I'd say you're right about the mismatch. Proceed carefully, and good luck.
My quest to bring back my stereo from 40+ years ago is almost complete!
- Thread starter Alobar
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- jbl l200 kenwood 700 l65
The new transistors were all put in yesterday so unless something unexpected happens I ain't going back inside the M for a good long while!
Oh, whoops. Cool, man, rock on!
Thanks, Been doing nothing but listening to music the last 2 days! I see you are a Marantz fan. My first amp I ever had was a Marantz. It was a integrated 60 wpc but I have not seen much mentioned about this particular model. It was an 1120, at least I think it was. I bought it new in 73 and had it for a few years before going with this kenwood. Do you have any knowledge of the 1120? One of the things I remember about it other than the slider tone controls was the heat sink was exposed to the back. It sometimes would get hot and go into some sort of protection. I remember when I brought it to a party it was kicking off and we put a Sixpack of frozen beer on the fins to keep the music rocking! That was when I decided I needed more power!
DrumminDaddy
Hit it, Baby !!
Do you have any knowledge of the 1120? One of the things I remember about it other than the slider tone controls was the heat sink was exposed to the back. It sometimes would get hot and go into some sort of protection. I remember when I brought it to a party it was kicking off and we put a Sixpack of frozen beer on the fins to keep the music rocking! That was when I decided I needed more power!
...or more beer!
Hehe...you made a good choice.
Kneedeepinit
Super Member
i love the JBL L200's I have. Like you, it was a bit of work to allow them to reach their potential. One thing I added was sub woofers for each side. This allowed me to back off the lower end requirements on the L200 woofers. It made a huge positive difference. If you can borrow a sub from another system or a friend, I would give this a shot.
I also added tweeters but I do not think they made a huge impact. I have them turned down to the point of being almost inaudible and that is where I found the best overall sound.
I also added tweeters but I do not think they made a huge impact. I have them turned down to the point of being almost inaudible and that is where I found the best overall sound.
Funny, this is bringing up lots of memories of growing up so far north. Most everyone's cars smelled like beer because when you forgot to bring it inside, at -40 they often would explode and spray the seats, headliner and windshield with brew! Not only was it a waste of beer, but the smell might give the cops something to investigate....or more beer!
Hehe...you made a good choice.
I have thought a lot about using subs. I have heard a lot of positive things about using them with the L200. Are yours the L200 B's or the original with the LE15B woofer? If yours are the originals have you tried plugging off a port with a 4" plumbers plug? I tried it and then took it off. I am thinking about trying it again now that I have the Kenwood back in the lineup.
The "super" tweeters just tend to fill in where the horn starts to drop off. I found it a big improvement, but I don'tt run them much more than about 40% on the Lpad. I think at that frequency it really depends on one's hearing. For no good reason I can think of I still have very good hearing (although my wife disagrees!) and found the 077's a good addition.
Kneedeepinit
Super Member
I have the L200B.
The reason why adding a sub works is that music has changed since the 70's. Back then very little was produced with frequencies lower than 40-50 hz. There was very little reason to make a speaker go down to 20 hz if the music did not. I found this out when I purchased my first set of la scala a few years ago.
BTW, nice set up and any advice is just adding a cherry onto a real nice pie. I would be happy leaving mine stock but I spent a lot of time chasing that last 1-2%
The reason why adding a sub works is that music has changed since the 70's. Back then very little was produced with frequencies lower than 40-50 hz. There was very little reason to make a speaker go down to 20 hz if the music did not. I found this out when I purchased my first set of la scala a few years ago.
BTW, nice set up and any advice is just adding a cherry onto a real nice pie. I would be happy leaving mine stock but I spent a lot of time chasing that last 1-2%
I have noticed that a lot with music produced recently, by that, say around 2000. My L200's do struggle with the added lower frequencies and I keep the low frequency filter on at 36hz. Mine are going to be an ongoing project with experimentation. So far most of my money has gone towards getting my amp up to snuff but now that is done I will work more on the 200's. I raised mine up about 6" and it did make an improvement. Going to try raising them another 6 and see if it gets better. Really don't want to go higher than that for a number of reasons tho, including the hi frequency drivers would then be higher than ear level .
Thanks, he hadn't listened to a tune through it in 10 years, I'll bet. just sitting there set up in his living room with the 700C blown. His wife I got the feeling doesn't care for his taste in music (piano) and he is relegated to the ipod and headgear... Tragic! He is a great guy tho and he wanted me to have it back. I guess he figured it was mine to begin with, but after 30 years I never wanted to lay any sort of claim.
Vincentz
Marantz Maniac
Thanks, Been doing nothing but listening to music the last 2 days! I see you are a Marantz fan. My first amp I ever had was a Marantz. It was a integrated 60 wpc but I have not seen much mentioned about this particular model. It was an 1120, at least I think it was. I bought it new in 73 and had it for a few years before going with this kenwood. Do you have any knowledge of the 1120? One of the things I remember about it other than the slider tone controls was the heat sink was exposed to the back. It sometimes would get hot and go into some sort of protection. I remember when I brought it to a party it was kicking off and we put a Sixpack of frozen beer on the fins to keep the music rocking! That was when I decided I needed more power!
Ha ha! Luckily I've never had that problem with beer freezing in my truck and exploding. Not in Vancouver, maybe once when I lived in Wisconsin. Only in the house freezer when I forget about them.
I don't have any experience with the 1120. I have a 2325 currently that can handle the Altec 19s I have quite easily. No need for frozen beer. Well, at least not for the amp.
I mainly use a 60w PP tube amp with them now as well as a 15W SET amp when it gets too hot out to use the 60w. Can't afford a Marantz tube amp, dam it!
I was looking for JBL L200s or 300s, but found the Altecs and have been very happy. I've heard L200s that were converted to L300's before and fell in love with their sound. I also have a Kenwood 600, which sounds very nice with the Altecs. Love the phono section of the 600, I'm sure the 700C must sound pretty damn close if not identical.
mjw21a
Super Member
Here are a few pictures. Excuse the rather trashy component setup as it is all temporary and a much nicer setup will happen once we get the flooring down. I am building the house while we are living in it.. This is not recommended..
I haven't had a chance to clean up the walnut on the JBL's other than to give them a good going over with the vac. You can see that they are in pretty good shape tho, for 41 year olds!
Woah, I wish I had a system like that. Beck, even now I'd love that. That is your system from back then is awesome dude
I've never had the opportunity to listen to L300's before but they must be pretty incredible. The L200, which are sort of the forerunner to the L300 can be made to get fairly close to the sound of the L300 but not without a lot of work and money. The woofer must be changed out to what was in the L300, and then the horn has to be swapped out to the longer L300 version as well in order for it to sound right with that configuration. Then in order to fit that longer horn into an 200 cab a portion of the back must be bumped out several inches for the horn/compression driver to fit. Then another 3" hole needs to be drilled into the baffle board to accommodate the 2405/077 tweeter. Then after all of that an entirely new crossover needs to be built.. It is all a bit too much for me, at least at this time. For one thing, these cabinets are in really good condition. The walnut veneer is very good still after all these years, the s/n's are consecutive etc. I basically can't bring myself to go cutting big holes into them. It would involve a lot of ebay transactions for me to get the right components, and those likely would need to be sent to some sort of JBL repair center for rebuild. Then the shipping here to Alaska is a PITA. I do have the first step in the possibility of these becoming an L300 someday with the 077 tweeters which I have stolen/borrowed from my L65's which are now in storage. I didn't drill a big hole to mount but instead bought these brackets and just a few small holes to route the wire through to the back. Adding these really did enhance the high end tho.
I wasn't sure I would be going back into vinyl but my generous brothers each gave me a Technics TT and I have them both plugged into the two phono inputs in the 700C. It is a nice clean setup that sounds great! I've heard good things about the 600 too, it must really drive the Altecs quite easily!
Woah, I wish I had a system like that. Beck, even now I'd love that. That is your system from back then is awesome dude
Thanks! Not that common to manage to hang onto anything this long. Just lucky I guess.