DIY JBL Clones

[Tony ray]

After listening to Jakeyb77 JBL S4600s yesterday I love the sound of horns. Always my favorite at HiFi shows as well.

I was wondering if there were any DIY clones of JBLs I could knock up.

DIY soundgroup has some interesting designs but mostly 2 way and we all know that 2 ways are not very good.

Edited March 14, 2018 by Tony ray

[Wimbo]

28 minutes ago, Tony ray said:

DIY soundgroup has some interesting designs but mostly 2 way and we all know that 2 ways are not very good.

[davewantsmoore]

Isn't the S4600 basically a 2 way + supertweeter  (ish?!)

 

If so, then perhaps one of these

https://www.parts-express.com/jbl-2382a-2-flat-front-bi-radial-horn-120x40-4-bolt--294-425

with a woofer, and some super-tweeter would get you there .... but I'm not aware of any well fleshed out DIY recipes.

[davewantsmoore]

1 hour ago, Wimbo said:

Well, they do make it in the territory of big horn + big woofer, which is a better way to crack the problems of a 2-way.     

[Upfront]

With a bit of searching. Plans are avaliable online. Depending on exactly what you want to build. JBL drivers and horns are readily avaliable. Build some big ones! A couple of 12" woofers and crack on from there![emoji7]

[Red Spade Audio]

2 way makes a lot of sense for this kind of speaker.

[Upfront]

Yum!

[kelossus]

You could build a pair of JBL M2's if you wanted to go all out. Otherwise a pair of 4430/4435's would suit but are about 40 years older than the S4600's you heard.

[Hippy]

Ive recently finished cutting a pair of these for a SNA'er from 17mm ply.

http://www.jblpro.com/www/products/installed-sound/ae-series/am7315#.WgVLevmCxEY

Would be happy to send the cad and cutting files for it.

[caddisgeek]

1 hour ago, Upfront said:

With a bit of searching. Plans are avaliable online. Depending on exactly what you want to build. JBL drivers and horns are readily avaliable. Build some big ones! A couple of 12" woofers and crack on from there!

12"? Why stop there? Go all the way to 15" I say!

[Upfront]

12"? Why stop there? Go all the way to 15" I say!

In my defence, I was talking 2 in each [emoji16]

[THOMO]

The Cornscala would also be worth considering

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwja2a2syuvZAhUHFJQKHQhCDS4QFggqMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcritesspeakers.com%2Fcornscala.html&usg=AOvVaw2gazBXthoQmzP8xptRms03

[zog]

if the question is big waveguides.. the answer is yes..

[44maloo]

Go for the JBL 4435, I used these for 20 years with great enjoyment. Sound great with all kinds of music. This to me is the strength of JBL. I now use them for rears in my home theartre as I can’t part with them there that good.

 

 

 

joe.

[tubularbells]

25 minutes ago, 44maloo said:

Go for the JBL 4435, I used these for 20 years with great enjoyment. Sound great with all kinds of music. This to me is the strength of JBL. I now use them for rears in my home theartre as I can’t part with them there that good.

 

 

 

joe.

Using 4435's as rears!!!!

 

That's priceless. 

[Tony ray]

Lots of great ideas , thankyou.

I think I heard the JBL S4700 at the 2016 hifi show and really enjoyed there sound. The M2 were just out there with there sound.

[oohms]

For a real horn setup you should go 2 way with a large horn. You also really want a multichannel DSP setup and a mic so you can get it all working properly and it gives you the option to change components easily down the track

[THOMO]

Or just buy a second hand pair of JBL Studio 590s.

They are one of the biggest bargains in audio.Incredibly well engineered horn speakers at a giveaway price.Really only that price due to Harman's mass production.

Look at their frequency response curves.Very few horn speakers regardless of price can match them for measured performance.They also sound really good and will do so with quite low powered amplifiers .They need a big room though.

A shame that many of them ended up in mid fi systems because they were deserving of, and responded to, so much better.

[Tony ray]

18 hours ago, THOMO said:

Or just buy a second hand pair of JBL Studio 590s.

They are one of the biggest bargains in audio.Incredibly well engineered horn speakers at a giveaway price.Really only that price due to Harman's mass production.

Look at their frequency response curves.Very few horn speakers regardless of price can match them for measured performance.They also sound really good and will do so with quite low powered amplifiers .They need a big room though.

A shame that many of them ended up in mid fi systems because they were deserving of, and responded to, so much better.

Hey Thomo ive heard great reports of the JBL Studio 590s but I have the DIY bug and want to make something.

Saw on the DIY Soundgroup page the Titan 615-lx which looks very interesting. I reckon I could make a nice cabinet for them.

[Upfront]

Hey Thomo ive heard great reports of the JBL Studio 590s but I have the DIY bug and want to make something.
Saw on the DIY Soundgroup page the Titan 615-lx which looks very interesting. I reckon I could make a nice cabinet for them.

Diy is VERY rewarding if you follow the well trodden path. Hit and miss if you go it alone. Get into it!

[Tony ray]

Found the Lansing Heritage site which is full of interesting stuff. Would really love to build a big JBL copy ,clone or something similar.

 

Is a 4435 a good one to make ?

Edited March 20, 2018 by Tony ray

[44maloo]

Yes 4435 is a great way to go.

[Tony ray]

What do the JBL numbers mean ? Is there a catologe that shows the numbers that match the speakers ?

[44maloo]

There just model numbers Tony, nothing like for example BMW 3 5 or 7 that is used for body style. Have you listened to any JBL monitors Tony that might help. Also the kind of sound you like. 

 

Maybe send me personal pm a i'll try and help you.

 

 

Joe.

[Tony ray]

Hey Maloo, the only ones ive heard are at the HiFi shows and Jakeybs which impressed me. But they are the more modern ones.

It looks like they are over priced for me to go the DIY root so I might look at other horn options like Diysoundgroup.