Friend gave me some JBL 4410 monitors

[James Steele]

Helped a buddy move his office and he gave me a pair of old JBL 4410s. He said he had the woofers re-coned about 3 years ago. They are of course monstrous and I'm sure too big for me room, but that hasn't stopped me. I set them up in my room and am thinking of hooking up my Hafler power amp to them instead of my NS-10Ms (which to tell you the truth I seldom use, in favor of my Event ASP8s).

Probably not useful for mixing, but gosh it seems like they'd be loads of fun to crank up. Anybody with any experiences, anecdotes about these beasts?

[Phil O]

Go for it, James. A friend of mine picked up a pair of these at an auction and uses them for his living room stereo/wide screen TV. They sound awesome. I don't know about mixing with them, but I'm sure you'll find a use for them somewhere. If not, I'll take them off your hands.

Phil

[Dan Worley]

Killer!!!

If your room is rectangular and you have the space, set them up according to the Golden Ratio.

The distance from the center of the woofer face to the side walls is: Room Width times .276.

The distance from the center of the woofer face to the wall behind the speaker is: Room Width times .447.

Crank 'em.

c-ya,

Dan Worley

[Tom Brighton]

I use a pair of 4412's for tracking and I love them and my control room is 10' x 10' . Had to EQ them with an RTA , but after that they are a great old school reference . also great for tracking Guitars in the control room cranked .

TB

[mikehalloran]

Not for a tiny room but I trust them far more than NS-10s

[nick danger]

I recently acquired a pair of JBL 3632 cinema speakers.

http://www.performanceaudio.com/buy/JBL/3632/1252" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Definitely not studio monitors. Anybody got any suggestions for what sort of amp should be used to power them?

[James Steele]

Not for a tiny room but I trust them far more than NS-10s

Well actually I like the NS-10Ms that I have for certain things. As it turns out, the same buddy needs to borrow the NS-10Ms from me for a little while. (Ironically, I think they're worth more on the used market than the 4410s). So I hooked up the Hafler amp to the 4410s and just now ran a couple of mixes through them. Granted, they're probably more wrong for my room than my remaining ASP8s. Any way, they sound obviously very different. Flattering, like HiFi speakers it seems. Funny to get used to that sound, then switch back to my Event ASP8s, and now THEY sound sort of midrangy like my NS-10Ms felt when I'd switch back and forth from the ASP8s to the NS-10Ms.

Any way, I don't think I'd mix on these at all really... especially in my room, but they are fun to listen to for some instant gratification.

[daniel.sneed]

My very first monitoring experience was with JBL4311. That is to say way back in the days. Great on any type of rock music at that time.
Hope you'll have pleasure with them. Even if they remain a second guess monitoring. Who knows?

[daniel.sneed]

I recently acquired a pair of JBL 3632 cinema speakers.
http://www.performanceaudio.com/buy/JBL/3632/1252" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Definitely not studio monitors. Anybody got any suggestions for what sort of amp should be used to power them?

I definitely would say active crossover. And if possible, 3 big amps, such as Crown or the like. You may find some used ones.
But AFAICT, this system is too big for any home use and too small for PA use in a medium venue. So think twice, if no too late.

[James Steele]

Just a follow up. I'll tell you what, these monitors are FUN as all get out to track with though. I'm starting to think tracking with "flattering" speakers isn't such a bad idea. Especially since often times at the beginning I'm putting down scratch tracks with VIs and my PODxt, which need all the help they can get. When I'm mixing something I'll put them on the Event ASP8s, but damn these puppies are FUN!

[David Polich]

Back in the late eighties I interned at a studio that had 4410's. They're
perfect for heavy metal/hard rock...not for mixing, but for tracking and
jet-engine level playback (turn them up for the band and leave the room).

You can even rehearse a band through them.

[James Steele]

Thanks for the comment, David. Yeah... most enjoyable. I spend a lot of time just tracking and hashing out ideas during the songwriting process, and it's just more fun monitoring through the 4410s. When a song gets to the point that I'm going to do a mix, I'll throw it back on the more accurate monitors.

[Timeline]

4410s are cool speakers but not as good as the old ones which were considered monitors by JBL.

I would toss the woofs if you can find used TAD's but they are rare as hell and expensive still. Fortunately the older original 4310's had outstanding Alnico mag components and really worked as a monitor. The mid range drivers too were Alnico. Take your time and look around for the older speaker parts and change components a pair at a time, then they would rock for mix speakers for sure in those larger cabinets. The crossovers may be fine but I would change them out as well.