JBL 175
The JBL 175 is a high-frequency compression driver from the mid-1950s, one of the earliest dedicated tweeters in JBL's Signature line. The record on this unit is thin. There is no original price, no dimensions, and no production dates beyond a loose association with the 1956 catalog. What is documented comes from a single technical listing: a dome membrane of 5.3 cm diameter, an Alnico magnet, and a voice coil of 1.9 cm. Frequency response is given as 500-16,000 Hz. Power handling is rated at 25 watts of music program and 12 watts RMS.
Its place in the lineup is clearer. The 175 is the high-frequency element in two JBL speaker systems, the JBL 200 and the JBL 300, each using a single 175 driver. A period advertisement in Audiocraft (March 1957, p.2) shows the 175DLH - the driver paired with a horn and dividing network - being added to the D130 in the "Harkness" C40 enclosure to make a complete two-way system.
Known Specifications
- Type: High-frequency compression driver, dome membrane
- Membrane diameter: 5.3 cm
- Voice coil diameter: 1.9 cm
- Magnet: Alnico
- Frequency response: 500 – 16,000 Hz
- Power handling: 25 W (music), 12 W (RMS)
No sensitivity rating, crossover recommendation, or impedance is documented. Similarly, no owner reviews or market pricing data survive in the available record. For collectors, the 175 is best understood as the missing high-frequency piece to a 1950s JBL system — a driver that made the D130 into a two-way speaker, and one that appears in the Model 200 and 300 systems.
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