Replacement speakers for Fr4X

[Caps]

Some time back someone posted about replacing the speakers in the FR-4X with (I think) ones from JBL. i can't find the
post and I was wondering how the replacement turned out. I remember a long time ago Ventura posted something about
putting better speakers in the Fr-3S but I can't find that post either. It might not have been on this forum. I don't know if the 3S and the 4X had the same
speakers or not.

 

[Isusu]

i look for color things on my black registers for the fr8x

 

[Ventura]

hey Caps

well i do have a spare speaker from the 7x so i will
try and pop the grill on the 4x and compare them..
but you know my get-around-tuit is terrible so please be patient

the original 7x speaker uses a common Chinese speaker
factory frame, so many other speakers
(like the yellow or blue series Pyle 4" co-ax automotive types)
will fit in the same baffle hole and use the same mounting
(the 4 little wing mounts for the screws)
but the depth of the original speaker is more unusual,
as it was stretched to allow for a much greater total square inch
of the speaker while also allowing for a rather large and bullet shaped
dust cap.. also the 7/7x has a separate tweeter

so the depth of the 4x may not allow for that swap, but

my original conclusion was it would be easy to experiment with
different speakers on any of the Rolands.. like substituting
a true Woofer on the bass side baffle or an automotive
co-ax on the treble

as long as the impedence is the same or close, and as long
as the replacement speaker has the sensitivity not to waste energy,
many substitutions would be possible

also bearing in mind the mounting screws go directly into PLASTIC
and not embedded metal threadmounts, and the speakers are
also "gooped" for an airtight baffle seal

 

[Caps]

hey Caps

well i do have a spare speaker from the 7x so i will
try and pop the grill on the 4x and compare them..
but you know my get-around-tuit is terrible so please be patient

the original 7x speaker uses a common Chinese speaker
factory frame, so many other speakers
(like the yellow or blue series Pyle 4" co-ax automotive types)
will fit in the same baffle hole and use the same mounting
(the 4 little wing mounts for the screws)
but the depth of the original speaker is more unusual,
as it was stretched to allow for a much greater total square inch
of the speaker while also allowing for a rather large and bullet shaped
dust cap.. also the 7/7x has a separate tweeter

so the depth of the 4x may not allow for that swap, but

my original conclusion was it would be easy to experiment with
different speakers on any of the Rolands.. like substituting
a true Woofer on the bass side baffle or an automotive
co-ax on the treble

as long as the impedence is the same or close, and as long
as the replacement speaker has the sensitivity not to waste energy,
many substitutions would be possible

also bearing in mind the mounting screws go directly into PLASTIC
and not embedded metal threadmounts, and the speakers are
also "gooped" for an airtight baffle seal

Ventura. Well I bought a couple speakers for the 4X. JBL (by Harman) Stage1 125 watt (25 RMS) and after taking the 4X apart and the speaker out, I decided to keep the old ones in. After pulling and testing them I found that the ones in the 4X are actually pretty good and really not noticeably worse than the JBL ones. JBL is slightly better in very high frequencies. Since I still have my old FR-3S I thought I'd look at the speakers in it. In this case the JBL are much better in frequency response both low and high. The JBL also have bigger magnets and better design cones. Even I, with my lousy ears and two hearing aids, can actually hear a difference. No difference in volume of course but seems a bit more mellow. I put a couple photos of the FR3S speaker and the JBL here so the difference can be seen. Original on the right and JBL on left. Replacement is really easy. Open the grill, fold it down, unscrew the speaker, disconnect the connectors and put it back together. There is a spongy gasket between the speaker and the mount so you do have to be careful to remove it slowly as it looks to tear easily. Also there was a 20 year accumulation of dust inside the 3S. Spent a few minutes blowing it all out with my air gun.

 

[JerryPH]

You made some good choices in quality and specs for your speakers of choice, CAP. I'd not expect you to have a louder system as that is mostly a function of the amplifier power, which you did not change.

What you can expect is pretty much what you mentioned... you may hear a change in the upper or lower frequencies depending on how efficient the speaker is.

Things that would be important are to keep the same OHM values for the new speakers that the old ones are and to shoot for speakers who's maximum power rating is not too far above the stock amp... the higher the more demanding and heavier they would be. I would be looking for very efficient speakers that are loud at low wattage levels.

I'd also be looking for speakers that match the OHM rating and not much over a 50 watt max rating as the factory amps on 4X and below are 25 watts per channel and on an 8X it has a 50 watt per channel in it, but what not many know is that its factory limited to ~25 watts per channel to extend playing time, but one can unlock that via menu option.

 

[Caps]

You made some good choices in quality and specs for your speakers of choice, CAP. I'd not expect you to have a louder system as that is mostly a function of the amplifier power, which you did not change.

What you can expect is pretty much what you mentioned... you may hear a change in the upper or lower frequencies depending on how efficient the speaker is.

Things that would be important are to keep the same OHM values for the new speakers that the old ones are and to shoot for speakers who's maximum power rating is not too far above the stock amp... the higher the more demanding and heavier they would be. I would be looking for very efficient speakers that are loud at low wattage levels.

I'd also be looking for speakers that match the OHM rating and not much over a 50 watt max rating as the factory amps on 4X and below are 25 watts per channel and on an 8X it has a 50 watt per channel in it, but what not many know is that its factory limited to ~25 watts per channel to extend playing time, but one can unlock that via menu option.

Yes, the new speakers are 4 ohm, same as the original in the fr3s. The wattage is 25 RMS on the new ones. The fr3s is 11 watts RMS per channel so it is more than adequate. The volume is very close to the same but the sound seems significantly better to me, definitely better on the high frequencies. Plus the old ones are over 20 years old. The design is a bit different as well. The originals are a single cone claimed to be full range. The JBL are a coaxial design with a polypropylene Woofer and a mylar tweeter. Sensitivity is 90 db at 1 meter which is pretty good.