JBL 4410 Studio Monitors: My first refurbish project

tensleep · Feb 8, 2009

I have owned this pair of JBL 4410 studio monitors since the mid 80’s. I purchased them new and have loved them over the years, although I have not always taken the best care of them. I had to put them away about 4 years ago because the surrounds had deteriorated.

As with many novice audio enthusiasts, I thought that the speakers would need to be reconed, which I couldn’t afford at the time. In addition, my youngest son had collapsed the dustcap on one of the 127h low frequency drivers through a hole in the grill cloth. These speakers saw me at my best and my worst during my 20’s and 30’s, so they definitely needed to be gone through.

Anyway, I first discovered the Lansing Heritage Forum, which eventually led me here to all of you fine Akers. After reading and studying, I realized that I could make these repairs myself. So, I started about 9 months ago by unloading the drivers. Other projects got in the way (privacy fence, two young sons, car maintenance, etc.), so these sat on a shelf until this month. I finally ordered all the parts I needed (Gorden W supplied the surrounds and dustcap), bought a bottle of Aileen’s glue, along with some linseed oil and turpentine, downloaded a tone generator, and proceeded to resurrect my babies.

Let me tell you, I had forgotten how good these speakers sounded. Not only that, it is very satisfying to correct some of the abuse I put these fine instruments through. Here are some pictures of the work as it progressed.

Finally, I still have to repair the grills. Most of the pegs have broken off. I tried using the Aileen’s glue, but it isn’t the right kind of adhesive. I also need to replace the grill cloth on one frame. Since I have to do one, I will probably do both so that they will match. I may even build new frames – we’ll see. I also need to come up with new woofer gaskets – any suggestions?

A few thoughts:

Aileen’s glue works just great!
Turpentine and linseed oil is very simple, cheap and easy to apply as a speaker finish.
MEK is great stuff for removing old surround from the frame and cone. However, it is very powerful and will etch plastic.
Gordon W is a great supplier. I had a problem with the first dustcap and he immidiately sent a replacement. The surrounds worked great.

thefragger · Feb 8, 2009

Buddy-- your garage looks like a warehoure! Where did you get that ginormous metal boxfan?!

Sweet job on the JBL monitor :thmbsp: That finish looks great! How did you get that finish? My dad's been on the prowl for a set of 4412s for some time now.

Do tell us how they sound when you find some quality time with 'em!

tensleep · Feb 8, 2009

thefragger said:
Buddy-- your garage looks like a warehoure! Where did you get that ginormous metal boxfan?!

Sweet job on the JBL monitor :thmbsp: My dad's been on the prowl for a set of 4412s for some time now.

Do tell us how they sound when you find some quality time with 'em!

Thx for the compliments. The shop is my cousin's, out on his farm in North Texas. My family and I are relocating here; I came ahead to work while my wife and 2 boys are in Alabama, finishing the school year and selling the house.

I work as a maintenance supervisor for a small manufacturing plant in south Dallas. My boss, the GM, is a great guy and will let me take home some of the scrap equipment and odds and ends from the plant. The box fan needs a motor, pulleys and a belt - not a problem sourcing any of that. I will clean her up and get her running soon, before the heat hits. That is one of my gifts to my cousin for letting me stay with him and his family. It should make the shop real comfortable in the summer.

I have been listening the JBLs for about 24 hours, off and on, now. They sound beautiful! I had been using some Klipsch KP301b speakers in my little room. The Klipsch's need a very large venue to sound right, but they were a temporary solution until I could finish the JBLs. The difference is like night and day!

While here in Dallas, I bough a JVC RX-D202 Digital Audio/Video receiver off of Craigslist for $30. It sounds great and is doing a very good job with the JBLs. So far, I have listened to some Gatemouth Brown, Tchaikovsky, The Crystal Method, Ry Cooder, Loreena McKennitt, and have watched the movies "Collateral" and "Blade Runner". Everything sounds just fantastic - better than I remembered! The details are very precise, and the soundstage is very wide. Right now, I am listening to some DeBussy and the space is HUGE!

Tomorrow, I will bring home some material to make some speaker stands and will play around with room placement. I can't do much with the room I am in, but they are already making me very happy!

Next up are a pair of Norman Model 10a speakers. They need surrounds and maybe crossover work. I will also clean up the finish on the cabinets, but they are still in great shape. I'll post pictures of that project as it progresses.

MOPAR3 · Feb 8, 2009

Nice work! I saw how you took apart the tweeters. You replaced the foam inside? I haven't heard of that. Does it go bad? I have a pair of 4410A's and they sound excellent.

tensleep · Feb 8, 2009

Yes, the foam does deteriorate, just like the surrounds. I couldn't source replacement foam, so I looked around for suitable material. I ended up using the foam that sometimes comes on the clothes hangers that you get from the dry cleaners. I will probably disassemble the tweeters in a couple of weeks to see how the foam is holding up. I attached the foam to the pole piece with Aileen's glue. It may not be the right adhesive for metal. If it is loose, I will use contact cement as my next choice.

Tucker99 · Feb 8, 2009

As far as speaker gasket material goes, there are probably lots of choices but I just use that foam insulating tape stuff that one puts around doors so when they close there is no draught. Its sticky on one side (a peel-off tape paper tape) which holds it in the speaker cut-put long enough for you to properly place the speaker and screw it into place. There are other gluey-sticky type things but I always like a cleaner solution.

tensleep · Feb 8, 2009

Tucker99 said:
As far as speaker gasket material goes, there are probably lots of choices but I just use that foam insulating tape stuff that one puts around doors so when they close there is no draught. Its sticky on one side (a peel-off tape paper tape) which holds it in the speaker cut-put long enough for you to properly place the speaker and screw it into place. There are other gluey-sticky type things but I always like a cleaner solution.

Thanks for the suggestion! However, the gasket material that I am speaking of is purely cosmetic. The low frequency drivers have a heavy fiber board gasket/ring that covers the edge of the surround and is glued to the basket. The gasket would provide a seal if the drivers were mounted from the back of the baffle board. Since these are front mounted, the gaskets provide no seal whatsoever. I would like to find those for the looks - when removing the original surround, I scratched up the basket paint a little and the gasket would improve the asthetics.

Sam Cogley · Feb 8, 2009

My big Marantzes use a thin cardboard ring for a gasket behind the woofer and the mid/tweeter disk and the cabinet. That seems to work fine.

zenith2134 · Feb 9, 2009

Hey, fragger, did you just call his garage a houre?

tensleep · Feb 9, 2009

Sam Cogley said:
My big Marantzes use a thin cardboard ring for a gasket behind the woofer and the mid/tweeter disk and the cabinet. That seems to work fine.

Thanks for the suggestion about the gasket. Many drivers are sealed against the enclosure with a gasket between the basket and the enclosure. Hovever, in this speaker design, the gasket does not serve as a seal. The gasket is purely cosmetic in this speaker system. The basket is mounted flush against the enclosure, loaded from the front of the baffle board. The gasket is glued to the front of the basket, with the outer edge of the surround captured between the gasket and the basket. The outer surface of the gasket faces open air - it does not provide any sealing function. However, the gasket looks better than just the surround glued to the basket.

I have attached a picture of the low frequency driver out of the enclosure, prior to removing the gasket and replacing the deteriorated surround. Then, I have attached a picture of the driver mounted inside of the cabinet. This should illustrate the purely cosmetic aspect of the gasket.

What I am looking for is a source for an exact (or very close) replacement gasket, purely for cosmetic reasons, not to provide any type of a seal.

Again, thanks for all of the suggestions - that is what makes AK such a wonderful resource.

tensleep · Feb 9, 2009

zenith2134 said:
Hey, fragger, did you just call his garage a houre?

At least he didn't call it a houre hause!

Sam Cogley · Feb 9, 2009

tensleep said:
Thanks for the suggestion about the gasket. Many drivers are sealed against the enclosure with a gasket between the basket and the enclosure. Hovever, in this speaker design, the gasket does not serve as a seal. The gasket is purely cosmetic in this speaker system. The basket is mounted flush against the enclosure, loaded from the front of the baffle board. The gasket is glued to the front of the basket, with the outer edge of the surround captured between the gasket and the basket. The outer surface of the gasket faces open air - it does not provide any sealing function. However, the gasket looks better than just the surround glued to the basket.

I have attached a picture of the low frequency driver out of the enclosure, prior to removing the gasket and replacing the deteriorated surround. Then, I have attached a picture of the driver mounted inside of the cabinet. This should illustrate the purely cosmetic aspect of the gasket.

What I am looking for is a source for an exact (or very close) replacement gasket, purely for cosmetic reasons, not to provide any type of a seal.

Again, thanks for all of the suggestions - that is what makes AK such a wonderful resource.

Ah. I think every speaker has the gasket of which you speak - I thought you were trying to get a cabinet seal on the underside. Good luck finding the correct gaskets you're looking for.

thefragger · Feb 9, 2009

zenith2134 said:
Hey, fragger, did you just call his garage a houre?

LOL! Didn't notice that!

coman61 · Feb 9, 2009

Very nice work tensleep. I have a very whupped pair of 4425s I would like to refurbish but I need to find the impossible 2214 woofers. The girl I got them from put radio shack replacements in them. She was useing them to do karoke events.
Do you still have your Bozaks?

tensleep · Feb 9, 2009

coman61 said:
Very nice work tensleep. I have a very whupped pair of 4425s I would like to refurbish but I need to find the impossible 2214 woofers. The girl I got them from put radio shack replacements in them. She was useing them to do karoke events.
Do you still have your Bozaks?

Hmm - have you tried querying Zilch about a suitable JBL replacement for the 2214? He's pretty good at that sort of thing.

Yes, I do still have my Bozaks! I love their sound and miss them; although, these JBLs were my first love and I am very happy with them again. Currently, I have a great tuned port system, a great infinite baffle system, several horns, and a small acoustic suspension system. It is fun to compare all of their strengths and weaknesses. Once I get my Normans working, I will have a nice, two-way acoustic suspension system to compare with the three-ways.

Thanks for the compliment on my work - I am satisfied with my first effort and definitely learned a great deal about working with the drivers and enclosures. I look forward to some crossover work on the Normans and the Cryslers. The Cryslers will also involve replacing the veneer! Should be interesting.

Refresh my memory - do you have some Bozaks, too?

coman61 · Feb 9, 2009

We got our Bozaks about the same time. You posted that you picked some up. At that time it was rainning Bozaks in NE Ohio. 4 pairs were 4 sale in a 2 week stretch. I bought 2. The first were centurys and I liked them so much I got a pair of symphonies the next week. I Don't use them daily but there are nice. I need to to the Tobin mods as they can be a bit mushy. Just another back burner project. If I get many more of those I need another range for more back burners.

tensleep · Feb 9, 2009

Heh heh! Kinda makes you wish for a big shop! My cousin's is working out so well that I am getting spoiled. He is very generous, though, and we enjoy each other's company. I'll help him build a fence this summer to repay some of his generosity.

I remember your Bozaks now! Those Symphonies are too cool. Have you got pictures in an album on AK? I am waiting to work on my Bozak crossovers until after I work on the Cryslers. I want to brush up on my skills, prior to putting the Bozaks under the knife.

We are way off topic here; my apologies to anyone reading all of this that is looking only for relevant JBL 4410 information. As for me, I am still looking for suggestions on the 127h gaskets.

mech986 · Jun 30, 2010

Hi Tensleep,

Nice work! Your restoration makes them look almost new. Here's my contribution for you.

JBL Professional's link to the 4410 technical sheet. Gives part numbers to almost everything in the speaker and the crossover schematic too in case you want to recap.

http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/Studio Monitor Series/4410LR.pdf

Here are the relevant part numbers that can then be cross referenced to the current JBL parts available list below:

http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/Misc. Parts List/Misc Parts List (by part).pdf

65321 $0.84 per segment JBL 127H-1 front gasket, its neoprene, I think you'll need a total of 8. This is replacement if you were unable to salvage the originals. They will glue on fine with contact cement or Aileens

66708 $1.62 JBL 127H-1 rear gasket for sealing the baffle, at this price just replace.

66952 $39.02 JBL 4410 original grill, each. Complete grille with built in pin retainers and black cloth. If you look, you may find some on ebay but who knows about the pins. For the original look, contact saeman on LH for original JBL Professional blue grille cloth.

Call Dave at JBL Professional Parts (818-894-8850) to check availability and pricing. With a little luck and under $100, you'll look like new for sure!

Good Luck! :thmbsp: :music:

Bart

tensleep · Aug 5, 2010

mech986 said:
Hi Tensleep,

Nice work! Your restoration makes them look almost new. Here's my contribution for you.

JBL Professional's link to the 4410 technical sheet. Gives part numbers to almost everything in the speaker and the crossover schematic too in case you want to recap.

http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/Studio Monitor Series/4410LR.pdf

Here are the relevant part numbers that can then be cross referenced to the current JBL parts available list below:

http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/Misc. Parts List/Misc Parts List (by part).pdf

65321 $0.84 per segment JBL 127H-1 front gasket, its neoprene, I think you'll need a total of 8. This is replacement if you were unable to salvage the originals. They will glue on fine with contact cement or Aileens

66708 $1.62 JBL 127H-1 rear gasket for sealing the baffle, at this price just replace.

66952 $39.02 JBL 4410 original grill, each. Complete grille with built in pin retainers and black cloth. If you look, you may find some on ebay but who knows about the pins. For the original look, contact saeman on LH for original JBL Professional blue grille cloth.

Call Dave at JBL Professional Parts (818-894-8850) to check availability and pricing. With a little luck and under $100, you'll look like new for sure!

Good Luck! :thmbsp:

Bart

Dude! Thanks! I missed this post the first go around. I am checking out all my old threads.

juddboz80 · Apr 10, 2015

Resurrect an old thread. I recently acquired a pair of these from another fine AK'er, knew going home with these that they needed a refoam job badly.....tackled that just fine with the help of many good info on these boards and I'm very happy with how the refoam went!!
After the refoam everything sounded great, voice coils are not rubbing at all and this made a huge difference, well last night I noticed that my right channel sounds weaker than the left, not nearly the bass and just a lot quiter sound in general coming from the right speaker....the left compensates when turned up and the balance in equal, but adjusting the balance from the left speaker to the right is a huge difference....I have. Scott 299 amp and I switched channels for the speaker and the problem is coming from just the speaker, not the amp! To my knowledge the crossovers have never been touched and all is completely original....so would that be the problem? Ive never worked on any crossovers before but I am an electrician and can read schematics and see what all in the circuit, do I need to replace everything or are there just a few caps most likely bad? Any help would be appreciated!!

JBL 4410 Studio Monitors: My first refurbish project

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