What are these JBL's called? History??

[orionkc]

I just picked up a near mint set of these cabinets sans drivers and crossovers for $10.00. Mine will only hold a 12" woofer which was originally the D123 and the 077 Slot tweeters with N2400 crossover. I am going to try and piece something together with different drivers, tweeters or horns and crossovers. I don't think I could afford to replace the original drivers. Does anybody have any idea what this model of JBL was called. I assume the cabinets came in a at least two different sizes because the one in the Ebay link has 15" D130 woofers and the ones in mine were 12" D123 Woofers. Both configurations had 077 Slot tweeters. The inside dimensions of the cut-outs are: 11" Diameter for the woofer and the bottom cut-out is 2"H x 12"W x 1"D I have some Electrovoice ST350B's that I could get to fit in the bottom cutout with some small modifications.

EBAY: http://cgi.ebay.com/JBL-speaker-d13...ryZ50597QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

MY CABINETS

 

[markus]

not sure what the cabinet was called . . . my guess is it's a 'kit' purchased way-back-when . . . like parts express, you could buy the drivers, and then the cabinet that matches your wife's decor

I've seen both 12's and 15's in the same size cabinet .... speakers of this era weren't all that picky.

does your box have any port ? either way, you could tailor it to whatever drivers you end up using. I'd figure out what size your interior volume is, and go from there :thmbsp: Are you sure there's only a 12 inch hole ? many of these old cabinets would have a 15 inch opening, and then a spacer ring to allow a 12 . . . I had a (mono) Jensen Cabinet like this a while back . . .

 

[orionkc]

not sure what the cabinet was called . . . my guess is it's a 'kit' purchased way-back-when . . . like parts express, you could buy the drivers, and then the cabinet that matches your wife's decor

I've seen both 12's and 15's in the same size cabinet .... speakers of this era weren't all that picky.

does your box have any port ? either way, you could tailor it to whatever drivers you end up using. I'd figure out what size your interior volume is, and go from there :thmbsp: Are you sure there's only a 12 inch hole ? many of these old cabinets would have a 15 inch opening, and then a spacer ring to allow a 12 . . . I had a (mono) Jensen Cabinet like this a while back . . .

Pics added and there is no port and really don't know what to call it as the tweeter which fits in the bottom cutout will not completley take up all the space in the cutout which will not really be a sealed cabinet.

 

[markus]

Pics added and there is no port and really don't know what to call it as the tweeter which fits in the bottom cutout will not completley take up all the space in the cutout which will not really be a sealed cabinet.

actually, that slot is the port . . . lots of the old (50's & 60's) woofers used a slot port, or just a simple circular hole for cabinet tuning (if you want to call it that )

those cabinets are BEAUTIFUL btw . . .

they'd probably sound best with a vintage coaxial (EV / Jensen / University) - that way you could retain the slot port . . . course, it appears the baffle can be removed, in which case you could cut a fresh baffle with whatever arrangement you wanted. . .

with fresh grille cloth, they'll be top notch :thmbsp:

 

[orionkc]

actually, that slot is the port . . . lots of the old (50's & 60's) woofers used a slot port, or just a simple circular hole for cabinet tuning (if you want to call it that )

those cabinets are BEAUTIFUL btw . . .

they'd probably sound best with a vintage coaxial (EV / Jensen / University) - that way you could retain the slot port . . . course, it appears the baffle can be removed, in which case you could cut a fresh baffle with whatever arrangement you wanted. . .

with fresh grille cloth, they'll be top notch :thmbsp:

Thanks Marcus...This may be a stupid question, but if I found a decent vintage coaxil I wouldn't need a crossover would I? I really like the Electrovoice ST-350 B tweeters and can find a two way crossover from the stuff I have removed from other cabinets, install a decent set of 12" woofers and be good to go? If you have any ideas I'm all ears !!:yes:

 

[markus]

Thanks Marcus...This may be a stupid question, but if I found a decent vintage coaxil I wouldn't need a crossover would I? I really like the Electrovoice ST-350 B tweeters and can find a two way crossover from the stuff I have removed from other cabinets, install a decent set of 12" woofers and be good to go? If you have any ideas I'm all ears !!:yes:

that is not a stupid question

many (vintage) coaxials have the crossover hidden under the rear bell cover . . . . some are 'outboard' . . .

your idea for the ST-350 B + 12 incher sounds good to me - if Zilch sees this thread, I'm sure he'll suggest some implentation of the 'econo-waveguide' - lotsa AK'ers have been having lotsa fun with them :thmbsp:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=150939

I'd go with a couple of these if I were you :

(early EV 12trxb's :thmbsp I'm kinda a vintage freak

 

[vinylisfinal]

i know who made the cabinets

those are acousticraft cabinets. i had a pair.. the internals are basically c-38 speakers with a different horn. great find!

 

[markus]

those are acousticraft cabinets. i had a pair.. the internals are basically c-38 speakers with a different horn. great find!

YA KNOW. . .. I was up in the air about what to get for my next tatoo .. . you sir just decided it for me :thmbsp:

VACUUM TUBE ! I think I'll go with a 45 globe . .. . anatomically correct :scratch2:

those cabinets are sure nice . . . someoine sold a (JBL loaded) pair at the last MIT Flea :yes:

 

[archie2]

That is the original cabinet sold separately by JBL to house the D123 drivers. That slot is the port. The D123 was/is an extended range shallow basket 12 inch driver. They came in both 8 and 16 ohm resistance with the 16 ohm being the more desirable. The one you have is the C 38, upper right corner in the linked page.
http://www.lansingheritage.org/images/jbl/catalogs/1956/page04.jpg

 

[Arkay]

Beautiful cabinets! Bound to have much higher WAF than the usual speakers, too. :yes: :thmbsp:

I'd suggest that you try cleaning the grill cloths first, before thinking about replacing them. Some of the spray-on type dry cleaners and carpet-cleaning sprays can do a great job of reviving old grill cloth like that. Test it in an inconspicuous spot first (any overlap on the back of the baffle to test?) for color-fastness, but usually there is no problem.

If it they were mine, I'd hope to eventually restore them with original-type drivers, even if only to hear what they sounded like... but if the price of the drivers is prohibitive, it makes sense to put whatever you reasonably can in them, first. Please come back and tell us what you eventually do with them. Good luck! :thmbsp: