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Revisiting Jim Rogers JR149s

They look decent, what’s the serial number? Must be around the transition point from red to gold logo as they have the foam and dead-sheet, but what looks like a red-logo crossover.
 
They look decent, what’s the serial number? Must be around the transition point from red to gold logo as they have the foam and dead-sheet, but what looks like a red-logo crossover.
That was my thought as well, the serial no is 9315 (my previous pair were 14730), I don't know if it's possible to date them by the serial numbers.
It would be nice to have some sort of database to catalogue when the various modifications occurred, there must be a fair bit of information on this thread that could be curated to make a start.
TS
 
Mine are #17433 and I think may date from 1981, so yours have to be quite a way before that. According to this site the logo cross point is around #6300, but it is very interesting to see different versions as it appears the logo change was just one of many incremental changes, and yours make it pretty clear the crossover changes arrived a fair way after the logo and foam/dead-sheet on the baffle. Looks like they actually got up to #24000
 
What I’d be interested in is hearing from someone who’s heard Mk 1 149s and ESL 57s - I’ve never heard the latter. The reason I ask is that both speakers are said to have “magical mid range” and indeed each time I listen to my 149s I’m knocked out by this. The beauty and naturalness in well recorded solo voice is astonishing. Should I get a pair of ESL 57s?

I have some ESL 63s, but IMO they are not at all like the 149s - maybe my subs effect this.

I also have a question about the Spendor bass extender. Do they effect the magical midrange negatively? I’d get a pair to try, but the thing that’s slightly putting me off is that the two together are a big unit - one virtue of the 149s is that they look OK in a smallish room.
 
ESL 57s and 63s are very different as the latter has the time-alignment that creates a point source well behind the speaker plane. As such the 57s sound far more close and intimate. You should definitely try and hear a pair, they are fabulous things. I really like them both, but they are different things. I’m reluctant to comment on any JR149 vs ESL comparison, but I’d say they get about as close as any box speaker can. By saying that panels are just different things and play by different rules.

I have never heard a sub I like, let alone a sub I like with a really good loudspeaker.
 
One thing I’ve learned from the ongoing LS3/5A & JR149 comparison is I I think I had the 149 tweeter very slightly too hot. I need to think obsessively about this setting before forming any real conclusion. I’ve backed it down a little further, but when I get to the measuring stage (that will be a fair while away) I’ll be interested to see how they compare. I will use the LS3/5A as a reference here, as it is clearly absolutely bang on right to my ears.

Now they’ve warmed up and I’ve got more used to them there really is something stunningly good about the LS3/5A midband. I totally get the fanaticism people have towards these little speakers. The way they pull information out around the sax, trumpet, piano is etc superb, maybe as good as I’ve ever heard, and they do it without any unnatural hype or spotlight. They are a fantastic speaker for jazz and small scale classical, though switch to rock and electronica and the 149s pull ahead. They are very close but still surprisingly different! My gut feeling is there is nothing between them efficiency wise, maybe a db here and there at different points in the range, but not enough to make me want to adjust the volume. Again measuring will reveal how accurate that impression. I’ll get there eventually.
 
Had another good listening session with the new JR149s this afternoon, this time remembering to move the taps on the ST20 back to 16ohms. Surprising how much difference it makes, or could it just be the speakers opening up after not being used regularly for a while, or just my ears adapting to them? Whatever it is, they are sounding superb.
TS
 
Yes I think your right. I did have the taps on 16ohm with my last 149s but the last time I used the amp was with my Tannoy Chesters & I moved the taps to 8ohm just forgot to move them back again when I hooked up the new 149s.
TS
 
Just heard from Jerry at Falcon and apparently Graham Hartle is going to be selling JR149 grilles again soon, which is obviously great news. They will be available for the 149 (MkI & II), 150 and for the JR subs and a lot cheaper than getting custom designed stuff shipped in from the USA as I did! I’ll post a link/further details when I have them.
 
Just heard from Jerry at Falcon and apparently Graham Hartle is going to be selling JR149 grilles again soon, which is obviously great news. They will be available for the 149 (MkI & II), 150 and for the JR subs and a lot cheaper than getting custom designed stuff shipped in from the USA as I did! I’ll post a link/further details when I have them.

Useful info, thank you. One pair of JR149's that I have has Graham's foam on, the other pair needs some.
 
Just heard from Jerry at Falcon and apparently Graham Hartle is going to be selling JR149 grilles again soon, which is obviously great news. They will be available for the 149 (MkI & II), 150 and for the JR subs and a lot cheaper than getting custom designed stuff shipped in from the USA as I did! I’ll post a link/further details when I have them.
Wish you had known that sooner, ordered the ones off the guy in America on Sunday, got a message this afternoon confirming they've been shipped, £146 including import duties!:(
 
Just heard from Jerry at Falcon and apparently Graham Hartle is going to be selling JR149 grilles again soon, which is obviously great news. They will be available for the 149 (MkI & II), 150 and for the JR subs and a lot cheaper than getting custom designed stuff shipped in from the USA as I did! I’ll post a link/further details when I have them.
Interesting, I wonder what changed his mind? IIRC he quit making them several years ago so I naturally assumed he just retired. 2020 has certainly been a year of surprises, with this being one of the more pleasant ones!
 
So, it's been a few weeks since my last post. After I upgraded the crossovers to the Gold label crossovers and replaced both B110's I noticed that one of the speakers wasn't airtight. It seemed that there was a slight gap between the top cap made from mdf/fibreboard whatever that is and the steel casing. I tried to carefully take it of but the damn thing broke. So it seems I now have to replace the fibreboard disks. I'm thinking about replacing them with 9mm birch plywood and either using a dremel tool or a router to make a perfect slot for the steel casing to slide into.
 
Ouch, that is annoying. I think I’d have tried to deal with that differently by just feeding some sealant or glue into the gap and not attempting disassembly at all. How did you deal with the tensioning rod? I’d not like to vouch if mine are properly air-tight or not.
 
Which is something else I’ve not a clue how to do! I guess if one was really accurate at applying something like bathroom sealing caulk it would be possible to just seal the tops and bottoms with a neat smeared-in 1mm or so bead around the circumference without impacting how the grilles sat. The actual area leaks could occur would be tiny and it’s obvious JR smeared something up there during construction, and not especially tidily either. The ideal would be to do it from the inside, but that would be a real challenge and as described above not without real risk of damage.
 
What about putting a thin bead of blu or white tack (white tack would look much better) around the external circumference as a temporary bodge? You could then measure to see if there's any change in the LF response* and, if there is, then investigate a more permanent solution, or keep the white tack as long as there's no risk of it messing up the foam grilles?

* If it improves the seal you should see improved LF extension. When I remove one or two of the 15 mounting screws from the baffle of my Ditton 66, I lose a dB or so of output at 40Hz and gain a dB or so of output at 50Hz.
 
apparently Graham Hartle is going to be selling JR149 grilles again soon, which is obviously great news. They will be available for the 149 (MkI & II), 150 and for the JR subs

Might just provide the impetus required for me to fit the new drivers in my 150s - seemed a bit pointless since they are bug ugly without!

I bought 149 and sub foams from Graham previously, but the 150s were a later acquisition.

Jim
 


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