Holy JBL Fatman!

[lunasparks]

So in my ongoing (monumentally indecisive) quest to buy a new speaker for my PRRI I was intrigued by the JBL d110F below. And then it sold for $215 shipped!

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200 ... =824&kw=lg

So next question: how big a difference would a much cheaper K110 or E110 really make? Is that d110F somehow the holy grail?

Sorry if this is elementary stuff, but I was shocked to see it sell for that much. Looks like d110 is off my radar screen. Should it be K or E 110 for me? Or something else entirely? Jon S., I know I owe you a call to discuss the Jensen Neo. Work has been crazy....

Thoughts, gents?

[sants]

I do not have any experience with the d series but I own K and E120's and they are the best speakers I have ever heard! If the d is that much better than I wouldn't know what to say. I run the k in my deluxe reverb reissue which is in the same territory as the prri. I run the e's with a twin.

K is a little snappier but the e has more bottom end to my ear. I think the d's are lower power. The k and e have cloth surrounds, I am not sure but I think the d has a paper surround.

[JonnyBoy]

Lots of stuff here in the archives about those speakers, but surely a lot to weed through...I will try and help with what I personally have played through. I just bought a mint E-120 and Swapped it out in my 1x12 cab just tonight. It was dripping with killer tone. It is what I have been looking for, I love it. I also have a K-110 2x10 cab I like to play through too. It has less bottom end than the 12" E stuff, but crystal clear and spanky. They are 70 watt speakers so 2 will do a 50-80 watt amp just fine. They are hard to find and when they do pop up get ready for a bid war.I saw some E-110's go for 80-$100 just yesterday. The E110's take a crap load more power, and like the 12" have a better bass response than the K-110. I am sure they are the shit. They are much heavier though....

I now can say the difference in the Eminence Commonwealths V's the E120 is there is less bass response in the E's than the commonwealths, but sound very similar. The commonwealth has a fuller sound, maybe because they are newer, more mid response too, but sound remarkably similar. The E-120 IMO seemed to be such a perfect fit with the rig to get the tone I'm after, emmi's do it too with a little more lower end which can be nice at times. I like the E-120 the best out of the lot at this point. The Black Widdow sounds remarkably like a K-120, or at least mine does, bright, clean and crispy, but a little different than my E-120 which like I said has a notable increase in bass response. I think the E-120 is an improvement on the whole for loud playing, filling in the spectrum a little better. The increase was not unwelcome or overbearing ever, like the emmi's can be sometimes. If you are considering K-110's you'll love them. I will have some E-110's soon enough.

I would reconsider the D- stuff, extremely expensive, less wattage and more fragile. You can't deny their great tone, but the latter year JBL's are fantastic speakers too and much more rugged, plus significantly cheaper.

To sum it up: all my speakers I use or have recently with my Jerry style rig:

K-110- bright crystal clear clean top end, easy on the bass and mids
Black widdow/K-120- much like the K-110 but a bit more bass response, yet still very bright
Commonwealth- heavier on the mids and low frequencies, an even amount of brightness but not its inherent quality- tone is similar to the E
E-120- the perfect ground between the K and commonwealth, bright and with the perfect bass and mids response for me. BUT HEAVY
stock fender emmi's in twin- mediocre at best response all around.

PS- all of this may be no good to you depending on your amp, but I would jump at the E-110's in a heartbeat or keep fishing for some K's if you like stuff a little brighter. I hope this helps....

[lunasparks]

Thanks for the input! I'm getting all excited about a K or E110. I've decided I'm just going to pull the trigger and pick one of 'em up on ebay. The D series is definitely out of my ballpark cost-wise. I'm still a beginner when it comes to gear and just fooling around with 3 different speakers in my PRRI has really brought home the impact a speaker has on tone so I'm sucked into trying to get better and better...and better and better!

[mijknahs]

Hey JonnyBoy,

Good rundown on the speakers. Would you say the Commonwealths are lighter than the E120s?

Lunasparks - I believe the JBL D series are so expensive because they are rare. Not because they sound so much better than a K or E series speaker.

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

The 10" JBL's (D, K, E110) use a smaller 3" voice coil and dustcap. They have a crisper, higher, sweeter treble than the 4" voice coil found in the 12" series. It's almost like a tweeter compared to the bigger voice coil. But when you get things rolling, they still have that JBL sound. I have and love my K110 in my '68 Princeton Reverb amp.

A true D should have a paper surround, but they also likely have the tighter voice coil gap which makes them a hair more efficient (louder), but also much more easy to damage or blow. I wouldn't want to use a real D110 with more than 15 or 20 watts of power. A K110 should be ok with 30 watts or so, and an E110 should probably hold up pretty well to a good beating, maybe 50 or 60 watts.

Sonically, the K110 is just a fantastic and musical sounding speaker. The E110 is a bit less "juicy", but still sounds very similar and great. A D110 may sound the best overall, maybe not as good with deep bass, and again, they are delicate. The K110 is all I've been using for the past 6 months or so. 12 watts of Princeton power and it's amazingly loud. That's the cool thing about JBL's, their efficiency. If you put a K120 in a Deluxe Reverb, it'll make it as loud as a 40 watt Fender amp with a "normal" speaker.

B

[JonnyBoy]

Hey JonnyBoy,

Good rundown on the speakers. Would you say the Commonwealths are lighter than the E120s?

Lunasparks - I believe the JBL D series are so expensive because they are rare. Not because they sound so much better than a K or E series speaker.

I really hate to push speakers on people since all amps do different things that can cause tonal differences. I will do some A/B stuff today and try and get some more low down. As per Question, No the Emmi's are as heavy or heavier. the magnet looks identical. the cone surface, dome and components look the same. They seem to have a more full spectrum sound, you have to tweak the amp to get the dynamic low string spank and to tame the mids and lows. The E120 goes in, put the twin at 9 treb, 5 mids, 1 bass, vol 3-4 and I have it without a struggle. The Emmi's a very musical speakers and will do the job. So much of this tone is dynamics like we all know. With the emmi's pushing $120 bucks, I see no reason why someone wouldn't score a few JBL's off the bay, But I know when I am dead and gone my kids will have some vintage emmis that sound nice, and in a 2x12 I am sure it is almost impossible to blow those things short of an Mc2300.

[mijknahs]

To re-cone a JBL E120 with real JBL parts is over $200. Aftermarket parts maybe $150.

[JonnyBoy]

To re-cone a JBL E120 with real JBL parts is over $200. Aftermarket parts maybe $150.

I hate to brag but I got a mint JBL E120 for right under $100 plus shipping. I don't see it needing any work done for a while. Plus at 300 watts, those suckers just won't blow unless it was used by Jerry himself.

ebay# 130404848286

[mijknahs]

Orange County (SoCal) craigslist:
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/msg/1836677502.html

[sants]

12 watts of Princeton power and it's amazingly loud. That's the cool thing about JBL's, their efficiency. If you put a K120 in a Deluxe Reverb, it'll make it as loud as a 40 watt Fender amp with a "normal" speaker.

B

Brad is 1000% on! My DRRI with a k120 easily hangs in with my buddy's Pro reverb!

[JonnyBoy]

Orange County (SoCal) craigslist:
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/msg/1836677502.html

You're right, the usual price is about $125-150 for a speaker, but most of the cones and coils are fine, these are HIGH power speakers. It takes a lot to abuse them.

[lunasparks]

So, I stopped procrastinating finally and managed to get my hands on a K110 ($102 shipped). Turns out that this particular speaker is NOS (or very near it). Story goes that it was found in its original box in a music store -- and was only found when the store moved after 35 years. The box was damaged but not the speaker itself (probably why it wasn't sold long ago). Apparently it has never been installed, only hooked up by the seller to ensure that it works. He claims no issues and that it sounds great. It ships today so I hope he's telling it straight! I'll report back in any case.

Anyway, my question for others here is whether I should treat the speaker special in any way given its age. Break it in slowly, treat the cone with...something?

Any thoughts appreciated, as always.

[mijknahs]

Just play it. Should be good to go.

[JonnyBoy]

Just play it. Should be good to go.

+1 follow Brad's wattage recommendations and it will last over 30 years like all the rest. This is a speaker you could blow or damage if you're not careful, especially if you are using it as a 1x10.