JBL 4560 cabs: factory or clones?

GeeDee
Its funny how my audiophool brain works. I listed things in that order just by memory. Its interesting that I have the stuff memorized in order of how "good" it is. Lol
 
Before and after. The cabs are far from perfect, but look pretty good in gray.

Some casters from Harbor Freight make them easier to move around.

Casters are freakin expensive. I have been buying the small furniture dollies at HF and taking the casters off for speaker usage. I have at least half a dozen caster-less dollies sitting in the attic now

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I also just bought a pair of JBL 2225J frames for 40$ from the bay. Our friend GordonW is going to do some custom recones for me. They should sound pretty sweet in these.

Now I just need some JBL horns and drivers. I was thinking about some large format JBL comp drivers. Maybe some 2440/2441.

Those and maybe some slot tweeters or similar.
 
Boy, that paint job made a big difference, didn't it? Those look downright . . . well, not 'purdy . . but attractively utilitarian? That's it.

Where do you intend to use these, Eli?

I think I can see a project in the making, allright. Big 'ole horns and drivers, active crossovers and eqs . . . . This is going to be fun to follow.

And, it'll be interesting to hear your thoughts on the big Altec vs. the big JBL systems.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Now I just need some JBL horns and drivers. I was thinking about some large format JBL comp drivers. Maybe some 2440/2441.

The big 2395 lens atop a 4560 looks way too cool. Sounds good too with the 2440-2441.

Back when I worked security for Jam Productions I was sitting off to the side of the stage before a show and listening to recorded music played through a 4560 with a 2440 on a 2395 atop it. And I thought it was as good as anyone would need, even if the top end dropped like a rock around 10KHZ. And it looked <so> cool.

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Boy, that paint job made a big difference, didn't it? Those look downright . . . well, not 'purdy . . but attractively utilitarian? That's it.

Where do you intend to use these, Eli?

I think I can see a project in the making, allright. Big 'ole horns and drivers, active crossovers and eqs . . . . This is going to be fun to follow.

And, it'll be interesting to hear your thoughts on the big Altec vs. the big JBL systems.

GeeDeeEmm

I love the gray or black PA speaker look. I do think my veneered model 17 cabs look nice too, but not as nice as a pair of theatre gray cabs.

I was thinking about going active on these. I still have an active xover from when I ran my Altec 817 cabs. Also have some Ashly amps with the biamp cards already installed. I think the 750hz xover point would be pretty good for these.

Its also tempting to slap some Altec parts on these cabs and make complete speakers. But I will try to keep them all JBL. It might take a while to get the parts, but I'll get there.

The plan for now is to put them on the same wall as my A7's and model 17's. I'm running out of room on that wall. Its why I sold my 817 cabs...
 
The big 2395 lens atop a 4560 looks way too cool. Sounds good too with the 2440-2441.

Back when I worked security for Jam Productions I was sitting off to the side of the stage before a show and listening to recorded music played through a 4560 with a 2440 on a 2395 atop it. And I thought it was as good as anyone would need, even if the top end dropped like a rock around 10KHZ. And it looked <so> cool.

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The 2395 lens looks badass on those. I notice they supplemented with a slot tweeter also. The ones in the pic must be setup for HiFi.

I checked ebay and those 2395 fetch some good money these days. Maybe I can find a pair at a yardsale:D

Which diaphragms do you prefer in the 2440/2441, stock or Radian? I believe the 2445 Ti phragms fit also.
 
The ones in Tom's link look soooooo cool. I'm afraid that if looks alone could make a sale (and they do!) those would have to be near the top of the list.

And, besides cost, that's one of the reasons I must avoid the JBL hole. That company made so many attractive - and functionally superior - products that entering that domain could (would) be ruinous for a pauper like me. It's easy to understand the JBL addiction.

And I understand the attraction to the industrial look on speakers. When I first became a pro sound installer I was enamoured with those things. Over fifteen years, though, the attraction wore off and now I want to see woodgrain. I'm already envisioning your boxes swathed in acres of deep walnut veneer and topped with a huge gold-colored JBL horn lens . . . . :dunno:

GeeDeeEmm
 
I picked up some pro audio gear this week. Someone was moving and needed to get rid of a bunch of stuff cheap.

Anyways, in the lot of stuff is a pair of 4560 cabs. Can someone tell me if they are factory or not?

They are made out of plywood. They have a textured finish on them. If someone did build these at home, they did an excellent job.

They have all the internal bracing they should. Plus a nicely finished removable back panel for driver access.

Now of course they are pretty beat up from a band hauling them around. But nothing a new paint job can't fix.

Thanks
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I have a pair that look almost identical. I received mine from the builder (not factory) and his differed only in the fact that the back bottom was cut out (8"X8") at a 45 degree angle. In this cut out he mounted wheels and put a single handle high on the back so it could be tipped backwards and wheeled. It probably lost 5% of its cabinet volume.
 
I have seen quite a few road cabs that have the angeled cut, and wheels on the back. Yeah, I wouldn't be worried about the volume it eats up.

Mine cabs are so much easier to move around now on casters. Before they were just slid around on their corner protectors.

Its funny, because the screws on the metal corners were so worn down from being slid around, that I had to take them out with visegrips.

I am having the 2225 reconed as 2235, except with a cloth accordion surround.
 
And, besides cost, that's one of the reasons I must avoid the JBL hole. That company made so many attractive - and functionally superior - products that entering that domain could (would) be ruinous for a pauper like me. It's easy to understand the JBL addiction.

Yes the JBL are just as expensive as Altecs. I can't really afford either of them. I have to wait until I find scroes to get them.

There are some good values out there with JBL. Like the 2225/2226 woofers. These can be had for 100-150$ each in working condition, with the correct cones.
 
I decided to pick up another 2225 woofer for this project. The plan is to eventually get the 2225 reconed to 2235, but for now I want to try them as is.

I have been looking at the factory speaker systems that used the 4560 cab. They are the JBL 4672 and 4674.

The 4672a used the 2225 woofer and 2426 HF driver on a 2370 horn. Xover is 800hz

The 4674a used the 2225 woofer and a 2445 HF driver on a 2380 horn. Xover is 500hz.

So I am torn whether to go with the 1" or 2" comp driver. With the 1" driver, I could run it without a supertweeter. With the 2" driver, I would probably want a supertweeter.

I would like to go with all JBL drivers/horns for this build. I'll probably use an active crossover set around 750hz.
 
Eli, I have searched in vain for an article written by a JBL engineer (not GT) in which he explains that the two inch JBL drivers will deliver just as much hf extension as the one inch drivers. I'm not a JBL devotee, so I can't even remember which drivers he was discussing. I thought I had the article bookmarked, but I can't find it now. I'll bet one of the other members can find it.

GeeDeeEmm
 
GeeDee
I haven't used any JBL 2" drivers before, but I used to run 2" Renkus SSD-3301 drivers on some JBL 2360 horns (the big horns that sat on top of my Altec 817's).

They sounded decent when used with the CD EQ button on my Ashly active xover. They just need a little bump to bring the VHF up to my liking.

I assume the 2" JBL drivers will also sound good with either some passive or active EQ. And maybe I can get away without any supertweet.

Now that you mention it, I do remember someone saying that the 2" drivers deliver all the VHF of a 1" driver, but with 50% less distortion.
 
Now that you mention it, I do remember someone saying that the 2" drivers deliver all the VHF of a 1" driver, but with 50% less distortion.

That's exactly what the engineer in the article was saying. Wish I could find that article for you.

GeeDeeEmm
 
That's not the one, but it offers pretty much the same information. The one I'm trying to find was authored by a single engineer and was much more casual in its presentation. I'm still looking for it. Could have sworn that I bookmarked it.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Well, I wanted to keep this setup all JBL, but I got a good deal on some 2" throat Renkus horns.

The horns are Renkus Heinz SSH500. Aluminum horns with a 2" throat, and 500hz lower cutoff. I'll use a pair of 16 ohm Renkus SSD-3301 that I already have.

I'll give the horns a coat of paint before using them.
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