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JBL e140 cab

#41
eddiemac said:
Regarding my JBL K140 in a 3.2 cu ft cabinet: after trying many different cab tunings (with telescoping tubes), I ended up back where I started - 40Hz. I used a Sunn tube amp and a GK 200MB with the same tone and volume settings (maybe louder) I'd use at a gig and found the best sound and speaker control at 40Hz. My ears, for what it's worth.
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Personal taste and preference can differ a very lot. And as far as I can recall there are even a few players out there who are happy with the sound of a EVM 15L in a sealed chamber.

It may be about 25 years ago when I did some experiments with (exceptionally) lowish tunings for the cab. IME the articulation of "tone" may benefit at some content but, there are too many drawbacks involved in the long term considertaion of "sound".

And if I do recall the 80's and the majority of "sound preference" of this area, this area of sound was frequently marked by lots of upper mids and "every detail articulation".

I think I do comprehent your sound goal but, time has changed, the majority "mainstream sound preferences" have changed over the years, even my personal sound goals have changed at some content over the years.

There is nothing wrong with the preference of lowish (step down) tunings but, if I personally suggest something for other folks then I try to suggest for something in the more "ballpark" thing.
You might call it mainstream in this content, and I think you are right!
 
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#42
It's amazing how the JBL's have such a hold on me. I'm in need of a 4 ohm cab and recently I've tried a few. Lazt weekend I tried a Bergantino 2 x12. I brought my other JBL cab just to compare. The Berg sounded really good but didn't have the mojo like the JBL. Today I tried a newer Eden 4x10 and it was nice but no mojo. The one that really sounded good was an older Ampeg Pro 4 x10. They ae the ones that look like thy have a plastic body when it's really MDF painted black. It had the mojo but when I went to pick it up , it wouldn't move.
 
#43
Pbman said:
It's amazing how the JBL's have such a hold on me. I'm in need of a 4 ohm cab and recently I've tried a few. Lazt weekend I tried a Bergantino 2 x12. I brought my other JBL cab just to compare. The Berg sounded really good but didn't have the mojo like the JBL. Today I tried a newer Eden 4x10 and it was nice but no mojo. The one that really sounded good was an older Ampeg Pro 4 x10. They ae the ones that look like thy have a plastic body when it's really MDF painted black. It had the mojo but when I went to pick it up , it wouldn't move.
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I think "mojo" could also be considered the other way round.
If I would "swap" the drivers in my existing cab for K/E JBL drivers then the existing "mojo" sound of my cab was gone.

A little bit of an off topic "mojo":
Svetlana in St. Pertersburg produced rather cheapy tubes till about 10 years before, while GE tubes where already "mojo" at this time.
Since the Svetlana factory finished the production of tubes, nowadays Svetlana tubes get now nearly the same "mojo" as is for GE tubes.
 
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#44
ThisBass: at 71 years old, I admit I'm old school. I'm a blues player and I've been searching for that JBL sound I remember from D140F's in my teenage years, the bass notes that bloom into the room. I've got more modern stuff - Fearful 12/6 and 12Sub; Faital 1-15's; Gallien Krueger amps, etc. But I value the old things too.
 
#45
I really enjoyed my "Winged C's , when I had them. Now prices for what available is sickening.

Very hard to move on to the ewer goods. Recently I played through a pre- Fender SWR 400s and SWR 4x10.That set up was very good, for something made closer today than yesterday.
 
#46
Often memories are clouded by when those memories were made.

The same comments are made about the “good ‘ol days” of pro audio. Today’s pro audio gear is better in EVERY aspect except user interface. I lived the old days, designed gear in the old days and everything newer is better imo (having been there first hand).
 
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#47
eddiemac said:
ThisBass: at 71 years old, I admit I'm old school. I'm a blues player and I've been searching for that JBL sound I remember from D140F's in my teenage years, the bass notes that bloom into the room. I've got more modern stuff - Fearful 12/6 and 12Sub; Faital 1-15's; Gallien Krueger amps, etc. But I value the old things too.
Click to expand...
Yes, there had been a few sounds that I sometimes aimed to bring back to present.
I'm now 61 years old, I did a couple of sound designs in the meanwhile, I think my ears are "good trained" at some content but, who really could tell me how I would NOW in these days perceive and judge the original sound of the back in the day sound when I was a teenager?
 
#52
Update on my JBL project (guess I should have started my own thread, but): After again testing the 3.2 cu ft cab (outdoors) and raising the tuning from 40 through 48Hz, I concluded I would not be able to use it the way I want without eventually destroying the speaker. Without a HPF, I would need two of them. That K140 went into a 2. 3 cu ft slot-ported cab tuned to 48Hz and stays within excursion limits while sounding pretty darn good.
 
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#53
eddiemac said:
Update on my JBL project (guess I should have started my own thread, but): After again testing the 3.2 cu ft cab (outdoors) and raising the tuning from 40 through 48Hz, I concluded I would not be able to use it the way I want without eventually destroying the speaker. Without a HPF, I would need two of them. That K140 went into a 2. 3 cu ft slot-ported cab tuned to 48Hz and stays within excursion limits while sounding pretty darn good.
Click to expand...
If this szenario happens, just as you discribe, then you are very likely providing way too much amount of sub harmonic content to the E-series loudspeaker.

eddiemac said:
That K140 went into a 2. 3 cu ft slot-ported cab tuned to 48Hz and stays within excursion limits while sounding pretty darn good.
Click to expand...
How did you confirm that the driver does stay within linear excursion limits?
Just asking cause you are very skeptical with the cone excursion of the other one?

Are these large noticeable excursions observable in more frequently way or just random observable?
 
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#54
The other important bit of information is that if the driver has been reconed, aftermarket kits can be so different from the original parts (even if they look the same) that the driver ends up being something entirely different.
 
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#55
I owned a pair of JBL E140's. They worked well in a Ampeg B/15N Double Baffle Reflex enclosure and the standard EV Thiel Box. Just my experience, they need more clearance on the rear
of the speaker because the magnet and it's housing are larger than a D/140
 
#56
O.K., I probably seemed a little bit flaky with my ear testing and saying the 40Hz was best. I realized it was probably not so good later. Speaker "farting" was a problem with the bigger cabinet, but the 2.3 cab seems well-damped (if that's the proper word). The dustcap doesn't push forward and back 1/2", like before when I hit the low G note (or lower) hard on the 4-string. [Note: this is a K, not an E140. It is in good condition and has not been reconed]. Sub-harmonic content - yeah, probably. I have heard these speakers in EV TL606 cabs and they do pretty well, especially when there's two of them. And I remember liking them better at 55Hz than at the step-down tuning. (EV said they were 3.2 cu. ft., but after subtracting all the bracing, port, and driver, they are really between 2.8 and 2.9 cu ft, by my calculation). If anyone wants to suggest a tuning for the bigger cab, I'm all ears (in a good way).
 

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