JBL M 30 15" speaker

Bill Simmons · Post by **Bill Simmons** » 3 Aug 2003 6:20 pm

Can anyone tell me anything about the JBL M 30 15" 8 ohm speaker? It is gray and looks like their old D-130 series?! I have never seen them before and have never heard anyone mention the tone qualities or the history of the JBL M 30's. I wonder how they compare in sound to the B/W? Thanks.

Ron Whitworth · Post by **Ron Whitworth** » 4 Aug 2003 3:44 pm

Not a lot of help to you but i have seen them used in the Sho-Bud amps.They must have been OK 'cause there were several of them made..Ron<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Ron Whitworth on 04 August 2003 at 04:44 PM.]</p></FONT>

Woody Woodell · Post by **Woody Woodell** » 7 Aug 2003 6:52 am

I recone a lot of JBLs and when any one sends or brings in an M30 I use the same parts to recone an M30 as I use in a D130F. I do not know why JBL ever made the M30 unless it might have been after they phased out the D130F.
The M31 uses the same parts as the K130; that is, the cone has a cloth edge where the D130F had paper all the way out to the edge of the cone. When I get an M31 in I give the customer the option of choosing which cone he or she prefers. I personally prefer the D130 to the K130 or the newer E130.

Michael Brebes · Post by **Michael Brebes** » 7 Aug 2003 7:03 am

The info I got regarding the M30, which I have one of, is that they produced them for awhile for the people that wanted the "vintage" sound of an D130. It has a similar magnet size as the D130. The E and K series 130's have much larger magnets. And mine does have the same cone as a D130, paper out to the edge.

Steve Hinson · Post by **Steve Hinson** » 7 Aug 2003 7:31 pm

Woody just reconed an M-30 for me...it sounds GREAT!

Woody Woodell · Post by **Woody Woodell** » 8 Aug 2003 4:18 am

I just did a little research. The replacement parts specified for an M30 are the exact ones specified for the D130 and the D130F.
James B. Lansing, (Born James Martini, why he changed his name to Lansing I don't know) while he was the greatest speaker maker alive, was not a shrewd business man. He created the first D130 in 1948. He got some $20,000.00 in debt and in 1949, tired of being hounded by creditors, took his own life. His business partner went on to make JBL what it became.

Bill Simmons · Post by **Bill Simmons** » 8 Aug 2003 10:44 pm

Thanks everyone for your great information! The M 30 certainly looks like the older JBL gray speakers.