Chris Brown said:
It's important to keep in mind that the 128H uses a voice coil that is rated for 100W of power handling.
The entire speaker will obviously use more, and peaks will need to be taken into account. I think that they absolutely benefit from a good amp but I don't think that they necessarily "need" 300w.
Click to expand...
they spec at 300WPC for optimum performance
Chris Brown said:
I had my L150s powered by a pair of bridged Yamaha P2200/P2201 amps which are good for ~700w into 8 ohms, but I switched to just powering them with my Yamaha M-2 (240wpc) because they really didn't seem to benefit from more. The M-2 still provides them with plenty of headroom. I still have my JBL L100T speakers on the bridged P2200/P2201 amps though. They are output monsters and the 200w voice coil in the 2214H woofer can handle even more power than an LE14H (150w).
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i had a marantz 2325 (125WPC) powering my L150, then a crown CE2000 (400WPC @ 8ohms) and now van alstine fet valve 600R (300WPC).
 
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