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New (to me) 1973 Ampeg B15S with Blown Speaker?

chuckfalcon

chuckfalcon

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Mar 1, 2015
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#1
Hi there everyone, I just got one of my dream amps in the mail today an Ampeg B15S I am excited but I am also kinda let down. I plugged my trusty o'l Hofner 5000/1 in and the tone is great, well as long as you don't go above 10 o'clock. Anything above I am getting a loud "clack" or "pop" It is for sure the speaker, a JBL K140. What looks to be happening, is the cone is hitting up against something INSIDE the speaker.

Is this normal? Why is this happening? Is the speaker blown? If its not blown has happened to the speaker?

Any help at all and I would be most appreciative.
 
#2
Update, I just took out the JBLk140 and put in a Hartke VLF1508 speaker in and viola, it sounds "better". What kinda messed up world am I currently living in where Hartke sounds better than JBL? LOL. That hartke speaker is all I had laying around. Sounds ok. Kinda farty in the low end.

I know this doesn't solve the JBL K140 issue, but its something.
 
#4
I always thought the JBL K140s sounded a little harsh. Never really liked JBLs with an Ampeg amp.

The goto modern speaker replacement for most B-15s I've seen are the Eminence Beta or Delta series 15a speakers. I've heard both and slightly prefer the Beta 15a, which to my ears gets pretty close to the sound of a vintage CTS speaker. But that's me.

The Altec 418b Ampeg offered as an factory upgrade also isn't bad. But for a replacement I'd still prefer getting an Eminence.
 
#8
If a delta sounds better than a k-140 then I'll give you a brand new one in a box for that blown 140.

JBL use to sell factory recone kits. But that stock has dried up. There is aftermarket company's that now offers the correct voice coil spider and cone
 
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#11
chuckfalcon said:
If I were to go the recone route, which recone kit should I go with? Do they still have original parts to recone these?

Is it possible that this speaker is original to this amp?
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It's a 16 ohm kit. Still, though, I'd probably try it if it were mine. I am going to get a couple 10" Scorpion baskets from these guys. They're the real thing.

The CTS/Utah guess is a good one for the original.
 
#12
Thanks for the help, guys. Looks like I have some options. The sounds that I dig are basically Paul McCartney and Carol Kay. Big and meaty, holding down the low but usually always doing a counter melody type thing. I have a 70's SVT and a 70's V4 and I love the way my Hofner sounds through them, so I wanted to ad a B15 to the mix.
 
#13
I have 30+ years experience with a B15s, with about 12 of them loaded with a K140.

It was sold to a lady in Washington state or some such. It was to be a gift for her boyfriend. Anvil cased and cover.

When pushed The K140 kinda barked is about the only was I can describe it.

It also had a Golleon which required less turn of the knob for the same perceived volume and made every bass sound woody and was a perfect match for a Baby Bass.
 
#15
40Hz said:
I always thought the JBL K140s sounded a little harsh. Never really liked JBLs with an Ampeg amp.

The goto modern speaker replacement for most B-15s I've seen are the Eminence Beta or Delta series 15a speakers. I've heard both and slightly prefer the Beta 15a, which to my ears gets pretty close to the sound of a vintage CTS speaker. But that's me.

The Altec 418b Ampeg offered as an factory upgrade also isn't bad. But for a replacement I'd still prefer getting an Eminence.
Click to expand...

I played through a B-15S for about 20 years with that Altec "upgrade" in it. It never farted out in the usable power range but it was mid-heavy and lacked bottom end oomph. An old graphic EQ was what got the tone I was looking for out of it—plus the usual jacking of the two channels together. I'd suggest trying an Eminence as well. The beauty in those fliptops is not in the speaker cabs to be sure.
 
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#16
The JBL reconed are not a DIY repair. The tolerances are very tight and there is not much working space with the shallow cone and short bobbin. Most DIY repair attempts end up an unsuccessful waste of money.

Also, there are some good aftermarket kits but many are quite poor. The concenticity of the VC is absolutely critical for these drivers and the VCs are fragile to handle compared with most others.
 
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#17
agedhorse said:
The JBL reconed are not a DIY repair. The tolerances are very tight and there is not much working space with the shallow cone and short bobbin. Most DIY repair attempts end up an unsuccessful waste of money.

Also, there are some good aftermarket kits but many are quite poor. The concenticity of the VC is absolutely critical for these drivers and the VCs are fragile to handle compared with most others.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't know the first thing about repairing a speaker, I just wasn't sure if the vintage kits were available or who in the USA would do the "best" job.
 
#18
jmlee said:
I played through a B-15S for about 20 years with that Altec "upgrade" in it. It never farted out in the usable power range but it was mid-heavy and lacked bottom end oomph. An old graphic EQ was what got the tone I was looking for out of it—plus the usual jacking of the two channels together. I'd suggest trying an Eminence as well. The beauty in those fliptops is not in the speaker cabs to be sure.
Click to expand...

What you said. :thumbsup: I don't really care for Altec either. The Eminences are pretty nice however. I'd personally take an Eminence over an Altec. It's just a better bass speaker.

But I'm fortunate that my B-15N's square mag CTS is still going strong since I got that amp. Never heard another bass speaker I liked more that that one.
 
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#20
I'm not up on newer Altec's but love the sound of a pair of 421's in my 2x15 cabinet.
They may not be rated for much power but are certainly gigable assuming sane volume and not to much bass boost. I bought a reconned pair in the late 70's and they are still going strong today.
 

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