1946 jbl d-101

**tomt** · February 14th, 2011, 08:04 PM

NEAR MINT 1946 JBL D-101 Iconic 15" Woofer~RARE FIND! - eBay (item 160544127920 end time Feb-20-11 18:30:11 PST)

**Old Guy** · February 14th, 2011, 09:42 PM

Sure is purdy...but I begin to understand why Altec quickly sued..

**Audio_by_Goodwill** · February 14th, 2011, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by Old Guy

Sure is purdy...but I begin to understand why Altec quickly sued..

Wouldn't this be Pre-Altec and Pre-JBL?

**Old Guy** · February 15th, 2011, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by Audio_by_Goodwill

Wouldn't this be Pre-Altec and Pre-JBL?

Pre- JBL.

If you read the history, Altec bought Lansing's FIRST company.

"1941 Altec Service Company bought nearly bankrupt Lansing Manufacturing Company, and formed Altec Lansing Corporation on May 1 at 6900 McKinley Ave. to manufacture former Lansing products with 23 employees. First Altec power amplifier, model 142B."

Lansing had a no-compete clause, so he worked for Altec till it was up. I understand they parted on good terms, but that soured when he tried to use the Lansing name.

He left right after WW II. So this would be one of his first newer efforts. The address on the speaker is his tool shed behind his house. He didn't have a factory yet.

The settlement as I understand created JBL...his initials. By placing his signature on them he was still able to put Lansing on them. Altec owned Lansing, not James B. Lansing. The operative theory I gather was Altec bought the trademark not his name...

I would not be surprised to see a 5-10 grand price on this.

**David Yost** · February 15th, 2011, 04:44 PM

I wonder if this has been re-coned with 130 as I would have thought the spider would be phenolic. Also, the DC resistance seems low for a Lansing product of this era. Could this be a very nice clone? It sure is a beauty though, whatever it is.

Steve Schell please comment!

**Altec Best** · February 15th, 2011, 05:14 PM

Looks like a 515B to me.But the spiders of the era were Bakelite were they not ?Could this have been reconed ?

**Old Guy** · February 15th, 2011, 07:16 PM

The D130 of a year later had a very similar cone. I think it's original, but then ya know about opinions...

If you were 18 when this came out you are 82 now...I ain't there yet.

**bowtie427ss** · February 16th, 2011, 08:34 AM

The settlement as I understand created JBL...his initials. By placing his signature on them he was still able to put Lansing on them. Altec owned Lansing, not James B. Lansing. The operative theory I gather was Altec bought the trademark not his name...

"James B Lansing Sound" AFAIK, and according to Eargle's book "The JBL Story" Jim Lansing the man never knew a company called "JBL" as the abbreviation came after Mr Lansing's untimely suicide.

**Cal Weldon** · February 16th, 2011, 03:42 PM

Here's a little chunk I pulled from Wiki:

Lansing and Decker moved to Los Angeles where they set up a business manufacturing loudspeakers. It was called the Lansing Manufacturing Company. Just before the company was registered on March 9, 1927 Lansing changed his name from James Martini to James Bullough Lansing at the suggestion of his future wife, Glenna. Most of his brothers had adopted the surname Martin, two of which (Bill and George) came to LA to work with him.

Decker was killed in an airplane crash in 1939 and Lansing Manufacturing began to suffer financial difficulties without his business guidance. Altec Service Corporation bought Lansing Manufacturing in 1941, seeing the company as a valuable source for loudspeaker components. The combined company was named Altec Lansing. James B. Lansing was made VP of Engineering with a five-year contract.

In 1946, Lansing left the company on the day his contract expired and started a new company called "Lansing Sound, Incorporated". Altec Lansing had a problem with that name's similarity to trademarked brands they had developed, so James Bullough Lansing renamed his new company "James B. Lansing Sound, Incorporated". Eventually, this became shortened to JBL on product branding and then officially as the company name.

James Lansing was noted as an innovative engineer, but a poor businessman. As a result of deteriorating business conditions and personal issues, he took his own life by hanging himself in his home in San Marcos on September 24, 1949.

**Audio_by_Goodwill** · February 16th, 2011, 05:33 PM

Originally Posted by Cal Weldon

Here's a little chunk I pulled from Wiki:

At one time the Wikipedia entry had a lot of content written by Todd, but since anybody can edit it, including ALS, I believe there is some things stated that we commonly don't agree with. I've even read differing accounts on here, regarding various aspects on the company, by people that are qualified to know.