JBL 4680
The JBL 4680 is a professional stage monitor from JBL Professional's installed-sound lineup. It is a wedge-shaped floor monitor with a single 12-inch 2206H woofer and a 2417H 1-inch compression driver on a 2360A Bi-Radial constant-directivity horn. That driver complement is the best-documented thing about it. The same combination appeared in the JBL 4670 full-range cabinet, and in the 4682, a larger dual-12 monitor sold alongside the 4680 as its bigger sibling. The 4680 was the compact entry in that monitor pair.
The catalog specification, as archived from JBL Professional's 1996 listing, gives the 4680 a 600 W continuous / 2400 W peak power rating, 8-ohm impedance, and 100 dB sensitivity (1W@1m). Frequency range is listed at 60 Hz - 20 kHz, with the crossover set at 1000 Hz. The cabinet is ported, built from plywood, fitted with two Speakon connectors, and protected by a perforated steel grille. All of this comes from a catalog listing posted on the speakerplans.com forum, not a verified primary document, so take the precise figures with some caution. The driver complement and basic configuration are corroborated across multiple forum discussions.
JBL's own advertising for the 4680 ran in Modern Recording (July 1980, p.15) and Recording Engineer (October 1979, p.176). The ads promoted the line's modular, self-contained approach to club sound reinforcement. A later Modern Recording piece (April 1981, p.18) described the Cabaret systems as designed to mate with one another so users could expand as their needs grew. Those ads don't name the 4680 specifically, but they place it in JBL's club-sound push of that era.
Among DIY builders, the 4680 has a modest afterlife. The enclosure plans circulate, and the 2206H woofer stayed in production long after the 2417H was discontinued, so builders have sourced used drivers and cloned the cabinet. One forum user who used the 4680 live called it "a great sounding monitor" with excellent clarity. Another praised it as quality JBL pro gear, but questioned the 1 kHz crossover point for a 1-inch driver at sustained high SPL, noting the bigger 4682 crossed at 800 Hz. No production years, original price, dimensions, or weight have surfaced in the available documentation.
- Type: Professional stage monitor (wedge), ported cabinet
- LF: 2206H 12-inch woofer (4-inch voice coil)
- HF: 2417H 1-inch compression driver on 2360A Bi-Radial horn
- Crossover: 1000 Hz
- Power: 600 W continuous / 2400 W peak
- Impedance: 8 ohms · Sensitivity: 100 dB (1W@1m)
- Frequency range: 60 Hz – 20 kHz
- Connectors: Two Speakon
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