New guy with JBL L44 score

[rczetli]

Hello,

Just got done introducing myself in the introductions group and thought I would make my first..er..second official post. Last week I scored a pair of JBL L44 Lancers at the Goodwill for $10.00! Unfortunately, the surrounds on the fullrange drivers need replaced. I have done surrounds on other speakers but I have decided since the LE-8T drivers are such a "special" driver I will have Miller Sound here in PA do them for me.

The real purpose of my post was to see if anyone has any experience with these speakers. Even with the poor surrounds I can tell these are very different sounding speakers. I have a wide range of new and vintage speakers and there is something special about the sound of these. Just wondering what others think of these and any tips for set-up and use.

The cabinets are in very good shape but judging by the scratches on one surface it appears the fullrange driver was always placed towards the floor and the passive radiator up. An email to JBL confirmed this orientation. It seemed to me I would want the fullrange driver up higher closer to ear level. Anyone have any insight on this as well?

Thanks!

 

[Zilch]

They're not fullrange, though they do reach fairly high, 10 kHz on-axis, but only 2 kHz at 45°:

http://www.jblpro.com/pub/obsolete/le8t.pdf

They garner good money on eBay; Asian collectors like them.

There's no room to fit a rational tweeter on the baffle, but it's possible to sit one on top and use the L44s just for the bass.

I've gone a bit more radical with mine:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2247049#post2247049

Read on from there for a tip from GordonW on how to get better bass from them.... :yes:

 

[3dbdown]

The LE8-T is a fine loudspeaker, and was a bread-and-butter JBL product for a long, long time.

 

[rczetli]

Thanks guys for the responses. I know in the strictest sense they are not "full range" but I guess JBL billed them as such in this design. They definitely could use more highs but I tend to be sensitive to high frequencies anyway so they actually sounded surprisingly good. I did have them upside down with the drivers at ear level so that would have certainly helped. I am anxious to get the surrounds replaced so I can hear them the way they were supposed to sound. I also have a pair of electrostatic tweeters in the shop right now that are meant to sit on top of a speaker. Might be just what they need.

I will check out the links Zilch. Thanks again!