Reconed Speakers

Dennis Manuel · Post by **Dennis Manuel** » 8 Feb 2001 12:09 am

Is there any sonic difference between a reconed JBL speaker and a new one?
Please respond.

Matt Farrow · Post by **Matt Farrow** » 8 Feb 2001 6:10 am

If the speaker is reconed by a qualified technician with a genuine JBL recone kit, then the speaker will be a little bright and thin until the cone and adhesive are "broken in," but once it is broken in the speaker should sound very much like it did when it was new.

There are several good places to have your speaker properly reconed, you might want to check out Weber Vintage Sound Technology. http://www.webervst.com - they have links for some places that might be close to you, or you can send your speaker directly to them.

Matt Farrow
Pharaoh Amplifiers

Cairo Zoots · Post by **Cairo Zoots** » 8 Feb 2001 9:56 am

A reconed spkr will never sound the same as a speaker that's never been reconed IMO.
No matter how accurate the new cone is placed, there's just too many variables in the reconing process. (adhesive, humidity, curing time, shims etc.) Aside from that, I was advised by an old speaker guru, to rotate ur speaker occasionally to avoid uneven wear on the voice coil and prolong its life! ... works for me

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ree-oo-dee-doo

(be careful to avoid "warping" the frame/basket when retightening!)

[This message was edited by Cairo Zoots on 08 February 2001 at 10:06 AM.]

Tele · Post by **Tele** » 8 Feb 2001 3:24 pm

I have two reconed D120F and one D130F ...all three sounds amazing !
I have boths types in unreconed condition and I'd prefer them with nwewer cones.
my 2cents

Andy

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1957 Sho~Bud D-8:1961 Sho~Bud D-9:1962 Sho~Bud D-10: Bigsby T-8

ShoBud Gallery

Mark Herrick · Post by **Mark Herrick** » 8 Feb 2001 3:27 pm

I'm curious about this idea of "rotating" the speaker.

I have never heard of this before. Is this legitimate or just one of those things that falls under "old wives tales" and "urban legends"?

Kind of makes some kind of sense I guess, I mean, we do have gravity on this planet...

Bill C. Buntin · Post by **Bill C. Buntin** » 8 Feb 2001 4:28 pm

Talk to Ricky Davis. I have been using reconed JBL d-130-f's. I understand that the original D-130-F recone kit is not available. So my D130's are reconed with an E130 kit. They still sound very good. The guy who recones mine and other steelers I know here in DFW claims that there isn't much difference. Since I have never heard and original d130f JBL, I have nothing to compare it with. But Ricky claims the original is far superior to anything. Regards.

Danny Hullihen · Post by **Danny Hullihen** » 8 Feb 2001 7:05 pm

I have to agree with Tele on this one.

Another good place to have this service is called Speaker Repair Service. Hemphill road, in Texas. I'll get the exact address and phone for them and post it here later. These guys do really good work, and they use factory spec. materials.[This message was edited by Danny Hullihen on 08 February 2001 at 07:07 PM.]

Bill C. Buntin · Post by **Bill C. Buntin** » 8 Feb 2001 9:06 pm

Hey Danny,
He's the guy who recones mine and other friends of mine. He does a good job. His name is Joe Phillips. I don't have his phone or address with me either, but I heard he had relocated. He used to be in the 200 Block of W. Magnolia St. in Ft. Worth. But I'm not sure of his new location. I would be interested in his new local when you post it.Thanks!

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 9 Feb 2001 1:56 am

My pickin' buddy Redd Volkaert; gave me two D-130's to try out. They are both right out of a '68 Vibrosonic so they were both a D-130F.
One was totally original and one was re-coned by a JBL speaker repair guy with JBL re-cone parts(which are the E series kits because they don't have or make the D series kits ANYMORE). I put the reconed D-130F in first and didn't like the sound. It was too midrangey and brassy sounding. It did have nice low end. Then I put the original D-130F; and Lord behold; that was it. The sound it produced was a full range clear sound that I like to hear in my head and have a speaker duplicate it(and this speaker passed with flying colors). Oh yeah both of these are 8ohm speakers and made only a half a number difference on my volume control because they are not a 4ohm load which is what a Fender Twin is. You can do that on a tube amp; but not recommended on a Solid state amp.
So that is the A B test I did on a original verses a Re-cone; and that is what my ears hear.

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Ricky Davis

My Homepage
Rebel™ and Ricky's Audio Clips
www.mightyfinemusic.com
Email Ricky: sshawaiian@aol.com

Danny Hullihen · Post by **Danny Hullihen** » 9 Feb 2001 12:56 pm

Hey guys, here's the address and phone number I promised you.

Speaker Repair Service
812 Hemphill Rd.
Ft. Worth, TX. 76104
PH: 817-334-0713

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 9 Feb 2001 4:26 pm

If a speaker is reconed by a reputable shop, it should sound pretty good. As Cairo said, it probably won't sound like it did originally. For one thing, they don't make cones like they used to. Cones, spiders, and domes are all different nowadays. For a lot of speakers that are over 20 years old, you can't get an "original" cone. They just aren't made anymore. There are generic kits available that will fit most all speakers, but may be only "close" to original design specs. Also, most suspension rings now are doped (that rubbery stuff on the cone where the cone joins the frame). Although it helps prevent tearing, it stiffens up the cone quite a bit.

In short, do a good reconing on a good speaker, and you still have a good speaker. But...it ain't the same.