JBL N502 (c. 1975)

The JBL N502 is a crossover network. It sits between the amplifier and the drivers in a multi-way loudspeaker system. Documentation on this model is thin. What the record shows: a Japanese-market unit, priced at ¥70,000 around 1975, rated for 125W continuous program input, crossing over at 500Hz, and built for 16Ω systems. The network used high-voltage non-polar capacitors and low-loss Orient Core coils.

It was designed to work with a specific driver complement: the 130B for low frequencies, the 375 compression driver for high frequencies, and HL88, HL89, or HL90 horn lenses. One seller notes it's essentially the same as the N500 but with a twist - it can simultaneously connect two 150-4 woofers or add a subwoofer. The same seller calls it "more fun than the N500H." That's an informal opinion from an auction listing.

The N502 was offered as a pair in the listings that survive, and one seller noted the unit was in very good condition "considering the era," with operation confirmed good. Beyond that, little is documented — no production years beyond the circa-1975 price date, no dimensions, no frequency response data, no official JBL literature has surfaced. It remains a somewhat obscure piece of JBL's professional crossover lineage, known mainly to collectors of the big 375-based systems.