JBL 2220H/2220J (circa 1981)
The JBL 2220H/2220J is a 38 cm (15″) cone woofer built for professional use, specifically for sound reinforcement systems. It was sold in two impedance versions - the 2220H at 8 Ω and the 2220J at 16 Ω - priced at ¥57,000 per unit around 1981. Beyond that listing, the documented record is thin. What exists points to a serious, high-efficiency pro driver.
JBL gave this woofer a lightweight, rigid curved cone and an edgewise-wound copper ribbon voice coil. The magnet is the company's proprietary SFG (Symmetrical Field Geometry) circuit. Sensitivity is rated at 101 dB/W/m, and the frequency band is 40 Hz - 2 kHz, with a recommended crossover of 800 Hz or below. The intended enclosure was a horn-type cabinet, with JBL's own 4560BKA as the cited example. That tells you it was built for projection and output, not for the living room. The Thiele-Small parameters agree: Qts of 0.17 and an fs of 37 Hz make it a low-Q driver suited to horn loading rather than a typical ported hi-fi box.
Owner reports, mostly from forums, describe the 2220H as an excellent match for old-school rock when loaded in the right cabinet. Some owners have considered swapping it in place of the later 2226H for better performance at lower volumes. Recone kits are still available from aftermarket suppliers, and JBL no longer stocks factory cones for this family.
Known Specifications
- Type: 38 cm cone woofer (15″)
- Impedance: 2220H — 8 Ω / 2220J — 16 Ω
- Allowable input: 200W continuous program (100W continuous sine wave)
- Sensitivity: 101 dB/W/m
- Frequency band: 40 Hz – 2 kHz
- fo / fs: 37 Hz
- Recommended crossover: 800 Hz or below
- Voice coil: 10 cm diameter, edgewise-wound copper ribbon
- Magnetic flux density: 11,500 Gauss (SFG circuit)
- Effective enclosure volume: 170–285 L
- Dimensions: 388 mm diameter × 133 mm depth
- Weight: 10.4 kg
Here is what's missing. There are no confirmed production years, since the 1981 price point is a single reference. No official JBL literature has been located, and there is no documented common-failure history. The 2220H/2220J appears in period Japanese audio references, but a third independent source beyond audio-database.com and audio-heritage.jp has not surfaced.
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