JBL E120 Speaker Comparison - Vintage Vs. New Recon

Recently have been exploring speakers and have found the JBL E120 to be

I acquired a non-working JBL E120 that had slipped magnet from failure of the adhesive between magnet and top plate. I noticed it when I was in the process of a recone using parts from Simply Speakers. The voice coil was basically stuck in the magnet motor assembly. Although there were some "cowboy" DIY approaches for removing the inner magnet, cleaning, gluing, and then resetting the magnet in the proper position using shims, I ended up deciding to not loose a finger in the process and sent it away for a professional. Months later, it was returned with a full motor reset and newly reconed.

This video does a quick demonstration of the newly restored JBL E120 compared to a vintage JBL E120 with original cone. For science.

Some fun facts.

The JBL D120 had an alnico magnet and weighs about 14 lbs.

The JBL E120 had a ceramic magnet and weighs about 20 lbs!

The JLB K120 is similar to the D120 with similar basket and magnet, but slight variation in the cone. These can be reconed to a D120 spec.

The JBL E120 was used by Jerry Garcia in his rig during the later years. The JBL D120 is often the one that is sought after. The JBL E120 can handle more power. I've had the speaker turned up pretty loud using my setup and approach ear shattering volumes very quickly. However, there is never any noticeable distortion due to the speaker. It's got a very good response. I'd be interested in trying a D120 and doing a similar comparison (for science).

If you want to do the modeling route, which a lot of people do these days, check out some of these IR files at the Jerry Tone Store site. If you haven't visited, lots of great resources. You just have to poke around.

https://jerrytonestore.com/store/p/waldotronics-jble120-ir-file

https://jerrytonestore.com/store/p/waldotronics-jbl-e120-ir-free-download