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JBL L7's: 2 questions

lt.slothr0p

lt.slothr0p

Member
hi gang,
i have a line on a pair of JBL L7's on my local CL but i have two quick questions. first, the seller says that one cone is "blown out." how hard will it be to get my hands on a proper replacement?

my second question is whether these speakers will be a good match for the other pieces of my main. i listen mostly to vinyl and i listen to music of all kinds. i've got a nice vintage grado cart, with the 8mz stylus upgrade, and i use a pioneer sx-850 amp. will L7's be a good fit?

thanks!
 
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Hopefully its just the foam that needs replacment. I have heard many call that a "blown" speaker. That is a pretty modest receiver but it should be enough if you don't listen very loud.
 
+1 on the foam idea. I've had dozens of people tell me about their "blown woofers". That's one way to get a good deal because they automatically assume the speaker is now garbage bound and just want to get rid of it.

Do you have any pictures of the speakers?
 
Be aware that, if it's not just the foam, those drivers can be very difficult to find. Just saying.

To your second question, I say Yes. But the more power you give them, the better.
 
Which cone? The woofer? As far as I'm aware OEM cone kits and titanium dome kits for the L7 are no longer available from JBL.

Because of the side-firing woofers, the L7s can be difficult to position properly in some rooms. They were designed using high current/high damping amps, and work best when used with amplifiers that meet those specs. Amplifier power is largely dependent on the cubic air volume of the room vs. preferred listening level. JBL recommends an amplifier double the output of the maximum continuous watts RMS that the speaker can sustain. That's probably in the 200-300 watt range.

The 'L' series were an attempt by JBL to please classical music and classic jazz fans. When setup properly, they do quite well with these genres of music. They are far less forward sounding than traditional JBL studio monitors.
 
In my all be it brief history of dealing with the L7 speakers, a pair was brought to me with a "rattle". Upon inspection the very large woofer inductor was swinging around inside the cabinet! The mount broken. I resecured the wires and remounted the inductor and all was good. The other cabinet was close to letting go and secured the inductor as well. Something to be cautious of if ever dropped or mishandled.
They sound vry good when all is well, but o like power to make them "bloom".
DC
 
4343 said:
Control monitors are designed to be a little forward. Studio monitors are designed to be as neutral as possible.
Click to expand...

Please allow me to clarify. They are more laid back than either Control or Studio monitors. (And, not all control monitors are forward in their mid-range.)
 
The L7 is a wonderful speaker that certainly works better with more power (what speaker doesn't?).
The only driver in the system that has normal foam surrounds is the side-firing 12-inch LE120H-1. The others have some odd mixture of fabric and butyl rubber. I've not seen it in L7s but similar drivers in the L3 seem to commonly separate the surround from the cone, or the surround itself splits.

These are setup for bi-wiring and bi-amping (with proper mods internally) using two pair of input terminals and maybe you'll just get lucky and the straps between the input terminal are missing, or corroded, or otherwise not making contact and the seller doesn't understand how to hook them up.

I've used the L7 in a very unforgiving small-room arrangement and have been quite pleased with their performance. Obviously any speaker is susceptible to placement but as the owner of two-pair of L7s, one L5, an L3, and L1, I truly believe the placement issue with the L7 is way overblown. Don't pass them by simply because you think they won't work in your room . . . until you try them. They are one of the most under-appreciated and misunderstood JBLs ever.
 
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