JBL Northridge E60 tweeters are broken, original replacement necessary?

[Stouten]

Hi! I've bought two JBL Northridge E60 towers a few years ago for 50,- euro's alltogether. I realised only later that the tweeters were not producing any sound. A friend of mine had two spare tweeters which we connected and I also have two bookshelf speakers with some more detail, so I was happy for the moment. Now I checked them again and I'm not happy with the sound of the tweeters so the logic solution would be to replace them, however 1 original tweeter costs 50,- euro's.

So I'm looking to find a cheaper solution and I was wandering what the possibilities are of using similar but not original tweeters? I found one that should be of the same type, yet I don't know how to check this and one that is seemingly universal.

Also I'm wandering if simply replacing the tweeters is a guarantee that these speakers will be completely fixed and original again, or is there something I should check first to see if it's worth it?

I really hope you can help me out!

 

[Al ears]

If you never actually heard them with original tweeters working you will obviously not know any different if you use replacements of a similar type.
However I would spend the money and get originals if they were mine

 

[sonic1]

I would get the originals, you get what you pay for in life.

 

[Al ears]

I would get the originals, you get what you pay for in life.

I'd agree seeing as the OP got them so cheap in the first instance probably worth a lot more with original tweeters if he was to ever sell them on.

 

[Stouten]

Thanks for the advice! I guess it really depends on where you shop this type of secondhand. This wasn't a rare find and it was never my dream to own two perfect E60's, I just wanted decent sound. I doubt I would ever get a return on this investment if I were to sell them secondhand.

My question still remains if this would defenitely solve the problem?

And If i review the orginial tweeter it's meant for a whole range of JBL speakers among which the E20. However I also found E20 tweeters on Ebay for a lot less. Are these the same?

 

[Al ears]

Thanks for the advice! I guess it really depends on where you shop this type of secondhand. This wasn't a rare find and it was never my dream to own two perfect E60's, I just wanted decent sound. I doubt I would ever get a return on this investment if I were to sell them secondhand.

My question still remains if this would defenitely solve the problem?

And If i review the orginial tweeter it's meant for a whole range of JBL speakers among which the E20. However I also found E20 tweeters on Ebay for a lot less. Are these the same?

Your best bet is to Google it or contact the manufacturer rather than asking here although one would assume speakers within the same series would use the same tweeters
As to the 'problem' I don't understand exactly what you mean.

 

[scene]

Your best bet is to Google it or contact the manufacturer rather than asking here although one would assume speakers within the same series would use the same tweeters
As to the 'problem' I don't understand exactly what you mean.

And as for "return"... You got them for 50 EUR, and a pair of tweeters is 100 EUR (50 EUR each), so all in all, if you repair them you will have spent 150 EUR, plus some solder and a bit of your time...

A quick look on fleabay and hifishark shows secondhand E60s going for 200-280 EUR. So where's the loss?

 

[Al ears]

And as for "return"... You got them for 50 EUR, and a pair of tweeters is 100 EUR (50 EUR each), so all in all, if you repair them you will have spent 150 EUR, plus some solder and a bit of your time...

A quick look on fleabay and hifishark shows secondhand E60s going for 200-280 EUR. So where's the loss?

Precisely, I see no problem

 

[Stouten]

Your best bet is to Google it or contact the manufacturer rather than asking here although one would assume speakers within the same series would use the same tweeters
As to the 'problem' I don't understand exactly what you mean.

Thanks for the advice, I meant with the problem if there's anything else that could be damaged inside the speaker (anything else I should think of) or is it just a matter of connecting the new tweeters?

 

[Stouten]

And as for "return"... You got them for 50 EUR, and a pair of tweeters is 100 EUR (50 EUR each), so all in all, if you repair them you will have spent 150 EUR, plus some solder and a bit of your time...

A quick look on fleabay and hifishark shows secondhand E60s going for 200-280 EUR. So where's the loss?

I've never heard of those platforms, but i've checked them out. 150 EUR is a challenge to get for these speakers on our Dutch commonly used platform So I guess in the end I really got a bargain and I will invest a little to make them whole again and enjoy them myself, thanks!

 

[Al ears]

Thanks for the advice, I meant with the problem if there's anything else that could be damaged inside the speaker (anything else I should think of) or is it just a matter of connecting the new tweeters?

If there's no output from the tweeters then the only other item that could be at fault is the crossover itself but I would consider this unlikely if both speakers are showing similar issues.

 

[insider9]

Or that high frequency terminals are not connected. But I'm not sure if these speakers have two pairs of terminals

 

[Al ears]

Or that high frequency terminals are not connected. But I'm not sure if these speakers have two pairs of terminals

Some reviewer mentioned that he bi-wired his so perhaps they do have twin terminals, so you have a good point if there are no connecting bars.

 

[insider9]

It could be of course just a coincidence that both tweeters are dead

 

[Al ears]

It could be of course just a coincidence that both tweeters are dead

Let's hope OP gets back on with how he is wiring speakers up and what terminals look like.
When tweeters get blown they normally both go from my understanding.

 

[scene]

If there's no output from the tweeters then the only other item that could be at fault is the crossover itself but I would consider this unlikely if both speakers are showing similar issues.

I remember someone on another forum complaining they'd blown the tweeters on their E60s, so maybe a weak spot on the speaker.