4401 and 4406 comparison

While searching for spare parts for my 4401's I bought a pair of 4406's from craigslist and am interested in people's opinions on both speakers. I find them interesting because they are comparable in size but have a lot of differences on paper.

The woofers are coned with completely different materials and the tweeter are different. The specs show the 4406's going down 30hz lower than the 4401's.

My biggest question is, were these monitors marketed to different audio people and, if anybody has experience using both of these speakers, what are some impressions about how each perform.

Thanks

I have had a pair of 4406 in my office for years. I had a pair of 4401 before that.
The 4401 has a punchier midbass, but that's about it...because of the paper cone. (only has midbass...they drop off at 70 hz!)
The 4406 is more extended top and bottom, way more transparent, smoother, more detailed, etc.
Neither one is adequate for anything beyond casual listening without a subwoofer. IMHO.
The 4406 sounds better on it's own, as it goes a bit deeper in the bass, as well as all the above already mentioned.
Hope this helps.

4406 is the pro version of the consumer L20T. The L20T is a superb small speaker appreciated by many here. My daughter uses a pair (without a sub) in her room powered by a Crown PS-200 and a Soundcraftsmen Pro-PT Two. They will do a more than adequate job of filling a small room. Well, at least as well as any other JBL with a 6-1/2" woofer can! Same woofer is also used quite successfully in the 18Ti. :D

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Originally Posted by BMWCCA

4406 is the pro version of the consumer L20T. The L20T is a superb small speaker appreciated by many here. My daughter uses a pair (without a sub) in her room powered by a Crown PS-200 and a Soundcraftsmen Pro-PT Two. They will do a more than adequate job of filling a small room. Well, at least as well as any other JBL with a 6-1/2" woofer can! Same woofer is also used quite successfully in the 18Ti. :D

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I'm a fan of them too! I've got the L20T as rears in my TV room, got a pair of L20T3 as side surrounds down there, and have another pair of L20T3s in my office for an HK receiver that plays computer sound, local itunes, or Fm.

Heck of a deal for the price!

Yeah, I have owned a pair of 4406's since new...1988 or 1989...I think I paid $225 or $250 for the pair back then. I actually think he charged me for one speaker accidentally and not the pair, but I was not sure.

I just have not done much with them. I had them in my college dorm for one year, and aside from that, they have been bookends. I would like to utilize them more.

They don't "need" a sub to be enjoyed. :)

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Originally Posted by BMWCCA

They don't "need" a sub to be enjoyed. :)

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Phew, you just saved me some coin.

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Originally Posted by soundboy

I have had a pair of 4406 in my office for years. I had a pair of 4401 before that.
The 4401 has a punchier midbass, but that's about it...because of the paper cone. (only has midbass...they drop off at 70 hz!)
The 4406 is more extended top and bottom, way more transparent, smoother, more detailed, etc.
Neither one is adequate for anything beyond casual listening without a subwoofer. IMHO.
The 4406 sounds better on it's own, as it goes a bit deeper in the bass, as well as all the above already mentioned.
Hope this helps.

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I've had a pair of 4401's in my office for years. They are very nice nearfield monitors; though I concur with Soundboy that, if you're looking for a really deep low end, you need a subwoofer.

BMWCCA is correct in that, they don't "need" a subwoofer to be enjoyed. But, if you want to "feel your oats" every now and then, then the sub is definitely the ticket. I use a PB10 with mine; and this does augment the 4401 even at lower listening levels.

Pete

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Originally Posted by pmakres1

I've had a pair of 4401's in my office for years. They are very nice nearfield monitors; though I concur with Soundboy that, if you're looking for a really deep low end, you need a subwoofer.

BMWCCA is correct in that, they don't "need" a subwoofer to be enjoyed. But, if you want to "feel your oats" every now and then, then the sub is definitely the ticket.

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Well, actually, I was talking about the L20T and 4406, not the 4401 which was described earlier in this thread as being somewhat moew challenged in the bass department. Sounds like they might "need" a sub. ;)

Obviously nearly anything with a 6-1/2-inch "woofer" would produce deeper bass with a similar-but-larger woofer—sub, or not. That's why JBL made the L100T, too. :D

Back in the day JBL paired up the 18Ti's with the B460 just for fun.

The 4401 and L15 never really caught my fancy. I greatly preferred the 4406, 18Ti, L20T, L20t3, and XPL90A.

An 18Ti tricked out with a charge coupled 4406 network is seriously good stuff for a tiny loudspeaker regardless of the fact that little 6.5-inch polycone is loaded with harmonic distortion. Plenty of jaws dropped over those puppies. :rotfl: I'm still irritated that JBL canned the C8R115H-1 recone kits. :banghead: I was so irritated that I sold my four pairs of 18Ti's and 4406's. My charge coupled networks went to a fellow in Norway.

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Originally Posted by 4313B

Back in the day JBL paired up the 18Ti's with the B460 just for fun.

The 4401 and L15 never really caught my fancy. I greatly preferred the 4406, 18Ti, L20T, L20t3, and XPL90A.

An 18Ti tricked out with a charge coupled 4406 network is seriously good stuff for a tiny loudspeaker regardless of the fact that little 6.5-inch polycone is loaded with harmonic distortion. Plenty of jaws dropped over those puppies. :rotfl: I'm still irritated that JBL canned the C8R115H-1 recone kits. :banghead: I was so irritated that I sold my four pairs of 18Ti's and 4406's. My charge coupled networks went to a fellow in Norway.

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I'll bet the 18Ti's with a B460 would be fun...serious low end! I have a JBL 18" sub in my Florida room with my pair of 4313B's, and THAT is lots of fun!

The 18Ti does indeed appear to be a nice little system. It's size and appearance would likely make it a nice replacement for my 4401's in my office. However, not being able to get a cone kit for it does give one pause.

Are cone kits still available fr the 4401 woofer?

Pete

Hi All,

This is my first post so I will be brief. I purchased a 'new/old still in the box' pair of JBL 4406's. I just love'em! But I keep seeing random mentions that they even sound better if you have the 'charge coupled' variant? Was this standard on certain versions of the 4406's? How can one tell if they have one of these variants?

I am assuming this is a custom mod to the 4406's as one would need to add a battery to the network.

On that note... Is there any pro out there who would be willing to upgrade the capacitors in my 4006's and build me a charge-coupled network for these puppies? Of course they would have to treat them like new-born puppies because they are absolutely pristine in condition! I would also like to be able to bi-amp these speakers as long as there would be no structural or cosmetic harm done to the cabinets and veneer.

I also own a pair of 4408's. In my non-dedicated listening room they come off a bit flabby in the mids and I am surprised at how little bass come out of them given the size of the woofers. The 4406's seem to merge better with my sub and clean up some of the choked/congested mid to upper mids that I think the Emotiva gear is imparting to the sound. I also have standing wave and low-end phase issues that I keep wrestling with, less of course on vinyl playback.

I am still new at this 'audiophile/music lover' world so please excuse my exuberance and naivete.

My gear consists of Emotiva amp and pre-amp (stereo only), Audio Technica turntable (no laughing), near top-of-the-line Sony SACD player and a Music Hall dac25.3 for up-rezing of CD's and hard drive playback, and a Yamaha sub.

Any tips, tricks or advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Brett
[email protected]