# Vintage Jamo Power 120B: My Impressions



## GREQ

*The following is a review/article about these little known speakers that I personally refurbished.*
   
  Jamo Power 120B - Made in Denmark
   
  I got these for free because the woofer foam surrounds were TOTALLY rotten and gone. 
 As I didn't spend any money on them I decided to research if fixing them up would be worth the money - a quick internet trawl put these at a value of around 50-100 euros depending on the condition, so I decided buying foam surrounds would make a fun project and that these speakers would be worthy of it. Although it was a slight gamble as there is very little information on the interwebs about these 'budget' hifi speakers.
   

   
  My other findings are that these were in production between 1980 1983, so these are somewhat vintage.
  I don't have a lot of reference points as I listen mostly to headphones but overall I'm impressed with the sound.
  My best comparison would be to Audioengine A5 although I refunded them when they went faulty, but I had them for over a year. I actually prefer these (although they are about twice the size) - so putting aside comparisons of scale and dynamics (which I believe are naturally superior due to the size), I very much prefer the smooth sound of the paper cone and the FRONT ported design. The bass is actually controlled, present, fast and musical, which is basically impossible to achieve with the older Audioengines that blast uncontrolled bass from the rear port. 
  The tweeters are interesting as I didn't expect a horn design to produce such an exciting but accurate/natural sound. The low bass extension and super high range extension both seem to roll off quite early but not too dramatically, but this doesn't stop them being super fun. The only thing lacking is the warmth in the mids I'm used to from my Grado RS2is and AKG k141s - the mids are however very natural, present and smooth but just a little colder/thinner then I'm used to.
   
  I compared them in an A/B test with my Eltax Concept 200 floor standing speakers (which are coincidently also Danish but a lot more modern although super-budget) and the Jamos are superior in every way. The only thing that I might miss are the super deep rumbles of sub bass that large rear ported floor standing speakers produce for some 'epic' movie scenes and explosions.
   
  If anyone else has any experience with these speakers I would be interested to hear your opinions.


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## ShMaX

Have the same speakers. I got them from my dad because he didn't use them anymore. The foam vas rotten so i replaced it (used duct tape a little while  ). I think they sound amazing (i went from logitech x540). The hi's and mid's are pretty good , the bass is a litte weak but it's pretty good if you add some subs . I have one 12' and one 15'' running along with them. And they goes pretty loud even whit just 40 watts on them (jamos only). They are stupidly lightweight  and don't look that stupid.


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## GREQ

I just use them with a 12-band EQ, and with a little tweaking I get all the bass I need, but my living room is tiny so it's easy to fill and I don't listen to much EDM.
  I hope you're not using duct tape any more


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## ShMaX

Quote: 





greq said:


>


 
  Quite sadly when i used the duct tape, the cone got a little bit destroyed. It was still better than the sound and the strange noise the voice coil made when the was notting around the cone. i think my amplifier is kinda weak because i think it has 4x40 watts , and i don't take the risk of bridging it (could i destroy it if i do?). instead i want another pair  . What amp do you use?


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## ShMaX

Btw: It kinda confusing , because on the front of my speakers (on the metal think where the frequensy are and number) It says Jamo Power 120 , but on the back it says Jamo Power 120b so im not shure if it is 120 or 120b  . My dust cap is also the same color as the cone (brown) , while your's is black.  
   
  The surround on my speakers ar mutch thinner than yours. I bougth the foam rings from http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-x-Foam-ring-for-Jamo-Power-120-130B-150-and-155-/270558643004?hash=item3efe8d433c


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## GREQ

They're probably the same speakers but different production runs. 
  Yours might have been an earlier or later run. No way of knowing really. 
   
  I use a vintage Fisher CA-863, which is a 70W amp and easily gets the job done. 
  No idea about bridging - wouldn't that also halve the load? That could be bad for the amp. 
   
  I probably bought exactly the same foam 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 - still works perfectly over a year on. 
   
  As a side note, it's actually REALLY bad to play speakers without foam - when the voice coil just rattles around, that can do irreparable damage to the voice coil. 
  Sounds like your speakers have had a rough time.


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## ShMaX

actually , i may have played on them about a 2 years with very low bass (or not even using them). I may have use them with the duct tape for half to 1 year. The duct tape did not destroy the voice coil (more like the cone)
   
  So i will say , they may got a rough time , i don't know how they where treated before i got them.


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## ShMaX

Have you played the speakers any loud? Since you seem to got twice as much output power on your amp. I'we had max power output on my amp , and it's so loud i barely cant stay in the room.


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## GREQ

Quote: 





shmax said:


> Have you played the speakers any loud? Since you seem to got twice as much output power on your amp. I'we had max power output on my amp , and it's so loud i barely cant stay in the room.


 
  I've never cranked it up because I live in a flat and dont' want to disturb the elderly couple upstairs.


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## RoadRunnersDust

Hi, Could you tell me what size the bass drivers on these are?
 I'm looking at repairing a pair of Jamo Power 180Ts and i'm struggling to find a suspension that will work with them.

 Thanks,
 Road.


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## GREQ

Heya,
 The outside diameter of the foam surrounds is about 7 inches or 18cm.


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## ptrrkssn (Feb 8, 2022)

GREQ said:


> *The following is a review/article about these little known speakers that I personally refurbished.*
> 
> Jamo Power 120B - Made in Denmark
> 
> ...


Bought a pair of them at the time they were new (sometime around early/mid 80ies) and liked them at lot in my younger days. They are still rocking here at my home (as front side speakers for my TV setup). Well, I had a slight mishap with the bass element on one of them at a students party some 20^H^H30 years ago so I had to replace it (with a completely different one, but of the same size at least) - worked fine even though I probably should have swapped both - but being a student then I went for the cheaper route 

Probably should lift the dust covers and check & replace the elements with some fresher ones... Might be a fun little project when I come to think of it 

(Been on a little refurbishing/repairing spree as of lately - fixed up my old Technics SL-PG460A CD player, the tuner & the SL-B210 LP player too while at it (had been sitting on a shelf in my garage for something like 10-15 years - a number of bad capacitors that had to be replaced 

I probably should remove some dust from them too...
http://www.grebo.net/~peter/jamo-power-120b/


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## RoadRunnersDust (Feb 9, 2022)

I have four Power 180Ts now 😁. Woofer (rear ported) + 2” paper cone & lense but with an additional  horn loaded 1” soft dome which fixes much of the upper frequency issues of the 120.

One pair totally original and one pair with fried 2”s I was given by my dad. Both needed the foam surrounds replaced due to age-rot.

The original pair sound great, they are connected straight to the display screen in my bedroom and with a slight bass EQ boost they provide brilliant clarity without neighbour disturbing rumbling when we’re watching movies late at night.

The second pair are on the shelf awaiting time for a project to replace the lenses and fried mids with a pair of Tectonics BMRs and Tri-amp them with an active crossover, that should be an interesting project as it’ll give the mid capacity to run a little lower and a little higher to take some of the strain off of the woofer and HF. As it stands I think the original looses something asking too much of the woofer up into the mids in particular.


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