Ironsave Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 JBL L166 12" woofer 3 way speakers..... I just found a set of these for a good price ( I believe). Does anyone know anything about this model? (My father owned this model, and it would be nice to hear comparisons to my beloved Heresies). I will hopefully be picking these up this week...... ***EDIT**** I know this is a Klipsch forum, and perhaps I have no business asking about another brand here. But.... 1. I trust your opinions a lot 2. I do not doubt someone here has owned or listened to these at some point. 3. This is important to me for nostalgic reasons.... Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 I remember these from back in the '70s. If memory serves me correctly, the woofers have foam surrounds which may need replacement if they have rotted (a common occurrence). Bass output was very substantial, kind of reminding me of Cerwin Vega's design philosophy. The song used to demo them was Stevie Wonder's Living For the City; but the speakers are not overly efficient, so you my need some good "muscle" to get them to open up. Hope this helps somewhat............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironsave Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 I remember my father driving them with a Sansui 9090 (I believe that is the correct model). I remember listening to th theme from beverly hills cop...... The shelves in the living room bumping with the bass drum beats....... Already planned on foam replacement.... I hope that is all they need..... BTW, Am I correct in assuming these were a direct competitor of Heresies? Thanks for the response. [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 Sound like nice speakers.. Top Notch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 Great set of speakers... if they are in excellent shape.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 I wouldn't own a pair of JBL L166. A Heresy sounds much better in the midrange. The 066 tweeter was way f-ing poopy (exact words from an ex-JBL employee I am having dinner with tonight). Less than 10 (out of 800 in one day) would work. After they sat in the warehouse a couple of days they would have a nasty screeching cat-call sound. The woofers all had foam problems when new, the midrange was affected. The LE5 midrange was different from the LE5-2 used in the L100/4311 and did not sound as good. If service is needed, replacement JBL parts are not available, substitutes must be located. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironsave Posted July 26, 2010 Author Share Posted July 26, 2010 I wouldn't own a pair of JBL L166. A Heresy sounds much better in the midrange. The 066 tweeter was way f-ing poopy (exact words from an ex-JBL employee I am having dinner with tonight). Less than 10 (out of 800 in one day) would work. After they sat in the warehouse a couple of days they would have a nasty screeching cat-call sound. The woofers all had foam problems when new, the midrange was affected. The LE5 midrange was different from the LE5-2 used in the L100/4311 and did not sound as good. If service is needed, replacement JBL parts are not available, substitutes must be located. Well, I feel much better; cuz they are GONE. (Too bad, I wanted to listen to them). Sigh...... Oh well..... [:|] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidF Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 I can't imagine they would compete with the Heresy too well. They were best further out from boundaries, had a better balance top to bottom, much more robust in the bass reponse 40-80Hz, could handle a lot more power, go louder (given the amp headroom) and cost more. The Heresy could get louder with a low powered receiver, was available in less expensive finish and provided a good value at the cost of limited bandwidth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobfoley1276 Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 I have a pair of 166's I bought while stationed in Japan in 1977 with the USMC. I reconed the speakers about 10 years ago as the foam on the wofers had long since deteriorated. Always loved the sound of JBL. To me, its very realistic. Reconing the speakers was a bit tedious but not overly difficult. I got some pretty good advice form the company I bought the new foams from. Don't exactly recall the name but it was a place in Rochester, NY. Think it was about $40 or so, but that was a while ago. Every now and then I use some furniture oil on the cabinets which I think are walnut and I have the black egg crate grills: still pretty distinctive. I remember thinking about the orange but those never would have survived my wife's tastes. Even now I am pressured to 'get rid of those big, ugly boxes'......never would have made it with the orange fronts. Not that it matters, but I remember paying about $400 for the set in 1977.... probably a month's pay at the time.And that was a military discounted price. Only competiton at the time were Bose and mostly because there was no amp that could over power them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 with the USMC Thanks for your service and welcome to the forum. [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Unfortunately djk is correct; there are no parts left. Which is why back in 2002 I sold all of my final JBL's (4311, 4312, 4313 and somewhere along the line I had a pair of L166's but they too went). They are very good, and I always liked the 4311/12's in the same applications that I now use Heresy's. Alas, foam surround deterioration and JBL's decision to no longer carry any parts pretty much was the show stopper. [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobfoley1276 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 I was able to get appropriate foams from a speakers parts supplier. I do not believe they were JBL original parts but with the dimensions and shape I was able to get an essentially perfect match. I dont remember exactly who the supplier was but they were in Rochester NY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 The 066 tweeter was way f-ing poopy (exact words from an ex-JBL employee I am having dinner with tonight). Less than 10 (out of 800 in one day) would work. After they sat in the warehouse a couple of days they would have a nasty screeching cat-call sound. Sounds like a perfect match for my Yoko Ono LPs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Here's a nice-looking pair on eBay. Man, I dig the convoluted grills! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironsave Posted September 15, 2010 Author Share Posted September 15, 2010 Yeah... those grills really look sweet. Here's a nice-looking pair on eBay. Man, I dig the convoluted grills! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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