When I was in college we had similar JBL speakers in all the music classrooms. The music theory professor was elderly and quite passionate about listening examples and would regularly push the speakers to the point that they would glow. We didn't know there were light bulbs inside at the time so we thought he was driving the speakers that hard.

The actual symptoms is a typical electrolytic capacitor failure. an oxide corrosion layer builds so the tweeter cuts out, and cranking up the voltage breaks down the oxide layer, establishing connection. Common in older receivers, etc when they need a re-cap job.

The light bulb isn't just a "replacement" for a fuse - it also flattens dynamics, like a compressor.

A small tip - on 20yo+ speakers remove the woofers and rotate them 180* if possible to counter the cone sag over the years.

When reassembling plastic housings, turn the screw backwards until you feel it sit in the groove, then start tightening. It avoids cross threading.

Some old school appliance repairers swear by "dim bulb testers". A regular household incandescent bulb is wired in series with the device you're testing. If the device begins drawing too many amps, the bulb will glow and you'll protect the device from burning out.

The light bulb thing has been used for decades by many manufacturers. A nice way for easy overload protection.

Elytone was/still is an assembly manufacturer that supplies industry. Known for high quality assemblies. JBL must have outsourced the x-over module to them. Not a bad choice either.

It's 3am and while your videos are extremely interesting I've just found out they are very helpful for falling asleep

Reminds me of one time i went to the store to get a heat light, or a minimum, a regular light bulb. I explained to the sales person that it's to create heat for baby chicks. They handed me a LED bulb, and told me how much more efficient it is. I was dumbfounded. In that scenario, it was the exact opposite of what we needed.

Elytone, is a Japanese electronics company, that specialize in the manufacture of speaker crossovers. (Still in business) In fact, it could be, that the crossover is the only component made in Japan, seeing as how the sticker is on the crossover part itself. I love the lightbulb idea, because fuses will take out an amplifier if they pop.

I have JBL Control LA that are identical, except for the white cone. I purchased new in 1993 while in the Army. I also have the Control 5 Plus. I truly enjoy the sound they produce.

I got my non pro Control one's at best buy 15 years ago. There are AMAZING speakers for their price point. Their sound is top notch placed up against anything else in the price point! These absolutely disapear when powered right, lovely sound!

I have the same speakers, they were a kerb find, missing both grilles & the woofers had rotted foam surrounds. I replaced the woofers with a pair from a scrap Toshiba rear projection TV. These have the rubber surrounds and identical fixings, they now sound great! I have not had any problems from the cross overs yet.....

While I am not an electronic expert, I am a professional musician and I have had a set of JBL Control 5s paired with the matching subwoofer. I have used this set up in my studio as they are “deemed” as Mid-field monitors. My Control 5s also utilize hi powered light bulbs as a component of the crossover system. From my understanding I believe the lightbulbs protect the tweeters from excess distortion which is seen by the tweeter as DC power. DC voltage is Kryptonite to tweeters. TheJBL light bulbs are there as further insurance against this DC distortion. Seeing a dim glow through the ports as your music plays is normal. If you actually see BRIGHT lights inside, you are on dangerous ground and had better quickly lower your volume and figure out why you are producing such dangerous distortion. I have also used my C 5s along with the subwoofer as a VERY respectable stand alone main P.A. system in medium to slightly large clubs for solo and whole band sound systems. Very dependable work horses for various applications. I have LOVED my JBL Control 5s since the 90s. They don’t have to be babied, but if you take care with them, they will be a blessing to you for decades.

Great video Colin. The light bulb soft-limiter idea is ingenious, dissipating excess electrical energy into heat and light using a common component specifically designed to shed heat energy better than say, large ceramic resistors. One speaker design you might like to check out and do a video on if you get the chance is the Bose 901 system. My ex father in law had two pairs and they are quite weird and unique, using 8 rearward-firing drivers and a separate EQ unit placed before the power amp. Like all Bose systems then and now the sound is very coloured, also quite engaging on most types of music.

One hint regarding the "reflowing" - you should use a little fresh solder or some good quality flux so you don't end up creating dry joints.

The company I work for regularly installs the current version of the Control 1 Pros! I actually hung up 3 pairs today. They sound pretty solid for their size.

Thanks Colin! Your channel has given me a greater appreciation for the electronic devices we take for granted and discard when a newer model comes along. Your JBL speakers remind me that I have a set of Klipsch Promedia GMX 5.1 speakers that I have to get fixed. The receiver is not working. I hope you acquire a set of Klipsch Promedia speakers in the future and review them. It’s a stellar sound system for gaming although it’s not practical if you live in an apartment complex.

I had no idea JBL was such an old company (1946)!? I guess I assumed they just popped up in the last decade or so. Also, the fact that they have never changed/updated their logo is pretty cool!

They look remarkably modern for 30 year old speakers. Love the black and white woofers with the white enclosure!

6:37 Very emotional to see the speakers of my dad's stereo, the speakers of my childhood! Nice video!

I'm staring right now at my own JBL Control 1's (also made in Japan). Bought mine brand new nearly 2 decades ago. Still running strong. Might not have perfect sound but I still love them nonetheless.

Cool speakers. Would have really liked to see the light bulbs in action. I've never seen that before.

Bulbs are a dynamic way to dampen power to the drivers at maximum levels... its also a clever way to raise the power handling..

Fantastic video/review, I also own 2 pairs of JBL Control 1 Plus Loudspeakers, 2 pairs of JBL Control 5 Plus (1 pair brand new in box). Absolutely love the sound of the JBL Control series.

18:07 -- My dad had a pair of Realistic Mach Two speakers back in the 90s, and I was surprised when my brother took the grille off of one of them (something I thought was impossible until I saw it), and I noticed there were knobs behind it! Those speakers were huge, and they were up against a wall that was shared with my bedroom, so sometimes, I could hear the music playing through my wall :P

the Control Series where by far the best speakers available at the time they came out for the purpose, also served extremely well as "monitors" in clubs and stuff, and like you said, perfect studio monitors. the use of light bulbs was quite common actually, even on much largeer speakers for live events .. sometime you could actually see them light up inside when they kinda clip them for too long, the temperature could aso cause thee issue you have with the need to push them first to get the lamp to a certain temperature.

I have 2 pairs of JBL L-19 and they are my end-game speakers, I love 'em that much. They're a little bit more neutral than say the L100. The bass coming out of that 10 inch woofer is incredible. It really kicks yet it's tight and clear

Used to do sound for a guy who did a giant local fireworks show. He had 4 giant Peavey speakers -- each RMS rated to something like 1200W. (We'd drive 2 on each 2000w amp). Even those beasts had lightbulbs inside. Those were socketed automotive 12v lightbulbs Your videos are always a highlight of my Friday mornings!

I have some nearly/roughly 100 year old speakers made for film projectors, Bell&Howell Filmosound 179’s and the only ‘maintenance’ they ever had were TRS Input modifications. Still the best sounding speakers I’ve ever had paired with guitar amps. The rear of the cabinets are hinged and latched and the interior is completely covered in velvet,… and the magnets and drivers are very heavily shielded.

I have these exact speakers and want to restore them. So excited to see this video.

Ns10 are the reason disco sounds the way it does with a “disco smile” because the high and low end are very flat on ns10’s

Hey Colin, from the description you provide, I'm fairly certain that's a dried out capacitor. Every you crank the volume, you raise the voltage across the capacitor, and in turn you are reforming it. Once the capacitor is "reformed", there is an electric field across the capacitor due to the stored charge, which allows it to conduct further current more easily. However, until you reach a certain voltage, the capacitor will not start charging, and will remain empty - no electric field. The capacitor needs to be replaced, in both speakers. While you're at it, you can add somewhat thicker wires going to the midrange speakers. Those are kind of thin. Yes, they worked for a long time. Doesn't mean they're optima :)

I found a JBL Sub 6 with a blue "Control" badge on it for 50AUD last year! Seems to be from the late 90s. Love having the port and controls on the front for quick tweaking. Only thing is the magnet starts rattling when I push it too hard. Couldn't figure out how to get farther inside even with a service manual :( Regardless it pairs very well with the 80's Wharfdale Deltas I also found locally. I wired them into the JBL's high-pass filter so they don't have to work as hard. Works really well for my needs :)

I like how these speakers are mirrored, that’s so dope. Noticed right away.

Just an FYI in general: the melted spots on electronic equipment of any kind do not have to necessarily indicate an actual heat-induced melting (like soldering iron)... but chemical. Some leads/wires outer "plastic" isolation layer (whatever the chem. compound it is) can eat into the surface and melt it, but it's the process that takes years: think equipment that has had leads wrapped around it tightly and then stored for a prolonged period of time, or just stacked one on top of another, with leads in the middle. So, I guess the lesson is: for long storage, store your wires/cables/leads separate from your device - but best wrapped next to it in, maybe in a plastic bag, potentially zip-tied or taped to an inconspicuous spot (for eventual residue clean-up). And, if storing them separately, always tag the leads with not-too-easily-removable parent device's identifier, if such thing matters (for "it's-of-higher-quality-than-average" or "proprietary-connector/wiring" reasons). This is especially useful for external power adapters, even more if it's the ubiquitous barrel connector: mark the adapter with the device name, and label the device with adapter's voltage, [minimum] current, and polarity (even if device has this marked on a label or impressed into plastic somewhere, those can fade or get worn down with time). This way, you'll always have means to find the original adapter, or substitute with appropriate one in the future. ....does my "organizing control freak" nature show? _:-D

I love Vintage JBL speakers. Last year I got some vintage JBL L100 Century speakers, and went t hrough them and refurbed the cabinets and got new Quadrex foam grills for them in blue and they're great. Both great looking and great sounding. When I got them the drivers were fine and so were the crossovers. But I think at some point maybe this year I want to make a new pair of crossovers for them. When I do that I think I may make the crossover compatible with bi-amping.

Why is it weird that a major USA brand had their speakers made in Japan? Wasn't Japan a major manufacturer of quality electronic parts in the 80's/90's, wouldn't it stand to reason that multiple brands would have gone a step further and assemble electronics or audio equipment there as well?

A lot of us electronic engineer build "light-bulb current limiter" socket tester as a simple way to test short circuit on any project because we can't be arsed to flip the breaker or replace a fuse (or wait for the self-healing fuse to reset) for every single time we test a pretty powerful circuit. . ...also, you'll definitely love JBL 4435 if you like this kind of sound.

Thanks, learned something today. Gotta check inside my 90'ies Energy and Yamahas!

I'm a bass player. My bass cabinet used light bulbs as fuses. It was stolen. But an interesting thing happened with the new one I bought, a 2x12 cabinet that I was powering with 1300 watts. I was playing Stranglehold complete with chorus effect. The bass was constantly "rolling" through the entire song caused me to blow both speakers. It wasn't mechanical failure. It was thermal failure. They just got hotter and hotter, and finally the voice coil wiring "disintegrated". When I removed the woofers, the voice coil windings were like loose spaghetti draped over the voice coil. I learned a valuable lesson on the different ways you can blow speakers. i.e. it's not just "too loud" volume that over drives your speakers. But using them within their excursion range, but close to the limit and for too long, can still destroy them. On a side note, thank God it was the last song in the gig. 😁

I trust Japan THE MOST when it comes to how well-made and high-functioning equipment will be. They are extremely apt and show highest strength of build quality in my experience. : D

Gosh, for a >30 year design, they still look startlingly modern.

I purchased JBL Control 5's when I was still a teen, they had the same surge protector bulbs, and when I was irresponsible I used them as kick drum indicators. Yep, they eventually died, but I replaced them with self powered JBL EON 15" speakers. I still have those and loan them out to friends for bush doofs every now and then. Not bad for late 80's tech and early 90's stage gear. $0.02

音律電子股份有限公司 ELYTONE ELECTRONIC CO., LTD. They are the electronic parts suppliers based in Taiwan which is closer to the Japan, So the parts used here were supplied by them aka Elytone...

Light bulbs as current limiters was a pretty common thing in electronics up to a few decade agos. Your amazement for something so simple amuses me ;)

I got a set of these after seeing this and the other one about them. I was disappointed that the ones i got werent book matched and are in face both "right side" with the tweeter on the right. This bothers me since i have them laying on their side for my PC speakers, powered by a Yamaha RX-V379. Despite their small size, they fit really well with the 10" sub that came with the receiver and MAN, do they sing when pushed. Very balanced, maybe a touch warm, but overall a VERY nice sound. I have a very long audio engineer and musician background, so i know a bit more than your normal "audiophile" who've never touched an instrument or mixing console in their life. I snagged them for $39+ shipping, which ended up being under $70 total. They were a bit dirty, but virgin in that they had never been apart and worked perfectly as soon as i hooked them up. Completely pleased with this recommendation, which is good, cause i usually dont listen to people for purchases. I can trust Colin though, despite his Mac leanings ;)

I have a set of bose acoutsimass speakrs that have the light bulbs inside them. Was confused when I first opened them and just thought they were fuses. Still impressed with sound and how nice and clean the sub sounds on speakers that are older than I am.

Control 1, control 5 & I think they also sold a bigger version. Commonly found in technical environments. They were widely used In AV Programming setups & meeting rooms.

Hi, I have a pair of these in black. I have not seen very many mirror image baffles on these. A friend had these for a long time and I heard them a lot and always liked them. The foam rotted, so he gave them to me and I got new mid drivers for them for $50 US. I recently bought a JBL Control SB-2 subwoofer (38-160Hz @ -10dB) which is made for these as a system and for the contractor series. It has a 10" dual voice coil driver and is a slot loaded, vented bandpass design and handles 340W. It is a passive set up. The satellite output crossover is at 160Hz, so this makes a nice system. These Control 1s are older and have polycarbonate tweeters. Other noteworthy specs are that they handle 150W and have a freq. range of 80hz - 20kHz (-10dB). I plan on using them for a small keyboard system and music listening. The older ones do not have a 1/4" threaded insert on the back, but newer ones do. I am going to refoam the original speakers and build DIY oak cabinets for them with small Vifa tweeters. I got a pair of JBL Control 1 Pro crossovers on Ebay cheap as well.

Years ago my sister gave me a pair of her old Ohm Model C2 speakers. The foam around both woofers had all but turned into dust. I found replacement parts online and had my hand at repairing them. It was a little fiddly but it worked out well and these speakers now sound amazing (and am listening to Colin's video through them now). So, yeah, I don't need to be convinced regarding the need for speaker maintenance. Good video, Colin.

I have got this speaker, I luv them too bits, haven't played them that much though, they'll be soon be a part of my little DJ/ studio setup

thanks for the great video. it was really interesting. I love JBL speakers! even their tiny ipod docks sound great for their size. one quick tip- when reflowing solder it helps if you add Flux or a bit of fresh rosin core to make sure you get a solid connection.

A great channel for speaker/radio repair-- Mr. Carlson's Lab.

I have a pair of Control 1 speakers I have had for over 10 years now, on occasion, I have experienced them 'glowing' at louder volumes. I also have a pair of Control 2P which are same form factor that are self-powered, I am curious if they have the bulb inside as well.

Dang maybe I need to make a video about my Sony SS-H3500s. Those are three way with arguably superior specs and fabric surrounds. Glad to see some love for vintage bookshelf speakers. Very underrated source of value hifi.

Oh! 'Home Listener'. I thought you said 'Homeless Nerd' at first.

I have several pairs of original Control 1 pro. They were a pull from a nightclub install where the owner didn't want them. I think I got 16 of them but many had bad foams on the woofer. I got 8 replacement woofers and they are all through my home as permanent install. I like them. Add a subwoofer and they are great. I also got two pair of the Control 22 with blown woofers from another install. I repaired those as well and they live in my wood shop.

Interesting. Now I know why the JBL pro3 version of these that I used as near field monitors for my keyboard rig in the early 90’s had their very own light show coming from the port on the front. 🎹😊

Those remind me of Cambridge Soundworks speakers we had in the late 90's.

One of my favorite speakers as a young musician. I got the combo with the sub from a gear trade. I always dug the over peak/light but assumed it was heat. lol

Old power distribution fuse panels had standard Edison screw sockets in the USA. It was a common troubleshooting technique to screw a light bulb into the fuse box to diagnose a short circuit without blowing a bunch of fuses. One person would watch the bulb while another went around twisting cords and so forth until they got the lamp to light, locating the short. Some people used a penny instead of the light bulb but that was not very safe.

About 30 years ago the other guitarist/vocalist from the band I was in at the time acquired a rather rare Dean Markley "voice box" -which was their brand's version of the (then) quite hot "talk box" that had become well known at the time by musicians like Peter Frampton and Joe Walsh, However they both used a much better built "talk box" that used very high quality components, most notably...high quality, high wattage full range compression drivers that were designed for powerful large venue horn speaker cabinets. Those high end ones used a capacitor as a "filter" much like a crossover does in a multi speaker component cabinet. Connecting to your amp just like an extension speaker does, they could handle a powerful guitar amplifier with no issues -BUT if the amp was too powerful, or their filter capacitor simply wore out...it would fry. And just like with a blown crossover, you'd get no sound until that filter cap was replaced. Conversely, the Dean Markley "voice box" ingeniously used a 12 volt DC light bulb of the type that are commonly used in automobile tail lights inside, in place of a filter capacitor. It served two main purposes, one was to absorb the excess voltage spikes from it's source amplifier, so whether it be a powerful source amps powering it or not, the light bulb would simply swell from bright to dim in response to the incoming voltage. The second and probably most important main purpose was this also allowed the Dean Markley "voice box" to use a far more inferior compression driver...I'm talkin' only 30 watts RMS of inferior vs. their main competitor at the time Heil Sound, who's "talk box" used a THREE HUNDRED WATT compression driver! The horn driver in the Markley "voice box" was of the type commonly found in school football field announcement horn speakers, etc. whereas the Heil "talk box" used a horn driver often found in powerful concert hall and high end theatre speaker systems. The difference was (obviously!) like day and night...YES the "voice box" DID indeed provide a suitable talkbox effect, and was much more affordable. But meanwhile, the original Heil "talk box" was professional gear and could pretty much rattle the fillings right out of your teeth if you wanted it to. The chances of an incandescent DC light bulb burning out from a newbie musician's amp weren't likely (most newbies didn't have Marshall stacks) and afterall, it provided the effect it was supposed to provide...so the Dean Markley was a decent choice for beginners. And it was alot less expensive. They didn't sell very well, probably because most beginners didn't even know what a talkbox was, not to mention how to properly connect one, or use one properly. It's even more unlikely they knew much about any of the pros and cons due to the quality of the components used inside of them either. To sum up my short novel...this was just another example of another use of a light bulb in what is essentially another version of a type of speaker cabinet, but this type has a horn driver and a mouth tube connected to it. I mention the most logical reasons the manufacturer probably chose to do this, and the main advantages and disadvantages of it. Interestingly, the Dean Markley "voice box" is a rare collectible now, even more scarce than the old purple Heil Sound "talk box" from the mid 1970's and even though they weren't known for their legendary performance, the "voice box" is nonetheless another clever use of a light bulb in this application, and I thought it was relevant to this video and worthy of mention...even though I've somehow made this mention of it into a small book's worth of reading ha ha ha ha! Thank you for sharing this informative video! -Rock on

Incandescent lamps have a positive temp. Co-efficient, cold they have a low resistance and when hot have a higher resistance, and thus limits current if the level at the terminal gets too high

I have many JBL Control 1 - 6" speakers that i got from a closed Target HQ, and they sounded better than a pair of vintage Acoustic Research 7s (90s version)

Many speakers, especially semi pro or pro speakers use these 'soffitten' bulbs as current limiting devices. They will soft limit the power towards the speakers, protecting them and also making sure the mechanical limits of the speakers are less easily reached, so they will be able to handle high peaks in the signal better, but also limit dynamics. I've seen them in Bose, JBL, Denon, Jamo and many more.

I lke JBL Speakers. had ones from a Compaq desktop from 90s. Worked pretty good. Then I bought a JBL Peebles in 2013 and I love them. They just do the work.

Btw Colin, you said the “speakers may have been dropped but there are no signs of external damage,” but i see there is some damage, maybe melted plastic on the right rear mounting slot of the broken speaker. That’s a sign that it was mounted at one point and the speaker got ripped out of the mount and fell.

I'd go ahead and replace the caps anyway. You'd be surprised at how much they change over the years.

I think today you can actually buy them as a consumer product, at least in my country. Here they were and still are a really popular set of speakers because of their price and sound quality. Off the top of my head I can remember at least 10-15 places in my small town that have them. Even in different models.

I have had control 5 with C5 sub since 1987. Love them the light is in there as a warning if you overload it.

Really enjoyed this video! 🔈

Oh yeah fixing old speakers, such an easy intro to electronics, and the payoff is amazing when you can get something to sound beautiful. I inherrited 50 year old JBL Control Monitors (4311) and had to clean corrosion, glue a few cones and spiders and remove moisture from the cabinatery. Sounded perfect after that. Replaced original caps, yet they sound the same! The old caps were encased in cardboard too, so... somehow they performed after half a century! Aftermarket KSN1005 tweeters swapped out from the stock tweeters, which only went up to 15khz. Now probs goes around 25khz, and with that smooth bass and detailed mid driver, such a pleasure. Not expensive getting a pair online and learning how to service them. More fulfiling in my honest oppinion than going out and buying a new equivalent set for thousands.

now THOSE are some *cool speakers*

I want some Aiwa bookshelf speakers, always loved the sound. My Yamaha receiver is high wattage so stll looking.

I was real tired of my annoyingly big, bad-sounding (they didn't sound too bad initially, but one broke) floor speakers, and I was in a thrift store and found a pair of Canton slightly-bigger-than-bookshelf speakers. Black housing & grille match my room, great sound according to online reviews. Called up my dad who knows his stuff, he told me to check the rubber, which looked brand new, even though the speakers are 30 years old. Gladly paid fifty bucks for the pair and lugged them to the subway station four blocks, then from the subway into a train, then finally into my mom's car. One of the best purchases ever. Super good speakers for super cheap. After some time I had to replace a tweeter at a cost of less than fifteen bucks. (It's the very same thrift store where I got a 90s all-digital Onkyo double tape deck that went on ebay for 130 and up for just twenty five bucks. Amazing prices on some items, notably not amplifiers.)

the problem with the rubber/compound sorround is that its mechanical characteristics change over time, that changes the compliance and with it, the bass response of the wofer. And it is not so noticeable unless you measure the frequency response of the speaker, in bass reflex boxes the change may be more noticeable, due to the mismatch (the rubber hardens and the "free air resonance" of the speaker goes up, that modifies how it behaves with the box and with the tuned port (tube)). I had some 8" woofers to build a studio monitor (Scan Speak, polypropylene, fine component); time passed (they were stored for 3-4 years, in perfect condition), and, when I went back to the project and measured the Thiele Small parameters of the components _to make the calculations of the boxes_, the change was evident, the resonance frequency had risen and it was no longer the same as the technical sheet (it's a well-known topic in recording/mastering studios, speakers have a useful life of a few years before they start to change; 10 is a good number) For relaxed listening and pleasure, the requirements are much more lax...

These JBL Speakers are 30 years old? It looks new and modern!

Never heard of that since I had forgotten about it!

I liked this video! It reminds me of a guy called "hubnut" (who does vintage car restoration & repairs in a similar kind of format). Very cool stuff with the speakers. I'd never realised JBL were a good brand. I always figured they were some el-cheapo knockoff brand that did crappy car speakers etc! Today, I learned! :)

That lightbulb thingy has been around for ages! I’ve taken higher end speakers apart before and saw the fibre sleeve charred to a crisp. Whomever owned the sure blasted them regularly

They look clean.

So has reflowing the board resolved your issues? I am hoping so :)

Talking of JBL in Japan, you showed a shot of Kenrick Sounds - their KZfaq channel is a very nice rabbit hole to fall down. I always end up on the one delivered to Mr Abe's room. Always sticks with me.

Very nice video. I noticed a pair of these recently that had a threaded insert. Did they add then in later production models?

I have an amp from 70s for my vinyl player and as old speakers. Just perfect sound to it, sounds correct

If you look closely you can find these including the control 30's at many uk theme parks. I would like a pair of these but my ms25's are good unless I run out of space

I bought the control 1 for 30€ brand new from a second hand market, including the wall mounts. The current version have a screw in wall mount and the old style wall mount. Because are the regular control 1 they only go from 60hz till 22.000hz, so i found also a magnat subwoofer witch i set it from 60hz down to 20hz (that's the maximum that the subwoofer can go). Over all i'm very satisfied with the speakers, just that the lac base. The control 1 pro are 4ohm speaker and the control 1 are 8ohm, but this one you have control 1 plus i don't know what's the frequency respons and what ohms.

Hello. I watch the video and notice on your speakers that one tweeter is on the right side as we see the speaker and on the other from the left. Wherever I looked, all couples have Twitter on the right. How did you find it on the left?

Bought a used set of these many years ago as well, but didn't have luck, they were installed in a bar or the like, smoker environment, and completeley ruined, I had to write them off. Regardless, you should really consider a more powerful soldering iron, it makes such jobs a lot easier and the result is better as well.

Hi there, doesn't the names of the control series speakers had to do with the size and number of drivers? I purchased in the year 2000 a pair of control 25 that can be used in exterior, even painted, but never used them like that.

I've had JBL platinum speakers forever. I can't even remember how long I've had them i think i paid 5 bucks for them at a Salvation Army Thrift Store. Now i see they are going for 60 bucks on ebay. I don't even know how old they are but they have amazing sound

I'm still rocking my AIWA XR-MN5 stereo system that my dad found next to the dumpster at his work. Only issues are the 5 disk changer doesn't read disks most the time and the tape player is stripped out... but it works good as an aux-in

It is a special audio light bulb used for overload protection. Many PA speaker had this solution for many decades.

Brings me down memory lane. A pair of JBL my parents bought in the mid '70s. Lasted until around 2006. The amplifiers changed but the speakers stayed 😎

Repair starts at 13:18 ...

ive bought here in germany a pair of used infintity reference 50 about 5 years ago for 20€ the lady who sold them said they were broken... but they just had cracked foam rings.. i ordered for 8$ per driver foam rings from the usa... and watched all youtube videos i could find on refoaming... it tooked me 3 hours to clean off old adhessive before glueing in the new ones and 3 days of drying out the new addhesive but damn... they sound like the 1000 $ speakers they had been in 1991.

Sound devices out of Japan in the late 80's/early 90's were top notch, even guitars like Ibanez were almost untouchable for the price point.

That is a neat idea about including those lightbulbs. Though they are not as replaceable as a fuse. I wonder what the lifespan on those bulbs are? Either way, I didn't think that speakers could be that interesting. Thanks for proving me wrong. Great video!