JBL Array Series 4892 loudspeakers: What do I need to get these going? Is it worth it?

[lattiboy]

Hey all,

I grabbed these from a church auction for cheap a few weeks ago. They've been sitting in my garage as I don't quite know where to start or if I should even bother. My jaw dropped when I watched this video of them in action, but upon further reflection I don't usually need to hear something 2 blocks away.

Anybody add any info on these? Are they suitable for "PA hifi"? Should I waste my time getting the equipment needed to drive them?

Additionally, if it is going to be a PITA, is there a way I can test these without spending a ton of money? I bought them from a church who swore they worked fine and had been used for sermons for many years, however "trust but verify" is what I live by....

 

[swechsler]

Testing them is fairly easy, but actually using them is a different matter. The spec sheet says they use 8 pin Neutrik connectors, which probably means an 8 pole Speakon. I'm guessing you don't have one of those, so it might be easier to just remove the connection plates and use some clip leads to connect directly to the wires on the inside. However, since these apparently require an active crossover, you'll have to keep the volume low on the tweeter to avoid blowing it (however, since these are pro speakers they'll probably take more than a standard tweeter).

Now if you want to actually use them, you'll need four channels of amplification plus an active crossover. And keep in mind that they're not designed for home use, so even if you get them working at their best, they probably won't sound as good as a decent pair of consumer speakers. So unless you have a need for concert-level sound, my guess is that your effort and money would be better spent elsewhere.

 

[ivandezande]

You have some very nice pro speakers, here's the datasheet. http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/Array Series/4892.pdf
I for one love SpeakOns because they lock and have a solid connection every time. You would need a crossover and 4 channels of power as said above. It would sound great in my opinion, but it's gonna be a lot of cash towards something that really is meant to get very loud and still sound good, not really at home in your situation.

 

[lattiboy]

Testing them is fairly easy, but actually using them is a different matter. The spec sheet says they use 8 pin Neutrik connectors, which probably means an 8 pole Speakon. I'm guessing you don't have one of those, so it might be easier to just remove the connection plates and use some clip leads to connect directly to the wires on the inside. However, since these apparently require an active crossover, you'll have to keep the volume low on the tweeter to avoid blowing it (however, since these are pro speakers they'll probably take more than a standard tweeter).

Now if you want to actually use them, you'll need four channels of amplification plus an active crossover. And keep in mind that they're not designed for home use, so even if you get them working at their best, they probably won't sound as good as a decent pair of consumer speakers. So unless you have a need for concert-level sound, my guess is that your effort and money would be better spent elsewhere.

Okay, so literally take off the back plate and attach leads to the tweeter and woofer directly? Just keep it low? Don't know why I didn't think of that!

Thanks!

 

[dezmond76]

They are a 2way speaker. You need a couple 8 pole speakon adapters to hook them up. Don't run wires directly to the woofer and tweeter. They would be real good for hifi if you had a jbl pro subwoofer to run with them.

 

[swechsler]

They are a 2way speaker. You need a couple 8 pole speakon adapters to hook them up. Don't run wires directly to the woofer and tweeter. They would be real good for hifi if you had a jbl pro subwoofer to run with them.

Only one Speakon per side is required, they're probably paralleled inside the connection plate. Since these are crossoverless there's no harm done running the wires directly (although I'd probably do it to the back of the plate for ease of connection, rather than running wires back to the drivers), since the OP doesn't own any Speakons. Of course, if he plans on keeping them, then I'd definitely recommend getting the correct connectors, but for a quick test, I stand by my original suggestion.

 

[dezmond76]

Why so he can run full range signal to the horns and possibly blow them? To wire up direct to the woofer or compression driver you should use a external crossover or risk damaging the horns diaphragm.

 

[elitopus]

Or at least use a cap in line with the HF driver for a 1st order xover. Just for testing. You could build a real passive xover later. Or run them active

You could run a full range signal to the woofer for testing.

As mentioned above, those would sound great with a couple JBL pro subwoofers.

I love pro gear for HiFi. Thats all I use

 

[swechsler]

I doubt the OP has an external crossover. Playing a tweeter at low level for a few seconds with a full range signal is safe, especially a pro model like this that's designed to play ridiculously loud.

 

[elitopus]

Or instead of playing music through it, just run a sweep from 500 hz and up. He could even use a phone app to do it