JBL 4412 cab modification. Possible?

[Jonk]

Hey folks,

So, this is a quite ridiculous scenario I have here. I bought a pair of 4412's off ebay and of course like everything on ebay there is something VERY wrong. It happens to be that I got two left sides. What! you ask?

Yes. These speakers are supposed to be mirror images of each other, as folks might know, so no matter how I set these up, the mid range and hf drivers aren't ever aligned with each other. I'm ostensibly using them for mixing, not for casual listening.

My question is, for people with experience with these speakers/cabs, would it be possible to disassemble the cab of one speaker and flip the front baffle to create a mirror image pair, and then put the drivers back in?

I need to know pretty soon so I can get back to the seller. I got a good deal on them and I've been looking for awhile, so I'd like to go this route if possible, but I could send them back and start over.

Anyway, let me know what you guys think.

Thanks a bunch.

[Ed Zeppeli]

"My question is, for people with experience with these speakers/cabs, would it be possible to disassemble the cab of one speaker and flip the front baffle to create a mirror image pair, and then put the drivers back in?"

Sorry, I don't have direct experience with these speakers but I have serious doubts about flipping the baffle. You'd have to turn it inside out, basically. How good are you at wood work?

Have you tried using them upright and just living with the small difference in centres on the highs?

[rdgrimes]

There's no way to remove the baffle, it has to be cut out.
I don't see a huge issue with using 2 lefts, other than the obvious aesthetic one. But it might depend on your distance from the speakers.

[BMWCCA]

4412 is designed for horizontal use and relatively near-field use where the non-mirrored cabinets might actually become a real issue. I've run them vertically for years but not for close monitoring. It's probably not much of an issue that orientation. In horizontal mirrored use, they can be swapped Left to Right for a different sound-stage presentation depending on how close you are or how wide you want the field to be. If run horizontally you could flip on upside-down and then the disparity would only be a slight difference in height of the tweeters, mids, and port.

[grumpy]

If bought, I'd keep an eye out for an empty cabinet.
They pop up once in a while.

[rusty jefferson]

Measure from the center of the mid and tweeter to the cabinet edges. From photos it appears they're the same distance. Since looks aren't important it doesn't seem like a stretch to just modify the existing holes and switch the drivers. You could probably flip the crossover plate as well. Am I missing something?

[Jonk]

Yeah,

What you're missing is there is hard (cardboard) conical chamber that the mid sits in. So, I'd have to cut that out and put it in the mirror image position. Not a very easy thing to do.

[Ed Kreamer]

Hi Jonk: Greetings from Hood Canal

I'd leave it. I run 3 4410's for my front and for normal listening distances your not going to hear any difference. I have 2 left and 1 right and in my 9' listening distance I couldn't tell the difference when I was deciding which one to use as my center channel. There are other factors I think that are more important. If it's that important to you I'd do what Grumpy suggested, find another box.

Ed

[rusty jefferson]

Yeah,

What you're missing is there is hard (cardboard) conical chamber that the mid sits in. So, I'd have to cut that out and put it in the mirror image position. Not a very easy thing to do.

What you were considering (cutting the baffle off and turning it around) would require far more effort/skill, and still require the mid chamber be relocated. I'm not a wood craftsman, but I can use tools and epoxy fillers. I think it's a reasonable effort to get the mirror image you're looking for. Just a suggestion.