JBL L220 Labor of Love
 

Good evening friends,
Most who know me here know that I am, and pretty much always have been, a JBL lover. I became hooked as a teenager when I heard a pair of Lancer 99’s at a friend’s house. From that moment, I just had to own JBL…but they were expensive for my young pocketbook. Then in 1977 I managed to snag a new pair of L100’s on sale at a local stereo shop. (what JBL lover here has not owned a pair of L100’s?). I loved the speakers, but of course I was always looking at other JBL offerings. A JBL catalog or other literature was never far from me. I moved to Florida in 1979, with my system in tow of course. In 1982 I spotted a two-page JBL ad in a magazine on the L220. The ad was well written, with a gorgeous photo of these beasts, inviting the reader to come celebrate the L220’s-because “there is no such thing as too much music”. There stood these two beauties featuring a 14” woofer with the signature white aquaplas cone, a 15” passive radiator, a 5” midrange mounted behind a very cool acoustic lens, and an elliptical ring radiator tweeter. The ad also explained that this driver arrangement, with the lens and horn tweeter, placed the drivers in acoustical alignment with each other, as well as in vertical alignment. I had actually seen this ad before-perhaps around 1979 before I moved south. But when I saw it again in 1982, I was mesmerized by it and I HAD to have a pair. The ad said the L220 was priced at $1,750 per pair, but as I checked around I learned that by this time they retailed at $1,000 each. In 1982, this was pretty good change for a pair of speakers. I wasn’t quite 24 years old, and I contemplated how I was going to be able to scrape up $2,000 plus tax for these beauties. I was working on contract as a design draftsman at the time. Lucky for me, work suddenly picked up and we went on pretty heavy overtime. Could I do it now? Then, I got even luckier. A local stereo shop announced a sale on much of the JBL L-series, up to and including the L220. While the newspaper ad described the smaller models as 10” 3-way, 12” 3 way tower (L150) and so on, it simply described the L220 as “massive towers”. The price: $550 each. (!!!). I got right on the phone with that store…the guy explained that they had two pairs of L220 demonstrators that they were selling, as new, for $550 each. He would do a 2-week layaway for me with a $100 deposit. I ran right up there and secured a pair, and then arranged to sell my L100’s to a co-worker. I sold him the L100’s, with stands, for $350. I was on top of the world when I realized I was actually getting these speakers. In two weeks I picked up my L220’s. That was a bit over 34 years ago. I believed then, as I do now, that this was one of the best purchases I ever made. I’ve taken good care of the speakers over the three decades, refoaming as needed, and in 2002 I had the LE14H woofers reconed, as I had done with the passive radiators a few years before that. (My speakers are actually the L220 “A” version, with the LE14H woofer having a heavier magnetic structure and the newer symmetrical field geometry coil gap design. The overall system power capacity was increased from 300 watts per channel to 400 watts per channel). I’ve always considered the design a brilliant one, for many reasons-the acoustical alignment of the drivers, the cabinet’s non-parallel sides, to name just a couple of reasons. Its tower design places the 076 elliptical horn tweeter at an ideal height for the listener. The system’s dimensions work well in my room (the highly revered L300 is too short and too wide to work for me). They sound like big speakers, they have great depth of image, and terrific sound staging. Also in 2002, I acquired a B460 subwoofer, which complements the L220 quite well with its 18” 2245H driver. All three systems are powered by McIntosh MC501 amplifiers.

In this post I’d like to share with you a series of upgrades I’ve performed on this pair of L220’s, over the last three years or so, with the last of the efforts completed last weekend. Firstly, both the PR15C passive radiators and the LE14H woofers have been refoamed (in January 2013 and March 2014, respectively). In March 2013, I upgraded the stock binding posts with WBT Nextgen WBT-0705-cu binding posts. Here’s a shot of the binding posts:

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But the really exciting upgrades have taken place over the last month. On the advice of quite a few JBL fans (including my good friend Dan aka jdandy here on AA), I finally took the step of rebuilding the aging dividing networks. I’ve been thinking of doing this for quite some time, but was a little reluctant for a few reasons. Would it really make a lot of difference? (They say it will…) What if I screw up the systems? What kind of parts should I buy? How much should I spend? There was another issue as well. One of the networks had a faulty L-pad, with a couple of dead spots. That should be an easy fix, but complicated by the fact that the knobs are pretty much impossible to remove (they are pressed on the spline shaft in such a way that you can’t get them off without damaging the back plate). So…I acquired a spare network on eBay, in the hope that this one will have two good L-pads in it. That gamble paid off, upon testing I found it to be good. Next, I settled on a parts plan and budget. I didn’t want to use cheap parts, as the L220 deserves premium parts. While the networks may not have used the best components back in the early 80’s, the design itself was very good, with each network having a compliment of 7 capacitors, 5 inductors, 9 power resistors and 2 L-pads. JBL described the network as having incorporated impedance-leveling and phase-correcting circuitry. I was actually a little skittish about attempting this project. Here is what one of the stock networks looks like:

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I opted to go with premium audio grade, metal film polypropylene capacitors from Audio Cap, Audyn Cap, and Solen. I also decided to replace all of the 10% tolerance power resistors with precision 1% tolerance, 10 and 12 watt resistors. My total cost of parts for the two network rebuilds came to just shy of $700. It could have spent a lot less, or a lot more. But I was least confident that I was going to be doing the L220 justice. I ended up with a total of 10 capacitors in each network, since in 3 cases I had to parallel caps to obtain the correct values. Here is what one of the rebuilt networks looks like:

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This was a marathon project of sorts, taking a total of about 12 hours to complete both networks. I had a sore back from standing too long! To be honest, when I was done, I was probably more concerned that the systems still worked properly (they did!) than I was with audible benefits. Did I hear any benefits? Well, yes I thought so…perhaps a little better bass, and a bit more air. But I wasn’t all THAT excited. But what happened next did, and still is, exciting me A LOT. I knew that these new parts would require some breaking in. People in the know told me 300 hours or more break in time to really hear the differences. I completed the rebuilds on October 29, it is now November 29. Over the last week or so, the systems have improved DRAMATICALLY. Suddenly, it’s like the speakers are in a different league altogether. The mid-bass is much warmer and clearer. The midrange and higher end has much more “air”. The overall sound has a much more palpable character, and the sound staging is fabulous. The already excellent L220 has moved up I don’t know how many notches….and it may continue to do so. I’m actually astonished. I can hear the difference immediately with any recording, or any source. I’m having a lot of trouble now tearing myself away from the system. I simply can’t be bothered with silly things like eating, sleeping etc….even writing this post is keeping me from my music!

And if all this isn’t fun enough, my latest effort puts the cosmetic icing on the delicious audio cake. When I bought the L220’s, the literature stated that an optional brown grille with a cutout for the midrange lens was available separately. There was this little tiny photo showing the version. I always thought this was a cool idea, very unique. But, I had never seen one, ever. Nor had anyone else, as far as I knew. These grilles were very rare, if in fact JBL ever actually produced them (aside from a prototype for the photo perhaps). Over the years I thought about making myself a pair of these grilles. (I used to chat with a guy on Lansing forums who was an L220 nut-he owned 3 pairs. He was making a set, but I never did see how they turned out). I snagged an extra set of grilles (from the same seller I acquired the spare network from), designed a center piece to support the grille around the lens, and had a machinist friend of mine make them up for me. Of course I purchased new fabric as well. Here’s a few photos of the project as it progressed:

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Checking the center frame fit:

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One of the challenges was dealing with the tapered outside corners of the grilles. In order to get this right, I had to develop some CAD flat patterns.

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Ready to start cutting fabric:

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I also removed the lenses for cleaning, and to clean and dress up the area in front of the sub-chamber where the midrange driver resides:

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Things are cleaned up so we can reinstall the lenses....

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And finally….the finished product:

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Between the elevated performance brought about by the rebuilding of the networks, and with the fresh and unique “new” appearance of the systems, I am absolutely thrilled. Once again, I can hardly stay away from the system…playing just one more, just one more, just one more….

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I can tell you one thing for sure. The right decision was made 34 years ago, and my L220’s aren’t going anywhere. Thanks for “listening” to my story….

What a great read...
I admire your passion!

Awesome!!!

Congratulations!! ...and Enjoy!!:thumbsup:

Pete.......You are an artist, my friend. You and I have spent hour discussing the crossovers and the grill project, but all the talking in the world can't do justice to what a fine job you did upgrading the crossover networks and the excellent work you did designing and building the grills to accommodate the window for the midrange lens. Congratulations on a job well done. Nothing left to do with the JBL L220's except enjoy the improvement to the looks and performance.

Thank you Tom!! :thumbsup:

GTorres....thank you! I see you have only a few posts and are new to AA. Welcome! May I ask your first name? We like to use first names around here. :yes:

Thanks so much for the kind words Dan....yes, you and I have discussed these two projects for some time. You were really instrumental in getting me to quit hedging over whether to undertake the network rebuilds. Boy oh boy, am I glad I did that now. Next time you come down I'm sure you'll see (hear) why. It's a huge step up from what was already an excellent loudspeaker. :yes: :yes:

Pete,
Reading your post was delightful. Your love and passion for audio and specifically JBL and Crown is infectious. I still own a pair of L100s from my early days of audio and listen to them regularly. I can only imagine how good the L220s must sound with all the care and attention to detail you've put into them. Congratulations on a job well done. :thumbsup:

Pete... what an amazing job, post, pictures, and passion! you are without a doubt Vintage Pete. :thumbsup:

Terry, Ivan....thanks guys! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Of Course!
My name is Gonzalo.
Thank you very much Pete!:thumbsup:
Best Regards

Pete......wonderful job with beautiful results, not to mention a great read. All the best to you.


Rod

Great job, Pete! I can only imagine your delight.:banana:

Pete

Ahhhhh Mazing!!!

:yes:

George

Pete,
What a great story, and very nice work indeed. I've never owned JBL, but I really appreciate taking classic timeless equipment like this and not only restoring it to its full potential, but even improving it. It makes me wish I'd never sold my old Allison IIIs.

Pete,

I love reading stories like this. I applaud you for your dedication to the JBL brand and for resurrecting one of their timeless products with care and attention to detail. Very nicely done and thank you for sharing it with us!

Craig

The speakers look great. Did you refoam the LE14H woofers yourself?

Thanks guys, for all of the nice comments. I've learned quite a bit from it, especially when it comes to the networks.

tony-w....yes, I refoamed both the LE14H woofers and the PR15C passive radiators myself.

:D:D:D:D:D:D
Certainly Pete, an excellent project perfectly executed once again.
These comments have a common thread: passion.
Thanks for inspiring myself and probably many others here.

It seems like all the speakers should have been built that way.
So nice!!!!!!!
:rockon:

I have a pair of JBL LE15A's that need it, not sure how hard it is to do.

It isn't terribly difficult, but rather time consuming (the larger the driver, the longer the time). The hardest and most time consuming part is the cleaning and prepping of the frames. Then you have to be careful to be sure the coil is centered properly and there is no rubbing of the coil. The main thing is...don't rush.

Thanks Pete. Do you recommend using a pre-assembled kit?

Yes, there is a good selection of kits available on eBay. Some come with a CD with a test tone to aid in centering the cones, others come with shims. I prefer to use a tone as you don't have to remove the dust cap with this method. You should do fine with one of these kits-just follow the directions carefully and take your time.

If you're not confident in doing it yourself, a speaker repair center can do the work for you. Just be careful you don't get one of these guys that glues the new surround to the front of the cone while telling you it doesn't matter! :sigh:

Hello Pete,

I am resurrecting this now old thread as I just finally got a pair of L220 home, I hope they will soon take the place which has been held by the 4311B I bought when I was a teen (and am not in that league since over three decades).

The L220 used to belong to a single owner whose son is a friend of mine, he put his dad's stuff on sale and I helped him with selling some of the gear and got some myself but the L220 seemed too big and expensive for my space and budget not to mention they got old and sitting unused since a while but, hey, things change...

I got them since two weeks, at a first quick test one of the two speakers sound was lower than the other, woofers suspensions look good, the passive radiator's are definitely gone, I pulled the trigger and had them brought to my (little) place, I thought that, still, the 4311B have to sit on a stand (which actually are two yard chairs...), the L220 would end up 10 inches higher and a little (...) wider so why not to try (I don't have a wife any longer but still, afraid of my mum's comments when she finds out...).

Watched quite a few videos about suspension replacement and it sure is tricky but not that much not to say that being the passive radiators free of coil there is less risk of harm, ordered the new foams as well as the gaskets and now waiting for them to reach me.

Removed the PR out of one of the two cabinets to start and clean it, with a cutter took away the gaskets and old foam or, better, what was left of the foam both off the cone and the frame of the speaker itself, not a big deal at all, used some thinner applied with a paper cloth to help soften the hardest part and again went on with the cutter and the cone is clean and free (they were already redone by the original owner as well as the woofers which are still in good conditions but can tell the work was not done perfectly), some thin sandpaper to the frame made it clean and gave me confidence to move onto the other one which I will soon start (mind you, those things are huge and my space is limited).

Quite a surprise to see those connecting cables from 40 years ago and how people stresses about audiophile cables... by the way, removed the crossover from the back, found out that the l-pads have some "mute" gaps but I guess that with usage and some dry contact cleanser they should get back to work, I also checked continuity of the woofer with a tester and connection between the speakers and their pins on the crossover, it all seems fine, can tell all the components are the original ones and I guess the caps, at least those big yellow standing ones, would better be replaced but this will eventually happens after new suspensions are on place and it all sounds as it was back in time.

Once I am done I will sure be back to ask how to revert the cabinets to original, the owner had the brilliant (...) idea to paint them with a lick of varnish, mind you, I own a small boat with a nice mahogany top and I know about varnish, when I redo it from scratch it takes me at least 6-7 layers of it to reach an acceptable result and I know how hard is to remove it all but why on earth you want to paint speaker cabinets, to preserve them???
So, one day I will want to restore them to original but am afraid that using a phon and a scraper would make a mess, I will sure have to remove the speakers first and then attempt it but this is another story we'll eventually talk about later on.

The other bit would be networks/crossovers, I can handle a soldering iron but not really aware of how a cap works (in Italian they are called "condensatori"), I am trying to learn about them and also asking on general hifi Italian forums but replies are so very varying, somebody suggested to even use automotive caps for those values I can't find (like a 36uF which I still haven't found by a quick browsing), somebody says that those laid down flat on the network board should still be good whilst the yellow ones are sure out of original specs, I wouldn't want to spend audiophile money onto them, not yet at least but just replace them with new ones to, at least, keep original features if not improving, I will have to reopen the cabinets to find out which voltage they are (found the F values on the schematic of the N220 network and also found through a video that the missing value one not marked on the schematic should be a 3uF one) but dunno which kind of cap nor if they have or not a polarity to respect.

Will try and post pics of the cabinets, speakers and networks in the coming days if it is no issue but, Pete, reading about your journey and results with your L220 sure boosted my will to work at them even tho I am pretty sure I'll not reach (anytime soon) your results but nonetheless it was a very pleasant reading, so very brave and bravo!!!

Best

Giovanni

Giovanni68... Welcome to AA! :wave:

Giovanni68.......Welcome to Audio Aficionado. . :wave:

Good post. I'm sure Pete will respond.

Giovanni68....first of all, Welcome to AA! :wave:

Secondly, thanks for taking such an interest in my post from three years ago. Shame on Photobucket for wrecking my photos. I'll never use them again.

The first thing that jumps out at me with your excellent post is, here is someone who has wanted a pair of these for a long time, just as I did so many years ago. I can feel your excitement as you get started on your project. I can assure you, without hesitation, that every minute of your time will be time well spent. I've owned my L220's now going on 38 years. I knew at the time I was buying a great set of speakers. I was beyond excited at the time. What I really didn't realize at the time was the full potential that these speakers have. I've really come to realize this mostly in the last three years or so, since I rebuilt the crossovers, and more recently the speaker cable upgrade to a truly premium speaker cable. Of course all of the upgrades I've done to the system and room have had an effect for sure. But the L220 has revealed every upgrade with ease, as if to say give me more, give me more. They seem to have no real limit here. If I seem like I'm still excited, it's because I am. There are other highly revered JBL models (such as the L300) that are fabulous no doubt, but the tower design of the L220 offers advantages in my opinion. Once the L220 is fully upgraded, connected to a premiium system and set up properly in a favorable environment, they are simply astonishing.

I would encourage you, when the time comes to upgrade your crossover components, to buy the best components you can. Why buy cheap parts now, and have to do the work again later? You may have to pair some caps, as I did, to obtain the correct values. As to the "dead spots" in the crossover L-Pads, cleaning them may or may not fix the problem. And, getting the knobs off to replace the L-Pad is not easy. I ended up buying a replacement network on eBay with good L-Pads, and then upgraded it.

As far as refoaming the drivers, just take your time. It's a critical job but isn't overly difficult.

I can't imagine why anyone would want to ruin the cabinets on these speakers with varnish. I've seen some painted gloss black! What were they thinking???!!

You might also want to upgrade the binding posts. One question...are your L220's the older version or the "A" version? Put another way, is the 14" woofer an LE14A or an LE14H? The L220A uses the LE14H. It has a heavier magnet, and has an improved voice coil gap design and higher power handling capacity. Don't fret if you have the older model, (with the LE14A driver) it is also excellent.

What kind of system do you have?

I wish you the best of luck with your project. I'm excited for you. If you have any questions, I'll help you if I can.

Carry on! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Pete.......:goodpost:

Ciao Pete,

reading your post was quite entertaining and pouring passion off of every line... yes, what a pity pics being gone but, in a way, doesn't make me feel too bad for not being able (yet) to restore my L220 up to yours :D

Today heavy rain and an on and off thunderstorm made me remove the other passive radiatore and clean it up off the old foam and ready to be done once I get the new surrounds which, by the way, are coming off the US and even tho less than 100$ you never know how Italian customs behave and even worse how Italian Post service does, till leaving the US tracking was available, for what it matters they could be anywhere now and I'll never get to know not to mention that with xmas next door I might see them in 2020, ahhh l'Italia...

As I mentioned before the ex owner had the brilliant idea to paint them, it bothers me biiiiiig time and sure I will try and revert them back to original, not now, now I just want to make them work, next crossovers and next the cabinet.

Once I decide to move on I will come back to ask advise about the caps, which kind to use on either low, mid and high, hopefully the pads won't need anything else than some spray and usage.

Before removing the passive radiators I plugged them to an old integrated amp I bought along with my 4311B (which are now playing Dire Straits) and, wow, they are on another league, not quality wise but quantity wise, can tell the state is so much bigger compared to the monitors and the air they move, even tho 1db less, is a lot more, just can't wait to do the PR15 and set them back to work.

As far as system mine is old even tho I upgraded recently but still with vintage stuff, preamp is an AR SP9, CD player a Sony X505ES, power amp a heavy Chinese Aeron AP890 with twin KT88, in the storage a small but powerful Adcom GFA 535 which I might revive by, again, changing the caps, cables are very old Monster Cable but I would give a try at some DIY ones, then there is a DAC, a little British Beresford Caiman SEG with its own power bric, definitely too many switches to move to listen to some music, luckily no wife to mess up with it and, oh, the nicest and less used piece, a Michell Gyrodec MKI and the Kiseki step-up which I will try and sell once I decide where to invest it onto, I think I will need a proper power amp but long way before I can afford one (or two...)

Oh, by your hint I checked the woofers and they are the LE14A so mine should be the first release, I dunno why the owner filled the bottom of the cabinet with some heavy foam, maybe to absorb some of the stationary waves? :scratch2:

On both of the passive radiators one of the things holding the screws in place on the cabinet is missing, no big deal since there are 8 each but I wonder if I can retrieve a pair just to have it all in place.

Well, enough for today, thank you for replying the old thread and for the inspiration and help you'll provide :thumbsup:

Giovanni

p.s in my next life, once I get a little wider space, Klipschorn will find a spot :music: along with an Oracle Delphi

Giovanni....I'm always happy to share my thoughts with a fellow JBL fan, even more so if that fan is working to restore a pair of L220's. I'm convinced that if you take your L220's far enough, you won't worry about Klipschorns any more :no:. ( I've always dreamed of an Oracle Turntable though!) A little trivia...you probably know that JBL had names for many of their models (L100 Century, L300 Summit, etc). Did you know that the L220 was named Oracle?

I still have all my pictures from this old thread, one day soon I might replace the pictures that photobucket ruined so you can see them...

Just take your time my friend, your efforts will be worth it. Do the work by priority, as you say.

That foam in the bottom of the cabinet you mentioned was put there by the factory. Mine deteriorated with age; some years ago I replaced it. You'll also find some foam blocks inside on either side of the midrange chamber that will probably need replacement.

Stay the course and take your time, you won't be sorry. I'll keep checking back on this thread.....:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Bumping this thread...as I've restored all of the photos in post #1 that were taken down by photobucket in their highly successful effort to lose customers. :icon_thumbsdown: :icon_thumbsdown:

Pete.......Great to see the refreshed photos in post #1. On my last visit to your home a month or so ago I was highly impressed with the sound of the L220's. A major step up.

This is a great thread. . :applause:

And worthy of being a Sticky! :ok:

Dan....thank you!

Ivan....I am honored! Thank you! :tiphat:

Excellent Dr.!

Surely, you are in a league of your own, as all the above comments suggest. The word artist certainly is correct!
J

Very nice posting. It is the first time I have read this. I have a pair of the JBL L220's as well. I have owned them for nearly 40 years. These are great speakers.

V7Sport73.....Yes, they surely are. :yes: This coming March will be 38 years for me. :thumbsup:

Hello everybody, ciao Pete, how are you all doing?

It is long time since I last came to partecipate to this thread, this is due to how long it took for new suspensions to reach me off the US, I mean, very quick shipping and then a whole month or longer by Italian customs, enough said...

Today I took a long breath and applied the new suspensions to the passive radiators frames, had to use those things we use to hang clothes to dry (no, here we don't use drying machines, we have sun and electricity is suuuuper expensive) to keep them in place once the glue got applied and, so far, couple hours have gone by and it seems they are sitting in place, I wanna try and resist till tomorrow to apply the glue on the rear of the cones, hard to resist because I can't wait to listen to them but I wanna take it easy, one more day won't be big deal and I guess this is gonna be the difficult part of the job.

By the way, attaching two pics here, my method to keep the suspension in place while the glue does the job and the bottom of the speaker cabinet where there is extra foam and before I put the radiators back in place would like to hear from you what you think about it, I guess it was the ex owner to put it in there as he also had to remake the suspensions to both passive radiators and woofers (there were stickers on the cones frames with his name attached, God only knows how much he had to spend back then to ship them for the job, we live on a small island and everything we need has to travel).

I hope it all goes smooth tomorrow, next will be a sound test, will put them in place of my 4311B and if all works next will be cosmetic job on the cabinets, they are in good shape besides some little damage on the rear corner on one of the two but the owner had them painted, both on the wood with transparent varnish and on the front and back with black paint, I am pretty used to varnish because I own a boat I work on every year but this is a different job since it's not wood like my mahogany boat but rather a this slice, well, will figure it out later on, in the meantime curious to read about the foam in the bottom of the box.

Grazie

Giovanni

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Giovanni....I'm sure things will be fine with your passive. As to that green foam in the bottom, it looks like somebody threw that in there to replace the factory foam that had deteriorated (as mine had). I'd suggest you get yourself a sheet of 2 to 3 inch thick foam, cut yourself a couple of large squares, and stuff it in the bottom. You'll be good to go and have all the damping you need..