JBL 4430 newbie

AVSpecialist

New Member
So I was digging around at work in an old storage room and stumbled upon some JBL 4430's.
I don't have a big house or really any other gear. I'm reading through zonker92 posts and I know these will need a little love before they are ready for the living room. I'm pretty sure these were used in a PA system from 95 - who knows.
I have some questions of where to start in testing and easy things to check/repair.

I have a QSC RMX850 to power them with right now. Will that work? is it horrible?
I don't have any preamp gear at the moment. I'm looking for something just to get started preamp wise, so I'll take any suggestions.

Here are some photos of the speakers.
YTgNYIV.jpg
N0xBVRn.jpg
pGswKOK.jpg
 
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They look like studio monitors for a recording studio or broadcast facility. Not built strong enough for PA work. JBL had a series of large monitors through the 70's and 80's before near field monitoring became more popular. Should have clear detailed sound as they were designed to expose every flaw they could in the recording process.
 
They look to be in well maintained shape (Not badly beaten-up as they get when moved around a lot!)
They are pretty popular with a lot of folks - I've heard them called real rock & roll speakers ...
(Nice pair of 15" woofers and those Dolly Parton horns ...)
I've never personally heard or owned a pair myself, but - so tempting! (I passed on a pair of worn 4435s once)

The original 1984 era sales brochure is here ...

http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/jbl/specs/pro-speakers/1984-4430-35.htm

Looks like a lot of fun for you to play around with!http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/jbl/specs/pro-speakers/1984-4430-35.htm




So I was digging around at work in an old storage room and stumbled upon some JBL 4430's.
I don't have a big house or really any other gear. I'm reading through zonker92 posts and I know these will need a little love before they are ready for the living room. I'm pretty sure these were used in a PA system from 95 - who knows.
I have some questions of where to start in testing and easy things to check/repair.

I have a QSC RMX850 to power them with right now. Will that work? is it horrible?
I don't have any preamp gear at the moment. I'm looking for something just to get started preamp wise, so I'll take any suggestions.

Here are some photos of the speakers.
YTgNYIV.jpg
N0xBVRn.jpg
pGswKOK.jpg
 
Wow nice find!
Are they yours now? Did you buy them or.. were they FREE? :)
THose would be worth quite a bit!
JBLs are usually pretty efficient, I have a couple sets here, but not like those...
 
They aren't in horrible shape just some scuffs and such mostly on one side of each. A little sanding and some new oil should take care of it though. I'm okay with a little wear as they are 20+years old.

I do have a weird issue that may just be due to my test setup.
iphone - amp - speaker

music is being reproduced okay but vocals are completely non existent. I tried a podcast to verify it was just the vocals. I have it wired to the lower posts with the switch set to internal crossover. Any guesses?
 
go to this page with your iPhone and do some testing ... see where the sound drops off ///

(an online audio Signal generator)

http://onlinetonegenerator.com/



They aren't in horrible shape just some scuffs and such mostly on one side of each. A little sanding and some new oil should take care of it though. I'm okay with a little wear as they are 20+years old.

I do have a weird issue that may just be due to my test setup.
iphone - amp - speaker

music is being reproduced okay but vocals are completely non existent. I tried a podcast to verify it was just the vocals. I have it wired to the lower posts with the switch set to internal crossover. Any guesses?
 
I have a signal generator app on my phone that I have run from 20Hz to 20kHz and its reproducing all of it. The weird part is that I have to turn the amp all the way up and the phone all the way up to hear it at a moderate level, but with music out of the iphone I can only turn the amp up to 6db. Amps potentiometer goes to 30db.

I have another little amp that I will hook up and try but it only puts out like 8watts so it may just do nothing.
 
Wow, those will look like new again. Amazing find.

I suspect the L pad (below) and potentiometer (above) need cleaning, to let the current flow. Plus the biamp switch. Do they need new woofer foams?
 
Def, not enough gain in the path!
- you need a preamp to kick the iPhone up to Amp input levels.
What a tough break (grin) ...

I have a signal generator app on my phone that I have run from 20Hz to 20kHz and its reproducing all of it. The weird part is that I have to turn the amp all the way up and the phone all the way up to hear it at a moderate level, but with music out of the iphone I can only turn the amp up to 6db. Amps potentiometer goes to 30db.

I have another little amp that I will hook up and try but it only puts out like 8watts so it may just do nothing.
 
Wow, those will look like new again. Amazing find.

I suspect the L pad (below) and potentiometer (above) need cleaning, to let the current flow. Plus the biamp switch. Do they need new woofer foams?

I'm not sure if they need new foams. Here is a picture.

EVXSM5n.jpg
 
They look good from here, you can touch them and see if they disintegrate..
Those speakers look in exceptional shape (Not Jealous Really!!)
 
That foam looks good. Also, make sure your speakers are wired in phase (i.e. red to red, black to black for both channels).
 
A good test for the foam is to pinch a roll in your fingers (firmly but carefully) to see whether it tears or breaks, or fails to resume quickly its original shape.
 
check out simply speakers or speakerworks, they should have the surrounds for those, and helpful videos too.
 
Make sure it is for both surrounds, sometimes priced for 1 and check for actual JBL surrounds, bit more money, but worth it in the end..
Those deserve to be brought back to original, you wont regret it.. very desireable expensive speakers! :)
 
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