Proper Wiring of JBL 4313B

[boethius]

I've gotten a set of these and want to make sure that it is wired up correctly. I have found the network here:

http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/Network%20Schematics/3113B%20Network.pdf

LE10H
The driver has red and black terminals. There is a green and green/black wire to them. Which goes on which? From the diagram, it looks like green on red and green/black on black, but it actually sounded better with the reverse (green/black on red).

LE5-9
The driver has slip on connections. One is male (on driver), the other female (on driver). The wires are white and white/black. Is the picture showing the correct wiring?

Thanks in advance for help rendered!

[Earl K]

I've gotten a set of these and want to make sure that it is wired up correctly. I have found the network here:

http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/Network%20Schematics/3113B%20Network.pdf

LE10H
The driver has red and black terminals. There is a green and green/black wire to them. Which goes on which? From the diagram, it looks like green on red and green/black on black, but it actually sounded better with the reverse (green/black on red).

LE5-9
The driver has slip on connections. One is male (on driver), the other female (on driver). The wires are white and white/black. Is the picture showing the correct wiring?

Thanks in advance for help rendered!

re; the LE10H connection ,

Trust your ears here .

First off , you interpreted the schematic wrongly.
- Green goes to "+" connector on the woofer / which just happens to be the black connector .
- Most older JBL drivers use the black terminal to give a forward (+) motion of the piston ( yeh, what were they thinking ? ).

re; those LE5-9 connectors ,

- since they're sexed connectors, you can't really mess it up .


cheers <> Earl K

[DavidF]

The LE-9 connection looks correct. I think I need to differ with Earl in that, for the woofer, the green lead goes to red terminal on the driver, the green/black goes to black as you interpreted. The woofer should go negative (move inward) with positive pulse from the amp.

Reversing the woofer lead will effect the response around the woofer-to-mid crossover point and will create a significant deviance from the designed frequency response. Of course I can't comment on whether that is better from your perspective, that's your call. But the design strived for (and succeeded in) a balanced and natural system frequency response.

Just from my perspective it is hard to argue in favor of messing with the design to improve it. You may have more success in "tweaking" for better sound more effectively with placement of the enclosures within the room, boundaries, etc.

[boethius]

I'll put a battery on it and confirm which side is + and which is -. I'm pretty sure, though, that the green/black on red gave a noticeable improvement when I did some experimenting awhile back, it was not subtle. I'll check again...

[boputnam]

DavidF's got it: Stick with the "old" JBL intended cabinet wiring - it is the only way to ensure you are getting the inter-driver (band pass) phasing JBL intended.

However, to Earl K's point, once you do that, you could invert (as in reverse) the connections to the binding posts on the cabinet rear. That would result in the woofs having forward cone motion on (+), and would keep the relative transducer phasing JBL intended.

Make sense?

[boethius]

DavidF's got it: Stick with the "old" JBL intended cabinet wiring - it is the only way to ensure you are getting the inter-driver (band pass) phasing JBL intended.

However, to Earl K's point, once you do that, you could invert (as in reverse) the connections to the binding posts on the cabinet rear. That would result in the woofs having forward cone motion on (+), and would keep the relative transducer phasing JBL intended.

Make sense?

Yes, I will try both options and post my impressions.

[BJL]

They made it easy for assembly line workers who didn't have time to ponder such things.
Black stripe goes to black terminal

[boethius]

Well, I'll confirm what has already been said, the green/black stripe wire goes to the black terminal on the woofer. I also experimented with swapping the inputs and it sounds the same to me, at least at the lowish volumes. I haven't really spent much time with these in the last few years, as I no longer trek down into the basement as often as I used to, but I'm rediscovering how fantastic these speakers are. Could they be the best JBL made prior to 1990? I think I need to get a better amp on them...

[DavidF]

"...Could they be the best JBL made prior to 1990? I think I need to get a better amp on them...

Yes, they are the best JBL made prior to 1990 (that fit into your trunk).

Sounds lonely for them down in the basement.

[boethius]

Yes, they are the best JBL made prior to 1990 (that fit into your trunk).

Sounds lonely for them down in the basement.

They are not lonely. They have a bunch of unused weight lifting equipment to keep them company.

[Zekeman]

Man I just checked my woofer connections on my L96's and they have been wrong all along (since I refoamed). Why would JBL use the black terminal as positive?!?! Totally against my convention of positive and negative standards.

[Audiobeer]

I've had a Harman Kardon 16 and a Mcintosh 2155 hooked up to mine. They are SWEET!