• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

A JBL 4435 in the house

L

Lux Man

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Yes I mean A JBL 4435 as in one, not a pair. I just couldn't help myself. There was one for sale and I took the bait. I've never heard a JBL set up other than my son's 2- 2235's used as sub woofers. So I brought it home and thankfully two nephews were here for thanksgiving and they carried it down to the man cave. (225lbs.)
Even though the surrounds are going I had to give it a listen. OH my oh my. I can only imagine what two will sound like. I am hesitant to say what my main speakers are now but compared to the JBLs they sound like little bookshelf speakers.
My original thought when I bought them was to maybe make some 4430 clones but when I heard these my thought now is to make another 4435 enclosure and procure the drivers. The crossover seems to be the real challenge at this point.
Please share your thoughts on what you think makes sense. I love to find another lone crossover but I have pretty much zero hope in that.
I did get the surrounds today and they are done and waiting to dry. I'll install the drivers tomorrow.
 

Attachments

  • DSCF9174.jpg
    DSCF9174.jpg
    39.3 KB · Views: 851
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
Pic added to first post. BTW it's a sad story as to why there was only one. The seller was on a demolition job of an auditorium and the other was heavily damaged I guess, so they only kept this one. I explained to him that there were other parts that I really wish they would have kept.
 
Even heavily damaged, I bet you could have put Humpty Dumpty back together again.:yes: Not to mention the parts they threw away.:tears:
 
I've begged the seller to do all he can to find out if any of the parts from the other speaker possibly survived. I told him I have no problem with going dumpster diving. I hope to hear back from him with a miracle but I'm not putting much stock in that.

My plan is to live with this one for awhile and decide if I want to go all in on buying the required drivers and doing the crossover using point to point wiring. It doesn't look too complicated-yet....
 
So- let me post this question. There is a pair of 4430's that I could buy. Putting their cost aside, would I be better off buying them and turning the 2234's in my lone 4435 into subs to accompany the 4430's rather than the undertaking of procuring components and building a new 4435 enclosure? I realize there will be some sonic differences but whether it is better or less desirable may be debatable.

Your thoughts? I realize the cost of those 4430's is a major component but let's assume the price is fair market value based on recent history.
 
:lurk:

As a 4430 owner who's often mulled over and researched the possibility of getting some 4435s, but never actually seen or heard them, I can tell you that the 4435s go about 5 Hz lower (30 Hz instead of 35), are about 3 dB more sensitive (96 dB instead of 93), handle more power, too (375 watts instead of 300) and play up to 122 dB, instead of 119, in a 3K CF room. (See page 3 here.)

For all that, I think the 4435's most noted advantage is that without its mass ring, the 2234 bass/midrange woofer has lower distortion than the 4430's 2235, around the area where it overlaps the horn.

All that having been said, I am a bit skeptical that I would hear a major difference between the two. Cost, size and weight aside, would I prefer having 4435s? I would. Enough to justify the cost and negative WAF and trouble of upgrading? Hmmm.:scratch2:

On a related note, I can readily picture building crossovers for the 4435s from scratch. I've certainly spent enough time poring over the schematics and tweaking the ones on my 4430s, which use the same PCBs and mounting design. I'd charge-couple them and leave out the pads / rheostats.
 
Last edited:
Lux Man said:
There is a pair of 4430's that I could buy. ...would I be better off buying them and turning the 2234's in my lone 4435 into subs to accompany the 4430's?
Click to expand...
Get the 4430s and you will not be sorry. Then use the 4435 as a TV stand / center channel! The off-center horn would drive me nuts though.

When you look at the 4435 crossover layout, you'll find that one of the 2234 drivers plays up to the 1000Hz crossover point and the other only plays up to 80Hz(?), simply augmenting the bass of the first. This is known as a 2.5-way arrangement.

It might be easiest to bypass the tweeter and rejigger the crossover so that both 2234 drivers play from 80Hz on down, effectively augmenting the wide range 2235 drivers in the pair of 4430s.

You'll have a leftover/spare (albeit good-looking) horn, but you'll have all the equivalent joy of a pair of 4435's distributed among three cabinets instead of just two bulky monstrosities.

And if you really can't stand the sight of an unused horn, the upper panels of the 4430/4435 series are removable and it should be pretty easy to fab up an exact fitting blank.
 
Damn it all.

After "settling" for my pair of 4430 and banishing the notion that I was missing out on something greater by not pursuing 4435's, I think I just figured out how to have it all in my above post.

Now I just need a single 4435 to come my way. Hmmm...

Zonker - wanna go halves on a pair?
 
HTWillie said:
Get the 4430s and you will not be sorry. Then use the 4435 as a TV stand / center channel! The off-center horn would drive me nuts though.

When you look at the 4435 crossover layout, you'll find that one of the 2234 drivers plays up to the 1000Hz crossover point and the other only plays up to 80Hz(?), simply augmenting the bass of the first. This is known as a 2.5-way arrangement.

It might be easiest to bypass the tweeter and rejigger the crossover so that both 2234 drivers play from 80Hz on down, effectively augmenting the wide range 2235 drivers in the pair of 4430s.

You'll have a leftover/spare (albeit good-looking) horn, but you'll have all the equivalent joy of a pair of 4435's distributed among three cabinets instead of just two bulky monstrosities.

And if you really can't stand the sight of an unused horn, the upper panels of the 4430/4435 series are removable and it should be pretty easy to fab up an exact fitting blank.
Click to expand...




I beg your pardon!
 
Great input - just what I was looking for. Let me throw this out, just suppose this were to end my speaker hunting quest/obsession. Could I do the following or would it make sense?

I realize it wouldn’t be exact but that is part of my question. The 2235’s in the 4430’s are designed to go into the sub region but don’t go as high into the midrange as the 2234’s in the 4435’s. So sonically that poses to be the main difference. Whether it is obvious or not you might not know until you got them home. I’ve compared the schematics of the 4430 and the 4435 and I see the differences are not huge so could you put the 2234’s in the 4430’s and mod the crossover and put the 2235’s in the 4435 or build two separate cabs just for the subs. Since you say the crossover boards are the same the mod should become even easier.

Thoughts?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom