RARE '50s JENSEN BL-1215 BASS-REFLEX SPEAKER CABINET +JENSEN 12" COAXIAL SPEAKER For Sale -

RARE

LATE 1950s

JENSEN

BL-1215

"BASS - ULTRAFLEX"

HIFI SPEAKER CABINET

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WITH

"JENSEN RECOMMENDED"

JENSEN K-210

12" COAXIALSPEAKER

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EXCELLENT

SOUND

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GREAT

AUDIO / HIFI

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CLASSIC VINTAGE TONE !!!

THE JENSEN BL-1215 "BASS-ULTRAFLEX" LOUDSPEAKER CABINET:
In 1958 when the Jensen BL-1215 Bass-Ultraflex Speaker Cabinet was introduced, it wasthe height of the hifi era and superb speaker cabinets were then being produced. This cabinet was one of many offered, but stood out, due to its relatively compact size and flexibility to use a variety of 12" or 15" speaker (i.e. "Bass-Ultraflex). It seemed Jensen hada winner in the BL-1215, and if nothing interfered, they were destine tosell thousands of these models.

This cabinet, as shown in the 1958 Allied Radio Catalogcost $99 without any speakers. (photo #12) Loadedwith a 12" coaxial speaker, the H-222, similar to the K-210 offered here,was $162.00. Considering that back then, a stripped down,6-cylinder Chevy Impala went for @ $1800, $162was serious money for a loaded speaker cabinet. On the other hand, if you were only buying one really great speaker to last forever for your hifi system, it was worth it.

Unfortunately, 1958 was also near the end of the hifi era, and the dawn ofthe stereo era. The new stereo era would provepretty costly; new turntables, new amplifiers,the replacement of mono albums with stereo albums, and then even more money for theexplosion of 1960's music. Not much cash left over for consumers tobuy $324 sets of Jensen BL-1215 speaker cabinets for stereo.

Luckily, some of the great hifi cabinets like this BL-1215 have survived.

THE CABINET: JENSEN BL-1215 "BASS-ULTRAFLEX":
Jensen, like some of their competitors, spent some serious resources developing speaker cabinets to house their loudspeakers, and thought so much of the speaker cabinets they developed, that they would even sellthem without their speakers in them. -- The 1958 Allied Radio Catalog described the cabinet as

"A beautiful new enclosure, in contemporary lowboy style. For side-of-wall placement. Interior acoustical design new bass-ultraflex, duct-loaded port - assures excellent bass reproduction. Speaker is fastened to front panel in conventional fashion, but radiation from back of speaker is coupled by large air-chamber through ducts or channels to listening area. Accommodates any 12" or 15" speaker; also has cutouts to permit easy installation of 2-way or 3-way system kits."(1958 Allied Radio Catalog; see the ad in photo #12)

Jensen termed this cabinet, Bass-Ultraflex", likely referring to the fact that this cabinet isa bass-reflex cabinet, that is ultra-flexible, in that it could be loaded with a wide variety of12" and 15" speakers. Jensen suggests 20 of their own,that could be used in the cabinet. (see back label in photo #6).

The bass-reflex principle is to capture the valuable low frequency sounds that come off the back of the speaker cone, which arethen channeledto the front of the cabinet, to combine with sound coming off the front of the speaker, so that the overall sound is fuller and richer.

In this cabinet, when the low frequencies comefrom behind the loudspeaker, they thenbounce against the back wall, and thenarechanneledto asound chamber on the side of the cabinet. Thesound chamber, and its opening, is thefull height of the cabinet, as shown in photo #9. The bass frequencies go into the sound chamber and out the front of the cabinet through an opening the full length of the cabinet at the extreme left of the cabinet shown in photo #1.

As mentioned above, this cabinet is built so that you can install either a 15" speaker, or a 12" speaker.The four speaker posts that are outside the perimeter of the 12" speaker (shown in photo #7) are for a 15" speaker.

This cabinet came to me with a 15" Magnavox speaker, and so thebaffleadapter that converted the cabinet to a12" speaker was long gone. Luckily,I had a 12" speaker baffle from another speaker cabinetthat exactly fit the four speaker posts sothat adapter isin the cabinet now. (see photos #7 & #9).

Another feature of the "flexibility" of the BL-1215 cabinet, are openings on the baffle that provide foradditional speakers and horns. From the inside of the cabinet, you can see the three wood "blanks" that covered the baffle openings. (photo #9) From the front (photo #1), you can see the three openings through the grill, around the 12" speaker, that have been waiting to be usedfor 60 years.

Original Speaker Grill: The speaker grill isin very goodcondition. No major rips, tears or holes. There is small one area of broken threads, @ 1/4" square, on thegrill at the top edge.

Exterior Finish: The cabinet's laminated wood finish is generally in good condition, however it does have scratches and a few scrapes, as very good expected for its age.

Dimensions & Weight:

Dimensions:30" wide x 18" deep x 28-1/2" high (including 4" high legs)

Weight: 48.6 lbs.

THE SPEAKER: JENSEN K-210, 12" COAXIAL SPEAKER:
Although Jensen was willing to sell their BL-1215 Cabinet without any speakers in it, they certainly did want you to choose a Jensen speaker and gave the cabinet's buyers 20 Jensen speakers to choose from, that would be compatible with this cabinet. Photo #6 shows the listing ofthose suggested speakers on the back of the cabinet.

One of the speakers suggested byJensen for thiscabinet wastheir "K-210", a 12" coaxial speaker that Jensen had been making since at least 1950. -- Since I did have a K-210 speaker, Iputit in this cabinet. (photos #7 to #10).

The K-210's EIA (Electronic Industries Association) Source Code is 220050, which indicates that it is a Jensen Speaker (220), manufactured in the 50th week of 1950 (050). (See photo #8)

In photo #9, perhaps you can see the K210's perfect speaker cone; perfect after 67 years of use. The tweeter, also shown in photo #9 is also in excellent shape too, andstill kicking out high frequencies. This speaker had been previously installed in aScott Radio console cabinet. -- The K210 is described inthe 1950 Allied Radio Catalog as:

"A 12" high-fidelity coaxial speaker of amazingly low cost (note: it listed for $33.40 in 1950; $105.00 in today's dollars) in a unit of small and compact dimensions, which makes it ideal for installations where these factors are limitations. Complete with bridging-type frequency division system. Input 8 ohms; power rating 12 watts. Baffle opening 10-1/2" , O.D., 12-1/8"; depth, 6-5/16"." (1950 Allied Radio Catalog)

For your consideration:

VINTAGE

JENSENBL-1215

"BASS-ULTRAFLEX"

HIFI CABINET

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LOADED WITH

GREAT SOUNDING

12" JENSEN COAXIAL SPEAKER

K-210

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VERY GOODCONDITION !!

EXCELLENT SOUND !!

General: Take advantage of my decision to reduce my collection toget a great looking and great sounding Jensen BL-1215 Speaker Cabinet loaded with a 12" Jensen K-210 Coaxial Speaker.Please review the photographs and the description, but also feel free toask meany questions that you might have prior to your offerding on this speaker cabinet. Noreturns areaccepted, unless you think I've misrepresented something in my description.

Thanks to the Audiophiles for Visiting:You already know, or can tell, how good this cabinet is. Hope you'll consider it for your collection.

Thank you for viewing this listing!

And thanks for your interest in vintage audio!!

Shipping and Handling:

Free Local Pickup:There is free local pickup for this Jensen BL-1215 Speaker Cabinet.It probably willfitin the back seat of most cars.I am willing to meet those near Rockford on one of the highways between us.

U.S. Shipping (lower 48 states):I'd be glad to pack the cabinet and ship it to any buyer in the U.S. lower 48 states. I've provided a shipping calculator for those who cannot pick-up the speaker cabinet.

To International Buyers:This cabinet is not available for international purchase.

Seller Payment Instructions: Payment is only accepted through PayPal from Verified Buyers and shipped to a Confirmed address. Contact and payment via PayPal must be made within 3 days of sale end, or I reserve the right to relist the item, or sell it to the next highest buyer.

Return Policy Details: Returns are accepted, but only if something has not been described correctly in the sale. Before offerding, please closely examine the photos to get a better idea of what you're buying, or please do ask for more photos of what you're interested in.To return an item, contact with me must be made within 3 days of receiving the item. Returns are granted only if the item is not asdescribed. No returns for "buyer's remorse", where you just don't want it anymore. Buyer is responsible forthe packagingand shipping cost of the returned item. Refund payment is made immediately after the item has been examined and determined to be returned in the same condition as it was originally sold.