New Project: JBL L200 restoration

[Speedbump71]

These have been languishing under a Super Mario sheet in my shop for over a year. I purchased them at an estate sale a while back. They had been stored on a concrete floor and had some mildew, and the chipboard bases had essentially come apart.

I got them to the house, disassembled them, and hosed them down with mildewcide. They were then allowed to defunk in a temp controlled area, with an occasional cleaning by me as I moved stuff around.

All original drivers are in good condition, including the lenses etc. I will probably build a new crossover for these, and leave the old one as is somewhere.

The bases will be rebuilt out of sturdier material. I may need someone who has a good set to make a measurement or two. The outline is still easy to see on the bottoms, but I'm not sure how tall they were...4" maybe?

Anyway here is a quick glimpse of where I am starting from.

 

[EngineerNate]

Subbed.

 

[Ezd]

Looks like a good project...

 

[Nyjblbob]

The Cabinets don’t look too bad
You’re right on not using the original Xovers.
They really limit the Killer Bass that the LE15B’s are capable of. But Le15’s don’t go much above 500
Lx10’s are the ones to look for.
They are 800 cps but they really let the woofers sing Lx80’s even better but pricier
Some as my pair of LX80a’s have 3 way’s
The other slight issue is the Shorter Horns
The L200’s have.
The L300’s addresses the lower mids deficit
With longer horns at the expense of Highs
Add 077 tweets
That is why the L300’s are so sought after .
The final improvement Came in the form of
The 4343’s 4 ways that add a 10” lower midrange That were supposed to become the
L400’s Then The bean counters at JBL killed
The Consumer Line,
and left the Bigger Pro 4300 series Monitors
To music and pro equipment stores only
Effectively eliminating 95% of Dealerships selling Stereo equipment
You will have a great pair of speakers with IMHO the best Woofers ever made LE15bs
Hopefully they weren’t abused
Bobhorn

 

[hjames]

Be patient - some folks here have done some amazing things with L200s.
Search, read, compare notes- and don't rush.

 

[GD70]

Nice!
A pair of these fell into my lap a couple years ago, for free!
I restored the cabs, bought repro foam grills and correct original badges. Everything else is stock at this point and they sound fabulous!
I’ll try to take a measurement of the risers in a bit.
Cheers, Glenn

 

[djnagle]

IMHO I think they would sound much better if you replaced that long throw horn with a modern wave guide. It would mean cutting a larger hole in the baffle but I think the sound would be much smoother.

 

[Nyjblbob]

IMHO I think they would sound much better if you replaced that long throw horn with a modern wave guide. It would mean cutting a larger hole in the baffle but I think the sound would be much smoother.

Well I don’t think anyone should ever cut or alter an original Jbl Cabinet.
Nothing wrong with removing the Driver
and trying different horns but protect the Tops and place the new horn on top.
If they sound better build a matching cabinet
for them
Jmho
Bobhorn

 

[djnagle]

Totally agree Bob. In my head I was thinking that he would make a new baffle and set the stock one aside.

 

[Speedbump71]

IMHO I think they would sound much better if you replaced that long throw horn with a modern wave guide. It would mean cutting a larger hole in the baffle but I think the sound would be much smoother.

I have a set of Flair cabinets that may see some of that action........another project though.

 

[Nyjblbob]

Totally agree Bob. In my head I was thinking that he would make a new baffle and set the stock one aside.

My recollection is that the baffle on the L200’s
Are Glued in place

 

[Johnny_Law]

Congrats on the L200s! Enjoy the restoration and the reward at the end.

 

[hjames]

My recollection is that the baffle on the L200’s
Are Glued in place

Absolutely true - L200 Baffles are not removable. The woofer bolts to the front of the baffle,
and once you remove the woofer, you remove the horns and crossover through the woofer hole.
Toddalin has a cute trick to add a small box on the back of the cabinet so you can use the
long exponential horns of the L300s in the shallower L200 cabinets, which allows a lower crossover point.
I avoided that with mine by having walnut smith horns made that I rested on top of the cabinets,
because I preferred the warm sound of wooden horns to the original metal "bugle" style horns.
I initially had 2405 slot tweeters internally, then tried a pair on top of the walnut horns for a taller sound field.
I also evolved from the original 1 inch horn drivers (2425) to the larger 2" pro horn drivers - better sonics.
Mine evolved over a 7+ year period - I posted a couple pix from the later years.

But again, don't plan all the jumps and mods from day 1.
Get them working in original stock mode, and see if you like the sound there.
Some do.

 

[Nyjblbob]

Absolutely true - L200 Baffles are not removable. The woofer bolts to the front of the baffle,
and once you remove the woofer, you remove the horns and crossover through the woofer hole.
Toddalin has a cute trick to add a small box on the back of the cabinet so you can use the
long exponential horns of the L300s in the shallower L200 cabinets, which allows a lower crossover point.
I avoided that with mine by having walnut smith horns made that I rested on top of the cabinets, because I preferred the warm sound of wooden horns to the original metal "bugle" style horns.

But again, don't plan all the jumps and mods from day 1. Get them working in original stock mode, and see if you like the sound there. Some do.

Ah yes The Wood Horns can be great
But then you will need some Tweets
Ev T35’s or better yet St350’s if you don’t want to spend 500$+ for the 077’s

 

[Speedbump71]

I have a set of 075 sitting around doing nothing. I will try with them, or sell them and buy slots. Either way it will end up a 3 way effort with all JBL components eventually. Resto first, tweak after.

 

[Nyjblbob]

I have a set of 075 sitting around doing nothing. I will try with them, or sell them and buy slots. Either way it will end up a 3 way effort with all JBL components eventually. Resto first, tweak after.

That’s great
Good luck with this project
You will have great speakers

 

[toddalin]

I have a set of 075 sitting around doing nothing. I will try with them, or sell them and buy slots. Either way it will end up a 3 way effort with all JBL components eventually. Resto first, tweak after.

If you put a pair of slant plates on your 075s, you will entirely forget about the 077s. You need 4" to either side of the center of the tweeter.

 

[nedseg]

Congrats! You won't be disappointed, no matter which upgrade path(s) you take, or who's opinion about them you listen to!
My ND-1 & 077 mod'd ones are Just. Superb.
Aside from HJames and Toddalin, whose many and expert posts over the years led me to my solutions, Alobar and I (and others more recently) have posted about our 2216ND-1 upgrade mods.
Have fun & enjoy!!

 

[toddalin]

Well I don’t think anyone should ever cut or alter an original Jbl Cabinet.

L200 cabinets seem to be plentiful and if you find a pair that have been sitting outside and are damaged, I see no problem in modifing them for better sound.

The damage was repaired requiring me to fabricate the front bottom on one that was entirely gone. The finish was ruined so the damage and routed areas where the trim attaches were filled and the trim was filed round. I did the primer grey and my wife did the faux marble to go with the decor. Black grill cloths were fabricated and the side grills were dyed black to match

.

Punch a hole in the back (in the right spot), and make a cover to accomodate the longer L300 horns (3" longer). Also, spray-coat the horn with liquid rubber to dampen any possible ringing. A gutted N7000 serves as the component terminal allowing me to access the three drivers beyond the crossover and provides an Lpad for the 2405 slot tweeters. The other knob is a 100 watt Lpad for the horn. Gold terminals at the bottom connect it to the amp.

Note the the bottom of the cabinet was cut out, the cabinet raised for more internal volume and to get the speakers to a better height, and a new bottom installed. Also note the custom crossovers I made for them. These have Solen caps with Theta by-pass caps, air core inductors, 12 gauge wire, etc. The crossovers were sent to Zilch Labs and were Zilch approved.

Ports were extended and flaired.

 

[GD70]

L200 cabinets seem to be plentiful and if you find a pair that have been sitting outside and are damaged, I see no problem in modifing them for better sound.

The damage was repaired requiring me to fabricate the front bottom on one that was entirely gone. The finish was ruined so the damage and routed areas where the trim attaches were filled and the trim was filed round. I did the primer grey and my wife did the faux marble to go with the decor. Black grill cloths were fabricated and the side grills were dyed black to match

.

Punch a hole in the back (in the right spot), and make a cover to accomodate the longer L300 horns (3" longer). Also, spray-coat the horn with liquid rubber to dampen any possible ringing. A gutted N7000 serves as the component terminal allowing me to access the three drivers beyond the crossover and provides an Lpad for the 2405 slot tweeters. The other knob is a 100 watt Lpad for the horn. Gold terminals at the bottom connect it to the amp.

Note the the bottom of the cabinet was cut out, the cabinet raised for more internal volume and to get the speakers to a better height, and a new bottom installed. Also note the custom crossovers I made for them. These have Solen caps with Theta by-pass caps, air core inductors, 12 gauge wire, etc. The crossovers were sent to Zilch Labs and were Zilch approved.

Ports were extended and flaired.

Terrific pics and helpful info!