Since I was swapping the new LE14H-3 drivers in my $303 PS1400s with the LE14H-1 drivers in the PT150 boxes, I pulled out my iPhone and snapped a few photos. It was a pain in the butt without an assistant, so there are no prize winning photos here, but maybe someone will find them useful or at least interesting.
In.
LE14H-1 on the top, LE14H-3 on the bottom. Notice the differences in the frames. The-1 is flat, has a flat paint finish, and has bolt holes that accommodate beveled flat Philips head bolts. The -3 has a thicker, beveled frame with a crinkled finish and bolt holes that are meant for machined bolts with round shoulders and thick Allen heads.
In.
Hmm, maybe the -1 has a satin finish??? Whatever.
You can see the rubber surround on the -3 (on the right) vs. the foam surround on the -1. The -1 also has the ring around the outside of the driver; the -3 does not.
In.
The frame diameter is the same, and the bolt mounting locations are identical. They fit and mount in the same diameter baffle cut out.
From the side, though, differences are evident. The -3 is on the left, and it's intended to be mounted such that the thick front part of the frame is flush with the baffle, which requires the driver to be inset rather than riding on the baffle like the -1 does. Also, the frame is heavier, with additional reinforcement.
Since I'm not inclined to change the L250 cabinets in case I return them to original condition, there is no routered inset, so the -3 drivers rest on the baffle, too. Thus that thick front frame results in the cone and surround being slightly further out that the original -1 would be.
In.
These shots were a pain. Since the drivers are heavy and unwieldy, I had to hold them up with one hand and try to focus and shoot with the other. I could have laid them down or leaned them against something, but I was not willing to risk scuffing a surround for this impromptu pictorial. So, this is what I got.
The main points of the shots are 1) to show the additional castings on the -3 frame on the right and 2) to show they still have foilcals on the backs.
In.
A clear difference is in the speaker wire connectors. I find the -3 connectors on the right picture much easier to use and more firm in their connections, especially when you only get enough wire in the cabinet to connect the drivers while holding them near the opening with one hand and inserting the wires with the other.
In.
It was a bit of a challenge installing the drivers even though the bolts went in the same locations. The deeper front frame decreased the tolerance for "close enough" and required an exact hit on the hole for the longer Allen head bolds to thread. Well, my room was too darn dark, I couldn't actually see the holes, I couldn't just leave the drivers sitting unsafely in the opening while I searched for a flashlight--if I could have held it, aligned the hole, inserted the bolt, started the bolt, and kept the driver from jumping out of the cut out--with only two hands. So I did it by feel.
And no, I couldn't just lay the enclosure down, since the other three drivers are all connected direct to their individual amps, and I was not going to disconnect all that and reconnect it if I could help it.
Hopefully, I'll get a better photo at some stage. The trim ring is just sitting on the LE14H-3 frame at the moment, but the Allen head screws will be installed eventually.
In.
Great pictures, lots of information there, thanks!
Yamaha C-80 Preamp -> Yamaha M-2 / (2) P2201 Amps -> JBL L150 / JBL L100T / JBL 4412 Speakers
Is there still enough room between the port and the back of the -3?
-4 looks identical to a -3 as well.
Always fun learning more.......
If you look at the "Driver depth" photo, you can see that from the backside of the front flanges the distance is virtually the same. I didn't get right on the floor since, hey, I'm getting old, so there is a little parallax involved in the photo's angle, plus the squircles aren't really square to each other. In the PS1400, that thicker flange would be inset into a routered well in the baffle and protrude deeper into the enclosure, but in the PT250 all the extra flange thickness is on top of the baffle, so the rearward distance is not increased.Originally Posted by JuniorJBL
Monsieur grumpy assures me that there's no concern for time alignment worries, and with the LF waves being generated he is of course correct. For once.(Please, g, it's a joke. You are my guide and margarita amigo.)
As for the -3 and the -4 being identical, they're certainly closer that the -3 and the -1. A cursory look at the transducer info posted by Techbot shows some of the differences, which don't seem all that dramatic to me, but 4313B could elucidate the key differences if it were worth his time to do so. I can read numbers. That doesn't mean I can interpret them.
In.
I put the LE14H-1 drivers into the PS1400 enclosures. I had to use the bolts that came with them to get them to snug them down, since the Allen (hex) head bolts were both too long and had the wrong shoulders. So the drivers do sit recessed into the baffles due to their thin, flat flange profiles.
It may be a world's first to have PS1400s with LE14H-1 drivers in them. I'll fire them up eventually to hear what is what. My guess is they'll be just fine, and with the grilles on, who will know?
In.
Sorry Dome!!
After looking at the pic again I now see what I thought to be about a 1/2" difference is not.
Thanks for the clarity.
So have you listened to them yet?
Always fun learning more.......
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