JBL D15S

[Johnny Guitar]

I have a JBL D15S that has a paper dust cap. The serial number is #16520 and the cone #21057.  Is this stock or has it been reconed? 
Thanks as always, 
Johnny G

[EdBass]

I've only seen a couple of D15S's, and they all had metal dust caps. As far as I can tell the D15S is actually a rebadged D130, and the factory cones on D130's had aluminum dust caps.

[loudthud]

I saw a Sunn 2x15 cab on ebay with a buy it now of $150. Minimal description, bad cell phone picture, low seller feedback. This told me the seller was an idiot but I bought it anyway, paid with PayPal. Couldn't get a response to my emails. Got contact info from ebay. Turned out some guy was using his girlfriends account. Got the sellers account frozen. Got his PayPal account frozen. Finally got the cab shipped after almost a month. It was busted up pretty bad. Had one D140F-6 that was perfect and a D15S that the surround was rotted and needs to be re-coned. I consider myself lucky.

The D15S has "A ST 15S" stamped on the back of the cone. S/n is 10149. The voice coil wires come out on the back side of the cone unlike any JBL I've ever seen. This was mentioned on the thread about D140-F's. So, I think the D15S has the original cone but not 100% sure.

[basiklybass]

D15S was made for Sunn. It was a D130. It had an aluminum dome. The 130R was the same as a D130 but did have a paper dome. All 130's and the D15S had smooth cones. All production 140's after the first run have ribbed cones. Not sure what you mean as far as leads coming out of the back. JBL leads run up the inside of the cone from the voice coil about 1" and then the tinsel wire pokes through to the rear.

Better check the impedence of the D15S, if you are using it with the 140-6, it should be 16 ohms and have a DCR of at least 7. If it is in the 12 range, it is a recone.

[Isaac]

Better check the impedence of the D15S, if you are using it with the 140-6, it should be 16 ohms and have a DCR of at least 7. If it is in the 12 range, it is a recone.

Are you sure? I've never encountered a 16 ohm driver with a DCR less than 8 ohms.

[loudthud]

The PDF file I have of JBL Thiele-Small parameters lists the 8 ohm versions of D130, K130 and E130 at 6.3 ohms. The K140 and E140 are listed as 5.5 ohms. No listing for the -F versions but I assume they are the same. Also no listing for 16 ohm versions but I would expect them to be double the 8 ohm value. The numbers for some of the pro drivers like the 2225H (8 ohm) and 2225J (16 ohm) show the 16ohm version to be slightly higher than double by .3 ohm.

Here's a question I have. On some old D series speakers the terminals are on a little tab next to the magnet and on others they are on one of the spokes. Can any conclusions be drawn as to date of manufacture based on terminal location?

[mckinnon audio]

  Hi there,I always thought anywhere from 8.5 to 11 ohms was acceptable for a 16 ohm driver.That's what I was taught by the EV people,good luck,Mel.

[Johnny Guitar]

Hi Guys.  I thought the D15S was a D130 for Sunn.  As a teenager working at the local music store that was a Sunn Dealer I was familiar with all of the amps.  I don't remember any Sunn Cabs with JBLs that didn't have an Aluminum dust cap.  Is the cone number correct for the D130 and could it have been reconed and the paper cap glued on instead of an aluminum one?  My Spectrum1 Cab had a metal cap but I can't remember if it was a D130 or a D15S.  When I changed it to a two 15 cab I added a D130, I'm not sure if I was aware of the D15S or I probably would have asked to order one.  Does anybody have a D15S speaker in there cabinets?
Johnny G.

[fatlizzard]

I have a 215S cab. with two D15S speakers, They do have aluminum cones!

[Isaac]

I don't think that's a 215S cabinet. The 215S had the drivers offset, and the port down the side. Looks like a 200S cabinet to me.

[fatlizzard]

My bad ! it is a 200S but it does have D15S speakers, the cab. on top has a D140

[basiklybass]

Isaac; Regarding DCR readings; a review of the Lansing Heritage forum and several other site reveals that DCR reading for JBL speakers are all over the place. Some J speakers read 8.1 ohms. Some read 10, some 12....a wide range of reading to say the least. Further reading reveals that for some time, JBL labeled their speakers as 8-16 so you never knew what it was unless you took a reading. With this further research, I withdraw my previous statement but stand by that any reading over 12 should be suspect as a recone. IMHO there are many aftermarket components for JBL's that are great. In other words, just because it is a recone should not decide whether you should buy it or not. How does it sound and what is the price? Value, in the case of loudspeakers, is in the ear of the beholder.

[Johnny Guitar]

Thanks for the great pictures! 

I guess my D15 has the factory cone so someone has put the paper cap on later or it is a recone with factory cone and a paper cap.

Thanks again for all the info. 

Johnny G.