My JBL 4435 quandray

[Lux Man]

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]

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]

Gather the necessary parts and create a new 4435

[macaroonie]

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]

Find a pair of 4430s and use the 4435 as a killer center channel!

[Lux Man]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

2234H on Ebay looks like new original to me.
Not all has the JBL label.

[Lux Man]

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]

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.