Rehab for speakers with hard miles - JBL L166

[C Hart]

You too are a busy guy! I'm amazed that this formerly junky stuff comes out looking (and sounding) brand new. Did you ever get your LST tweeters working?

 

[GD70]

You too are a busy guy! I'm amazed that this formerly junky stuff comes out looking (and sounding) brand new. Did you ever get your LST tweeters working?

I enjoy the restoration process. Unfortunately, I tossed the tweeters as they were useless at the time. No one was restoring them. I replaced them as Roy recommended with the crossover mods noted. They sound great and I'm leaving them as is. If I stumbled on 6 original tweeters one day, then maybe I'd go back to the originals. Not a priority though.

 

[C Hart]

@Chris Brown I finally found the 035ti reference from @GordonW :

IME, the 035 sounds great in an L96, L112 or L150A, with no crossover mods necessary. I've done the conversion on each of these models before.

After listening to the 035, I would never go back, IMHO.

Regards,
Gordon.

I have a theory that JBL made a bunch of mount solutions for the same diaphragm and motor.
(Sorry don't know how to cite a particular post)

 

[GordonW]

From comparing the crossover diagrams- despite the different tweeter (044 vs 066), the L96/L112/L150A and L166 all share the exact same tweeter crossover section (4uf cap, 0.3mH choke an L-pad). That means that the 035 should work very similarly in the L166, as it did in the others...

Regards,
Gordon.

 

[C Hart]

@GordonW many thanks - that is my finding from listening also but it's good to have it confirmed by someone who has much more experience.

What are your thoughts on the woofer refoaming on the front + the glue? If at some point reconing is warranted is there a correct cone/coil/surround solution for the 122A?

 

[C Hart]

Finally an update. The veneer is on and they are installed on the test system and sounding primo. These came out surprisingly well IMO. Many thanks for all the advice.

The drivers all sound perfect, even the weirdly reconed woofer.

Thinking about the grills still. I got a great suggestion for a JBL-ish original design in another thread, and I'm also interested in L65 Jubal grill construction if anyone has a pic.