| I built a few open baffle speakers..........(lengthy and pointless) [message #20784] |
Thu, 07 April 2005 13:53  |
DanTheMan
Messages: 84
Registered: May 2009
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Viscount |
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one out of some JBL 8130's I bought off of ebay, 8 of'em for $40. I put four of them on a plywood open baffle. I didn't expect much and I was actually using them as a speaker for my guitar. They sounded better than the speaker that came with my 15 watt tube amp so I just kept using them. Then I found an old Leslie cabinet that wasn't working and took the speaker out of it. It sounds incredible in my guitar amp!!!!!So I just quit using the JBLs. I read an article in AudioExpress about using the cheap speakers from a Parts Express buyout--I've had some laying around so I built an open baffle for them to use in the bedroom on my JVC BoomBox. A HUGE IMPROVEMENT OVER THE ONES THAT CAME WITH IT!!!!!! I really didn't expect that thing could sound so good, it's only 3watts/channel, and it's always sounded terrible. Then I decided to rewire my 4 JBL's to make a stereo pair (4ohm) just to see how they sounded. I can't believe it!! It is the best sound I've ever owned!! $20 worth of old industrial series JBLs and a BoomBox a friend gave me and you can't touch it with ANYTHING I've heard at common shopping plaza electronics stores! The baffle is about 2ft high by 3ft wide sloped back about 10degrees with part of an old oak door for a base and small plywood top and sides. It took me about 2hrs to build it and cost me less than $40. Instrument are so separated and detailed, vocals sound live. The frequency range is not extended on either end of the spectrum, but the sound is smooth and balanced--even at high volumes! I recorded myself singing and playing guitar in the living room on an old Tascam 4 track and played it through that system. An ambulance drove by while I made the recording(a block or so away) that I didn't notice and I didn't hear through my Sony cans. I noticed that every time I played the recording through the JBLs an ambulance would drive by at the exact same place in the song!!! Strange huh? haha. I just had to share this experience with some people who might appreciate it. Has anyone heard these speakers or similiar JBL models? I would suggest trying them out, they beat the heck out my main stereo which cosists of an old Sansui reciever and Sonics lodspeakers(top rated Japanese speakers from the 1968). They're both built well, and Ive always prefered them to almost everything that you listen to before you buy them, but they're just no match for my $40 setup. Sorry about the length of this post, but I was just wondering if anyone else has had similiar experiences? Are all American made JBL's at least this good? Why doesn't JBL produce drivers like this one now, or do they? I haven't seen or heard of them if they do.
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| Re: I built a few open baffle speakers..........(lengthy and pointless) [message #20798 is a reply to message #20784] |
Sat, 09 April 2005 15:57  |
wunhuanglo
Messages: 912
Registered: May 2009
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Illuminati (2nd Degree) |
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I, for one, find open baffles just amazing in their ability to give the impression of clarity, for lack of a better word openess, in the midrange. As you observe, you generally need help at the extremes - long throw woofers in the bass and some sort of tweeter at the top. But OBs seem to get the mids right, better than anything else I've done. I tried to find info on the 8130 - couldn't find anything. But the quality of JBL products in general is about as good as it gets.
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| Re: I built a few open baffle speakers..........(lengthy and pointless) [message #21037 is a reply to message #20784] |
Tue, 28 June 2005 14:57 |
fredsound
Messages: 1
Registered: May 2009
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Esquire |
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Hello. I've had a similar experience with baffles. I recently built a pair of 4' x 4' baffles (read: board with a hole in it.) for a pair of jbl le12c coaxials. I don't believe I've heard a better combination. If you have the room for them I highly recommend building a pair. I've read that increasing the size of the baffle to 5 or 6 feet extends the bass response to approx 50Hz. Thanks.
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