Best High frequency transducer

[Mr. Widget]

Hey "Wolf" thank you for the PE and ESS links... very interesting.

Like I need one more unfinished speaker project in my life!

I do remember being impressed by the AMT-1s back in the day. As I recall they were a bit more expensive than most other similarly sized speakers, but they did sound pretty good blasting out Rock and Roll.


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[ivica]

The JBL077 is fantastic, might be as good ,as the much more expensive JBL Be tweeters.They are more efficient to. Many people on this forum love the 077.- RUDY

I can agree with RUDY, but the price for the real-good pair of JBL077 is sometime a problem.
May be for the experiments:
Beyam CP21-F, or BMS 4540 can be acceptable, or even BMS4590P

Regards
Ivica

[RKLee]

Just curious what is the price range of a 075, 076, & 077?

I have a pair of old EV T350s. I bought them back in 1975 because they were cheaper than the JBL 077s. I believe the 077s cost $150 each NIB. The T350 were like $80 each.

[Mr. Widget]

Just curious what is the price range of a 075, 076, & 077?

I have a pair of old EV T350s. I bought them back in 1975 because they were cheaper than the JBL 077s. I believe the 077s cost $150 each NIB. The T350 were like $80 each.

You made a good investment. Today depending on condition the JBLs can be as much or more than the EVs ($200pr-$1000pr), but because the JBLs were produced in much higher numbers the EVs are more scarce and typically command prices as high or higher than the JBLs.

I think the JBL prices directly correlate to production numbers and not sonic quality. In mint condition, the 076 tend to go for the highest prices and the 075s tend to go for the lowest. The pro variants of all JBLs tend to be less valuable on the used market.


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[SEAWOLF97]

The pro variants of all JBLs tend to be less valuable on the used market.
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why ?

[Mr. Widget]

why ?

Less valuable in terms of resale price... not intrinsic value. My guess is that it is primarily due to market ignorance. Many people know about LE15As but not about 2215Bs... as an example.

There is also the cosmetics... many feel the 077 looks cooler than the 2405... and then there is the fact that a hard driven road weary PA driver will likely be in far worse shape than a home speaker that was rarely pushed. They can both look brand new if they were only mounted once and carefully removed... but the pro piece may be far from spec.


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[SEAWOLF97]

and then there is the fact that a hard driven road weary PA driver will likely be in far worse shape than a home speaker that was rarely pushed.
Widget

yes, BUT ....in many cases (excluding JBL, I think ) isn't a lot of Pro gear much better built ?? ..... and designed to be used hard, if not 24/7 ?

many friends see the Pro market as the area for great deals , where the GP doesn't really understand what a particular model number means. ....look at all the forum traffic just used in discussing 43xx monitors.

(slight ramble..)

I remember an interview of a Hollywood star who shopped thrift stores as a hobby ..
when asked "why" ? her answer was "used quality is better than new junk"

in fact, isn't that mantra what drives most of LHF's members purchases (excluding the minority who buys new ... NTTAWWT ) .... and that there is a much greater BFTB
in vintage JBL than in new BestBuy at the same price ?

[Mr. Widget]

yes, BUT ....in many cases (excluding JBL, I think ) isn't a lot of Pro gear much better built ?? ..... and designed to be used hard, if not 24/7 ?

BUT... we are talking about JBL.

Just so that we don't confuse those less knowledgeable about JBL drivers... in the past, JBL Consumer and Pro drivers were identical in most cases except for the color of the paint. These days, while there are a few examples of JBL Synthesis drivers where the home version is actually superior to the pro in most cases there are no longer identical drivers being used in both Consumer and Pro products and for the most part the Consumer line is nothing like the Pro in terms of build quality and durability.


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[ivica]

You made a good investment. Today depending on condition the JBLs can be as much or more than the EVs ($200pr-$1000pr), but because the JBLs were produced in much higher numbers the EVs are more scarce and typically command prices as high or higher than the JBLs.

I think the JBL prices directly correlate to production numbers and not sonic quality. In mint condition, the 076 tend to go for the highest prices and the 075s tend to go for the lowest. The pro variants of all JBLs tend to be less valuable on the used market.


Widget

Expecting that the diaphragm for 2405/077 known as D16R2405 is over 150 usd per piece (here in Europe over 150 euro), so it can be expected that 400~500 usd per 2405 pair is something not unexpected, and for 077 even more.
For 076, no idea at all.

regards
ivica

[4313B]

JBL Consumer no longer makes their own transducers. They source everything from various vendors, one of which is Harman Audio de Mexico (formerly JBL Professional Manufacturing of Northridge, CA). Only the very best JBL Consumer systems use anything from HAdM.

yes, BUT ....in many cases (excluding JBL, I think ) isn't a lot of Pro gear much better built ?? ..... and designed to be used hard, if not 24/7 ?

Legacy JBL transducers all came off the same lines with the same quality build.

What always made me chuckle was how some of the transducers were labeled specifically for Pro and some weren't. Consider the LE10H or 128H used in both Consumer and Pro with that same designation, someone was too lazy to give them Pro numbers? 2235H or 2245H in Consumer products? Again, no Consumer number? What's up with that? And what was up with the different return casings on the 124A and 2203A or the 136A and 2231A? Screwy! Was it really all that important to differentiate between Pro and Consumer by casting two differently shaped return casings?

There is still some parts interchangeability going on though it isn't anything close to what it was. 243x versus 435x for example. Heck, that's about the only example still in existance that I can think of.

Incidentally, as wonderful as that driver is, it is not a venerable LE85/2420/2421. If you look at it crosseyed that little dab of superglue holding the insanely powerful neo mag ring in place will fail and crush the voice coil. What is does have over the ancient LE85/2420/2421 is weight savings and JBL Pro is really on board with the diets. If the price of neo stabilizes we could very well see the demise of fifty pound drivers like the 1500AL in favor of drivers like the 2216Nd. And that's a good thing. While I certainly admire the sonic excellence of the 1500AL the weight is atrocious.

After hearing the 045's over a period of years I finally gave up on the ring radiators and recently gave my last pair of Northridge D16R2405's to another forum member. I wouldn't have been happy unless I'd been able to find a pair of pristine 077 or 076 cores anyway. And a cracked crystal in an 077 a few years down the road? Well, I just don't need that kind of heartache anymore.

Quite frankly, the 476Mg and 476Be do everything I want on the top end despite their larger apertures. The 045 in the DD66000 is superfluous for all intent and purpose. Only a teenager might be able to hear it (one that hasn't had iPod buds stuck in their ears for years) and they aren't the target demographic.


BTW... where are the Be diaphragms for the JBL 1-inch exit c.d.'s such as the LE85/2420/2421/2425/2426?? That's what we all really need.