JBL PRX 812w and 818XLFW Question

[Bryan Cox]

I have two JBL PRX 812w and two 818XLFW that I use for band practice and smaller gigs. I won't lie, they sound great! But I was reading earlier that the main difference between the "middle-of-the-road" speakers and pro speakers is the driver (I'm sure some of this can't be the whole story). But could that really be the case? Could my PRXs compete with a good set of RCFs with a driver swap?

Of course, I have no plans to do this. This is just total curiosity. Thoughts? Is this just total snake oil or is there some truth to it?

[Grant Bunter]

As you "upgrade", you get better performance and different drivers.
That's pretty much the case with most companies in the market. JBL's PRX and SRX blurb (go to the Specs page on each product) tells you what drivers are in each series.

Commercial decisions usually mean a product will be developed to suit a certain price point (a manufacturing price point, first, a retail price point second).
They already have their own TS parameters, so they can keep throwing numbers into a sim until something pops up that makes a product viable, test produce it, flog it to death, and see if it's worth releasing. If yes, get it out to the marketing department and tool up for production.
Any given line may not be "best", but a reasonable compromise of build cost vs performance.

Given that, your PRX's could probably have a better driver swapped in. But which one and by whom?
You could spend a lot of money trying to work it out.
Or waste a lot of time trying to sim something for a "better" result..

[CoronaOperator]

Could my PRXs compete with a good set of RCFs with a driver swap?

Sure, as long as you swap out the cabinet too! Drivers, cabinet volume and tuning frequency go hand in hand. Throwing an expensive driver in a cabinet you have on hand is like throwing darts blindfolded. The volume and tuning frequency of the cabinet have to be matched to the T/S specs of the driver for decent results. Higher up cabinets also tend to be built more sturdy to reduce cabinet resonance. Buyers buying pro level cabinets are generally less concerned about weight than weekend warriors, usually because the guy making the purchase doesn't have to move it.

[Bryan Cox]

Given that, your PRX's could probably have a better driver swapped in. But which one and by whom?
You could spend a lot of money trying to work it out.
Or waste a lot of time trying to sim something for a "better" result..

Guess I should've done a little more research. This idea came purely because I began to wonder about a replacement should I blow a driver. The JBL drivers are already pretty expensive so why not spend some time figuring out what a suitable upgraded replacement might look like? Thanks, Grant!

[Bryan Cox]

Could my PRXs compete with a good set of RCFs with a driver swap?

Sure, as long as you swap out the cabinet too! Drivers, cabinet volume and tuning frequency go hand in hand. Throwing an expensive driver in a cabinet you have on hand is like throwing darts blindfolded. The volume and tuning frequency of the cabinet have to be matched to the T/S specs of the driver for decent results. Higher up cabinets also tend to be built more sturdy to reduce cabinet resonance. Buyers buying pro level cabinets are generally less concerned about weight than weekend warriors, usually because the guy making the purchase doesn't have to move it.

I'd thought of all that. Figuring out the cabinet volume is easy. And I don't think the boxes are tuned since they're not ported (not so sure about my logic on that one). As for the construction, I'd have no way to figure that one out since I have no friends with pro gear and no access myself.

I guess I was thinking along these parameters: the driver would have to fit in the existing cutout, be suitable for the given enclosure volume, and be compatible with the on-board amps (these cabs are active). If those are my only concerns then my thoughts are it wouldn't be too bad, provided an upgraded driver that fits those specs even exists. I could be waaaàay off though. Thanks, CO

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

To be sure that you'd have an improvement you'd have to use speaker modeling software to compare the stock 272G woofer to whatever you propose replacing it with. JBL doesn't publish a spec sheet for the 272G driver, so you have no way to model it.

[CoronaOperator]

You can bet those cabinets are ported, sealed cabinets don't have the efficiency to compete in the pro-sound market. Once you change out the driver, your resale value goes down. You would be better off to sell the cabs as is and start over.

[Grant Bunter]

Guess I should've done a little more research. This idea came purely because I began to wonder about a replacement should I blow a driver. The JBL drivers are already pretty expensive so why not spend some time figuring out what a suitable upgraded replacement might look like? Thanks, Grant!

Far simpler and cheaper to have the blown driver reconed

[Bryan Cox]

Alright y'all convinced me. There's really not much point in upgrading if a driver blows. I have no idea why I toyed with the idea in the first place. I'm very cautious with my gear and never push it to it's limits. So I don't anticipate any issues. Thanks for the advice as usual, fellas.