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Anybody here have a James B Lansing C-31 front-loaded corner horn?

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Posted on August 18, 2019 at 15:18:22
theaudiohiffle
Audiophile

Posts: 1178
Location: New England
Joined: July 6, 2002
 I grew up with one in the living room(driven by a Newcomb 25wpc williamson amp. My dad had an early audio chain (Alvo Electronics) based in Central PA in the late forties - early fifties. He sold similar systems all over PA and NYS and beyond based on our living room "showroom" (his shops had stereo "walls", so far as I know the first outside of a few big cities at the time.) I've never heard a horn that sounded so good, particularly in pumping out bass (two 15" JBL 130's plus the beloved "potato-masher".)

In years of following used audio I've only ever seen one, and it wasn't advertised for sale....although it was, kinda, in Chicago.
Harry

 

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Like the pair in the link?, posted on August 18, 2019 at 17:05:36
FenderLover

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a moniker I hain't seen here for a while; howdy! :) (nt), posted on August 18, 2019 at 18:04:53
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 enn tee

all the best,
mrh

 

RE: Anybody here have a James B Lansing C-31 front-loaded corner horn?, posted on August 18, 2019 at 19:05:38
freddyi
Audiophile

Posts: 3852
Joined: December 6, 2001
 would that be about like a Harkness in a corner? If so then hornresp says 120dB at 70Hz with 8 volta input (~8v hits the 0.76mm xmax figure given by JBL for D130)


Karlson Evangelist

 

RE: Like the pair in the link? Yep, that's them!, posted on April 11, 2020 at 17:53:23
theaudiohiffle
Audiophile

Posts: 1178
Location: New England
Joined: July 6, 2002
 Wonderful photos ..... they look in superb condition. Of course, we had only one, and it was in a mahogany cabinet. The two 15"s are mounted one above the other, recessed in a curved, taper'd inner horn. They may have had some additional back-loading, but I don't think so. They basically were an alternative to Klipsch's design.

Dad knew Emory Cook, who pioneered one of the very first "audiophile" labels (on 10" microgroove, back in '52. From him he received one of the very first copies made of a record called "Speed the Parting Guest" (I still own it). It was a surprisingly musical roomful (28 percussionists) of percussion instruments, including two extra-large bass drums. Until the day she died six months ago, my older sister told me her secret wish was to be able to once again hear bass drums played through that speaker. But the Cook record played through her pair of Rectilinears was a poor substitute.

Thanks, FenderLover. You have my gratitude for the photos and link.
Harry

 

RE: Anybody here have a James B Lansing C-31 front-loaded corner horn?, posted on July 20, 2022 at 10:07:24
theaudiohiffle
Audiophile

Posts: 1178
Location: New England
Joined: July 6, 2002
 I am so remiss about visiting this website from time to time. I will try to better in the future (we're already half through 2020 so part of the future is already behind since my last post :-) )

I still wish I could find someone with a single C31 in decent condition that they were trying to find a home for.
Harry

 

RE: a moniker I hain't seen here for a while; howdy! :) (nt), posted on July 20, 2022 at 10:17:22
theaudiohiffle
Audiophile

Posts: 1178
Location: New England
Joined: July 6, 2002
 mrh -

I'm sorry I ignored your welcome those few years ago .... pre-pandemic feels like a lifetime ago.

Yeah, I'm new here ... like most I "graduated" to stereo and corner horns became a thing in my past (I was raised in a household where a C31 sat center stage.) I have never been fond of Klipsch or Altec-Lansing horns, which is where the abundance of used units seem to be. JBL's are my favorites, with Stephen's Trusonics (remember them) not far behind. Universities seem to have all ended up being loved or long-ago dumpsterized, as I rarely ever have seen one on the web.

So I currently am 82 and have lost much of my hearing, but still entertain the thought of striping myself of all gear other than my main stereo system and adding a mono system in my den/dining room. I already have the compact monophonic Newcomb Classic 15 that is/was the little brother to the Newcomb Classic 25 that drove dad's system. And phono gear and tuners to feed it. So I look from time to time.

Thanks for your consideration to note my appearance.

Harry Lavo

Harry

 

RE: Anybody here have a James B Lansing C-31 front-loaded corner horn?, posted on July 20, 2022 at 10:30:00
theaudiohiffle
Audiophile

Posts: 1178
Location: New England
Joined: July 6, 2002
 The Harkness uses only one D130. The C31 used two stacked one above the other and probably therefore lowered the resonant frequency. The speakers were recessed and faced a wide horn built into the enclosure. The side vents (which I had forgotten about) suggest there was perhaps also some rear bass reflex loading of the (combined?) pair. Thanks for the electrical inputs.
Harry

 

RE: Anybody here have a James B Lansing C-31 front-loaded corner horn?, posted on July 24, 2022 at 06:24:26
mnawaz3@aol.com
Audiophile

Posts: 502
Joined: March 28, 2002
 Pity we don't see more of these. A rare
Example of domestic horn.
D130 were special.

 

RE: Anybody here have a James B Lansing C-31 front-loaded corner horn?, posted on July 9, 2023 at 15:04:20
theaudiohiffle
Audiophile

Posts: 1178
Location: New England
Joined: July 6, 2002
 Freddyi ..... all I can say is Dad has some Cook"Sounds of our Times" LP's (audiophile recordings of percussion, trains passing, etc) that he could turn up to the volumn where it was painful to my ears, but with no obvious distortion. l20db sounds about right.
Harry

 

RE: The D130, posted on July 10, 2023 at 05:57:10
Bill Fitzmaurice
Industry Professional

Posts: 5371
Location: New England
Joined: October 20, 2002
 Thee D130 had very high sensitivity, due to it's low 0.25 Qes. That low Qes also choked off the low frequency response, as seen in the freddyi charts. Doubling the box size and driver count and reflex loading wouldn't have made much difference, but with the typical content of the recordings of that era it didn't matter.

 

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