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JBL E20 problems

Should I replace with non-JBL drivers? or is that just too much of a headache...

  • Yes - Replace with non-JBL drivers

    Votes: 1 50.0%

  • No - Look for EC25's or a pair of E20's to scavenge from

    Votes: 1 50.0%
  • Total voters
    2
B

buschy2586

New Member
Hey all,

Going to start off with a thank you for helping! I'm fairly new to the audio world and from what I've read, this is the best forum around to help me gain knowledge about everything and anything audio.

Long story short, I am down grading (in size) my home theater main's from the JBL N28's, to the more compact JBL E20's. I already had the matching center (ec35). I bought a pair off craiglist for a great deal but got them home and came to find out the crossovers are fried / one of the tweeters has a broken terminal / both woofers are ceased up. Serves me right for not getting a sound demo before heading home.

Instead of just replacing the fried resistor in the crossover, I bought a newish used crossover off ebay. Someone parting out damaged set of speakers probably. Everything tests ok with my multimeter.

Found cheap tweeter replacements coming over from China (made sure to get two so hopefully they match? IDK).

NO IDEA WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE WOOFERS. This is where I'm at. I can't find replacements available. The way I see it is I have 3 options.
- Find another pair of E20's (pricey)
- Find a JBL EC25 (from what I can tell, it has two 4in drivers that match the e20's)
- Replace the drivers with another brand (opens a whole can of worms on driver matching original specs / integrating with the existing crossover / sounding good in e20's box)

I'm lost and swimming in a sea of confusing options I know too little about.

Any advice / help is greatly appreciated.

The woofers I need to replace:
12PR80BAA-FW01

Can't find much online spec wise.

Thank you!

Scott
 
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Hi Scott,

In my opinion, replacing the woofer with generic woofers will not result in optimum sound from this design. And since finding replacement woofers will be hard, better to just bite the bullet and buy a couple off of Ebay that say they are working and sound good (not the cheapest listing) for around $120 shipped. That may be a reach but its not a lot to pay for peace of mind that you have the correct speakers that you wanted.

Of course, there's lots of other possible small JBL speakers but it depends a lot on how little (or small) space you have to put these in your system and room.
 
Mech is right on, don't get any generic replacement and think you're going to enjoy the sound. That would probably be a mistake. Both woofers are seized so the cone doesn't move? I'd suggest you confirm that by connecting the terminals to a small battery and see if there is movement. A meter measuring resistance may turn up defects, also.
 
Thanks guys,

I'm definitely leaning towards finding another set of E20's or a EC25. I wanted to stay with either the E20's or E30's from that series because I already have an EC35 that, to me, sounds great. I came across these E20's and what I thought was a good deal at $40 for the pair....Should've been a red flag. When it's all said and done, I know I'll be closer to the $100 mark total. I basically paid $40 for a pair of cabinets in real nice condition.

Both woofers are totally seized. I've done the battery test and hooked them up directly to my receiver, bypassing the crossover. No sound what so ever.

Could anyone help me figure out if the 4in woofer on the E20's are the same as the 4in woofer on the EC25? I've tried to confirm this but have not been able to yet. I think this would be my best option, if it's a direct match.

Thoughts?
 
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