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Lux Man
12-01-2014, 12:19 PM
The definition of a quandary in my case is having bought 1-4435, not a pair. As you can see I am a new member here. My son introduced me to JBL's when he bought 2-2235's and turned them into sub woofers for his avi setup. They are an impressive driver. Apart from them I had never heard a large JBL speaker. So recently on CL a 4435 came up for sale. I hesitated, realizing the chances of finding another orphan was near zero. But nevertheless I couldn't help myself and I brought it home. It needed new surrounds which I took care of, but even before doing that I had a listen and realized this was going to be an adventure.So I have going through the mental exercises of where do I go from here. Here are my options as I see them and I am seeking your input as to what really does make the most sense in case I am blinded from seeing the obvious.option 1) over time procure the required pieces, drivers, and parts and make another 4435 enclosure. The existing enclosure is not great and to be satisfied I'd have to re-veneer it too.option 2) purchase a pair of 4430's and use the 2234's from the 4435 as sub woofers or just use the 4435 in it's present state as a sub. (but kinda big and 2-4430's and a 4435 in my room doesn't work so well.)In the case of option 2 this is what I am wondering based on my research here and elsewhere. Could/should I remove the 2235's in the 4430's and replace them with the 2234's and then use the 2235's in separate enclosures. I would expect to modify the crossovers in the 4430's to accommodate the 2234's, essentially changing them to 4435 crossovers. My understanding is that the crossovers in the 4430 and 4435 use the same board so it would seem the mod would be reasonably "simple" and I already have one crossover from the 4435.I will greatly appreciate your thoughts and recommendations.P.S. I currently have Infinity RSII's and the 4435 is just so much more efficient. I may not need my Carver Signature 600 amp anymore. (600 watts per channel)

Lux Man
12-01-2014, 12:21 PM
I should add that the other 4435 was lost due to a demolition crew not knowing what the value was of these speakers. The other was destroyed as best as I could gather.

Odd
12-01-2014, 12:52 PM
Gather the necessary parts and create a new 4435

macaroonie
12-01-2014, 02:09 PM
Or this : 'remove the 2235's in the 4430's and replace them with the 2234's and then use the 2235's in separate enclosures.'

Ed Zeppeli
12-01-2014, 07:38 PM
Find a pair of 4430s and use the 4435 as a killer center channel!

Lux Man
12-01-2014, 07:41 PM
Find a pair of 4430s and use the 4435 as a killer center channel!

Interesting idea and you are right it would be a killer center channel but this is my dedicated 2 channel system. No big screen in my man cave.

subwoof
12-02-2014, 07:43 AM
Companies that are cleaning out theaters sometimes have a number of the single and dual 15 LF cabinets that have enough volume to be able to retune for the foam surround models..

4647 and 4645 and the many variations.

Find another horn and driver and make a set of 4430 crossovers ( there is enough difference to make converting a hassle )

put horn / driver on top for the cool-cave look

Sell the single crossover on ebay with foilcal and plates - should get decent change.

sub

Lux Man
12-02-2014, 10:06 AM
So last night I did some experimenting. I brought one wire leading to the LF woofer out of the port so I could easily connect and disconnect it. It allowed me to compare with and without the LF woofer. Result: I felt without it in the circuit that I was listening to essentially a 4430 or pretty darn close. The difference I heard was in my opinion significant. So much so that I think it would haunt me if I were to go the 4430 route. I'm going to continue to mull this over but at this point I think I can see a 4435 build in the future. I did find a great thread here last night will all the dimensions already laid out for the 4435.

1audiohack
12-02-2014, 11:35 PM
Hey Lux Man;

It's a surprise to me that a couple of my friends actually prefer the 4430 to the 4435's here at the shop. I absolutely prefer the 35's. It is interesting to me that the 35's can sometimes sound leaner than the 30's but I think the 35's are more accurate and certainly cleaner when you put the power to them.

Barry.

Lux Man
12-04-2014, 06:25 AM
I have appreciated all the input. I do plan to move ahead with the build. It's now just a matter of timing, with year end coming up things get a little busy. I do plan to get the cabinet done while I continue to be patient looking for the 2234H's and the 2344/2234H. I am expecting to have to fab the crossover myself. I'll certainly post back as things get moving.

subwoof
12-04-2014, 08:02 PM
if using a single woofer, use the 2235H with massring.

2234 by itself is louder but not as deep...it does matter.

sub

Lux Man
12-05-2014, 06:28 AM
2 questions- there is a 2234H on Ebay but there isn't much for pictures and it does not have the JBL label on the back like mine does. It claims it is NOS but is this driver different in some way? Second question, if I did find a 2234 for the full range woofer but couldn't for the LF woofer , could I use the 2235 instead without much of a loss. I was thinking since it is designed to go lower that using it as as the LF woofer may not matter so much. I suppose in any case I could use it until I found a 2234.

Odd
12-05-2014, 09:49 AM
2234H on Ebay looks like new original to me.
Not all has the JBL label.

Lux Man
12-09-2014, 12:06 PM
I have begun buying material for the enclosure. The bracing inside is 1" thick but I could only find 1 1/16" material. I don't have a plane so if I use it as is 3"x 1.0625 it will add approx. 1/8 cubic feet per each woofer compartment. (or in this case take up). Should I ignore it or should I cut down the 3" dimension to make up for it. The bracing would become 2 13/16 x 1 1/16.

Or do I take the material to a real lumber yard for planing?

Thoughts?

honkytonkwillie
12-09-2014, 11:51 PM
For the bracing that's too thick, before sacrificing some length in any dimension, I'd calculate how many holes or circular sections would need to be cut out to get back down to size.

Odd
12-10-2014, 02:20 AM
I would not put so much work in this.
You can accept small deviations in interior volume.
You can compensate by tuning the ports.

Lux Man
12-12-2014, 01:39 PM
I have the opportunity to buy a pair of 2235's. I realize the 4435 requires 2234's. But what if I use the pair of 2234's I already have for the mid-range woofer's and use the 2235's as the LF drivers? It seems it makes sense, since the 2235 actually has better LF curves than the 2234. My sense it telling it might be able to be done but may require different tuning (port length and or more damping material, crossover change?) My other thought is to just use the 2235's until a pair of 2234's come along.

So suppose your opinion is that using the 2235 is not a bad idea. What equipment would be required to make such a modification? JBL must have had a good reason not to make this configuration to begin with, I wonder what it was?

Mr. Widget
12-12-2014, 03:03 PM
Unless the 2235Hs are in remarkable condition at a great price, I'd look for a pair of suitable cores and get new 2334 recones in them. Doing this gives you "new" drivers at a fair price.


Widget

pos
12-12-2014, 04:49 PM
It seems it makes sense, since the 2235 actually has better LF curves than the 2234

LF response of these drivers are identical. The only difference is a rising midrange response for the 2234, because of the lighter cone.
If EQ can be used the 2234 is an all around better driver than the 2235.

hjames
12-13-2014, 05:33 AM
LF response of these drivers are identical. The only difference is a rising midrange response for the 2234, because of the lighter cone.
If EQ can be used the 2234 is an all around better driver than the 2235.

Its unscientific and annecdotal, I know, but I originally had a pair of 2235s in my my L200 based 3 ways
(with Giskard's 4333 based crossover) back when I still used the original LE-85s , and when I swapped the 2235s
for a pair of 2234s, they sounded so much better - better integrated somehow.
The 2234s are still in there, by the way ...

BMWCCA
12-14-2014, 12:07 AM
Unless the 2235Hs are in remarkable condition at a great price, I'd look for a pair of suitable cores and get new 2334 recones in them. Doing this gives you "new" drivers at a fair price.

For posterity's sake . . . shouldn't that read "2234"?

Lux Man
12-14-2014, 08:59 AM
Well this is where I am at this point. Yesterday I picked up 2-4435 crossovers/L-pads, 2-2426 and 2344's, and he also had the 2235's. I decided to get the 2235's anyway. It was a all or nothing proposition. The crossovers will save me a lot of time rather searching for parts and pieces and the 2344's with the 2426's was nice not having to go to Ebay and hope I got what I paid for. The 2235's while not correct were very nice condition. They were JBL authorized re-cones and look perfect. As far as using a 2235 in each speaker I pan to use it at least for now and if it doesn't sound right and we can't make it right, I'll just keep my eye out for a pair of 2234's. After making the sale I did take everything to Midwest Speaker in Minneapolis and they verified that all was good. The only thing I still need will be the foilcal. I've not seen the 4435 offered anywhere so far. I'll do some searching in case someone has posted what the Pantone color is for the JBL orange. I have one one my lone 4435 but I could be faded. Otherwise I'm waiting on my help to start the cabinet build which should be in a few weeks.

grumpy
12-15-2014, 08:17 AM
I'd try this vendor: http://www.ebay.com/usr/sign--shop

Lux Man
01-05-2015, 04:27 PM
Well- my quandary is over. The mate to my lone 4435 is in the house. My son and I spent all last Friday and part of Saturday and a few hours yesterday measuring, cutting, drilling, routering and gluing mdf. The result is a knock off 4435. I was fortunate enough to locate the crossovers, and all the drivers locally. I swapped out the crossover from the lone 4435 so everything would be the same rev. in case there were any differences. The parts came from a fellow member here. I just happen to run across a old thread here where he said he had everything except the enclosures. His thread was from about 6 years ago, his moniker is Bo. I contacted him and he was willing to part with them, so it moved my project up considerably. I could not paint them or veneer them. We were working in his semi-heated garage with a outside temp of 20 degrees F. I'll have to wait for spring to paint outside.

After just 24 hours I have confirmed that am so glad to have found the lone 4435 and to now have a mate. They are a wonderfully sounding pair of speakers. They do so much that I have never had before. Working backwards from most recent I've had, Infinity RSII's, factory stacked Dahlquist DQ-10's, ADS 910's, Magnepan 1.6's, Magnepan 1.2's, Fried H2 satellites and Freid sub, and just prior to that a Dahlquist DQ-10. that takes you back to 1980.

These best them all by a large margin.

Thank you for all your help and input I am a JBL'er for life I suspect.