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Topic: JBL D-130 recones |
Steven Paris
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 8 Mar 2015 3:59 pm |
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So what is the deal with JBL D-130 recones? Obviously, you can't buy a NEW JBL D-130, so an older one that has been used/abused to the point of needing reconing (distorted sound, scraping voice coil, damaged/torn cone, etc.) must be repaired. An old JBL (30-40/+ years) probably needs re-magnetization of the Alnico magnet (or is the aging of that contributing to the vintage sound?)
I have seen some postings that say that reconed JBL D-130's don't sound as good as the originals. Is that true? Do some reconing parts SOUND better than others? Which ones?
Anyone tried doing the reconing themselves?
Inquiring old feeble minds want to know!
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Emmons & Peavey |
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Peter Freiberger
From:
California, USA
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Posted 8 Mar 2015 4:50 pm
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I have been very happy with Orange County Speaker, recommended by a tech friend at one of L.A.'s best studios. Their price list says $145 to recone a D130, but,
"Note: Original parts for the D130, K130, and E130 Series
are no longer available, but we have (OCS Parts) kits that
are built to the original specs."
http://www.speakerrepair.com |
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John Dowden
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 8 Mar 2015 10:29 pm
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| I wonder how much OCS charges to regauss (recharge) an alnico speaker magnet? |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 9 Mar 2015 5:28 am
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I had about a dozen old beat up JBL D120's, K120's and D130's reconed last year and never had any issues with the magnets. I used NOS recone kits and currently available recone kits and the speakers sounded as good as the intact originals. All the old JBL speakers ate the lunch of every modern speaker they were directly compared to.
Go ahead and buy any blown out K or D series (alnico) JBL and have it reconed to suit your needs. The baskets and magnets are identical.
In my experience the "sounds like a JBL" thing does not exist in reality unless you can't hear very well.
I had Ken at Mustang Speakers in Austin do the work but suggest using somebody local to you if possible.
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Bob |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 9 Mar 2015 5:31 am
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| Peter Freiberger wrote: |
I have been very happy with Orange County Speaker, recommended by a tech friend at one of L.A.'s best studios. Their price list says $145 to recone a D130, but,
"Note: Original parts for the D130, K130, and E130 Series
are no longer available, but we have (OCS Parts) kits that
are built to the original specs."
http://www.speakerrepair.com |
That is a very fair price from a very reputable place !
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Bob |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 9 Mar 2015 10:45 am
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| Anyone ever use Parts Express for recone's? |
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Steven Paris
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 9 Mar 2015 3:38 pm D-130 regaussing
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O.C. quoted me about $40 to re-gauss my old D-130. I am wondering if they would be gracious enough to MEASURE it, in terms of magnet strength, before and after the procedure....don't know
_________________
Emmons & Peavey |
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John Dowden
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 9 Mar 2015 10:31 pm
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| I had a JBL D120 reconed 6 or 7 years ago by a reputable electronics company here in New Orleans. When I initially brought it in and asked them to recone it to JBL specs, I figured it would be 150-200 bucks but by the time it was all said and done I forked over 350 bucks. Yep, I'm a sucker but to be fair at the time I didn't know much about how "fancy" a true JBL recone kit was and didn't know they were essentially throwing in an E series cone kit on a D series speaker. They offered to send it off to have it regaussed and I politely refused because by that point I didn't want to have to take out a second mortgage on the house to pay for it. |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2015 4:39 am
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we have discusssed this subject here on the forum many times concerning reconing jbl and altec speakers.
if you dont use an ORIGINAL recone kit....you dont have the same speaker. plain and simple.
there are guys who say they are having kits made that are as good as the original kits, and there are guys using voice coils from one kit and paper from others. caveat emptor.
if you use walden kits....you get an awful speaker.
ask questions. ask for performance specs. be prepared for a high price for the real deal.
good luck. |
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John Dowden
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2015 9:53 am
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So what is it specifically about walden kits that mean the recone will be awful?
It doesn't seem like JBL was doing anything outrageous with their surrounds or voice coils that modern technology couldn't easily reproduce...right? |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2015 6:13 pm
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| John Dowden wrote: |
So what is it specifically about walden kits that mean the recone will be awful?
It doesn't seem like JBL was doing anything outrageous with their surrounds or voice coils that modern technology couldn't easily reproduce...right? |
from a forum on the net...i could not say it better...
"Waldom produced aftermarket everything for all speakers. Many music stores that couldn't afford to send a guy to get JBL training so they could be an authorized JBL reconer could get everything to rebuild a JBL with CHEAP INFERIOR PARTS. Poor quality cones, crappy surrounds, above all cheap, round wire voice coils. They don't sound or react like an original JBL part. Sorry...." |
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John Dowden
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2015 10:00 pm
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| Thanks for the info! You sound like you have some personal experience for what works best, obviously JBL kits, but I'm a bit at a loss as to how you can rebuild a JBL D120F with a D120 kit when the only one JBL currently offers is the E120 cone and voice coil, which is clearly not the same as in the old D120 kit. Is there a source of original kits floating around on the black market that I'm not aware of? |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 11 Mar 2015 6:11 am
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| John Dowden wrote: |
| Thanks for the info! You sound like you have some personal experience for what works best, obviously JBL kits, but I'm a bit at a loss as to how you can rebuild a JBL D120F with a D120 kit when the only one JBL currently offers is the E120 cone and voice coil, which is clearly not the same as in the old D120 kit. Is there a source of original kits floating around on the black market that I'm not aware of? |
first of all the only difference between the F series jbl and the plain d120 is the accordion folds at the edge of the speaker with the black damping compound painted on and the very small increase in the gap at the voice coil. harvey gerst did this because when players started using more powerful amps the volume spikes twisted the paper cone and caused the coil windings to short out. the original d120 and d130 lansings were stereo speakers, NOT musical instrument speakers, but they were so good, that guys were putting them in guitar amps, BUT amp volumes in the 50s werent like the 60s. a fender showman could put out some vol!! so the F on the speaker just meant Fender, who was the biggest buyer of the units.
so...the original cones for these have not been made by jbl for many years. there is no magic supply for them. yes the newer cones will fit. are they the same? no. are they better or worse?... they are just not the same. you have to decide when you hear the recone result. |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 11 Mar 2015 9:55 am
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There are multiple sources for JBL recone kits. A decent speaker repair guy should have no problem finding something that suits your needs.
_________________
Bob |
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Cartwright Thompson
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Posted 11 Mar 2015 1:55 pm
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| It is also not impossible to find JBLs with original cones for sale. They made a lot of them and they're out there. |
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Chris Harvey
From:
California, USA
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Posted 24 Mar 2015 3:27 pm
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| Orange County Speaker. I've been using them for 30 years and they're great. They have JBL and reproduction. The reproduction sounds every bit as good as the JBL. If you want to spend the 200.00 plus for JBL go for it, but it's a waste in my opinion. |
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Duane Dunard
From:
Troy, MO. U.S.A.
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 4:07 am
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| My favorite old 1973 Sho-Bud single channel amp that everybody wanted to buy from me, got abused by low voltage at a VFW hall dance. I sent the speaker off to a very respected well known repair shop for a recone job. It lost all the tone "sweetness and silkie highs" it once had. I'll never do that again. |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 7:30 am
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It's very common for people to be disappointed when they get their reconed speaker back. It just doesn't sound like it did before. But, I'd argue that it's because it needs to be broken in, just like the cone that blew was broken in. New cones are often terrible sounding, harsh, hard, brash. If you blow a 30 year old JBL and the compare the tone of the fresh cone to that 30 year old, well broken-in cone, no contest. The new cone just needs a few hundred hours of music played thru it to come to life. I find that a good re-cone will sound great after time but never when it's brand new.
B |
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Duane Dunard
From:
Troy, MO. U.S.A.
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 8:27 am
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| Brad, I agree with your logic, but I couldn't bear playing it out anymore, and there are now bigger fish to fry on the amplifier market that tempt me into playing. It's just time to move on. Stop by for a visit if your up my way. |
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Tom Wolverton
From:
Carpinteria, CA
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 8:41 am
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Does Telonics break in their JBL recones?
_________________
To write with a broken pencil is pointless. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 8:54 am
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Duane, just hook up yer mp3 player to the amp and let it play tunes for a week or two.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Michael Hartz
From:
Decorah, Iowa, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 2:29 pm
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| Larry Dering wrote: |
| Anyone ever use Parts Express for recone's? |
I use Parts Express reconing setvice all the time for our PA system speakers. They are fast , very reasonably priced , and do a great job. I can't recommend them highly enough |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 5:05 pm
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| Thanks Michael. Finally a user report. I have purchased from Parts Express for years, but never had them do a recone. I have 2 JBL's in need, from a Fender Twin Reverb. Their price is very reasonable. |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 5:10 pm
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| Michael Hartz wrote: |
| Larry Dering wrote: |
| Anyone ever use Parts Express for recone's? |
I use Parts Express reconing setvice all the time for our PA system speakers. They are fast , very reasonably priced , and do a great job. I can't recommend them highly enough |
you have JBL D 120F or D130F speakers in your PA? |
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Steven Paris
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 26 Mar 2015 1:35 am
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I think Brad's post is quite revealing. I wonder what percentage of those who had their JBLs reconed ALSO had them regaussed; and what difference that made in their judgment of the result. The Alnico magnets in those old JBLs supposedly lose their magnetic strength slowly over time(we're talking 30-40-50 years here), so I would think that would make a difference; but I don't know. Of course that would only being in comparison to a NEW JBL---which doesn't exist. The loss of magnet strength is also apparently related to how hard/often the speaker was used. Maybe someone has a NOS D-130 for comparison?
_________________
Emmons & Peavey |
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