ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · 15-inch full-range cone loudspeaker

D130 loudspeaker

JBL · 1947

Evidence status · documented

Identity and core specifications are documented; some historical fields remain unavailable.

The JBL D130, designed by James B. Lansing, is a 15-inch wide-range driver with a 4-inch flat-wire voice coil, Alnico magnet and a 4-inch aluminium dome in place of a dust cap. Leo Fender adopted it for Fender amplifiers in the 1950s.

Introduced
1947
Category
15-inch full-range cone loudspeaker
Intended use
Hi-fi and guitar amplification
Production
James B. Lansing Sound / JBL from 1947; later E130

Equipment photographs · 1

Original flyer for JBL D130 loudspeaker, circa 1948.

1 / 1 · JBL D130 Original Flyer

JBL D130 Original Flyer·James B. Lansing Sound Inc.·© Maker

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    It established James B. Lansing Sound as a serious competitor within a year of founding.

  2. 02

    Its use by Fender made it one of the defining loudspeakers of early electric guitar and rock and roll.

Engineering record

Voice coil
4-inch flat-wire voice coil[1]
Frame and magnet
Cast frame and Alnico magnet for high efficiency[2]
Cone
Curvilinear cone with a 4-inch aluminium dome[1]

Original pricing

No reliable period price located

2026 equivalent

Not calculated without a reliable original price.

Public price evidence was not sufficient to publish a defensible original figure.

Use in the field

Adopted by Leo Fender for Fender guitar amplifiers in the 1950s[2]

Manuals & original documents

No authoritative manual or original document has been located for this profile.

Sources

  1. 1D130Audio Heritage · archive
  2. 2Loud and Clear: The Story of JBL & FenderHarman Professional · interview · 2016-12-16

Contribute to the record

Know more about D130 loudspeaker?

Corrections, firsthand information, original documents, and credited photograph sources are welcome.

Your email is private and will not appear in the archive. Contributions are not published automatically.

Back to all equipment Back to Postwar fidelity goes portable

Help build the archive

A missing piece? A correction?

Contribute to Resonant

Support the archive

Resonant is built one verified record at a time: research hours, archival image rights, and the hosting that keeps every era, equipment file, and citation free to read. If this archive is useful to you, a donation of any size keeps the next entry moving.

How donations are used
Venmo@mercer-aplinOpen Venmo, tap the pay field, type the handle, then send any amount.Send any amount · no account needed to viewCash App$MercerAplinOpen Cash App, tap the $cashtag field, type the tag, then send any amount.Send any amount · no account needed to view

Payments go directly to the archive’s editor through Venmo and Cash App. Resonant is an independent project rather than a registered charity, so donations are not tax-deductible and nothing is sold or subscribed to in return.