gullahisland

Grills removed. See the little tags that I was referring to?

After at least a DOZEN tries...Here's another one.

Also...I can't figure out how to resize the images. Can it be done with Microsoft Imaging? I'm a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to digital imaging and .mp3s.

The compression drivers are, indeed, LE85. I've tried uploading the other pics and keep getting the "server timeout" error. Any tips? I'll keep trying.

Okay...Here's the first one. Please excuse the background scenery.

The grills are black mesh grillcloth. The foam, I'm sure, rotted away years ago. The woofers need to be refoamed. I was planning on having this done, but decided to hold off once I determined that I couldn't keep 'em. JBL Authorized Service Centers don't DO a refoam. They only re-cone the drivers at a cost of around $250 EACH! I've spoken to some folks who insist that a proper refoam job by a skilled technician just as good - provided that the voice coils are still in good shape (which they are). Recently, there was a thread on the Lansing Heritage forum from a gentleman showing some pictures of the REALLY CRAPPY work performed by one of these JBL service centers. I called a few of the service centers around here and was not very impressed by what I heard. One guy wanted me to send him both speakers (in their cabinets!) because that was the only way to properly test them...Huh? I'm near the Bay Area, but live in a rural area where dial-up is my only option (other than satellite at $119/mo). To make matters worse, there is a lot of noise on the line and my maximum connect rate is 19.2K (read: S-L-O-W) I'll see if I can't resize the images and get them posted this morning.

I have a damn-near-close-to-perfect pair of JBL L200Bs for which I simply don't have any room. The cabinets are finished in some of the most beautiful walnut I've ever seen grace a speaker. These guys sold for $2,200 back in 1975 and it's clear that the craftsmanship is befitting such a high-end product. Don't compare these to the earlier L200. These are the later "B" version with a totally different woofer and crossover and are a far better speaker. They're also quite rare. Add an 077 tweeter (or similar) and these are virtually identical to the vererable L300 Summit. I have pictures, but with my dial-up connection, it might take all night to upload them. Rather than make this an exercise in futility, I thought I'd gauge your interest before attempting to post pics. Considering their collector-quality condition, these should be worth $800-1,200 pretty easily. They even still have the little JBL tags hanging from the frame behind the grill cloth. I couldn't bring myself to remove them. Anyway...Anybody care?

Bump. Maybe the title wasn't very sexy. I'm willing to sell the Fortes as well. I just thought that a trade might simplify the process of replacing them. $500-ish seems like a good deal. I received one inquiry a couple of days ago, but haven't had a response to my reply.

Why not just BIN my Fortes (which are nicer) w/o all the BS?! Shameless plug, I know. I'll go back to lurking.

Refurbished could mean "used". If it's factory refurbished, IMHO, then it may very well be a safer bet than a "new" one. The rationale goes something like this: A new item comes off of an assembly line and receives only a cursory inspection. A factory refurbished item has been thoroughly tested and inspected by a trained technician to meet or exceed factory spec. It's a win-win, if I may be so cliche'.

I'm looking for a slimline pair of Klipsch - Reference, KLF, Epic, etc. I'm limited to about 12" width (depth isn't important) where I'll be placing them. Otherwise, I'd just stick with the Fortes as they're unbeatable in this price range. Would like to trade a pair of Fortes (not II) in Walnut Oil finish. They're in excellent condition. I also have a pair of JBL L-200Bs that I might be willing to offer up for trade. Also looking for a decent receiver or integrated amp. I'm thinking Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, NAD, Rotel, etc. Nothing fancy. Would need to be early 90's or later and preferably with remote control - not interested in vintage at the moment. I estimate the value as follows: Forte - $500-ish L-200B - $1,000-ish Of course an outright purchase would be fine too, but I figure if there's sombody with a pair of KLF-20s who'd like to swap for a pair of Fortes (for example), we could kill two proverbial birds and keep it simple. Thanks! Oh...I don't have pictures at the moment, but will try to get some posted. I just moved and still don't quite know where everything is. (The camera...not the speakers!)

---------------- On 10/12/2004 6:49:04 PM Sanman023 wrote: how about selling me those klipshorns.... ...im in sac... ---------------- These'll get you 95% of the sound for 35-50% of the price!

Going once... Going twice... ?????????????

I LOVE these guys, but they're simply too deep (ackwardly shaped) for my living room and my wife isn't crazy about the light finish either. So, I'm buying a pair of Chorus' and hoping they come close sonically. These have a gorgeous "blond" oiled finish and they look stunning. They also have the factory grills which make a HUGE difference in the aesthetics and WAF. Of course, being '76 models, they also have the very desirable AA crossover networks. These should sell for considerably more, but to make for an easy local transaction, I'll let them go to a forum member for $1,050. I can also probably help with delivery if you'll help with the gas. I'm in Northern California. Neo had inquired about these awhile back but it never materialized. Send me a PM for faster response as I'm unable to check my home email account from the office. Thanks!

You have mail and a PM.

If you're not looking for "audiophile sound quality", then may I respectfully ask WHY you bought LaScalas??

You have email. Thanks!

Probably not gonna' get any bites off Epay either. The prices are about 20-25% too high.

.com/idealbb/images/smilies/9.gif'] ---------------- Neo, How goosh of you. In case you haven't noticed there is already some dialogue on this subject. But I am sure you would be able to tell the rest of us the reason behind such failures. ---------------- Sheesh! Layoff the guy. You sound like a bitter old man. Neo - FWIW, many college professors operate in a vacuum and have no idea of how things work in the "real" world. Not all, but many. And the word you were both searching for is doctorate, not doctrine. Anyway, I tend to agree with both of you regarding whether equities and debt securities are a pure "investment" or "speculation". It's a bit of each. But by and large I would agree more with Neo's argument. Here's why. We "invest" our money in things with the expectation of a return on our investment. A degree of speculation is inherent, but the ROI is not left to random chance. Pure speculation involves substantial risk in the pursuit of substantial gain. Therefore, a municipal bond (to borrow Neo's example) involves some degree of risk with a very modest opportunity for gain. On the risk/reward continuum, it's hardly what MOST would call speculative. Make sense? You don't have to be old and crusty to be wise.

---------------- On 8/26/2004 10:39:57 AM neomartic wrote: However there are some pretty decent municipal bonds that you will be able to earn better than the current average returns and they are tax-free depending on where you live. ---------------- Munis yield less than government or corporate bonds due to their tax advantage. Additionally, the degree to which they are advantageous depends on your income and tax bracket.

---------------- On 8/26/2004 9:57:44 AM neomartic wrote: I can think of an advantage to having debt. If you have good credit and get a decent interest rate, lets just say 6% for example, then it would be wiser to take the loan and put your money in an investment earning above 6%, this would mean that you would be paying less for the car. Any how, see my point? ---------------- I see your point, but strongly disagree...particularly with the premise of buying a "new" car when a two-year-old car is every bit as good and can be purchased for (with a warranty) for 1/2 the price. But more to the point...Please tell me where you can put your money (right now) and be ASSURED a return of 6% over the next 4-5 years. That's what I thought.

---------------- On 8/26/2004 9:12:48 AM Maron Horonzak wrote: All your doing is driving up your realestate tax,s....Every body thinks their sh!thouses are worth a million. Your just taxing yourself into oblivion. Waite till you retire and youll find out that you have to move into a tent to pay down the tax,s ---------------- Another reason for staying put. Brilliant observation, Maron. Another observation is that so many people are putting so much of their income into their home (and then re-financing, taking a second, re-financing again, consolidating credit cards and cars with ANOTHER second, then re-financing AGAIN!, etc., etc.) that they're NOT saving for retirement. They hold out this false hope that values will continue to increase at the same torrid pace of the past few years. "My home is my retirement" is all too common.

I've gotta' agree with Gary. Current housing prices are simply a function of two factors. 1) LOW interest rates. Say, for example, $1,000 per month buys a $150,000 house with a fixed rate of 8%. If interest rates DROP to 5%, that same $1,000 will buy a $225,000 house. (Just an example) 2) FUNKY, FUNKY loan products. The proliferation of variable, interest-only, indexed (can you say LIBOR?) loan products now means that anybody can "qualify" to buy a home. The obvious risk is that, when interest rates rise (and they already are) many of these loans are going to adjust to the newly normalized interest rate environment and that "affordable" mortgage is going to become increasingly difficult to pay every month. The above two factors have worked together to cause a feeding frenzy and has been driving up prices for the past 4-5 years...especially the last 2. The first three years supplies were tight because many of the people who were losing their money in the stock market pulled it out and put it somewhere "safe"...real estate. People who become euphoric about the housing market need to take pause and think logically for a moment. REAL WAGES have not increased significantly. With so much LEVERAGE (debt) being harnessed to "afford" the American Dream, unless wages increase significantly, people WILL lose their homes when the interest rates rise...and they WILL rise. What goes UP, must come DOWN. The higher the increase in "value", the harder the fall. Did everybody forget 1990-1993? I had just graduated from high school, but I sure remember. My best friend's dad had been relocated to the SF Bay Area at the peak of the last housing bubble and then got laid off when it tanked. He was upside-down by $100K on his home and unemployed. He ended up moving to Oklahoma for a job and his wife stayed in California until they could pay down the debt and sell the house. Remember the dot.com bubble burst? Lots of people got hurt...badly. When this real estate bubble bursts, it's going to be much more far-reaching in its' effect on American families.

And out from the shadows comes Sheltie Dave.... A simple "I changed my mind" reply to my email(s) would have been appreciated. Not sure where Dale resides, but if I were the seller, I would certainly give preference to him as he has been on the lookout for a pair for a LOOOONNNGGG time as can be documented by a quick search in the forum archives.

---------------- On 8/24/2004 6:43:19 PM garymd wrote: Back to the subject at hand. I still have all all my hair but it's turning grayer each day. ---------------- At 32, I'm probably 65% gray. Damn.