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JBL 4430 rehab

Zonker92 said:
Looking great!
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Yeah, just like my previous pair, spending their previous life hanging from the rafters saved them from much damage. I still need to find some thread that matches the grill color so I can stitch the two very small holes in the one grill together. These grills cleaned up nice, and look almost new, also I'm pretty happy with the patch job on the holes in the tops.
 
Now on to refoaming the original 2235H woofers, so far it's like a walk in the park. :D Test tone shows no rub, so by this time tomorrow they should be about ready to install back into the cabinets.:thmbsp:
 

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Turns out I have (2) 2226 woofers that were reconed to 2235's, they are what I stuck in the 4430's while I refoam the original 2235's. They sound excellent, and have the correct surrounds that seem thinner, and more flexable.

I also have (3) 2234's that (2) look like they have aftermarket cones in them, also the surrounds are thicker feeling, and more grey colored. (1) of them has the more black surround and is less stiff.

Then lastly I have (1) grey framed 2235, it also seems to have the generic surround.

Thank goodness for Rick Cobb. :yes: :thmbsp:
 
Original 2235H woofers turned out very nice, should have them back in the cabinets where they belong later today. Now I have to consider when to tackle recapping the crossovers, they sound so sweet it makes it hard to want to mess with them.

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Nice!!

I'm still unsure whether recapping them is beneficial. I did mine and they sound great, but better? Unsure.

I'm charge-coupling the 4435s; curious to hear the results.

Have you cleaned out the gooey foam in the compression driver caps? I replaced mine with felt discs from Lowe's, from the section that carries furniture foot caps, pads etc.
 
Zonker92 said:
Nice!!

I'm still unsure whether recapping them is beneficial. I did mine and they sound great, but better? Unsure.

I'm charge-coupling the 4435s; curious to hear the results.
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You should make a few charge-coupled crossovers for the 4430's. I'd buy a pair :)


I'm sure you'd have some other takers as well!
 
Zonker92 said:
Nice!!

I'm still unsure whether recapping them is beneficial. I did mine and they sound great, but better? Unsure.

I'm charge-coupling the 4435s; curious to hear the results.

Have you cleaned out the gooey foam in the compression driver caps? I replaced mine with felt discs from Lowe's, from the section that carries furniture foot caps, pads etc.
Click to expand...

I have not had the horn drivers out yet, but plan to down the road.
 
cjwebber said:
You should make a few charge-coupled crossovers for the 4430's. I'd buy a pair :)

I'm sure you'd have some other takers as well!
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That is certainly something I'd consider at some point, but more for fun than money. Right now I still need to finish the 4435s and redo my 4425s and 4301Bs, not to mention move into a new house and set it up, but once the dust clears, we can discuss by PM.
 
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Let the games begin

This doesn't look like a fair battle, but let the games begin! :music:
 

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Supa-smackdown!

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Zonker92 said:
:d'oh!: Care to elaborate?
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The 4430's have better imaging, but much dryer sounding highs, and not as good in the bass department. JBL's are boomier, Fraziers very deep but punchy bass. The Fraziers have a very warm, and clean room filling sound to them, the soundstage is magical up to a certain volume. I like them both, but this was playing CD's on my Carver TFM-35, and Phase Linear 2000.
I will try some vinyl tomorrow to see how they do.
 
Having read that Frazier thread, it sounds like there's no shame in being bested by those monsters. Being partisan, though, I'll offer some thoughts about the bass and treble on the 4430:

Bass: As I have said umpteen times, removing the biamp switch really did wonders for my 4430s' bass. Still, 35 Hz extension on the JBLs versus 16 on the Fraziers ... nuff said.

Treble: Can't recall, but you have the Ti diaphragms, yes? They are famous for being a bit harsh. I like the AL Radians I'm using. It's also good to mess around a bit with the pots to adjust them just right.

But none of that means they can necessarily best the Fraziers.
 
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Zonker92 said:
Having read that Frazier thread, it sounds like there's no shame in being bested by those monsters. Being partisan, though, I'll offer some thoughts about the bass and treble on the 4430:

Bass: As I have said umpteen times, removing the biamp switch really did wonders for my 4430s' bass. Still, 35 Hz extension on the JBLs versus 16 on the Fraziers ... nuff said.

Treble: Can't recall, but you have the Ti diaphragms, yes? They are famous for being a bit harsh. I like the AL Radians I'm using. It's also good to much a bit with the pots to adjust them just right. But none of that means they can necessarily best the Fraziers.
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Yeah, I'm sure if I was comparing them to most any other speaker, the 4430's would have no problem. There is something special about the Elevens, it almost seems like the more time I have put on them, the better they have gotten. It could be the poly caps breaking in, or just me getting them adjusted for the room.

But I'm not trying to knock the 4430's, I like the clean studio monitor sound, I always liked my 4410's way before hearing 4430's. I still need the 4430's to play in since the surrounds are new, and I have yet to really get them dialed in the way I like.
 
mech986 said:
Did you remember your first pair sound similarly?
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I thought the first pair I owned were lacking in highs somewhat, this pair seems brighter. It's possible the first pair had the alnico compression drivers, but I'm not 100% sure about that. A little tweeking on these, and a little guidance from the Zonker will get them sounding even better. :thmbsp:
 
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