Wanting to upgrade existing towers advice

[C Iver]

Greetings all, any advice on rebuilding a pair of JBL towers

I have a decent set of JBL towers but have a new Pioneer SC-61 and would like to upgrade them. Thinking i could purchase new sub/mid and tweeters and crossovers as I like the look of the towers and are very solid. Any advice parts to use etc.

Thanks in advance

 

[markw]

When you say "sub", I think you mean "woofer". Big difference.

Anyhow, a speaker "system" is designed as a delicate balance three/four major components in ordet to get the best performance from all t hree: the enclosure, the woofer, the crossover and the midrange/tweeter driver(s)

To put it simply, one cannot just plop in any new parts without giving the marriage of the first three into serious consideration. If a driver is bad, search out an exact replacement, preferably from the factory.

 

[zieglj01]

Do you think that you could leave some more info?

Like what is the model number - and what is your budget?

 

[C Iver]

JBL ND310 Northridge series. Budget 400-500 for the upgrade, more if it would make a significant difference. yes i did mean woofer, not sub woofer.

Also I realize i could go buy a set, but enjoy the tinker aspect.

Thanks for your help

 

[markw]

Well, you might want to seek advice in the DIY forum, a few lines belos this forum, or HERE. That's more geared towards tinkerers.

but, while I have no doubt that throwing such money into this project will result in a change in the sound, whether or not it's an improvement is debatable. The relationship between the box and the bass driver(s) is critical. You might want to do a bit of reading up on that subject first.

 

[zieglj01]

You may want to practice with some cheap bookshelf speakers first,
You will need to learn measurements and crossover design.

Better to mess up cheap bookshelf speakers, than your tower speakers.

If you want to upgrade, then look at the JBL Studio series speakers.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

These JBL's are inexpensive speakers to begin with. I don't think it's worth the effort or the money to try to re-build them, even you find someone willing to model it for you (both woofer/tweeter selection and most likely new crossover)

Better off start with DIY Kit project like this one:
TriTrix MTM TL Speaker Components And Cabinet Kit Pair | 300-702

It's cheap and easy to build. It would give you some idea and skills needed to build your own speakers

 

[C Iver]

Wanting to upgrade my existing towers with new speakers and crossover.

JBL ND310 Northridge series. Budget 400-500 for the upgrade, more if it would make a significant difference.

Looking for advice and recommended parts

Thanks in advance

 

[TLS Guy]

Wanting to upgrade my existing towers with new speakers and crossover.

JBL ND310 Northridge series. Budget 400-500 for the upgrade, more if it would make a significant difference.

Looking for advice and recommended parts

Thanks in advance

What is it you don't like about those speakers? Your budget is significantly less than the new purchase price of those speakers 12 years ago. For towers you are at the bottom end of the market with that budget.

At that end of the market, this might be your best bet.

You have to be careful with speakers, as there are dreadful examples in all price brackets. In general however, this is a area where a big budget really helps.

 

[j_garcia]

Agreed, unless you've previously designed speakers, your best bet is new speakers. You should have no problem improving on those speakers with that kind of cash. IMO, the Northridge speakers were OK budget speakers, but nothing special at the time. The Pioneers linked are definitely a step up.

You have THREE different threads asking about this as well, which isn't necessary.

 

[TLS Guy]

I have a decent set of JBL towers but have a new Pioneer SC-61 and would like to upgrade them. Thinking i could purchase new sub/mid and tweeters and crossovers as I like the look of the towers and are very solid. Any advice parts to use etc.

Thanks in advance

Modifying speakers is seldom a good idea. It is much better to start from scratch. However designing a speakers is a significant learning experience. I suggest you look at kits, to get your feet wet.

 

[Swerd]

Wanting to upgrade my existing towers with new speakers and crossover.

JBL ND310 Northridge series. Budget 400-500 for the upgrade, more if it would make a significant difference.

I'm going to say what you've already heard. Throwing money at new drivers and crossovers for an existing cabinet is unlikely to improve what you now have. If anything is broken in your JBL's, replace it with the same part.

To get proper bass response, a speaker cabinet is designed to have internal dimensions as dictated by the electrical and mechanical behavior of the woofers being used. Read about the Theile/Small parameters of woofers Thiele/Small - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The crossovers for the midrange and tweeter are also made after they are mounted on the front baffle of the cabinet. Their layout and width of the front baffle are important to the design.

I'm not trying to brush you off, but I am saying that you are going about it backwards. Your cabinets were designed for the drivers in it now. You are not likely going to find different drivers that will work well in them.

If you want improvements for $400 to $500, I suggest DIY kits where the design work is already done, and you do the woodwork and the assembly.

 

[C Iver]

sorry I was advised to move to this group.....

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Steve81]

Threads are merged for a little housekeeping, FYI.