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Hi, I'm interested in buying some JBL speakers but the seller has said that the crossovers have been changed from the original JLB 4206 ones to JBL 4208 crossovers. He said that the speakers sound fine. But I have checked and the original crossover frequency of 2.8 kHz has actually been changed to a crossover frequency of 2.6 kHz (I got this the wrong way around in my title but can't edit it).

Does anyone know if this would be OK or would it have a negative affect on the sound of the speakers at all?

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dvdhawk Mon, 02/19/2018 - 16:28

I would imagine both 4200 series models use the exact same tweeter. I don't see it stated, but I think it's a reasonable assumption. I'm sure the intended crossover point was chosen for a reason and would be optimum, but I doubt there's a massive difference. It's probably more the perception of a smoother transition from woofer to tweeter. If we're to believe the graph on the linked spec sheet. The plots show a steeper rise between 3-4kHz on the 4206. They may sound less hyped without the steeper rise, but that's going to be very subjective.

All that being said, they'd have to be really inexpensive to get me to buy them without hearing them first. They may sound better, or worse, than the intended design, plus it raises the question of whether abusive amounts of power are what killed the stock crossovers, and if the lifespan of the other components have been compromised.

nignag Mon, 02/19/2018 - 17:29

dvdhawk, post: 455882, member: 36047 wrote: I would imagine both 4200 series models use the exact same tweeter. I don't see it stated, but I think it's a reasonable assumption. I'm sure the intended crossover point was chosen for a reason and would be optimum, but I doubt there's a massive difference. It's probably more the perception of a smoother transition from woofer to tweeter. If we're to believe the graph on the linked spec sheet. The plots show a steeper rise between 3-4kHz on the 4206. They may sound less hyped without the steeper rise, but that's going to be very subjective.

All that being said, they'd have to be really inexpensive to get me to buy them without hearing them first. They may sound better, or worse, than the intended design, plus it raises the question of whether abusive amounts of power are what killed the stock crossovers, and if the lifespan of the other components have been compromised.

Thanks for the excellent reply dvdhawk. My main concern was why did they need to change the crossovers, and what would have caused the original ones to blow. I don't want to buy any speakers that would have been played so hard as to blow the crossovers.

Now you have said that 'the question of whether abusive amounts of power are what killed the stock crossovers, and if the lifespan of the other components have been compromised.' This confirms my worries and I don't think I really want to risk buying them.

Would you have any knowledge of the original Tannoy Reveals (the red ones) compared to the JLB 4206 and JBL 4208 monitors. I've read on some forums that the JBL are the better ones. There are a lot more Tannoy red's for sale though. I've also heard that the Tannoy's are warmer and a nice sound, any info of these at all?

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