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The D120--- (originally a hi-fi speaker) 25 to 50 watts appx. continuous - depending on the bandwidth of information going into the speaker.
Got this off of a JBL speaker reckoning site.
The D120F---(designed for guitar amps) 35 to 100 watts, again, frequency dependent. VC gap is widened and has slightly less efficency. Finest guitar speaker in history, until the EV 12L was issued.
The K and E series (both discontinued as well) were designed to meet the ever increasing need for more power handling capacity. Guitarists in the 60's and 70's pushed every limit of the speaker by using bigger and more powerful amplifiers. What happened? The sound of the original changed. For better or worse is people’s opinion. Voice coil former material had to be changed to a material that could withstand and dissapate more heat. The original paper former was changed to Aluminum ( K series --black frame--very bright - almost brittle sound). Hey, but now the guitarist had 150 watts continuous per speaker with the K series. Also, the cone is thicker and the cloth surround enters the picture and the classic D120 sound changes some more.
Then with the E series the voice coil former material changed again to the marvelous Dupont Kapton plastic (more mellow sound than the aluminum but still quite different than the original paper/nomex former) Power is raised again to 300 watts continuous. 1979 ---The alnico structure of the D&K series is gone due to the rising cost of cobalt. The cheaper, much heavier ceramic magnet structure is introduced. The aluminum former of the K series still exists and is used on the first E series until Kapton. The edgewound, very light weight, aluminum voice coil has remained. The cone is thicker. The adhesives and varnishes were improved.
The original D had an untreated paper surround (cone) and a paper voice coil former. When Fender began purchasing and putting the D series speakers in their amplifiers, they worked great---except---the surround eventually cracked and split. (again, those brutal guitarists, paper quality and atmospheric conditions) So, JBL began putting black, gooey dope on the surround to dampen overtones as well as keep it supple and flexible. Those surrounds still broke down sooner than they liked. Enter the treated cloth surround (late D series and used all the way up through K and the recently discontinued E series)--- Finally got it right but what did it do to the sound? It changed the paramaters of the speaker to a greater low end capacity which gives the listener the impression of less midrange. The high end sparkle is still there. A different cone affected the midrange as well. The voicing is further away still from the original sound.
D120F made for Fender in the early 60’s had orange dust cap. It was a purchase option, possibly for the Dual Showman. The original aluminum dust cap was not added just for appearance. It also serves as a heat sink heat and raises the power capacity as well as enhancing the mid-hi output.
There was also a orange range label, grey frame D120F with Fender logo. By the way, Fender had JBL to paint their frames orange for a period. If they ran out of orange paint on a batch, they used the standard grey. Other than cosmetics there is no difference in the speakers.
E speaker kit is presently the only offering from JBL to recone the D and K series. The quality is impeccable. It has a thicker cone and the plastic Kapton former material.
CAUTION: When considering purchasing a "vintage speaker" with the original cone: You must know that speakers as old a the D and K series need to be reconed regardless of their reported condition. Cone, spider and former paper dry-rot. The spider fatigues/collapses over time allowing the voice coil to drop too low in the gap. If you plan to put this speaker in active service you must know that it will not sound up to its potential and the likelyhood of failure is high. Collectors, of course, leave them as is.
Got this off of a JBL speaker reckoning site.
The D120F---(designed for guitar amps) 35 to 100 watts, again, frequency dependent. VC gap is widened and has slightly less efficency. Finest guitar speaker in history, until the EV 12L was issued.
The K and E series (both discontinued as well) were designed to meet the ever increasing need for more power handling capacity. Guitarists in the 60's and 70's pushed every limit of the speaker by using bigger and more powerful amplifiers. What happened? The sound of the original changed. For better or worse is people’s opinion. Voice coil former material had to be changed to a material that could withstand and dissapate more heat. The original paper former was changed to Aluminum ( K series --black frame--very bright - almost brittle sound). Hey, but now the guitarist had 150 watts continuous per speaker with the K series. Also, the cone is thicker and the cloth surround enters the picture and the classic D120 sound changes some more.
Then with the E series the voice coil former material changed again to the marvelous Dupont Kapton plastic (more mellow sound than the aluminum but still quite different than the original paper/nomex former) Power is raised again to 300 watts continuous. 1979 ---The alnico structure of the D&K series is gone due to the rising cost of cobalt. The cheaper, much heavier ceramic magnet structure is introduced. The aluminum former of the K series still exists and is used on the first E series until Kapton. The edgewound, very light weight, aluminum voice coil has remained. The cone is thicker. The adhesives and varnishes were improved.
The original D had an untreated paper surround (cone) and a paper voice coil former. When Fender began purchasing and putting the D series speakers in their amplifiers, they worked great---except---the surround eventually cracked and split. (again, those brutal guitarists, paper quality and atmospheric conditions) So, JBL began putting black, gooey dope on the surround to dampen overtones as well as keep it supple and flexible. Those surrounds still broke down sooner than they liked. Enter the treated cloth surround (late D series and used all the way up through K and the recently discontinued E series)--- Finally got it right but what did it do to the sound? It changed the paramaters of the speaker to a greater low end capacity which gives the listener the impression of less midrange. The high end sparkle is still there. A different cone affected the midrange as well. The voicing is further away still from the original sound.
D120F made for Fender in the early 60’s had orange dust cap. It was a purchase option, possibly for the Dual Showman. The original aluminum dust cap was not added just for appearance. It also serves as a heat sink heat and raises the power capacity as well as enhancing the mid-hi output.
There was also a orange range label, grey frame D120F with Fender logo. By the way, Fender had JBL to paint their frames orange for a period. If they ran out of orange paint on a batch, they used the standard grey. Other than cosmetics there is no difference in the speakers.
E speaker kit is presently the only offering from JBL to recone the D and K series. The quality is impeccable. It has a thicker cone and the plastic Kapton former material.
CAUTION: When considering purchasing a "vintage speaker" with the original cone: You must know that speakers as old a the D and K series need to be reconed regardless of their reported condition. Cone, spider and former paper dry-rot. The spider fatigues/collapses over time allowing the voice coil to drop too low in the gap. If you plan to put this speaker in active service you must know that it will not sound up to its potential and the likelyhood of failure is high. Collectors, of course, leave them as is.
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