Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Recone Kit for a JBL 2225H 8ohm

This is topic Recone Kit for a JBL 2225H 8ohm in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=011868

Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 08-27-2015, 08:50 PM:

I see JBL discontinued the kit for this speaker. A quick search turned up a few aftermarket kits. I am a bit skeptical using an aftermarket kit but since JBL discontinued it it appears I'll have to. So does anyone have any recommendations on an aftermarket kit?

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 08-27-2015, 10:19 PM:

Over the years, I've sent several theatrical speakers down to Orange County
Speaker Repair in Garden Grove CA. They were very highly recommended
to me by someone who maintains the audio systems in the screening rooms of
several Hollywood studios. They do good work, at a reasonable price and have
a fairly quick turn-around.

They also sell 'do-it-yourself' speaker cone and edge repair kits.
While I personally have not used any of their kits, I have a friend who
didn't want to ship his speakers down there for re-edging, and he bought
the kit and was very happy with the results. That was at least 4 years ago
and as far as I know his speakers are still pumping out sound OK.

OC Speaker Repair Website

WoW: Actual Photos!
I pulled this speaker out of an old ALTEC "Voice Of
The Theater" cabinet. As you can see, the cone is
almost completely detached from the frame

Same speaker after re-coning by OCSR.

This set of speakers are not new. This is how they came back after re-coning
by OCSR. They originally all had partly detached cones, but not quite as bad
as the first photo. One also had a puncture in the cone. Good as new now!

Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 08-27-2015, 10:36 PM:

Thanks Jim! Unfortunately by the time I tack on shipping to/from with the cost of paying someone to re-cone it,its cheaper to buy a good used one. It turns out though, since I only need to replace the dust cap which I didn't know I could purchase separate. Found a few sites that sell only the JBL dust cap; 4 3/8" for around $5 [Smile]

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 08-28-2015, 06:24 AM:

Good. Next time see Steve Guttag. He recones JBL and I am sure has a perfectly good substitute or even old stock.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-28-2015, 09:28 AM:

The recone biz has really dropped off in the last couple of years. It used to be you can bank on a flood around November and in April (they were always the big months). I think people now just replace rather than repair...that is the way society has gone.

Most candidates for recone if they are shipping are because they want to keep that same sound that they like and don't want any substitute.

For cinemas, we had a decent relationship with the various service companies around here and they would bring their recones to us (no shipping involved and we stock cinema recone kits). We also had RX drivers of "popular" recones. For instance, the 2245 (JBL 4645 subwoofer...the original one without the stinkin "B" or "C" suffix)...it would suffer from foam rot and being over driven. We kept RX ones on the shelf so a tech could come by, pick up the driver do the swap in one visit rather than making two calls out of it...cheaper for everyone. But who still runs with original 4645 subwoofers anymore? In the digital age, for a typical cinema, you'd need about 8 of them to not blow them out. Sure, they play a lot lower than other drivers (they are flat down to 20Hz without any sort of alignment (B6 or otherwise) but what makes them so good at low frequencies is also what makes them not handle any real power...they are only 350-watt drivers. You drive the v.c. out of the gap if you drive it harder.

Altec was another one we used to get a lot of. But again, those theatres that used the A4, A5, A7 type speakers are all but gone.

Leaving us Ashley amplifiers...those were great for the recone biz...nothing smokes a driver like an Ashley putting the rails on a woofer!

While we had the EV certification (opted to not keep it because...)...the bulk of our Recone business was from DJs and low-end bands that would blow up their speakers every week because the salesmen would promise the moon and stars on very under performing crap. The DH-2010 would burn up just sitting on the shelf it was so week and these guys would nail it every weekend. They'd swear they were doing nothing wrong and I'd show them the V.C. I told them the REAL specs on the drivers/speakers they were using and what it meant on how they could use them...put us at odds with the salespeople that just wanted the sale. Way too much hassle.

We still stock stuff (Altec Diaphragms as well as some JBLs) but it isn't like it once was.

And yes, you can buy things like dust domes piece meal. Normally, if they are just dented, a CAREFUL use of a vacuum cleaner can pull them out. Sometimes wetting it will help.

Technically, you should NOT be able to buy JBL recone kits over the counter (mail order). Unless they changed the rules since we signed up many moons ago, that was a violation of service center agreement. Not to taunt you but we do still have one 2225H recone kit in stock. I checked and you are correct that the 8-Ohm isn't showing up as available but the 16-Ohm version is...strange. I also see that they have canned the 2245H recone kit. Note, I've seen cone kit go away and then come back (saw it with the 128H and the LE14...neither are cinema speakers though).

If you do take the dome off...check to see if the foam filter has rotted on the pole piece...those too are available separate.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 08-30-2015, 06:15 PM:

There are re-cone kits available on Ebay from Chinese sellers. Likely the same manufactures selling them that make the actual JBL drivers now.

Mark

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-30-2015, 08:38 PM:

JBL drivers for cinema stage speakers are sourced either in the USA or Mexico...not China. Generally, you have to go the stamped frame drivers to get the China stuff.