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Wow, pleasantly surprised by JBL L19 2 ways.

fdejong

fdejong

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Just finished refoaming the two woofers on some JBL L19s. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. I Googled a little and didn't find much about these, so I was expecting something ok, but nothing great.

Well, I'm surprised! Plugged them in, starting playing. Nice crisp bass and that unassuming little tweeter sings :)

Any other L19 owners out there?
 
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Funny you should ask, I just hooked up my L19's about a half hour ago. I have always thought they sounded great! They are powered by a 6T9 tube amp with the Bottlehead Quickie battery powered preamp. My L19's have been refoamed, I replaced the caps, resistor, wiring and inputs. The difference was like night and day. Always happy to hear from another L19 owner. Check this forum for more info on the L19's, everybody seems to be very pleased with them. Great sounding and very affordable.
 
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Good idea - I think a recap of the crossover is definitely in order. I had been listening to my ADS L810 exclusively and didn't think these would match up, but they do!

Cabinets on these are pretty beat up, but I'm going to take some sandpaper, stain and oil to them and they should spruce up quite nicely.
 
I have a very nice pair of L19s as well. I got to hear mine before the surrounds went south and I haven't refoamed them yet.

Scott
 
I have a pair thrown in with a deal I made a guy on some other JBLs. Wasn't expecting much from them but I was wrong. Once refoamed, I could not tell their sound apart from much more expensive and sought after speakers. They are keepers.
 
Still listening to mine. Just compared them back to back with some also newly refoamed EPI Model 5. The 'highs' are somewhat comparable but wow, the bass from those 8" (?) jbl woofers is amazing and blows the EPIs away.

Going to compare to my old favs the ADS L810s tomorrow. I'm worried...
 
When I google it, I find a ton of stuff :) They are a nice little speaker with a lot of fans.
 
Sir.Byrd said:
I own them, and yes, they are nice!
Click to expand...

Funny - I just googled JBL L19 and found your restoration thread. Mine cabs are in bad shape too, but you've inspired me to get out the sander and a can of black spray paint.

Then, I'll need to recap the xovers too.
 
btw- here are some pics. Anyone know what to do with the veneer that has chipped off?

l191.JPG

l192.JPG
 
fdejong said:
btw- here are some pics. Anyone know what to do with the veneer that has chipped off?
Click to expand...

I filled with stainable wood putty and the obviousness went away after staining and varnishing. Another option would be to re-veneer them. It would be very cheap and easy to do these because there is no veneer on the front or back and they are pretty small.
 
You found Sir Byrd's resto thread, I would go for it as well. As he pointed out they are small so not a huge project.

It will be very rewarding and it will be for a speaker that is well worth it. BTW I have had mine since new and they are one of those "I will never get rid of" speakers. If you tire of them they are easy to store.

Mine are setup in my 2 channel room and when I have people over everyone always think the big one's (Ewaves) are playing.:thmbsp:

Keep us updated!! with pics of course.:thmbsp:
 
I've just got a pair of L19s and an nad 3150 integrated amp. Using my old Sony universal player with these and they sound amazing. I don't see any reason to screw with the crossovers. I'm going to polish the wood finish and rock on.
 
PLammers said:
I've just got a pair of L19s and an nad 3150 integrated amp. Using my old Sony universal player with these and they sound amazing. I don't see any reason to screw with the crossovers. I'm going to polish the wood finish and rock on.
Click to expand...
Inspect the surrounds carefully, unless they have been replaced, you don't want to be rocking on when a surround crumbles and ends up blowing the VC.
 
PLammers said:
I've just got a pair of L19s and an nad 3150 integrated amp. Using my old Sony universal player with these and they sound amazing. I don't see any reason to screw with the crossovers. I'm going to polish the wood finish and rock on.
Click to expand...
Reason to mess with the crossovers? They aren't crossing over the right frequency anymore, not to mention adding distortion. Hope you refoamed 'em.
 
Small to mid sized two ways with 8 in woofers are just about my favorite type of speaker. Starting with my Nova 6s and to Marantz Imperial 5s then KLH 17s and Small Advents. Just seems to be the sweet spot for me. I need to hear a pair of these JBLs.
 
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