The True Sound of Classic JBL D110F's May be But a Memory Some Day!

[sean sweeney]

So, I got a pair of original JBL D110F 10" speakers a while back. And I noticed the kits in them were a lot more basic than a person may think. I was hoping to recone them, because they had a bad rub... they ALL seem to have bad rubs at this late date, if they have original kits. But that's the nature of the beast.

The reason they sounded awesome back then, and would be a revelation to this day, is that they were made with regular old paper, and aside from that, a technical precision that hadn't been accomplished yet in a loudspeaker. You can't downplay the sophistication of the motor structure, as it was like a spaceship compared to what speakers looked like before that, but the other ingredient was regular old PAPER... and that's the ingredient missing now!

Paper is about as magical as it gets... but also as BORING as it gets when you're looking for the latest or best speaker... paper seems so quaint! But it's never been superseded by any other substance, natural or synthetic, in terms of turning those raw watts into sound with the highest efficiency... The reason why the Phenolic Ring tweet is still around... the best kept secret in the industry... the stuff that's HIDDEN behind the cool looking space age polymer facades, and the stuff that blasted all of the best tones back in the day... boring old paper!

There were other things out at that time... for the price, they could have opted for them... and if you look for a kit to recone those classic speakers, Paper is the one thing you can't find when it comes to the coils. So I had to find out... I found a guy in China that I asked to make me some vintage style paper coils for me. And I got them, found the correct cones, which you STILL can find, and carefully lined everything up... and reconed a pair of these.

HOLY CRAP... now that's some sound! And... I'm seriously thinking about using paper caps next time, because these were SOOO bright!! Literally full range... to my well worn ears, they go up to where I can't hear past... so, close enough! I am really going to do the next pair with paper caps, though... try and tame down the brights. But I can't really show you what you can only find out for yourself. I have some pics of the process. I know there are people here in the states that could probably do this... but after trying more than a few, and then facing the fact that it would be crazy expensive IF I could find one, which I didn't, I found this guy, who wanted the job, and would deliver the pieces I wanted, with all the weird things I asked for.

I could even see maybe making the spider a little more compliant, but maybe not. They seemed to have everything worked out on these... 3" coils, on a 8.5" cone... I don't even think the ears on the frame made it out to ten inches... not that anyone cared. They fit into a ten inch spot in an enclosure, but they also would fit into a 8.5" square, if needs be. And the few times I played out with two of these hooked up to a 50w tube head, I saw a lot of guys looking for my amp! Me, pointing down... way down... "THAT?!" yep. Even today, it seems like some kind of black magic! LOUD magic. Full... able to cover low mids and get you down into the warm tones without breaking a sweat. I tend to think that by their very nature, they don't break a sweat... ever... they just burst into flames. Such is the nature of the beast! But a wonderful beast until that day! And now that I can get these kits, I'm not worried about that! In fact, I can't wait to do my first autopsy on one! lol.

Put this one into the "deserves the hype" bin.... or the "well, DUH"... if you actually remember them the first time around. I wasn't that lucky.

Here's a youtube video of a test with a 15hz sine, then a test through a 50 watt combo with decibel meter. The accuracy of the meter is probably debatable. But seems within the neighborhood!

 

[sean sweeney]

So those two TINY 8.5" drivers were kicking out a collective 113DB from a 50w (generously rated) head, or four el84's running at their highest recommended wattage, using an old Crate chassis for the build. Designed by Obeid, a fixture here in the STL scene and with a bit of an international presence as well! But those drivers were putting out 113 DB, and not having ear plugs in, and only able to be 6 feet away, that's as high as I wanted to go. lol.

The speakers weren't distorting at all. The amp was about ready to herniate.. but the speakers were tight as could be. I've found that the D130, D140 and other models from this period, or the "instrument" drivers, speakers made with the intent to amplify things on stage, were made with very high compliance paper cones and paper formers. The custom driver that was used in my Leslie 925 (incidentally, the loudest Leslie ever made, The horn driver being the much-sought 375/2480, about 30 pounds of alnico horn driver with a 4" diaphragm) was a custom made D140... some of which were labeled as such, and the later ones, a model number that ONLY appeared in the leslie 925. This is a picture of the speaker, relaxing at home.

Check out the HORN driver on top. The mighty 2480, the largest horn driver of the alnico era AND the original driver used for the Memorex "is it live or is it Memorex" demonstrations that were put on all across the country (until the law suits shut them down... "I couldn't hear after that 150db screech noise!" "WHAT?" ). The truth is, with a 2480 focused through a horn throat, aimed at a delicate crystal glass???? Any sound would have shattered it... it was a pretty dumb ad campaign from a technical point of view. Like... "watch what our KILLDOZER does to this homeless man's house! CRUNCH!" ...dumb, just dumb enough to be the longest lived ad campaign ever and still be echoing in our collective consciousness...

Most folks aren't aware, but the 2480, started off life as the 375, and wasn't a Lansing design! It was taken from a design drawing tucked away in a drawer at Western Electric, when Lansing was first working with them, back in the 1930s! And the 375 became part of the monster Theater rigs that JBL used to compete with the Altec voice of the theater systems, back when he was teamed with AMPEX, after WWII. So, JBL was making the baddest sound systems for theaters, the baddest maybe EVER made for. theaters, with a design he liberated from the company that still bore his surname in their name, to compete with that company and make his name. I don't think the 375 was ever put into service at Altec. So basically Lansing took the 375 from Western Electric and then proceeded to use it, in an attack up, er, from the rear... of his old employer, still using his name on their products! Someone should have called the cops! But, truth is, the 375 was quickly adopted by many police forces and public first alert systems, as sirens and alert signals... still in use to this day, along with the bullet tweets... JBL speakers had a large number of non musical/industrial uses... just as Bogen, and later Crown had amps that were used in a vast assortment of industries. And those amps are pretty much all awesome too! The Bogen MO series were all two pronged as Audio/Industrial amplification. And Bogen outpur transformers have been alleged to stay linear from 2hz-60Khz... possibly higher. Bogen is still a great bargain, for amps from that period... you won't find many with blown transformers, that's for sure.

So JBL had his own rear saved twice from the Theater sound biz... and he wasn't the last, either. Another such innovator was Cerwin/Vega, another brand that was solely in business with the pro sound companies, until the movie EARTHQUAKE came out... and like JBL before him, handled the upgrade with the famous or infamous EARTHQUAKE bins... able to blast 40hz at unsuspecting patrons... the likes of which hadn't been experienced outside of war zones! If you've ever seen Kentucky Friend Movie, the "Feel around" experience, was a lampoon of the "Sense-a-Round" system that CV made possible. It was so popular that most of the theaters kept the bins after the movie, and other movies came along that could utilize the subs... until... many theaters started having issues with the buildings foundations... and CEILINGS... as in bits of the ceilings falling on theater-goers... so, the chain theaters pulled them all out about a year later, scared of law suits, and the bass disappeared once again... coming back very slowly, as tech and ceilings improved at a gradual pace. And Cerwin Vega used that head of steam to produce enough low-fi Dorm Rumblers to start global warming off with a THUD! Where JBL brought sound UP, OUT and into the light... CV, took it down low, where the sun don't shine... lol. Some CV speakers were ok, but the idea was always that they had BIG thud!

But the 140 style driver included in this monster was made with a kraft paper former. No different than the other speakers. And in this Leslie could be expected to handle close to 200 watts of bass and mids... They were crossed over electronically in the 925, not passively, so probably no sweat! I sold the cab, but kept both of the JBL's because the church would NEVER need all of that juice! It was being miked, backstage, and did perfectly well, or BETTER with some vintage Jensen's in it (same as the stock leslies, which have the iconic sound)... The JBL's wanted to stay... lol. So now I have two 2480 horn drivers and two of the custom D140/E140... enough alnico (JBL plutonium) to overthrow a government... and just in time! lol

How's that for a stroll through the great wide random!

 

[Mr Boochie]

What amp or cab do you have those D110Fs in? My Tremolux cab has K110s. They are bright and loud.

Thanks!