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JBL E140 speaker value??

S

sfbass

Jun 25, 2003
35
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San Francisco, CA
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#1
I have an old JBL E140 (15”, 8-ohm) bass speaker I bought new in the mid-to-late 80s, and as I really haven't used it in years, I decided it's time to sell it so someone can put it to good use. It's still in a cabinet I built myself per JBL's specs, although I have a feeling anyone who buys this may end up tossing out the cab.

Anyhow, I really have no idea whatsoever of its value, so if anyone can help point me in the right direction in regard to a fair asking price I'd certainly appreciate it.

Thanks so much
 
#2
Good question, I have 2 E140's, and 1 E145, that I was wondering about also. Back in the late 70's & early 80's, to make any cab sound better, you just dropped in a JBL, or EV, and that was the end of it. Now it is so much more complicated, I have no idea of which replacement speakers to buy. Great speakers though!
 
#3
As much as any old school JBL enthusiast will pay you :hiding:
Newer drivers are probably better for bass in almost every way, but there are probably people who would pay $150 per driver if they are in primo shape. Good luck.
 
#5
tonenazi said:
As much as any old school JBL enthusiast will pay you :hiding:
Newer drivers are probably better for bass in almost every way, but there are probably people who would pay $150 per driver if they are in primo shape. Good luck.
Click to expand...
there are some who agree with you and some who don't. nobody will argue that newer speakers have way more power handling. but tonally many will definitely argue that a lot of the newer speakers just don't quite have the tonal pizazz of a great old speaker like jbl.
 
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#6
Oh agreed, from 100 on up there is nothing like the sweet mid bass and midrange of a E140 or even two K120's. E140's require a refrigerator size cabinet though to get any real low end and then they don't handle the power so you need at least 2, etc. In a perfect world I'd use all JBL, I used to have a 2402 Bullet tweeter in a SWR cabinet. sweet.
 
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#7
I would check out the prices on Ebay, where I usually buy JBL speakers. Re cones go for about $100 or so. I got some never used K140's , still in the box for alot more, but, then again, I'm a JBL Luddite.
 
#9
Me three. I still have two D140F's and two K140F's, and yes, both Epifani and Bergantino gear, but in a perfect world I would roll out those 2 x 15" cabinets and tube amps in a heartbeat, nothing like the tone coming out of those aluminum domes
 
#12
The rig I used for years in the 80's & 90's was two JBL ported cabinets loaded with a single E140 each, QSC power amp and a G-K 400RB for a pre-amp, also for backup. Now that I'm older with a bad back, I use two Bergantino AE112's and a Carvin BX500. It sounds great but it won't rattle your pants leg like the old JBL's.
 
#13
My K140s should arrive Monday, I cannot WAIT for them. Popping them into a big old fridge cab and blowing away small mammalian creatures. Never really had a chance to use their instrument speaker, just heard great things, but I know their PA monitors are some of the best I've used. Just clear and crisp.
 
#14
D.M.N. said:
My K140s should arrive Monday, I cannot WAIT for them. Popping them into a big old fridge cab and blowing away small mammalian creatures. Never really had a chance to use their instrument speaker, just heard great things, but I know their PA monitors are some of the best I've used. Just clear and crisp.
Click to expand...

Please do NOT stick these into any old "fridge" cabinet. There are plenty of suitable designs that will allow them to work properly. Doing what you suggest,especially with a modern high power amp, will blow them in short order. Remember while they are efficient their Xmax is fairly small.

Paul
 
#18
I have what I think is the an old SUNN Beta Bass combo, - the amplifier. There are no markings on the cab itself but the tolex and the metal corners match perfectly to another piece of sunn gear i have and the speaker is mounted on a white background. The speaker has a very small rip in the surround so I was taking the speaker out of the cabinet to try to mend it with a little bit of flexible fabric glue. My screwdriver slipped my grasp and the handle landed on the dust cap, denting it fairly severely.

My question is, will this affect the tone of the speaker? If the answer is yes, how should I remedy this issue?

This was literally a shed find. I had no idea what these were until I found this thing and started doing some research. Who knows where the head went or how many years it spent in that shed unloved.
 

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