Control 5 – Woofer and Tweeter Measurements (Part 2)

Control 5 Woofer Frequency Response

The plot above is the RAW response of the Control 5 woofer. This was taken with the woofer directly connected to the power amplifier. Frequencies below 500Hz are in nearfield.   

From the measurement, we can see JBL tried to make a driver that extends up to the treble region. There are however, two potential issues. The first is a bump at about 1.8kHz. The second is the cone-breakup peak at 6kHz. 

Woofer Toneburst Energy Storage

The Toneburst Energy Storage reveals the mediocre quality of this 6-1/2″ woofer. Ringing was recorded at 2kHz and 6kHz. While the ringing at 6kHz is understandable, the one at 2kHz is highly questionable as it is within the crossover passband. 

Titanium tweeter Frequency Response

The Red plot is the RAW response of the Control 5 titanium tweeter. No crossover is used for this measurement. From the plot, this tweeter looks more like a 3/4″ instead of a 1″. Notice the rather limited bandwidth. It won’t even do 2kHz. A safe crossover corner frequency is 3kHz at 12dB/oct. On the higher end, it does extend to about 18kHz before falling off sharply.

1″ Titanium tweeter Toneburst Energy Storage

The Toneburst Energy Storage measurement reveals ringing at 2kHz and 8kHz. These ringing can be seen as bumps in the frequency response. With all the hype when JBL launched this titanium tweeter in the early 90s, this plot clearly shows the quality is average at best. And that’s being polite. 

Part 1 – Thiele & Small Parameters
Part 2 – Woofer & Tweeter Measurements
Part 3 – Frequency Response
Part 4 – Step & Waterfall Measurements
Part 5 – Sound Quality
Part 6 – Upgrading the Crossover
Part 7 – Electronic Crossovers and Bi-amping

Note: Unless otherwise stated, all measurements were made with the mic at 36 ins, tweeter axis. Impulse Window=5ms. No smoothing applied.