JBL 4670D (c. 1999)
The 4670D is a JBL Professional cinema loudspeaker. It is a large two-way screen-channel system built to sit behind a perforated screen in a commercial theatre. JBL's own literature describes it as a wide-bandwidth system with remarkable dynamic range and consistent coverage, and calls it the foundation for true big-screen cinema sound. The system comes in two parts: the 4670D-HF high-frequency pack and the 4638TH low-frequency system. The HF pack is built around the 2446H compression driver, a 100 mm (4-inch) diaphragm unit, mounted on a JBL 2380A Bi-Radial horn with a 2509/2509A adjustable bracket. Below it sit two 15-inch cone woofers. The crossover is built in and set at 500 Hz, per JBL's published specification table.
That table gives the system a frequency range of 35 Hz to 20 kHz at -10 dB and a response of 40 Hz to 16 kHz at ±3 dB. Coverage is 90° x 40°, power capacity is 600 watts IEC, sensitivity is 100 dB (1 W, 1 m), and nominal impedance is 4 ohms. Each cabinet measures 1289 x 673 x 438 mm and weighs 92 kg, roughly 203 pounds. This is an installation piece, not something you move on a whim. A 2003 JBL catalogue lists it at 45 in its product index, alongside the 4675C and 4675C-4LF/8LF.
Beyond the manufacturer's own data, the record is thin. No production start or end years are documented anywhere we've found. The only date references are a Japanese price listing noted as "around 1999" and a ¥490,000 figure with no date attached. No period review of the 4670D itself has surfaced in the indexed trade press. The closest thing to contemporary coverage is Mix magazine (October 1996, p.186), but that page covers live sound: smaller two-rackspace amplifiers rated at 660, 400, and 275 watts, plus unrelated cinema installations in Chicago, Orange County, and Portland. It does not discuss the 4670D. At least one forum thread asks whether the 4670D is passive with an internal crossover or needs an external digital crossover, and the research record contains no answer. JBL's spec sheet says built-in crossover. Treat the question as open until you've seen the unit's own network.
Used examples turn up occasionally, typically as sets of three pulled from a decommissioned theatre, and often as separate 4638TH and 4670D-HF components rather than complete systems. Grilles and badges also circulate as parts. Original USD pricing is not documented.
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