JBL 4771A
The JBL 4771A is a cinema surround loudspeaker, a wall-mount "wing" speaker for movie theater auditoriums. It's a compact version of the larger 4770A surround system, built for surround-channel duty behind the screen or along the side walls. The 4771A pairs a 12-inch woofer with a 1-inch compression driver on a rotatable horn. Turn the horn and the cabinet can go up either horizontally or vertically without losing coverage. The horn's 100° × 100° dispersion pattern and 93 dB sensitivity (1 W/1 m) made it a practical, efficient choice for multiplex installations.
The spec sheet tells most of the story. Frequency response is 55 Hz - 20 kHz (±3 dB). Power handling is 150 W continuous pink noise (300 W peak), impedance is 8 ohms nominal, and the passive crossover sits at 1.2 kHz. Input is via 5-way binding posts, and the black cabinet comes with a perforated metal grille and wall-mounting hardware. It was frequently paired with the JBL 5628 subwoofer in satellite-sub surround arrays. The 55 Hz low-end rolloff means it needs a sub for full-range reproduction in LFE-heavy surround mixes.
The record on this model is thin in places. No introduction or discontinuation year, no original MSRP, and no dimensions or weight have surfaced in the available documentation. What is known comes largely from cinema integrators and theater technicians who worked with these daily. The consensus is a solid workhorse surround speaker with good coverage and clean dialogue reproduction, generally regarded as good value for the price and reliable in daily use. The most common complaints are thin-wall cabinet ringing when driven hard and, predictably for a 1990s-era JBL woofer, foam surround rot on the 12-inch driver. Crossover capacitor drift and corroded binding posts in high-humidity theater environments are also frequently mentioned. JBL no longer lists the 4771A in its current cinema catalog, and replacement crossovers and LF drivers are discontinued. Third-party reconers and aftermarket rebuilds keep these running.
- Type: Cinema surround/wing loudspeaker, 2-way, wall-mount
- LF driver: 12 in (304.8 mm), model not documented
- HF driver: 1 in (25.4 mm) compression driver, rotatable horn
- Frequency response: 55 Hz – 20 kHz (±3 dB)
- Power capacity: 150 W continuous pink noise (300 W peak)
- Sensitivity: 93 dB SPL (1 W / 1 m)
- Impedance: 8 ohms
- Coverage: 100° × 100° (rotatable horn)
- Crossover: 1.2 kHz, internal passive
- Inputs: 5-way binding posts
- Finish: Black, perforated metal grille, wall-mount kit included
Similar items on eBay
No exact JBL 4771A listings are live right now — these searches show current JBL and similar vintage audio gear on eBay:
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.
Related Models
- JBL 075
- JBL 077
- JBL 120Ti
- JBL 124A
- JBL 124H
- Braun AUDIO-1 (1965)
- Braun AUDIO-250 (1965)
- Magnavox Component Systems (1972)
- Acoustic Research AR (1967-1976)
- Acoustic Research 11