4313 -- Part Trois -- Blind hog finds acorn!

[cgregory4]

My first post on the Lansing Heritage forum, a couple years ago, related to a pair of 4313s I purchased from California. I was less than impressed. But, when the 4425s showed up, I "saw the light."

The disease hit hard. Two more sets of 4425s. A trip to Burbank for some L300s. And, most recently, a pair of 4430s (Yes, you were right. They do shame the 4425s. )

In between, I hit the market hard for crossovers, drivers, horns -- all things JBL. The man-cave has never sounded better. Or, been more of a complete mess!

So, I decided to embark on 'improving' the sound from the original 4313s. The lows had been too boomy, and the mids too harsh. So, I emptied the cabinets, and proceeded to follow this cerebral path for modification:

1. Low frequency driver: LE10H-1. Heavy, competent, good reports.

2. 5" mid: LE5-2, based solely on heft. It just screams, "JBL!"

3. 066 tweeters from original (I think.).

4. Excursion to the garage discovers 3 likely sets of crossovers to tie all this together. Two of the sets were L96. One set had much larger inductors on it. Again, choosing the weightiest crossover, I discovered it would fit the screw pattern in the back of the 4313.

5. By now, it is obvious to the casual observer, just how much serious scientific thought I invested in the project.

6. Placing the pots in the middle position of the range, I stuffed all the above into the 4313 cabinets.

7. With the McIntosh MC2155 powering the 2-way Sota (for which I have great respect) on the left channel and the 3-way 4313X on the right, I adjusted the separate gains for 'sorta equal' SPLs.

The 4313X sounds fantastic! The mid-range from the 'chunky' 5-2 is outstanding! The bass is tight and controlled. In short I fell into some sort of accidental JBL Nirvana design, using component 'heft' as the overriding design criteria. I have no clue where the crossover cycles are, nor the specs of the components! I just know it sounds fantabulous! (Just remember to use the crossover from the L96 with the 'big-ass' inductor! )

Un-bleeping-believable, the change! What fun!

Greg

Now, it's on to the 43XX project using 2X15" woofers to reduce acreage requirements. Any ideas? I have gathered up the woofers, a low/mid, a horn unit, a babycheek, a 2405, and at least 3 frequency dividers for each side (with tri-amp? ) Any advice?

[audiomagnate]

You prefer your modded 4313s to L300s?

[cgregory4]

You prefer your modded 4313s to L300s?

Not at all. The L300s and 4430s are awesome, and I still think the 4425 offers the most 'bang for the buck', compared to nearly any other in the JBL tribe.

I am just amazed at the change in sound of the 4313s -- especially given that I don't know what-the-hell I did that made it work.

[tomee]

so you built L96s in 4313 cabinets, but using LE5-2 instead of LE5-12, and 066s for tweeters?

What you might have done is removed corrosion from the connections when you disconnected everything from the 4313 and took it out. I suggest putting everything that belongs in the 4313 back in and give it another listen. Then, maybe look into seeing if crossover capacitors might need replacing in the 4313.

search around here too, there's lots of good info from way back when. :-)
http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...L110-L96-4313B

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...ossovers+4313b

and many more...

keep having fun!

[cgregory4]

so you built L96s in 4313 cabinets, but using LE5-2 instead of LE5-12, and 066s for tweeters?

I suggest putting everything that belongs in the 4313 back in and give it another listen.

tomee,

LOL! Your comments on two of my threads have been very thought-provoking! Thank you!

HOWEVER, I will NOT go back to the old 4313s -- unless, of course, someone forces the issue by pointing one of my Parker doubles at the back of my head! Even at that, I have so many things wrong with my damn-it-all, old body, I might figure the speakers were worth more than me! LOL!

Thank you for the links -- lots of food for thought!

Greg

[tomee]

tomee,

LOL! Your comments on two of my threads have been very thought-provoking! Thank you!

HOWEVER, I will NOT go back to the old 4313s -- unless, of course, someone forces the issue by pointing one of my Parker doubles at the back of my head! Even at that, I have so many things wrong with my damn-it-all, old body, I might figure the speakers were worth more than me! LOL!

Thank you for the links -- lots of food for thought!

Greg

Sounds to me like you found a combination of parts you like! I was just theorizing that the old 4313 components might sound different after you put them all back into the box, due to wiping away corrosion from wire leads that are inserted into the spring loaded terminals. Of course preserving 4313 as-is would be nice too... Of course the 4313 mids and crossovers might also be faulty or out of spec. You could always find some empty L96 cabinets and do side-by-side comparisons?

[cgregory4]

Why does the LE5-2 sound so much better than the LE5-9?

[cgregory4]

You prefer your modded 4313s to L300s?

Seriously, I'm looking for answers as to why this set of speakers was so 'transformed' by my mostly-ignorant mods.

1. I started with a 4313, not a 4313B, which seems much more common. So, the 4313B may have already been revised for the better.

2. I think the woofer I used has a 'sweet' reputation.

3. However, I thought the LE5-9/LE5-11 mids were the preferred 5" mids for the designs without midrange driver/horn combinations.

4. However, the mid and lower-mid is where the sound changed so much. Has anyone else had this sort of experience, changing to the LE5-2?

Thank you,

Greg