thedelihaus
Nocturnal transmissions
Just let my JBL L-46s go this afternoon. Both pair. Sad, but glad they'll be appreciated by the eager new owner.
What is a JBL L-46?
A very nice two-way design, with the famed 117H 8" woofer with bright-white paper cone and a butyl surround (on most), and a titanium dome tweeter- the famed 034s.
The build quality of these is outstanding, with a precision, heavy-duty cast aluminum woofer basket that looks like a rim off a musclecar, titanium dome tweeters, and both drivers with close tolerance voice coil gaps and flat coil wire.
The cabs are stout and solid, internally well braced, and finished in a beautiful, high-grade American black walnut finish that, with some tung oil, shines like a brown brook trout in the soft sunlight.
The 8" woofer may not put out the bass of the 10" L-56, which uses a 10" woofer (3dB lower) and bigger cabinet, but it's not a huge night-day difference as one would expect. I would say it's due to the "voicing" of the speaker by JBL that results in this. Quite impressive. Both are a ported design. Drivers are vertically aligned.
Also, the L-46's 8" woofer mates better than the 10" woofer in the L-56, in my opinion, with this tweeter- less of a size gap going on there. The L-46 sounds more balanced, more cohesive, overall, than the L-56. I feel the L-56 begs for a midrange driver, where the L-46 does not.
The L-46 is also easier to place than the larger L-56, another bonus. That bigger cab is kind of hulking for a 2-way, comparitively speaking.
Very efficient, the JBLs really get loud, and fast, off little power. 10wpc is recommended, and will take 100wpc.
The grills are not your run-of-the-mill squares, but bevel-edged, angular, artistically designed covers. Not too fancy, but some design thought went into these. Put them into an Eames setting and you've pretty much got a great match, with those subtle angular grill edges and deep rich veneer.
Pull the grills off, and they look at home in any 70's recording facility. White cone woofers framed by thick, chunky aluminum, and a tweeter, paper-thin titanium dome in a thick black circle, with a mesh screen over it to protect from damage. The screen looks stolen from a front porch window, but formed into a circular and domed half-sphere, it's seductively industrial looking, while still remaining very elegant.
Resale value of these L-46s keeps climbling. For a pair you would grab for $25 to $50 a short wile ago, expect to pay $75, $100, even $150 and up. I've seen 'em sell upwards of $280 at times.
Clearly, like Altecs/Lansings, JBLs are also very collectible. A nearly fool-proof investment, as they'll almost always appreciate in value.
So, what are the physical shortcomings?
Two, total. One insignificant, one annoying enough for me to legitimately gripe.
The nonsensical, petty complaint of mine is, with all the great colors JBL grills came in, the L-46s were offered in puppy-poop rich brown only. Where were the burnt orange, the aqua, the reds of the other models? But this is minor.
The complaint worthy of print is the speaker terminals. Terminally annoying. A decent design of a type where the wire is inserted into a hole then the connection is twisted a quarter-turn to lock the wire in place is great. But they accept only dinky 18 gauge wire, and if your wire is terminated with little pins, they won't "grab", as the pins won't flatten as the terminal is twisted.
Annoying.
Anyhow, on to sound-
The JBLs are a pleasant, but forward-sounding speaker. Eager to please and excite, they pack a wollup. Van Halen's debut self-titled album or "1984" and Queen's "Greatest Hits" & "Classics" both excell on the JBLs. Big sound from the flamboyant singers, large guitars, heavy-hitting drums, and jacked-up control booth operators rolling on a diet of little white pills and little white lines, and getting wild with the faders. It fills the room up effortlessly.
hey, what was that?!? did I just get passed a joint by the sessions player? I think so. I feel like I'm right at home in the 70's/80's with the fellas in the studio, belly up to the mixing board, with these.
Put in a DVD and hook 'em up to the telly, and all of a sudden, the monster (and Arnold, too) in "Predator" sounds bigger and meaner, bones snap with more authority in the hands of Steven Segal in "Above the Law", punches are felt, as well as heard, with both Robert DeNiro & Sylvester Stallone in "Raging Bull" and "Rocky" (respectively), car crashes crunch with more damage and insurance surcharges in "Gone in 60 Seconds", and you pee your pants when Samuel L. Jackson gets mad in "Pulp Fiction".
I loved them for this. Drum and bass, techno, hip-hop, heavy metal, and many other flavours of music are embraced by these dynamos.
But put them on a diet of jazz, or female vocals, or male vocals, acoustic, or folk, and the JBLs are not my cup of tea.
The sound remains, well, sounding "processed". As if the fellas in the studio are dumbfounded how to mic, mix, and record poor old Doc Watson. And the normally easy-going good 'ol doc sounds a bit congested way up in the topmost of his sinuses, and a bit agitated, a bit irritated. Holly Cole sounds like she's being piped in through a Radio Shack PA mic. Someone's got their fingers on the treble button, and it's turned way up on poor old Neko Case- she's sounding white-hot.
My opinion, of course, but that's what these, and many other JBLs of that era sound like- a bit hot, a bit "processed", always "heavy handed" and "produced".
Not bad, and easily balanced with proper EQ, but out of the box, Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt, Billie Holiday and Chet Baker don't like 'em.
Early Miles Davis? No.
Later, heroin-era, wild-eyed & funky Miles Davis? Just fine.
So, with my musical tastes ranging from hip-hop to techno to industrial, but also to folk and jazz and bluegrass, the JBLs and I, well, we just didn't mesh.
The new owner seemed thrilled, and was pleased as punch with them (he is a tech at a JBL repair facility). I wish him many happy hours of listening and enjoyment.
What is a JBL L-46?
A very nice two-way design, with the famed 117H 8" woofer with bright-white paper cone and a butyl surround (on most), and a titanium dome tweeter- the famed 034s.
The build quality of these is outstanding, with a precision, heavy-duty cast aluminum woofer basket that looks like a rim off a musclecar, titanium dome tweeters, and both drivers with close tolerance voice coil gaps and flat coil wire.
The cabs are stout and solid, internally well braced, and finished in a beautiful, high-grade American black walnut finish that, with some tung oil, shines like a brown brook trout in the soft sunlight.
The 8" woofer may not put out the bass of the 10" L-56, which uses a 10" woofer (3dB lower) and bigger cabinet, but it's not a huge night-day difference as one would expect. I would say it's due to the "voicing" of the speaker by JBL that results in this. Quite impressive. Both are a ported design. Drivers are vertically aligned.
Also, the L-46's 8" woofer mates better than the 10" woofer in the L-56, in my opinion, with this tweeter- less of a size gap going on there. The L-46 sounds more balanced, more cohesive, overall, than the L-56. I feel the L-56 begs for a midrange driver, where the L-46 does not.
The L-46 is also easier to place than the larger L-56, another bonus. That bigger cab is kind of hulking for a 2-way, comparitively speaking.
Very efficient, the JBLs really get loud, and fast, off little power. 10wpc is recommended, and will take 100wpc.
The grills are not your run-of-the-mill squares, but bevel-edged, angular, artistically designed covers. Not too fancy, but some design thought went into these. Put them into an Eames setting and you've pretty much got a great match, with those subtle angular grill edges and deep rich veneer.
Pull the grills off, and they look at home in any 70's recording facility. White cone woofers framed by thick, chunky aluminum, and a tweeter, paper-thin titanium dome in a thick black circle, with a mesh screen over it to protect from damage. The screen looks stolen from a front porch window, but formed into a circular and domed half-sphere, it's seductively industrial looking, while still remaining very elegant.
Resale value of these L-46s keeps climbling. For a pair you would grab for $25 to $50 a short wile ago, expect to pay $75, $100, even $150 and up. I've seen 'em sell upwards of $280 at times.
Clearly, like Altecs/Lansings, JBLs are also very collectible. A nearly fool-proof investment, as they'll almost always appreciate in value.
So, what are the physical shortcomings?
Two, total. One insignificant, one annoying enough for me to legitimately gripe.
The nonsensical, petty complaint of mine is, with all the great colors JBL grills came in, the L-46s were offered in puppy-poop rich brown only. Where were the burnt orange, the aqua, the reds of the other models? But this is minor.
The complaint worthy of print is the speaker terminals. Terminally annoying. A decent design of a type where the wire is inserted into a hole then the connection is twisted a quarter-turn to lock the wire in place is great. But they accept only dinky 18 gauge wire, and if your wire is terminated with little pins, they won't "grab", as the pins won't flatten as the terminal is twisted.
Annoying.
Anyhow, on to sound-
The JBLs are a pleasant, but forward-sounding speaker. Eager to please and excite, they pack a wollup. Van Halen's debut self-titled album or "1984" and Queen's "Greatest Hits" & "Classics" both excell on the JBLs. Big sound from the flamboyant singers, large guitars, heavy-hitting drums, and jacked-up control booth operators rolling on a diet of little white pills and little white lines, and getting wild with the faders. It fills the room up effortlessly.
hey, what was that?!? did I just get passed a joint by the sessions player? I think so. I feel like I'm right at home in the 70's/80's with the fellas in the studio, belly up to the mixing board, with these.
Put in a DVD and hook 'em up to the telly, and all of a sudden, the monster (and Arnold, too) in "Predator" sounds bigger and meaner, bones snap with more authority in the hands of Steven Segal in "Above the Law", punches are felt, as well as heard, with both Robert DeNiro & Sylvester Stallone in "Raging Bull" and "Rocky" (respectively), car crashes crunch with more damage and insurance surcharges in "Gone in 60 Seconds", and you pee your pants when Samuel L. Jackson gets mad in "Pulp Fiction".
I loved them for this. Drum and bass, techno, hip-hop, heavy metal, and many other flavours of music are embraced by these dynamos.
But put them on a diet of jazz, or female vocals, or male vocals, acoustic, or folk, and the JBLs are not my cup of tea.
The sound remains, well, sounding "processed". As if the fellas in the studio are dumbfounded how to mic, mix, and record poor old Doc Watson. And the normally easy-going good 'ol doc sounds a bit congested way up in the topmost of his sinuses, and a bit agitated, a bit irritated. Holly Cole sounds like she's being piped in through a Radio Shack PA mic. Someone's got their fingers on the treble button, and it's turned way up on poor old Neko Case- she's sounding white-hot.
My opinion, of course, but that's what these, and many other JBLs of that era sound like- a bit hot, a bit "processed", always "heavy handed" and "produced".
Not bad, and easily balanced with proper EQ, but out of the box, Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt, Billie Holiday and Chet Baker don't like 'em.
Early Miles Davis? No.
Later, heroin-era, wild-eyed & funky Miles Davis? Just fine.
So, with my musical tastes ranging from hip-hop to techno to industrial, but also to folk and jazz and bluegrass, the JBLs and I, well, we just didn't mesh.
The new owner seemed thrilled, and was pleased as punch with them (he is a tech at a JBL repair facility). I wish him many happy hours of listening and enjoyment.
