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Author Topic:  General Life Of A Speaker?
Kevin Fix

 

From:
Michigan, USA
Post  Posted 10 Dec 2017 7:30 pm    
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I have been playing through a NV112 for 10 years now. Sounds Damm good yet. Had a reverb tank crap out about six month ago. Is their a rule of thumb for the age of a speaker? If necessary I would change it out before spring rolls around again. Getting ready for another busy year coming up.

Last edited by Kevin Fix on 11 Dec 2017 5:18 am; edited 1 time in total
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Bill L. Wilson


From:
Oklahoma, USA
Post  Posted 10 Dec 2017 9:44 pm     Speaker Life.
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At the time I built these 15” speaker cabs., I installed JBL D-130F speakers in them, one of which I had reconed. I blew the recone, so I pulled them and installed JBL D-140F’s. All of these speakers were purchased new in Sunn 2-15 guitar and bass cabs. in 1968 at McCord Music in Dallas. The D-140’s are bass speakers with a cloth surround, paper cone, aluminum dust cap and are completely original. I ordinarily don’t play very loud, but on occasion I’ve cranked the Twin up to “8” with these speakers and also with the 2-12 JBL D-120F’s pictured here, out of the ‘76 Twin when it was a combo amp.
. These speakers all still sound great and I won’t quit using them. I’m also using two single 12” speaker cabs. with EVM 12L’s in them and I believe they were made in the ‘90’s. The EV’s are certainly easier to carry at #28 lbs. each.
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Lane Gray


From:
Topeka, KS
Post  Posted 10 Dec 2017 11:57 pm    
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In time, the magnets can lose charge, so they'll lose efficiency. But they'll be fine until they blow.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
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Georg Sørtun


From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
Post  Posted 11 Dec 2017 7:11 am    
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Heat can damage speakers - especially the coil can deform and/or get out of position in the gap. In addition to not pushing them too hard for too long, don't leave the cab in the sun longer than necessary as it may soften the glue. Apart from that they can last for decades, or till you blow them.
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Richard Sinkler


From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
Post  Posted 11 Dec 2017 7:22 am    
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I bought my Nashville 400 in '84. It has a 1502-4 that is still going strong.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting.
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Justin Griffith


From:
Taylor, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 17 Dec 2017 4:18 pm    
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Lane Gray wrote:
In time, the magnets can lose charge, so they'll lose efficiency. But they'll be fine until they blow.


Exactly.
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Brad Sarno


From:
St. Louis, MO USA
Post  Posted 17 Dec 2017 4:28 pm    
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The older and more used, the better. Sure, some say the magnets may weaken over time, but my 1963 JBL D130 sings like a bird. I don't buy into that argument much at all. My friend who's an ace at servicing vintage amps says absolutely in almost every case, the very best sounding old Tweed Fenders were the ones with original speakers in them that hadn't blown yet.

Brand new speakers don't sound the best. They're too stiff and harsh compared to what they'll become eventually. We spent a lot of time breaking them in so they'll come around and sound their best.

If it ain't blown, don't replace it. Putting in a new speaker would be a step backwards unless you don't like the speaker you have and want to try something different.

Brad
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Brad Sarno


From:
St. Louis, MO USA
Post  Posted 17 Dec 2017 4:30 pm     Re: General Life Of A Speaker?
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Kevin Fix wrote:
I have been playing through a NV112 for 10 years now. Sounds Damm good....



There's your answer. Don't mess with that nicely aged speaker. It's probably good for another 30 years or so, maybe more.

B
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Jim Sliff


From:
Lawndale California, USA
Post  Posted 18 Dec 2017 4:25 pm    
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First - a caution -

Per the late Ted Weber of Weber VST (and confirmed by folks at JBL among others) any speaker more than 25 years old has lost a significant part of its power handling - no matter if it's been used or not.

The average - based on use within specs and recommended limits - is around 33% loss of power handling at 25 years. It's a gradual loss to that point & becomes quite a bit more gradual beyond that.

They usually don't lose more than 50% before the voice coil fails or the seams pop apart.

Next -

There is no specific "lifespan" for a speaker as there are dozens of variables.

Some are (and these are intentionally not all that specific or exact, so please don't "correct" them - they're just rough examples to put things in perspective):

Cone type

Spider type

Glues used in construction

Mounting type & proper (and even) bolt torque.

Speaker movement between different cabinets (and handling, including in storage)

Humidity (very low and very high are both bad, as are large swings)

Temperature (see humidity - temp range & hi/low have similar effects)

Proper application (within both power requirements and the speaker's intended use as far as normal frequencies - wide range (outside of "hi-fi" speakers not intended for instrument amplification) - usually for keyboards and modern bass playing i.e. including slap/pop); or bass; or guitar. Generally. Pedal steel normally falls in the guitar range.

Time of use in hours (part of a large, difficult-to-define equation that also includes all 5 of the factors immediately above)

Proper break-in when new (often the most-ignored factor)

Fairly new speakers - less than a couple years old - used right at the edge of their capabilities (where they usually sound best, as opposed to a speaker barely driven that sounds thin) by my metal-playing son have sometimes needed reconing,

And high-end speakers 10-20 years old - never used but stored in very dry conditions - have sometimes been unusable - the glues sometimes can become brittle and the cone or spider delaminates. Some spiders also rot - some if stored dry, some if exposed to humidity!

OTOH I have a '56 Jensen P15N Alnico magnet guitar amp speaker that works perfectly, along with a '55 P12Q and several similar Oxfords, Rolas & other Jensens. Those are my everyday use speakers at medium volume; I've been using most for several decades with no failures.
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No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional
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Jim Sliff


From:
Lawndale California, USA
Post  Posted 18 Dec 2017 4:45 pm    
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I'll post these separately for clarity.:

First: "Fine until they blow" is relative - not "static" - as far as power handling and application go. Power handling does not stay the same with age. Include some of the other noted factors as applicable and (if a player has owned the speaker since it was new) you may be able to get a rough idea of what it will reliably handle and when it may be best to replace it.

It's not a bad idea to at least make a rough projection of where the speaker life stands. I never worried about having one blow at a gig as I always had a backup amp on hand. But for players that gig with only one amp (which I don't recommend) it would be better to anticipate problems & replace a speaker before it blows at a gig - leaving you with NO amp.

Next - a JBL D series speaker is a 60 watt speaker Or was when new. Regardless of whether a 120, 130 or 140.

A '63 - for example - has power handling roughly 40 watts or less at this point (again, whether it's been used or not).

JBL used an odd "power handling" calculation method in their marketing data - not RMS like everyone else - and published "100 watts" as the spec. The design engineer has been posting corrected information on speaker and sound engineering forums for years. It's reached some of the 6-string amp tech world but not far beyond.

Many D-series JBL's have worked just fine in higher-powered applications - but usually in 2x12 or 2x15 applications (like Twin Reverbs or Dual Showmans). I've lost track of how many I've sent out for reconing - most in 1x12 or 1x15 combo or cabinet applications.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional
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