One of my speakers sounds like it's underwater.

[Gil_Pena]

I just got a new pair of speakers. We'll need to me. Some JBL l56 speakers. I really like them. However when they were shown to me there was not very bassie music playing. When I got home I put some music on and I noticed that one of them pops a bit when the bass comes on. It also sounds like the speaker is underwater. When I say underwater I don't mean like it sounds muffled. I mean it sounds like if a mermaid swim up to me while I was scuba diving and started saying something to me in a gurgly humorous cartoon fashion. Bubble talk hehe. And then it does pop. What could this be? Speakers were made in 1981 . They sound pretty good till this point. I'm using a Rotel 970 BX integrated amplifier with 60 w per channel at 8 ohms

 

[Mikado463]

Did you drop one of the speakers in your aquarium ?

Seriously, at 44 years old I suspect either a bass driver or crossover issue. Perhaps the good doctor (TLS guy)will chime in and give you a diagnosis

 

[Gil_Pena]

Hurray lol

 

[TLS Guy]

I just got a new pair of speakers. We'll need to me. Some JBL l56 speakers. I really like them. However when they were shown to me there was not very bassie music playing. When I got home I put some music on and I noticed that one of them pops a bit when the bass comes on. It also sounds like the speaker is underwater. When I say underwater I don't mean like it sounds muffled. I mean it sounds like if a mermaid swim up to me while I was scuba diving and started saying something to me in a gurgly humorous cartoon fashion. Bubble talk hehe. And then it does pop. What could this be? Speakers were made in 1981 . They sound pretty good till this point. I'm using a Rotel 970 BX integrated amplifier with 60 w per channel at 8 ohms

Have you switched the amp channels to see if the fault follows that speaker or the amp channel? This sounds much more like and amp problem than a speaker problem.

 

[Mikado463]

see Gil, our doctor makes house calls ......

 

[Gil_Pena]

No not yet. Give me about an hour and a half or so from right now. I surely will

 

[Gil_Pena]

It's just someone speaker. It's more of a popping rattling failing sounding

 

[Gil_Pena]

 

[TLS Guy]

That does not help. Now do what you are told and see if the fault follows the speaker or the amp.

 

[Gil_Pena]

That does not help. Now do what you are told and see if the fault follows the speaker or the amp.

Sorry I must have had a typo in the above post. I swapped the speaker cables already and same result with the same speaker. It makes that sound while the other speaker sounds okay.

 

[isolar8001]

Sorry I must have had a typo in the above post. I swapped the speaker cables already and same result with the same speaker. It makes that sound while the other speaker sounds okay.

Well, when you buy an old pair of speakers sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't.
A speaker is one of the most durable devices ever made generally.

But, it sounds like you need replacement woofers.
Won't be cheap...those JBL's are sought after collectors items. (for some reason)

 

[Gil_Pena]

Oh nooooooooooooo! ! Well, looks like I'll have to cop up another $150 200 bucks. The good thing though is that the guy was indeed very nice now that I think of it. He had a lot of other things that he was wanting to get rid of dirt cheap. Me and my father need to build our Hi-Fi collection indeed.

 

[TLS Guy]

Sorry I must have had a typo in the above post. I swapped the speaker cables already and same result with the same speaker. It makes that sound while the other speaker sounds okay.

Are you sure that speaker is a JBL 156? I can find no information that speaker ever existed. Is it actually a JBL 56?

 

[isolar8001]

Are you sure that speaker is a JBL 156? I can find no information that speaker ever existed. Is it actually a JBL 56?

L56.....seems to be a speaker some love and some hate.
Never cared for those older model JBL's myself.

JBL L56 Specifications

 

[Gil_Pena]

L56

 

[TLS Guy]

L56

Thought so. Dreadful speakers when new. You can get a repair kit. I personally don't think they are worth the trouble.

 

[highfigh]

Sorry I must have had a typo in the above post. I swapped the speaker cables already and same result with the same speaker. It makes that sound while the other speaker sounds okay.

If you haven't removed the grills, do that- these have foam surround on the woofers and over time, it degrades to the point where it can be non-existant. When that happens, they need to be replaced. DO NOT continue to use them- if you do, the voice coil will scrape on the frame and there's almost no gap between the frame and magnet- that can cause the wire to become bare and it will not only oxidize, it can cause a short circuit, which could make your amplifier very unhappy.

Speaker Exchange and Simply Speakers are two companies that sell replacement parts for these.

 

[isolar8001]

Danny is kind of a dork usually trying to promote his hyper expensive "upgrades"...but his findings here confirm why so many dislike this model JBL.