JBL 2426J

A 1-inch throat compression driver that spent decades behind the grilles of JBL's biggest professional systems, and almost never in the hands of home listeners.

Overview

The 2426J is a 1-inch throat compression driver. The "J" suffix tells you it is the 16-ohm version of the 2426, not the 8-ohm 2426H. That decides which crossover networks and which amplifier taps the driver was meant to see. In JBL's professional line the J and H suffixes were never cosmetic. They were load-matching decisions, and mixing them up is one of the more common mistakes collectors make when they pull a driver out of a cabinet and pair it with the wrong network.

Where the 2426J turns up is the most useful thing to know about it. JBL's own component listing, dated April 20, 1989, places it inside a long list of assembled systems. The 4662A and 4663A theater and sound-reinforcement packages both specify the 2370A horn with the 2426J, and the 4663A adds a 2405H for the top octave. The 4671A pairs a 2225H woofer with the 2426J on a 2370A horn, and JBL's notes on that system flag one detail: the tweeter polarity is reversed. The 4672A uses the same 2225H-and-2426J combination. The 4691B Cabaret box runs an E140-8 with the 2370A/2426J pairing. In the 4800 Concert Series, the 4825 and 4828 both list the 2426J on a 2344 Bi-Radial horn, with JBL noting a modified horn for the Concert Series application. Later production 4430 studio monitors are also documented with the 2426H where early units used the 2421A. JBL revised driver fitment mid-run, so "which driver is in this cabinet" is a question of production date, not just model number.

That list says the 2426J was a workhorse, not a halo product. It sat behind the grille of touring rigs, cinema systems, and install boxes, the kind of gear that got loaded into trucks and driven hard. JBL's own reference chart describes the 4825 and 4828 as Concert Series models with a modified horn, and the 4663A as a three-way theater system. These are not living-room components. They are the mid-high and high-frequency section of systems designed to fill rooms.

Serviceability is the other thing that keeps the 2426J relevant. JBL's diaphragm interchangeability chart lists the 2426J's standard diaphragm as the D16R2425, with the D8R2425, D16R2421, D8R2421, and D16R2470 listed as possible alternatives. That is an unusually generous parts list. A driver with a blown diaphragm is not necessarily a paperweight. The correct 16-ohm part is the D16R2425, but a technician with the right crossover compensation has options. The note that the 2404H-1 Cabaret tweeter uses the D8R075 replacement diaphragm shows how carefully JBL tracked these part numbers across the line. The company expected these drivers to be serviced, not replaced.

JBL's passive network chart ties the 2426J to specific crossovers. The 3105 is listed as a 7,000 Hz, 70-watt network for either the 2426J or the 2445J, paired with a 2402H, 2404H, or 2405H. The 3110A is an 800 Hz, 300-watt network with power response correction for Bi-Radial horns. The 3115A is a 500 Hz, 300-watt network, likewise with Bi-Radial correction. The 3120A is a 1,250 Hz, 300-watt network. Which one belongs with a given 2426J depends on the horn and the rest of the system. There is no single "correct" crossover for the driver in isolation, so pulling one out of a cabinet and guessing is a bad idea.

The period record on how the 2426J was received is thin. Mix (December 1998, p.154) covered a live-sound installation built around JBL arrays, describing the system's reflectivity and absorption balance across a corrugated metal roof. That is an installation profile rather than a driver review. It does fit how this driver lived: it was evaluated as part of a system, by working engineers, not as a standalone hi-fi component. The 2426J was never sold to audiophiles as a tweeter to obsess over. It was sold to people who needed a room to work.

These drivers surface today as pulls from decommissioned theater and touring cabinets, often with the horn and network still attached, sometimes with mismatched diaphragms from a previous repair. The 16-ohm J version is the one to check for, because a driver sold as a "2426" without a suffix may be the H, and the two are not interchangeable in every application. Buyers should verify the diaphragm part number, since the D16R2425 is the standard fit, and confirm whether the driver came out of a 2370A, 2344, or other horn, since that tells you which network it was matched to. A 2426J with the right diaphragm and a known cabinet origin is a useful piece of JBL professional history. One with an unknown diaphragm and no provenance is a project.