JBL LE10
The JBL LE10 is a 10-inch low-frequency transducer, best remembered as the mid-woofer in the L100 Century system. It was also used in the L26. DIY speaker builders liked it for its clean bass and low distortion. The driver has a stiff, one-piece molded diaphragm with an Aquaplas coating, a long voice coil wound with edge-wound aluminum ribbon on a 2-inch fiberglass form, and a divided, high-compliance surround. JBL called the magnetic structure unique and claimed lower distortion than previous designs.
The LE10 was designed to work in essentially any enclosure type - sealed infinite baffle, bass reflex, or horn-loaded. That made it unusually flexible for builders. It is rated at 8 ohms with a frequency range of 45 Hz to 6 kHz, and it handled 60 watts continuous and 120 watts program. Sensitivity was listed at 89 dB SPL @ 1 W/1 m (or 87 dB with 3 dB cone compensation). The Thiele-Small parameters show a high-compliance driver: Fs of 28 Hz, Qts of 0.63, and a Vas of 0.19 m³. A 1964 Advanced Engineering catalog listed the unit price at $12.50.
Audio (August 1959, p.55) noted that the new JBL Linear-Efficiency speakers' small enclosed-air-volume requirements enabled compact radial refraction enclosures — a sign of how the LE10's compliance opened up cabinet designs that earlier drivers couldn't manage.
The LE10 was eventually superseded by the LE10A, and JBL no longer manufactures it. Original examples may have deteriorated foam surrounds, but replacement kits are available. Spare parts from JBL are not. No production years, dimensions, or weight are documented in the sources available to the Archive.
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