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Thread: Are These 4312a Control Monitor Crossovers?

  1. #1
    Junior Member brettMc's Avatar
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    Are These 4312a Control Monitor Crossovers?

    Hello,

    Bought a second set of what I think are JBL 4312a Control Monitor Crossovers but not sure the item was properly marked. I figured if I was going to attempt my first ever hands-on upgrade of a crossover network that I should do them on a second set...in case I totally mess it up.

    Please take a look at the images and let me know if these are the proper crossovers for these speakers. Your expertise is much appreciated!

    Speakers:
    Name:  JBL 4312A.jpg
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    Second-hand Crossover:
    Name:  IMG_5298.jpg
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  2. #2
    Senior Member grumpy's Avatar
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    yes.

    Network 66324 is 3112D and called out on the 4312A Technical Manual (as is network 3112C)

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    Junior Member brettMc's Avatar
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    Thanks!

    Quote Originally Posted by grumpy View Post
    yes.

    Network 66324 is 3112D and called out on the 4312A Technical Manual (as is network 3112C)
    Could your recommend where I can find all the replacement parts I might need and a good soldering iron? Also what gear do I need to test the speakers? Tone genrator? Some sort of impedance tester? And maybe a hot air gun to unglue some of the parts from the board?

    I could also use some tips on 'do's and fonts' before I do anything....

    Thanks so much!

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    Junior Member brettMc's Avatar
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    Phase?

    ...also....

    Does anyone know if the tweeter and midrange are wired out of phase with the woofer or is it just the midrange that's out of phase?

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    Senior Member Odd's Avatar
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    JBL 4312A Technical Manual

    JBL 4312A Technical Manual
    Attached Images Attached Images
    43XX (2235-2123-2450-2405-CC 3155)5235-4412-4406-4401-L250-18Ti-L40-S109 Aquarius lV-C38 (030) 305P MkII

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    Senior Member Doctor_Electron's Avatar
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    4312A driver phasing

    Looking at the technical manual the LF and MF are not wired at 180 degrees because the LF to MF section is first order. And also it appears that the HF is also not wired at 180 degrees even though that section is second order. As I think I understand it the MF to HF phase relationship is not as audibly critical as that of the LF-HF transition.

    If you've ever had a mid driver such as a 104H connected wrong or happen to do it in the future, you will immediately appreciate the need to wire the mid out of phase with the LF when using a second order network.. It sounds absolutely hideous.
    "Why don't you Mine your own Bismuth, so you won't be mining mine?"

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    Junior Member brettMc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doctor_Electron View Post
    Looking at the technical manual the LF and MF are not wired at 180 degrees because the LF to MF section is first order. And also it appears that the HF is also not wired at 180 degrees even though that section is second order. As I think I understand it the MF to HF phase relationship is not as audibly critical as that of the LF-HF transition.

    If you've ever had a mid driver such as a 104H connected wrong or happen to do it in the future, you will immediately appreciate the need to wire the mid out of phase with the LF when using a second order network.. It sounds absolutely hideous.
    Thanks for the reply! I unfortunately do not understand, does this mean the tweeter is out of phase? Or none of the drivers are out of phase?

    sorry. Thanks!

  8. #8
    Senior Member grumpy's Avatar
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    If you have the wiring, the wires with the black stripes go to the "-" terminal.
    If you don't, you'll need to follow the schematic.

    Parts-express.com (among others) has all that stuff. Not sure I see the point
    in "re-capping" a fairly new network unless something is missing/damaged.

    If you've not soldered before, I'd practice on something else first...
    it would be easy to ruin a circuit board.

    Testing? to what end? pink noise (FM static) and a working set of ears is a good start

  9. #9
    Junior Member brettMc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by grumpy View Post
    If you have the wiring, the wires with the black stripes go to the "-" terminal.
    If you don't, you'll need to follow the schematic.

    Parts-express.com (among others) has all that stuff. Not sure I see the point
    in "re-capping" a fairly new network unless something is missing/damaged.

    If you've not soldered before, I'd practice on something else first...
    it would be easy to ruin a circuit board.

    Testing? to what end? pink noise (FM static) and a working set of ears is a good start
    Thanks for the reply!

    Love these speakers but they are definitely midrange forward and tend to be harsh in the upper mids for sure. So I am recapping them with more laid back caps, with tighter percent tolerances and ditching the ceramic caps for film to help possibly tame some of the upper-mid distortion. Plus the L-pads are scratchy and causing some dropouts.

    I don't know if I have ever soldered anything in my life, but I will proceeded with care and clip nothing so original parts remain reusable. This also why I purchased this second set of crossovers in case I am way out of my depth.

    All of the support and guidance from you out here in JBL fan land will be in much need and greatly appreciated.

    while the JBLs are down I am purchasing a pair of Infinity 7 Kappas just to see what the whole Emit ribbon tweeter is all about...

    Thanks,
    Brett

  10. #10
    Senior Member grumpy's Avatar
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    Might try contact cleaner on the L-pads, but can't hurt to replace them if you can find similarly spec'd
    items that will fit. A worthwhile effort, as setting levels with dirty or damaged L-pads is
    a waste of time (in my mind). I would definitely do this first and then adjust/listen.

    I'm a bit more skeptical regarding the caps, as they already appear to be mylar film
    (yellow), and probably polyester film (blue, .01 bypass). If you are actually
    hearing distortion (as opposed to a midrange level prominence), it is more likely
    the L-pad or driver... but have fun experimenting

    Quote Originally Posted by brettMc View Post
    Thanks for the reply!

    Love these speakers but they are definitely midrange forward and tend to be harsh in the upper mids for sure. So I am recapping them with more laid back caps, with tighter percent tolerances and ditching the ceramic caps for film to help possibly tame some of the upper-mid distortion. Plus the L-pads are scratchy and causing some dropouts.

    I don't know if I have ever soldered anything in my life, but I will proceeded with care and clip nothing so original parts remain reusable. This also why I purchased this second set of crossovers in case I am way out of my depth.

    All of the support and guidance from you out here in JBL fan land will be in much need and greatly appreciated.

    while the JBLs are down I am purchasing a pair of Infinity 7 Kappas just to see what the whole Emit ribbon tweeter is all about...

    Thanks,
    Brett

  11. #11
    Junior Member brettMc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by grumpy View Post
    Might try contact cleaner on the L-pads, but can't hurt to replace them if you can find similarly spec'd
    items that will fit. A worthwhile effort, as setting levels with dirty or damaged L-pads is
    a waste of time (in my mind). I would definitely do this first and then adjust/listen.

    I'm a bit more skeptical regarding the caps, as they already appear to be mylar film
    (yellow), and probably polyester film (blue, .01 bypass). If you are actually
    hearing distortion (as opposed to a midrange level prominence), it is more likely
    the L-pad or driver... but have fun experimenting
    The little blue caps appear to be ceramic. They say .01k 250v CVC (or CMC)...hard to make out. From my research that denotes ceramic, and from further research ceramic is more likely to be microphonic and more likely to create some distortions.

    You are the second person who has stated that the larger yellow caps are good quality. But they are, at their oldest, around 30 years old. Would very much like to hear what you think.

    And yes I have already found the appropriate L-pad replacements. So why not new instead of clean the old ones up and hope for the best.

    Thanks,
    Brett

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    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by brettMc View Post
    You are the second person who has stated that the larger yellow caps are good quality. But they are, at their oldest, around 30 years old. Would very much like to hear what you think.
    I'll be the third.

    Anything is possible, but I think issues with the drivers are far more likely than the caps.


    Widget

  13. #13
    Junior Member brettMc's Avatar
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    Driver testing

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget View Post
    I'll be the third.

    Anything is possible, but I think issues with the drivers are far more likely than the caps.


    Widget
    Thanks for bringing that up. How can I objectively test the drivers, with what tools and what should they measure?

    One woofer was professionally reconned using stock JBL parts. I have several sets of the ti tweeters... How can I tell if all the drivers are acting properly?

    I also hear that sometimes spiders need re-stiffening on older drivers, would this be something that I need to look into?

    Thanks!

  14. #14
    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by brettMc View Post
    Thanks for bringing that up. How can I objectively test the drivers, with what tools and what should they measure?
    There are numerous measurement platforms at all price ranges. Typically you get what you pay for.

    I would run frequency measurements, impedance curves, and if JBL published distortion plots are available, I'd measure the second and third harmonic distortion curves. Of course your measurements will only be as good as you are, so you may want to find someone with experience.

    I use CLIO on a laptop and Studio Six on iOS. I have calibrated mics for each.


    Widget

  15. #15
    Senior Member grumpy's Avatar
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    The JBL p/n (61098) for those little blue caps are polypropylene.
    No one would use ceramic caps for bypassing larger values in a crossover.

    Definitely replace the L-pads if you have them in-hand.

    If you're hell bent on replacing the caps, you could both get higher quality
    capacitors (obviating the need for the bypass caps at all), and double up
    on the values of the yellow ones and get two of each: to replace each single
    cap with a pair in series. Then introduce a dc bias voltage (9v battery works)
    through a several-Mohm resistor to the point between the caps. Google
    "charge coupled crossover" or "dc-biased crossover".

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