4430 Question

[Chas]

Yesterday I hauled my 4430's out of storage to replace the HF diaphragms. I was aware that early 4430's had Alnico HF's but I thought that the diaphragms were all titanium, just like the later ferrites.

Well, it turns out that mine are 2421A's dated 1983 with diamond surrounds but the diaphragms look like aluminum. How do you tell? These certainly look like aluminum.

By the way, I bought the 4430's about a year ago and my first impressions were not favorable when I compared them to my large format system. I stored them away for later work as I was in the middle of my LF projects with no time to fiddle with them.

Anyway, I hooked them up again and got pretty much the same story yesterday, no highs, choked midrange, man - it was awful. Then I rotated the biamp/passive switch (probably never done in their lifetime) a few times and then things went crazy....Holy crap! Now I understand what everyone is talking about. I never thought a two way system with a 1" comp driver/horn could impress me like this.

Lesson learned, keep those connections and switch contacts clean!

[4313B]

They are aluminum. The original 4430 used aluminum phragms. Back when I bought mine and could get either it was suggested that I get the 2421's. Naturally I went ahead and ordered the 2425's instead because they were "newer" tech. I eventually snagged some aluminum phragms for my 2425's.

Damn bi-amp switches! I had the same trouble with the 4333 and 4343 switches.

"Now I understand what everyone is talking about. I never thought a two way system with a 1" comp driver/horn could impress me like this. "

Yep!

[JBLnsince1959]

congrads with 4430's. Ain't life sweet?

[Zilch]

Holy crap! Now I understand what everyone is talking about.

[kevf]

Hi Charles,
just wondering how you like the 4430 over your "4333" (which I've listened to before and sounded great!) now?

As you know I have the 4425's and 4333's. I had both pair hooked up to the same system for a while and had switched back and forth. While the 4425 did sound great, and the bi-radial had an amazingly wide dispersion. I always prefered the 4333. Just seemed smoother at the top to my ears and gave me a fuller sound - probably because of its deeper bass.

Oops..I just realized I'm straying from the "technical"

[Mr. Widget]

Oops..I just realized I'm straying from the "technical"

STAY ON TOPIC!!!


Contacts!!! They are often over looked and so darn important... in larger systems it is hard to keep them all clean though. It is also probably one of the single greatest reasons so many of us change our gear so often.

Widget

[Chas]

Yes, it was nasty audio, these 4430's had spent some time in a damp basement I think, because the veneer had bubbled up in a few spots. Easily fixed with an iron, thanks to advice I got here.

I was probably hearing some contact rectification, nothing like half wave audio passed on to the 2421!

When I get some time, I will pull the xovers and give the switches the deoxit treatment.