Please reccomend a substitute eight inch driver ?

[Doctor_Electron]

Greetings fellow Lansers.

I plan to build a pair of cloned Caberet Series 4612's.

I have been putting together a "Vintage" PA system for not too loud, small club usage with a maximum of three vocals and three acoustic instruments.

The powered mixer is a Yamaha FM-60A. I am gathering up some nice old mic's, so far a couple of Olson dynamics and an EV that uses Alnico 2, which is purported to age-weaken less than its A-5 cousin. This EV 664 appears to bear that out. It is still an excellent performer. About 20 years ago I replaced its damaged transformer with a Jensen unit, and it works great for acoustic guitar, fiddle, and mandolin.

Usage on b@njoes, however, is strictly prohibited.

So, finally to the Crux. I have two 2404's that I re-diaphrammed in 2002, and they have seen very light use since.

As I had posted in the "Speaker Safari" thread, I heard a pair of 4612's in a (very early in its Genesis) CGI production demonstration stage, on the L.A. Universal Studios Tour, ca. ~ 1984.

I was very impressed with their sound. But at this time I cannot afford to buy four JBL 8 inch drivers as used in the genuine articles.

So I am asking the Forum for suggestions for a substitute 8 inch driver. While I am obviously a fan of Pro JBL gear, I know there are less costly drivers out there and have in the past been quite surprised (pleasantly on occaison) by some of their cost-to-performance ratios.

I have not built a scratch system in a long time, so I defer to the knowledge and experience of those here.

Thanks in advance to any contributors, "DE"

[Horn Fanatic]

Greetings fellow Lansers.

I plan to build a pair of cloned Caberet Series 4612's.

I have been putting together a "Vintage" PA system for not too loud, small club usage with a maximum of three vocals and three acoustic instruments.

The powered mixer is a Yamaha FM-60A. I am gathering up some nice old mic's, so far a couple of Olson dynamics and an EV that uses Alnico 2, which is purported to age-weaken less than its A-5 cousin. This EV 664 appears to bear that out. It is still an excellent performer. About 20 years ago I replaced its damaged transformer with a Jensen unit, and it works great for acoustic guitar, fiddle, and mandolin.

Usage on b@njoes, however, is strictly prohibited.

So, finally to the Crux. I have two 2404's that I re-diaphrammed in 2002, and they have seen very light use since.

As I had posted in the "Speaker Safari" thread, I heard a pair of 4612's in a (very early in its Genesis) CGI production demonstration stage, on the L.A. Universal Studios Tour, ca. ~ 1984.

I was very impressed with their sound. But at this time I cannot afford to buy four JBL 8 inch drivers as used in the genuine articles.

So I am asking the Forum for suggestions for a substitute 8 inch driver. While I am obviously a fan of Pro JBL gear, I know there are less costly drivers out there and have in the past been quite surprised (pleasantly on occaison) by some of their cost-to-performance ratios.

I have not built a scratch system in a long time, so I defer to the knowledge and experience of those here.

Thanks in advance to any contributors, "DE"

You might try the Eminence Beta-8A. It has a higher power rating than the 2118, and may require only minimal adjustment to the box alignment. It can be purchased at Parts Express for about $65, but they offer a break for higher quantities. Also, the 2118 has been out of production for a spell, which means the only place to find them on short notice is Ebay, and the prices are all over the map, and none of them will be under warranty as would the Eminence. If you seek a less expensive driver, then expect performance commensurate for that price range. IMO, the Beta-8A appears to be a good value, and it will operate well in the 4612 volume. I used to own a pair of 4612 Cabaret's many years ago, and was quite pleased with them.

http://www.parts-express.com/eminenc...river--290-404

For reference:

https://www.jblpro.com/pub/obsolete/2118.pdf

Good luck.

H.F.

[wpod]

TubeJunkie on eBay currently has a few for sale for $40.00 each. He'd probably even cut you a deal if you purchased four of them. Always the Genuine article, always in better than average condition, a very reputable seller (and nice guy!) Here's a link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/JBL-2118H-MI...item3a95e5642f

[speakerdave]

He needs "J's" to replicate the 4612.

[speakerdave]

Also, use of the 4612 crossover will require the 2404-1 (2402 diaphragm).

[Doctor_Electron]

Thanks to all for the information.

One or both of my 2404's may have the 2402 diaphram. I repaired one or both about 11 years ago, not knowing the finer details of 24xx differences. Once again, kudos to Lansing Heritage for enabling.

[Doctor_Electron]

Thanks for the "TubeJunkie" link, those are killer prices. The project looks more feasible now. But I just had to put most of my monthly discretionary funding into "smogging", insuring, registering two vehicles and transferring the title of one, cha-ching!

I'm looking forward though to seeing what he has for sale next month.

[FE3T]

Thanks for the "TubeJunkie" link, those are killer prices. The project looks more feasible now. But I just had to put most of my monthly discretionary funding into "smogging", insuring, registering two vehicles and transferring the title of one, cha-ching!

I'm looking forward though to seeing what he has for sale next month.

I too has bought from "TubeJunkie" and have found him to be a honest and helpful fellow.