JR149 - Restoration Thread

[Wakefield Turntables]

The speakers are now coming along at a rapid rate. I have applied all the veneer to both speakers and I'm just in the process of doing the prep work to polish and then varnish them! I'm experimenting with which finish i like the most so its probably going to be the weekend when I even start to work on them. I still have a metal base plate to prep and paint but that wont take too long. I'm pretty happy with the outcome so far, lets just hope they scrub up nicely! I may even make a custom pair of speaker stands for them. No pics tonight but hopefully a big update over the weekend.

[SLS]

Oh ... way down memory lane.

My first speakers as well, then some Epos ES14. Or was it the other way around.

I found people didn't realise they were speakers, just somewhere useful to put their coffee.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Yep they are a great speaker well worth the effort I've spent restoring them. They will be used between my Sansui and valve system.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Been a while, managed to get one speaker finished and the other well on its way.

Here's the XO recapped and refitted. The underside of the speaker has been re-veneered, french polished and then varnished.



And finally this is what it looks like when fully setup. I tested it and it fired up 1st time through my Sansui 719 amp.



Still some way to go with the other one.

[Gordon Steadman]

Been a while, managed to get one speaker finished and the other well on its way.

Here's the XO recapped and refitted. The underside of the speaker has been re-veneered, french polished and then varnished.



And finally this is what it looks like when fully setup. I tested it and it fired up 1st time through my Sansui 719 amp.



Still some way to go with the other one.

I suspect they look better than the originals

[Wakefield Turntables]

Have a look at post #12. This is my first go at something like this so I wasn't expecting too much They have come out better than I expected. I have made errors and they are not perfect but I at least have a better understanding of what I'm doing which hopefully wont translate into errors of the next pair I do. I'd like to try some exotic veneer's but I'd also like to stick to square edges!

[Martyn Miles]

My first pair of proper loudspeakers
(wish I still had them . . . )

Has anyone here ever owned a pair of 'improper' speakers?

[IHP]

Top thread chap, that woodwork's looking good ! I've just bought pair of these and am very grateful for your capacitor related advice. I've been lucky, the ones I've bought are in decent condition. You would not believe what difference was made to the woodwork with a light wire wool clean and some beeswax, came up like new. Of course you do realise to finish the job you are going to have to spend £28 on what is basically two rectangles of foam !

Anyway, bottom line is these speakers are a revelation, against a pair of Harbeth P3ESRs they are not making me unhappy, quite the contrary in fact, belting little cylinders - punchy little buggers and a tremendous listen. Stuff hasn't come on that much has it ?!

It's great to see the classic gear given a bit of time and effort and brought back to life. Far more satisfying than buying a new box and of course in the spirit of sustainability too.

To contribute to your thread, I thought these were a very useful addition.......

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-x-Y-For...53.m2749.l2649

.......enabling a sound connection of pretty thick core speaker cable.

You've got to get that foam now

[Wakefield Turntables]

Thanks!

I actually sold this pair and then realised I'd missed them. I did buy another of very early. My new pair has the Mk 1 cross over without the fuse. Some say they sound better, I can't the difference personally. I did also speak to Paul over at RFC with respects to have a new cross-over made and he seems to think that Jim Rogers went a bit skin-flint on the parts when designing the cross-over and there are supposed to be some errors with it's design so if you really want to get the very very last drop out of the 149's I'd suggest you mail Paul at RFC for further advice. Hope this helps and good luck with these excellent little speakers.

[sumday]

Before I knew anything about hifi (what...yesterday? shouts a voice from the back) i was given a pair of JR150s.
I used them on the end of a particularly dreadful system and as the foams and tweeters were shot they quickly ended up in a local skip.

Now, with the benefit of a few years knowledge and a bit of skill with a soldering iron, this thread makes me weep....LOL

Good luck with your renovation.

P.s...being 54 this is the first....and last....time I use LOL

Apart from that.