JBL C36 Viscount Speakers

[aclarke207]

Hey everyone... as the kids say, it's been a minute and I hope you are all doing well!

I recently purchased a beautiful pair of JBL C36 Viscount speakers (from the mid to late 60's) at an estate sale. I'd like to say I paid thrift store pricing but I'm still really happy with the deal, especially after getting them home, cleaned up and hooked up in my home office. They sound and look amazing!

These are loaded with JBL D123 12" woofers, LE20 tweeters, and LX2 crossovers- all 16 ohm (though I personally don't know the significance or benefit of 16 ohm). In any case, my set up is now the next best thing to having an a console (I miss that Motorola).

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Congratulations on a very nicely designed pair
of speakers.

As we all know, they don't make 'em like that anymore.

[TC Chris]

Replace the crossover caps for even happier sound....

Chris Campbell

[William]

Those are good looking speakers and I know they sound as good as they look.

Bill

[TC Chris]

Tell us about the other components.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

Nice speakers and a nice record collection! Good to see you on the forum again! We hope you will stop by often......

[William]

Also, what are the speakers setting under your components and records?

Bill

[aclarke207]

Tell us about the other components.

Chris Campbell

Hi Chris- The receiver is a Sansui 5000x I paid $30 for and then put $125 into having a local electronics shop (old school, now closed sadly) fix an issue that caused the left channel to continually pop fuses. They also replaced lights that had burned out. The turntable is a Dual 1229 I bought and refurbed... took it all apart, cleaned old, hardened oil and grease and replaced with new and correct lubrication. I even took the motor apart, cleaned and re-oiled that. It was a challenge- these Dual idler wheel machines are like fairly complex. But they are in use nearly 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

To answer Bill's question- the speakers holding everything up (I know I shouldn't) are a pair of Acoustic Research AR-4x's. They need to be recapped, as one of the tweeters isn't playing. They currently aren't hooked up, but were before I got the JBL's. I placed them like that so the working tweeter was in the center and the woofers on the outside. In my 10'x12' room they were perfectly fine. I doubt I'll get to fixing them and will likely sell them once I replace the two boxes they are holding up. If anyone is looking for an inexpensive project in northern New England, let me know. I'm in southern Maine on the NH border.

I also have a great sounding pair of KLH Model 6- first gen speakers that were recapped and had updated wire posts. They are ugly but sound great... These are the ones I got when I traded my Magnavox Imperial. I'd really like to refinish the cabinets and build new, removable grill covers but it's that's more an issue of time and available space.

Since no one asked , the guitar is my number one- A Godin A6 Ultra. I bought that when I sold an old Altec Lansing cabinet (given to me to save or they were going to trash) loaded with very rare early JBL 32 ohm speakers and even more rare Altec Lansing horn. I sold all this to a guy in Chicago that restores these things and then markets them overseas (Asia specifically, I believe). This all came about because a guy in my band knew I had an interest in vintage consoles and asked if I was interested. So indirectly, it all comes down to that original Maggie Imperial.

[electra225]

So you play guitar in a band? What genre, if I may ask? My uncle played in a western swing band that he and three of his high school buddies started. My uncle played a chrome Silvertone "Hawaiian" steel guitar, that I used to have, but gave it to his son after I went thru it. The amp had P-P 50L6 output and an 8" speaker.....

[aclarke207]

So you play guitar in a band? What genre, if I may ask? My uncle played in a western swing band that he and three of his high school buddies started. My uncle played a chrome Silvertone "Hawaiian" steel guitar, that I used to have, but gave it to his son after I went thru it. The amp had P-P 50L6 output and an 8" speaker.....

The band is basically classic rock (with an occasional original song thrown in) but with a lot of deeper cuts people have forgotten they forgot about- mostly rooted in 70's/ 80's with some on either side. The stuff I write is all over the place but probably more in a folk-rock vein. I don't profess to be more than an adequate guitar player, but I can sing okay.

Love those old Silvertone axes! When I was 13 my uncle gave me his 1965 Silverton 1457 guitar that came with a 5w tube amp built into the case. I sold that long ago while I was still in high school and have regretted it since. A few years back I did pick up the amp in case in decent condition- it sounds better than it looks but could really benefit from a recap and installation of a proper grounded power cable.

[electra225]

I sorta wish now I had kept Unk's Silvertone steel guitar. I had no real use for it, I don't play guitar. His son won't appreciate it and none of his boys has any interest in it, so, if they still even have it, its future is far from certain. I think my cousin wanted it so he could hock it, but I don't know that. I can't keep everything and it was his dad's, so I let him have it. The amp was the cutest part. Just a little bitty thing, but it sounded pretty good. I believe when he played with his band, they used their bigger amps and speakers. When he played it with the church orchestra, he used the church's sound system. It was Bogen/Peavey based and was a really nice sounding system for a church outfit. Our song leader/choir/musical director at church was also the band director at the local high school. I still believe after all these years that I heard about as good of music as I ever have in that country church. There was an eight-piece church orchestra melded with the western swing band. Western swing versions of the old standards can sound amazing.....

[TC Chris]

Tell us about the other components.

Chris Campbell

To answer Bill's question- the speakers holding everything up (I know I shouldn't) are a pair of Acoustic Research AR-4x's. They need to be recapped, as one of the tweeters isn't playing.

Have you checked the tweeter to see if it responds? Tweeters are what people usually burn up by driving a low-powered amp into clipping. There's a myth that too much power is a problem, but it's usually too little that damages speakers. Yes, I've done it; my KLH 17s have a replacement tweeter (a Radio Shack one that should be replaced with the real thing). I was using a good amp, my old Heath AA-22, and I just over-drove it into clipping. Just connect up a 1.5 V cell and brush one wire across the terminal to see if you get some scratch from the tweeter. Or connect a low-power, low-level signal source to see if you get any noise. Or just use an ohmmeter and see if there's continuity.

Nice Sansui too.

My main speakers are Genesis 201s from the early '80s. A few years back I replaced the crossover caps and the improvement was audible. When the old KLH 17s go back into service, I'll do the same to their more-complex crossovers.

I got my Dad's old Dual 1229 going last spring, working on only the most accessible surface concrete-grease and oiling the motor. It works, so we're calling it good enough. It's used as a turntable only. I've never used changers as changers anyway. The idea is to hear both sides. My original 1009 and a later 1019 are waiting for attention.

Chris Campbell

[William]

Thanks, I kind of thought those might me AR's. That is a nice set up you have and I'm sure you enjoy every minute of listening to your system.

Bill