JR149 speaker

Introduction
JR149 MkI
JR149 MkII
Review
Sale Results at Auction
JR149 Accessories
JR Super Woofer
JR DW2 Woofer
JR150
JR Metros
JR Phobos
Links

Introduction

Jim Rogers worked as an engineer for the BBC²  and found the company Rogers International Ltd in 1947. It was commissioned to manufacture the LS3/5a¹ speakers in the 1970s. The failing company was bought out by Michael O'Brien in 1976 and traded as Rogers under Swisstone Electronics Limited without Jim Rogers. In 1977 Jim Rogers establish the company JR Loudspeakers Ltd to manufacture a design he based upon the BBC LS3/5A, the JR149, using the same drive units but housed in a heavy gauge aluminium cylinder with wooden end caps. There is a bolt through from top to bottom to brace the enclosure and make the wooden ends slightly concave, thus eliminating flat panels. The enclosure was lined mechanically and acoustically to reduce sound radiation from the cabinet.

JR speakers where originally distributed by Tape Music Loudspeakers Limited, 114 Ashley Road, St. Albans, Herts ALI 5JR.

Each JR149 (Mk I and MkII) weigh 6.1Kg. Diameter 23cm, height 37.8cm. The metal base on the MkI is 35mm and on the MkII 25mm high. The ribbed foam is 333mm on the MkII but only 313mm on the MkI due also to the thicker cap and base.

JR149 MkI

The above photographs show replacement and plain foam covers.

The original design used the same 15 ohm drive units as on the LS3/5A; a Kef T27 (sp 1032) tweeter and a B110A (sp1003) bass.

The JR149 is classified as being in three versions; the red logo on the bottom plinth, the gold on black logo also on the bottom plinth and the MkII where the logo is a plastic rectangle that was glued to the speaker foam. Less easy to spot are the changes in drive units and cross over circuit. The last cross over unit was "Type 24" on a square circuit board.

The red and gold logo versions where advertised as having a wide range of finishes to the top. These included veneers in teak, walnut, rosewood, oak and also with red or green inlaid leather. Less common are the piano black, aluminium and gold finishes.  The bottom wooden disc is black or a matching colour to the top disc but may be, as in the MKII, MDF donut with the cross over inset into the disc, not totally contained in the metal plinth.

LS3/5A where manufactured by several companies to the exacting specifications of the BBC. Even so listeners to the variations claim differences in performance. The JR149 is claimed, by comparison to have more bass and are thus preferred.

Serial number 6057, an early version of the gold logo JR. There are no fuses on the circuit board. The base end is stained darker than the caps. 3 metres of speaker cable with fitted DIN plug. Replacement foams match the original style.

Replacement foams covers in the original ribbed style.

The later version of the gold logo speakers below have fuses on the circuit board. The DIN plugs on the 3 metre cable have been replaced with banana plugs. The base plinth is of the same veneer and finish as the top caps.  Replacement foams match the original style. There is no serial number label on these speakers but one in the box suggest 12887.

Replacement foam covers in the original ribbed style.

JR149 Mk II

When the company moved to Unit 5, Morewood Close, Sevenoaks, Kent, JR Loudspeakers Ltd introduced the mark II (reviewed in Gramophone December 1981). The Kef drivers are replaced with a 110 mm bass unit Focal and the tweeter from Scanspeak, a 19mm doped fabric design based upon D200.

The external style changed slightly. Gone is the black strip that hid the ends of the covering ribbed foam. The foam covers are continuous with no visible join. When replacements are used the ends have to be pulled in and double sided tape used to make the join. The logo is now a plastic rectangle glued onto the foam.  The large gold on red or later black labels on the base are replaced by a small black rectangular one.

The cross over is partly enclosed in the bottom plinth and the black metal base is not as deep as on the early versions. The square, type 24 cross over, was released in 1991.

Press Release detailing the improvements in the Mark II over the previous model. (click on the thumbnails to enlarge).

Review

The basic characteristics of the MkI and MkII speakers are very similar. The only observation that notes the difference is that it takes more volume to get a pair of gold logo MkI to emit a sound than on the MkII speakers.  The specification for the original JR149 gives the efficiency as 89dB and that of the MKII as 84.5dB for 1 Watt. The difference could also be down to the particular pair of gold label JR MkI that I have where one speaker remains silent until the volume is well turned up but is then at the same volume level as it's twin. When balanced to the same volume level only the most discerning hi-fi buff will find a difference in the two pairs but may not determine which are the MkI or MkII speakers.

The original rosewood gold label MkI speakers, purchased in 1978, where powered by a Cambridge P80 40 watt amplifier. The volume level had to be high to get these to speak. It was not a good match. The Cambridge powering a pair of Kef 101 was much happier and far better sound. Matching the JR149 to Meridian 105 100 watt mono amplifiers gave the power and control that the JR149s needed and proved that these speakers are hard to beat.

The walnut MKII, purchased in 1982 for £99, where matched to a Uher Miniline system with 60 Watts into 4 ohms. Unfortunately the Uher Miniline system has an Achilles heal, the power amplifier two large capacitors kept blowing out. The replacement amplifier was a Meridian MCA (Meridian component amplifier) with 35 Watts power. The Meridian is an excellent amplifier but under powered to get the JR149 showing off what they really can do. The matching walnut Super Woofer, also £99, helped considerably and the MKII where better controlled at the lowest volume than the MKIs. For modest living rooms a quality 30-35 Watt 8 ohm amplifier such as the Quad 303, Meridian 101/103D and MCA integrated amplifiers are perfectly acceptable. For the highest volume levels a 60 watt 8 ohm amplifier is needed. Any of the 100 Watt amplifiers from Meridian from the 105 mono to the 5 channel G55 are going to make easy work of powering the JR149 but don't turn the power full up. There are claims that the 105 driven at full volume blow out the original JR149 speakers which do not have fast blow fuses.

Faced with two pairs of JR149 and wanting to experiment with a surround sound system from TV and DVDs a new (2006) Meridian G55 5 channel 100 Watt amplifier was obtained. The amplifier is controlled by an external sound card from the computer, a Terratec 6Fire USB. A third pair of JR149 (rosewood gold JR with a crossover that has a fast blow fuses), to use as a centre channel, and a B&W PV1 sub woofer were added.

In this configuration the Super Woofer can be used with a pair of JR149 as front channel to provide the fuller frequency range. The Super Woofer is feed by the speaker outputs from the low pass amplifier and so can not be used as an active sub woofer in the 5.1 system. In 5.1 surround the centre speaker provides much of the dialogue and sound stage and hence needs to be a good match for the front pair of speakers. The rear speakers can be identical to the front pair or of lesser detail. Unfortunately the Meridian G55 does not like the LPA and Superwoofer resulting in smoke from the G55 and blowing the fuses in the JR149 MKII. The LPA was serviced but still would not work with the G55. The speakers were not damaged and worked perfectly with new fuses fitted. As the LPA and Superwoofer work with MCA there was little point solving the problem with the G55, although Meridian looked at the unit, ran full tests and declared there was no signs of burning or smoke inside it!

The sound from the Meridian G55 and five JR149 speakers with the B&W PV1 is impressive. The JR149 look as modern as they did when first made. They demand to be listened to.  The B&W PV1 has a very distinct presents and regardless of claims about low frequencies being non-directional it is always clear where the PV1 is situated. There are options for frequency and volume but it shouldn't be surprising that set up with this experiment is more complex than a system with a matching surround sound preamp.

For those who like the JR sub Graham Hartle sold an active subwoofer , for £590 until 2013, with an internally fitted amplifier operating from line inputs or speaker outputs using very high quality Moss Fet module and a Peerless 10" XLS.   Graham Hartle also sold ribbed speaker foams for JR149, 150 and super woofer. Most sellers with replacement foams most likely purchased these from Graham.

The JR149 are among the best looking speakers ever made. At this size there are few that out perform them when matched with the right amplifier. Only much larger speakers, and active speakers where the amplifier are designed for the cabinet and drive units may better them. None are more acceptable in a modern living room. This may explain why they are so activity followed and bid on at auction.

Sale Results at auction

Most JR149s offered for auction lack the foam covers or have taken replacement from Wilmslow Audio or ribbed replacements from Graham Hartle (check out eBay). Some have put inline banana plug sockets or replaced the cable with a gold plated banana sockets drilled and fitted to the metal base. With second hand goods at auction condition is paramount as is the number viewing the auction with the desire to buy. Prices range from £140 to £600 with the majority being sold in the £180-320 range. Local, classified advertisements have turned up speakers for £50-100. In general the red logo original versions sell for more and no one realises the true MkII compared to the gold label version of the MkI. MkII are very rare. There are no details on the serial numbers. It would seem than anything below 6300 is likely to be a red logo version and anything from 6300-24000 has a gold logo. The MkII seem to lack a serial number label.

JR149 accessories

There where wall units made for the JR149. These are black painted metal bands, the depth of the black metal base with rubber inserts to protect the speaker physically from marks and acoustically from vibration.

Small stands where also sold for £29, chrome for £44. These are extremely rare now.

LINKS

JR149, JR150, Super Woofer brochure

http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/December%201981/147/758075/

http://www.hifinews.co.uk/news/article/jim-rogers-jr149--vintage/9406

Wilmslow Audio - for replacement JR 149 parts including plain acoustic foam

I was managing Director of Swisstone Electronics Limited from 1976 until 1982, the manufacturers of the Rogers LS3/5A after Jim Rogers' company, Rogers Developments Limited, went into receivership.
The above information is incorrect. Jim Rogers never worked for the BBC, nor did he have any involvement in the design of the LS3/5A.
You can obtain more knowledgeable and comprehensive information (about the LS3/5A) by logging on to http://www.g4dcv.co.uk/ls35a.html

2. Article on JR149 Mk II from Hi-fi News and Record Review December 1981 "Jim Rogers remains as their designer, and his efforts to improve the already very successful JR149 have resulted in the present MKII model, very much a domestic competitor to the LS3/5a with which he was also involved at the design stage. "

Last updated 4th October 2015