JBL D140 f

[mratcliffe]

Hi, There are a couple of these on ebay that have been reconed.
I didn't think there were any real good recone kits for these. Is this true?

Mark

[mckinnon audio]

  Hi there,good yes,orig.,no.All the replacement recone kits aren't made of the same materials as the orig. ones were,spiders and cones are different but will prob. work.You can use an E-140 kit,or several others by JBL,there's a RCF kit that fits also.They'll all work,they just won't sound like orig. D-140's that's all,good luck Mel.

[mratcliffe]

thanks for the info.

[Soundmasterg]

Ted Weber has a very accurate kit that he uses for these. The D series JBL's are his favorite speakers and he has created a clone that uses Neodyminium magnets that is very close sounding to the originals. He uses the cones for these on D series recones. I would suggest to email him and ask him about it, and he may even be able to give you a recommendation about those speakers on ebay too.

greg

[basiklybass]

Those D140's used the RCF L15-200AK kits. RCF was JBL's European manufacturer. RCF made the D/K series for several years after JBL stopped.

MWA also has cones that they say are made from the same dies and material the originals were made from. Webers 12" cones are not right at all, the surround is on the front and they don't fit exactly. As far as I can tell, the aluminum former voice coils are being made by someone but I haven't found them yet. Everything I have seen recently is a Nomex former.

[Soundmasterg]

Are you talking about the recent Weber cones since he came out with his Neo JBL clones with a 4 inch voice coil like the originals, or are you talking about his older cones that he was using from the California series that only had the 2 inch voice coil. I'll agree that the latter were not correct. I haven't seen his new ones yet, but was thinking about sending in a couple D140's to get reconed and then comparing to the originals that I have around. I've heard good things about his Neo series and those cones being put into D series JBL's. Won't really know for sure until someone tries them though I guess.

Greg

[basiklybass]

I refer to Webers listed 12" cones for JBL speakers. When I got the first set, I asked Ted again if these were correct and was assured they were the right ones, perhaps I just didn't know how to open the VC hole as professionals do. I took some offense to his comments and once I found the cones were not correct, I stopped buying from Weber. I've heard good things about them but I had the same issues with EV cones they told me were exact matches...and they weren't. I guess they just want to do the work themselves. In any event, Weber has turned me off. I have never had a recone done by them, just refer to thir parts.
I am sorry, but to send a couple of D140F's to see what cone it comes back with....just don't make no sense to me. He either has the right cones or not. As I mentioned, there are very good aftermarket cones available and MWA says they use the original dies and specs. I have used theirs and know they are correct, everything fits and they are the right weight. And as we know, there are several JBL authorized reconers who still have original E series kits, there is even rumor of some K and possibly D kits...if you have the money to pay for them. Now if I can just find the aluminum former coils......

[mratcliffe]

Thanks guys, this is the kind of constructive discussions that helps a lot.

[Soundmasterg]

I guess Ted can sometimes come across as arrogant, especially with the JBL speakers, since he knows so much about them, and because he tries to give people a quality product so that when they question it, he is too sensitive and touchy about it. I've never had any issues with Ted personally and I've gotten a lot of different products from him.

How long ago did you get those cones? Just wondering if it was before he did the "Neo" series of JBL clones or not? The Neos were in the last year, and are a lot closer to the D series JBL's than previous offerings.

For those others that you refer to, how expensive are their recone kits?

Greg

[basiklybass]

Got them in March of this year. Don't know about touchy, just felt he assumed I don't know what I am doing.

MWA cones run in the $25.00 range, nomex coils a bit under. Throw in a spider and gasket....call it some $60.00. There is a guy on ebay selling assembled kits; Joel Kennedy. I have purchased a few and was pleased with the quality. If you buy form him, ask him to put the leads on the inside of the cone. He holds that placing them on the back is better but he will put them on front. RCF put theirs on the back so...?

I found some aluminum coils and am ordering the rest of the stuff for a quad of 12's and a couple of 15's I have waiting for attention.

[Soundmasterg]

Thanks for the info on the cones. I'll have to see if I can get some from the source you mention as I have quite a few D130F's and D140F's to recone.

Greg

[johnk]

The other day I was talking with Orange County Speaker (a JBL factory authorized service center since 1968) about my obsession with JBL's since the 60's. I used to love (and still do) the D130F's and D140's, but recently have actually grown even more fond of the the K140. It is still an Alnico speaker (like the D series), but has the treated cloth surround and handles a little more power (150 watts RMS). Since JBL doesn't make the D140 or K140 kit anymore, the standard procedure is to use an E140 kit (they said it is actually the same as a K140 kit). Either way, I have six of them in three different 2- 15" cabs and they sound awesome. Four of mine are NOS with original cones and two have been factory reconed with the e140 kits and they all sound exactly the same. As far as a D130F goes, I still prefer the original cones compared to the E130 kits that they recone them with now, so if i were to have to recone one of those, i would use an aftermarket kit.

2 cents.......YMMV

johnk

[george]

Just wondering how dificult it is to recone a K140 or a 2205? I believe JBL designed these drivers with kind of tight radial gaps. How do you "center" the VC and cone assembly - shims?

BTW I'm having Weber recone a K140 that I bought along with a 2205 in a Concert series 215 cabinet. (The previous owner had reconed both drivers years ago and the K140 has a nasty coil rub and the other is starting to rub or has some debris issues.) Weber charges $99 + shipping to de-mag, recone re-mag and test. That seems like a good deal considering what re-cone kits cost.

[johnk]

i reconed a D130F years ago using an actual JBL kit and it was super easy. they gave you 8 shims to center the voicecoil so it was, pretty much, idiot proof. now they use a circular shim that makes it even easier.
johnk